what mpg do you get- is mine high? ibiza fr

[lukester85]

Hello there

I have a 57 plate petrol ibiza 1.8 20vt fr, 13000 miles on clock, 2nd owner had it nearly a year, ive given it one service about 4 months ago.

Ive been thinking my mpg is pretty high lately, im not sure if the cold weather makes a difference to it or whether im just penny pinching and noticing the petrol bill more this time of year....
... i have noticed a lot of "smoke" coming out the exhaust lately, even on idle... a lot of cars on the road are doing this at the minute so i reckon thats just the water vapor condensing quickly when hitting the cold air outside - is this correct?

When i start the car from cold it revs to about 15000rpm then lowers itself to about 9000 when its warm. (think these are right - got figures 10-90 on rev counter it says x100 at the top - if it looks wrong take a "0" off what i said!)

This is approx what im getting figures wise:

town driving (about 15 miles of 20mph zones thru to 60mph zones)
average 18mpg - when looking at the real time setting it can dip as low as 6mpg in 1st and 2nd gear, but as high as 36 in 4th

motorways + long distance (exeter city center to bristol city center)
average 35-42mpg - when looking at the real time setting it can go as low as 18mpg in 4th or as high as 120 mpg in 5th

I dont race around or accelerate particularly fast anywhere. in town im usually in 4th just plodding along at 30, in the 20mph zones i use 3rd gear. Tend to change gear quite low in the rev range, no need to rag it to death! Motorway driving i usually cruise along at about 80, but if im feeling the pinch i go about 65 - which does give better mpg on the real time setting but when i get to where im going the average is still in the region of 50mpg, so not a lot better.

When driving at night i have noticed my headlights dim considerably when braking to a stop or if im sitting in the car on idle with cockpit light on it dims a fair bit then goes bright again on its own, or if touch the accelerator comes straight back on properly, anyone else get this?

Thanks in advance for the help i hope you can give me!

luke

 

[TazB]

all sounds pretty normal mate, although i've got a diesel.

and yeah its 1500rpm or 900rpm. thats normal too.

 

[spree]

Hi,

I also drive a 1.8t FR but a 54 plate with 26,000 miles.

Maybe I have a light right foot but 18mpg around town sounds a little low to me. Most of my driving is around town and I seem to average mid 20's to mid 30's mpg on standard 95ron fuel.

I seem to get about the same mpg as you mentioned for motorways + long distance though.

I'm not an expert but the rest sounds pretty normal to me.

 

[krussel]

I drive mostly short trips and with all my cars i ve found mid winter to be a pants time for MPG. My Fr Tdi is prob doing only around 40 mpg at the moment. I dont even bother working it out this time of year as simply running the car whilst clearing the frost hammers the ave Mpg.

I would take the trip Mpg with a pinch of salt to be honest as it simply lies
Mine has told me that ive averaged 60 mpg between filling up when doing it the old way with a calculator at the pump has made it nearer 50 mpg or even less.

The headlights and cockpit display diming is a little more worring though and could point to a weak battery or the alternator not charging, i would keep an eye on that. If you have a volt meter connect it across the battery with the car running and you should see a healthy 13-14 volts. If you get say 11-12 then your not getting any charge

 

[CJRamze]

buy some millers diesel additive.
Fill the tank up, Apply the correct amount.
After 1-2 tanks it should be running better and smoking less.

 

[lukecupra2001]

+1 on the millers.i put it in me grandads golf tdi 130 and with v power diesel not abit of smoke now.

 

[luke c]

buy some millers diesel additive.
Fill the tank up, Apply the correct amount.
After 1-2 tanks it should be running better and smoking less.

in a petrol car

 

[lukecupra2001]

no read the post above my last one.
millers also do an equivalent petrol additive that ups the RON by 2 and increases MPG abit aswell, did in mine anyway

 

[lukester85]

buy some millers diesel additive.
Fill the tank up, Apply the correct amount.
After 1-2 tanks it should be running better and smoking less.

ummm i have a petrol car.... i dont know much about cars, but do i want to put diesel additive in it?

 

[lukester85]

The headlights and cockpit display diming is a little more worring though and could point to a weak battery or the alternator not charging, i would keep an eye on that. If you have a volt meter connect it across the battery with the car running and you should see a healthy 13-14 volts. If you get say 11-12 then your not getting any charge

Thanks for that, the car lies, the dealerships lie.... seat told me dimming lights are normal.... im going to "borrow" a volt meter from work tomorro and have a look at that!

 

[krussel]

Normal they are taking the micky

Test the volts as it could be something simple like the alt belt not tight enough and slightly slipping.

 

[CJRamze]

ummm i have a petrol car.... i dont know much about cars, but do i want to put diesel additive in it?

You do not no....

 

[Chino_UK]

I have a 1.8 20VT, but on APR Stage 2, your figures are about the same as mine for motorway, and lower around town. Has the car been serviced recently? And yes, a fuel additive to celan the system out may help.

 

[FR3000]

Quick calc showed my trip to be off by 1mpg which was pretty accurate since they are usually miles off. Rest of it sounds normal, I get averages of around 33-35mpg on a tank full over a mixture of motorway and a bit of urban mileage.

Weather can have an effect, particularly rain as it causes slightly more drag - also keep in mind it will run rich for longer periods after start up in extreme cold.