Fuel Economy

MORPH3US

Mookfish wrote:

I'll put up with the extra fuel costs for the conveinience of being able to get the car going if anything goes wrong.

I don't think the poster meant chuck your spare wheel and your jack out :rolleyes:

Rather, if you carry lots of work files about in your car, or I don't know, maybe you have a few paving slabs in the back that you have been meaning to drop off at the tip for a few weeks but haven't gotten round to it. Ok so it might not make a huge difference on a daily basis but in a year it soon adds up!!

M

tomstickland

Most modern cars are well over 1 tonne, with medium saloons clocking over 1200KG. Compare this to the old Novas (750KG), or a mid 80s small hatch like a 309, Golf MK2 etc, all around 950KG. So clearing the boot of a few old bits of tat isn't going to make a significant difference. Also factor in the extra frontal area of modern cars (too fat mostly) and the unecessary power sapping ancilleries like air con, power steering etc, then it's amazing that theyv'e managed to obtain the mpg possible.

For ultimate mpg you need:
-low mass
-low frontal area
-smooth shape (low Cd)
-minimal stop-start
-moderate speeds

A 500KG kit car, driven quite hard, would provide excellent acceleration etc and still be more efficient than a mundaneo middle of the road hatch driven really slowly. Sad really.

Murphy_The_Cat

tomstickland wrote:

Most modern cars are well over 1 tonne, with medium saloons clocking over 1200KG. Compare this to the old Novas (750KG), or a mid 80s small hatch like a 309, Golf MK2 etc, all around 950KG. So clearing the boot of a few old bits of tat isn't going to make a significant difference. Also factor in the extra frontal area of modern cars (too fat mostly) and the unecessary power sapping ancilleries like air con, power steering etc, then it's amazing that theyv'e managed to obtain the mpg possible.

For ultimate mpg you need:
-low mass
-low frontal area
-smooth shape (low Cd)
-minimal stop-start
-moderate speeds

A 500KG kit car, driven quite hard, would provide excellent acceleration etc and still be more efficient than a mundaneo middle of the road hatch driven really slowly. Sad really.

Tom
I wish that I had made a virtual bet with myself that you would the first to answer MORPH3US's post and that you would make the (accurate) point about the cars weight !

What SVM said is true about carrying extra stuff in your boot - it does have an effect) albeit a small one. When you add on things like un-needed roof racks, driving with windows open, wrongly inflated tyres, etc etc, all of these admittedly small things can add up to an increase in your fuel consumption.

I'll add my 2 penn'orth and say that reading the road ahead and using gravity and common sense make a huge difference to your fuel consumption.

MTC

chas1937

On My volvo 940 which is a heavy car to start with I always keep tank more or less full at this time of year because the Volvo likes to loose its !!!!!! in the slightest icy conditions and by doing that it certainly makes big difference.Even so it still manages to do 24-25mph in town and in summer when tank is not so full still seems to be same consumption.So where that leaves us I dont know, but do know figures are correct because I always zero speedo at every fill and work my consumption out that way

tomstickland

I'll add my 2 penn'orth and say that reading the road ahead and using gravity and common sense make a huge difference to your fuel consumption.

Indeed. The work being done to hold a steady speed is minimal compared with that done accelerating.

sog_2

can any body tell me what the fuel consumption is for a VW Golf 1.6SE Auto How Many Miles per gallon i should be getting it is an x plate bought in December 2000 we bought it 1 month ago from my boss she cant remember we seem to be only getting about 24 mpg at the moment Help

sog_2

sog wrote: »

can any body tell me what the fuel consumption is for a VW Golf 1.6SE Auto How Many Miles per gallon i should be getting it is an x plate bought in December 2000 we bought it 1 month ago from my boss she cant remember we seem to be only getting about 24 mpg at the moment Help

MORPH3US

sog wrote: »

can any body tell me what the fuel consumption is for a VW Golf 1.6SE Auto How Many Miles per gallon i should be getting it is an x plate bought in December 2000 we bought it 1 month ago from my boss she cant remember we seem to be only getting about 24 mpg at the moment Help

Check out https://www.parkers.co.uk and find the review of that car then click on the Technical Data tab...

M

sog_2

i may be dopey but i cant see technical dataon parkers web sight

sog_2

:j :A did it THANKS YOUR A STAR TA VERY MUCH !!!!!:A