Tips to increase MPG ?

[andycupra]

You do need air con at this time of year It dries the moisture out of the air in the cabin and stops the screens from misting

I honestly cant remember the last time i used aircon, had no wind misting issues... (however this is MK1 leon).
I just leave it on the demisting setting with 'two bars' for the speed, but no aircon.

 

[Nathanio]

I have mine on all year round; I have tried several long trips with it off and can't say it has made any difference to my economy. I'd rather have it on than the problems associated with having it off for extended periods of time.

 

[adamj]

just because you have 6 gears doesnt mean there is a race to see how fast you can get to 6th..like a friend of mine, he has a mini cooper s and he quite regulary is in 5th or even 6th in a 30 zone...im not joking...the only thing this does is make you use more fuel, and will kill your clutch...
i drive in 3rd at 30, 4th at 40-50...and 6th when doin motorway driving...
QUOTE]

I thought that the fuel consumption is related to the revs and not the gear that you are in. Is this not the case?

 

[phil3012]

I never use the aircon in the winter either and don't have misting problem.

You do however get misting problems if you have it set to air recirculation though rather than getting fresh air from the outside.

Also I good idea to run the aircon now and again during the winter anyway.

Unfortunately the MPG Webhype is getting about normal. I have done 7500 miles in mine, tend to use V-Power most of the time and overall average since getting the car is probably about 25 mpg. Mostly motorway driving with a bit in the city centre.

Have got 34 mpg once on a run, doing about 50/55 stuck in traffic.

Doing about 70 you can expect just below 30 mpg, start driving more enthiastically and you're looking below 25 mpg.

It doesn't get any better as the car wears in either, although I've found in previous cars the engine loosens up at about 10K so it may improve sligthly then.

 

[Al]

I managed 37mpg yesterday on a steady average 65mph on an A road including two blasts off roundabouts in my Cupra.

My average consumption is approx 250-300 miles to 12 gallons which is 21-25mpg. I have however had 200 miles (16mpg) to a tank though and also had 350 miles (29mpg).

Tips - Well make sure tyres are at the correct pressure, dont accelarate harshly where it is not required, don't carry anything in the car that does not need to be there, keep at a constant speed as far as possible, sell the Cupra and buy an FR TDi

 

[andycupra]

I thought that the fuel consumption is related to the revs and not the gear that you are in. Is this not the case?

If you are doing say 2,500 rpm in 2nd gear then you are covering alot less distance than doing 2,500 rpm in 5th gear.
The Rpm refers to how many revolutions the engine is doing, not the wheels. Therefore, the engine will operate less times to travel a certain distance in 5th gear than in 2nd. And therefore use less fuel.

However this of course needs to be offset by the fact that when you start going abouve 60 mph then wind resistance becomes an increasing force and will therefore need more effort (fuel) to maintain that speed.

In short, if you are in a low gear, say 2nd, the engine does not need much effort to maintain speed, but operates lots of times to cover a short distance.
Higher gear needs more effort but operates less times:

imagine you are on riding a bike.. peddling like mad in a low gear is wastful, too high a gear and you need legs like tree trunks.. There is an optimum speed thats comfortable and efficient).


If the revs are too low, then the engine labours, is not operating in an efficient manner. So its not a case of getting the revs down to next to nothing, this isnt efficient and isnt good for the engine either. High revs causes wear, but so does not enough revs.

When on a level road 1,800- 2,000 rpm seems sensible (to maintain a speed), however if you come to an incline then more revs would be appropriate to avoid the engine labouring.
You can get away with slightly less revs in lower gears than higher gears as less effort is required to maintain speed.

hope that makes sense!?

 

[r30lac]

don't carry anything in the car that does not need to be there:

Does this include the wife and kids!

I tend to get about 24-25MPG but then have seen 30+ on the A1 at 60MPH and locally driving it steady when I found a nail in the tyre.

I don't advise putting a nail in the tyres to get better MPG though

 

[wobblelino]

Hi all,

I've got a stylance 1.6. Manage to get about 34mpg regularly in urban/rural driving e.g. down hight street then on country road then back in town etc.

Althoguh saying that the 35 minute journey to footy yesterday on the North Circular/other A roads and i got a whooping 46mpg! Only seen this once.

Main tips are pretty much like those above. Down hill don;t use the gas, ensure you're not close to someone braking a lot for no reason, and try and be sensible with r/bs and traffic lanes. Also no point doing flat out on a motorway/Duel carriageway, take it easy with the accelaration and you're find better mpg.

 

[wobblelino]

Hi all,

I've got a stylance 1.6. Manage to get about 34mpg regularly in urban/rural driving e.g. down hight street then on country road then back in town etc.

Althoguh saying that the 35 minute journey to footy yesterday on the North Circular/other A roads and i got a whooping 46mpg! Only seen this once.

Main tips are pretty much like those above. Down hill don;t use the gas, ensure you're not close to someone braking a lot for no reason, and try and be sensible with r/bs and traffic lanes. Also no point doing flat out on a motorway/Duel carriageway re: accelaration, take it easy with the accelaration and you're find better mpg.

Enjoy

 

[DOLBY]

I thought that the fuel consumption is related to the revs and not the gear that you are in. Is this not the case?[/QUOTE]

as has been said mate, labouring the engine does it and your wallet no favours...

 

[webhype]

whoa, lots more tips

Thanks for all the suggestions, im sure it will help me and others maintain a higher mpg.

 

[BanziBarn]

You do need air con at this time of year It dries the moisture out of the air in the cabin and stops the screens from misting

But once it's demisted it can be turned off (normally).

 

[mister.c.]

As some have said, getting 34-36 is technically possible (if you drive like a granny!)

In the real world, you really shouldnt be expecting 34-36 mpg from a 240bhp petrol engine.

 

[flakmunky]

The secret to getting ultra high MPG is not to use CC. Instead get up to your desired speed and then keep the gas pedal in exactly the same position. This will mean you will accelerate down hills and decelerate up hills. However using this technique will maximise your MPG as the CC will apply more gas going up hill to maintain the speed you set.

Using this technique in my MkV Golf 2.0GTTDI I often managed 600 miles from a full tank...

Never tried it in my FR as it was built for welly!

 

[Imran]

low revs high gears

 

[BanziBarn]

low revs high gears

Plus low throttle out course. No point driving at 30 in 6th if you need to stick your foot to the floor to get the car to move!

 

[Imran]

smooth driving brake less

 

[kingkongsfinger]

Drafting's also very important

 

[SpursMadDave]

Never tried it in my FR as it was built for welly!

Exactly..... who buys a car like the FR for it's fuel economy....

If you have big pockets you get the petrol, if you like a blast but also like to watch the pennies then you get the diesel.... job done!

Unless you really have money to burn then you get the Cupra

 

[flakmunky]

Unless you really have money to burn then you get the Cupra

Hardly! The Cupra isn't that expensive to run or buy...

Not compared to the 350z I used to drive... The 305z whose Road Fund License would have cost me £400 for a year and the 350z which, when wellied, returned around 12-16 mpg!

Ah! But it had some poke!!!