MSE's 2011 Petrol/Diesel Cost Diet Challenge: Put your money where your pedal is!

gordonr

I recently drove 280 miles at 60mph, mostly on Motorways, and achieved 70mpg in a 2 Litre Focus Diesel. Took half an hour longer than usual, and far more relaxing.

m3jns_2

Regarding careful driving, I used to drive larger vehicles & recovery vehicles too, I learned to watch the traffic up the road rather than just the person at the front of you. I therefore know if the traffic ahead is going to slow down, I'am prepared and slow down, this way prevent's harsh braking. It is time the government listened to the drivers & companies with fleets of vehicles too. The government put 3p on a litre of fuel, thats fine, but when an HGV or LGV as they're known these days, this can mean the cost of going to Deliver the days goods per vehicle rises around £10 a day per vehicle thats £50 per weekly run per vehicle, The cost therefore has to be met by price increases on products everyone buys. Yet the idiots in government aren't bothered. Then there's people who need a vehicle for day to day needs, Disabled who NEED transport & a car is there only meens to get out, or what about District nurses, Home help, Midwifes etc, they all use their cars in their line of work, and the fuel hike is making their jobs not worth bothering doing because of money costs. The government might take 70+% tax, but the tax aswell as road tax doesn't go into repairing roads, repairing roads is left to the local council to fix & fund themselves, not the government. The conservatives putting the N into cuts.

glynny

Hey, you lot out there with moans about fuel price hikes, crap road condition etc etc. There's only one way to bring fuel prices down - don't use it ! May I suggest a universal "No Car Use Day" - The impact will soon wake up the Fuel Price Monsters (especially the Greedy Government ). We can all do with a boost to our own economy so, leave the car at home, work from home if possible, Think walking to the shops/doctor/cafe/hairdressers etc etc instead of jumping into car/van/taxi/motorbike etc etc. Just one day, that's all it will take. And, you will feel a lot better off both financially and physically. Anybody got any suggestions for the date of "universal No Car Use Day"?

clever_username

glynny wrote: »

Hey, you lot out there with moans about fuel price hikes, crap road condition etc etc. There's only one way to bring fuel prices down - don't use it ! May I suggest a universal "No Car Use Day" - The impact will soon wake up the Fuel Price Monsters (especially the Greedy Government ). We can all do with a boost to our own economy so, leave the car at home, work from home if possible, Think walking to the shops/doctor/cafe/hairdressers etc etc instead of jumping into car/van/taxi/motorbike etc etc. Just one day, that's all it will take. And, you will feel a lot better off both financially and physically. Anybody got any suggestions for the date of "universal No Car Use Day"?

Yeah this is gonna happen. Great idea...

zalanx

Whilst this thread is about reducing fuel costs the bottom line is total cost. Last September I had to replace my 2000 1.9D 65bhp Kangoo (43mpg, RFL £210, service period 8k miles) and I was able to buy a 2002 Clio DCi 80 bhp diesel for <£2,000. The annual road fund licence is £10, service period is 16,000m. I mostly DIY maintenance and the most expensive and critical task, changing the timing belt, requires no expensive special tools.

I got 59mpg from the first tankful and 55mpg from the second; I have yet (mid January '11) to determine the economy of 'Murco Excellium' in the recent sub-zero temperatures. I do not usually pay over-the-odds for fuel but it was one of those mad moments when all the other diesel pumps were occupied or out-of-order. When I am forced to buy extortionately priced fuel I usually buy £10 worth and the pump often indicates exactly the same amount for the previous delivery.

These common-rail diesels take a while to warm up and suffer all sorts of problems if you never make long journeys. There are also maintenance tasks, (e.g. cleaning the EGR valve) unrecognised by the manufacturers service schedule or their diagnostics, that can effect a marked improvement in performance and/or fuel consumption.

Your vehicle's manufacturer, like Renault, may have advice for economical driving. e.g. Renault suggest changing up at 2,500 rpm in their petrol-engined vehicles but 2,000 rpm in their diesel-engined vehicles. Some drivers have reported a marked improvement in economy when they adjusted their driving style to suit the diesel engine.

BTW, not using the air-conditioning does save fuel but may result in failure of the pump seals. Use the air-con in winter to produce dry air for demisting.

On a fixed pension, I miss the freedom to drive where I want when I want. I remember my shock when the price of petrol rose to £1/gallon. Now fuel will soon be £6/gallon! I insure for a limited mileage and keep track throughout the year. Like others here I will now plan my outings. A visit to my parents is 180m round trip, to my brother 130m round trip. From now on I will spend the day with my (retired) parents and the evening with my (working) brother. Round trip 205m, saving a third of my running costs; not just fuel.

This nice little car will pay for itself in four years or less and may even have some residual value.

Alan

Rolandtheroadie

100% bio in my own wee car, occasionally some petrol on top as a winteriser.

Rolandtheroadie

malkypaul wrote: »

Hi All

To all you people thinking of useing this Biofuel it has to be mixed 50:50 with Diesel or it will ruin your engine. Mineral Diesel is a lubricant, Biofuel isn't!!!

Not much of a saving when you have to replace your engine.

Malkypaul on LPG:rotfl:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Improves lubricity & reduces engine wear
Biodiesel has very good intrinsic lubrication properties. Even blends as low as B1 (1% in ULSD) can improve the lubricity in highly de-sulphurised mineral diesel. In engines approved for operation with B100 Biodiesel, the engine wear is significantly reduced.[/FONT]

From http://www.biopowerlondon.co.uk/biodiesel.htm

alexlyne

I started cycle/train to work last october, currently do this on average 3 days of 5. Because of having to go over the severn bridge every day, that's £5.70 on top of the £5 fuel... compared with £7 train ticket.
As for driving, I bought a diesel C4 a couple of years ago to replace a saxo (1.4 petrol averaging 45mpg, god knows how someone drives to only get 30, i guess it must all be through towns), this is doing around 50mpg in the winter, nearer 60 in the summer. The cost of ownership isn't huge, and as it was 3 years old when I bought it, the annual depreciation is low, especially as I intend to keep it for a few more years yet.

As for careful driving, sure I go for that too. Though it does annoy me when you get:
People driving at 50mph on motorways and have lorries overtaking them,
People who dawdle when lights turn green at traffic lights, especially the ones that don't stay green very long and there's a huge queue,
And the people who don't accelerate on slip roads and approach motorways at 40mph.
Sure it will save you money, but is inconsiderate/dangerous when around other road users.

geordie_ben

Anyone got any good websites for info on using biofuel? for a 1.9 vw golf ...

Rolandtheroadie

geordie_ben wrote: »

Anyone got any good websites for info on using biofuel? for a 1.9 vw golf ...

Start with www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk and take it from there.

Click on discussion area.