Ever had an MPG battle

[obi_waynne]

I regularly with my wife have a battle on who can get the best MPG on a journey. We take the outward or inward leg each so conditions are generally the same only reversed.

My wife won the latest round getting 36.9mpg against my 34.6mpg. In my defence I was running with the aircon on and had the cooler morning air to contend with but she doesn't seem to think this makes much of a difference.

It's a good game to play and really improves your anticipation and general driving skills so I recommend it.

Then the fuel you've saved you burn off at the weekends in a much more fun driving style :evil:

 

[HDi fun]

I get consistently get better MPG that Sara does.

My last play with the MPG (for which I use the cars own on board figure and back it up with a brim-to-brim fuel fill) was a round trip to Devon in February this year.

Four people in the car, boot full of luggage.

I measured from home to destination; all running about mileage whilst in Devon; and then Devon back to home 4 days later. About 600 miles in total.

Average according to the car 38.7mpg, tank fill test revealed 38.1mpg.

Not bad at all really, considering it's a large and very heavy car with a petrol fuelled 2.8 litre 24 valve six and a 6 speed auto 'box.

Sadly, I really need more like 83mpg at today's prices :-(

 

[obi_waynne]

Turn off the engine at lights then! (Does this kill catalysts in modern cars? I guess stop start systems do this anyway!)

 

[HDi fun]

Turn off the engine at lights then! (Does this kill catalysts in modern cars? I guess stop start systems do this anyway!)

Don't think that'll get me 83mpg.

I'm very wary of the stop start systems with turbocharged cars (which mine isn't) - turned off too soon they can cause serious heat damage to the turbos.

I still think 38mpg is pretty fair for my car though.

 

[RobBentley]

I've attempted this occasionally... wonder how much MPG can I get coming home from work for example, but I seldom make it all the way back without accidentally booting it and then thinking, whoops - might as well give up now the test is ruined..!!

 

[HDi fun]

But it would be realistsic and representative of your usual driving situations and style.

I've never set out to break the world MPG record.

 

[T9 man]

I've attempted this occasionally... wonder how much MPG can I get coming home from work for example, but I seldom make it all the way back without accidentally booting it and then thinking, whoops - might as well give up now the test is ruined..!!

That sounds exactly like me! Have given up on that particular trial now!

 

[turbonutter69]

That's me all over.

I've attempted this occasionally... wonder how much MPG can I get coming home from work for example, but I seldom make it all the way back without accidentally booting it and then thinking, whoops - might as well give up now the test is ruined..!!

 

[picassoonwheels]

I've attempted this occasionally... wonder how much MPG can I get coming home from work for example, but I seldom make it all the way back without accidentally booting it and then thinking, whoops - might as well give up now the test is ruined..!!

But I think to myself, isn't the point of this exercise, to see how much You get out of your car, driving as you would normally?

Otherwise it would be easies to just take someone's word for it......

So I guess there could be 2 schools of thought here:

1. How much can be wrangled out of your particular buggy, with all the modifications,
2. How much does your buggy give you, with your style of driving.

I usually do not take it easy when, on the rare occasion, I decide to check mpg.

I mean, what is the point, when I am not going to be driving that way all the time anyways. So why not be realistic and drive normally, and see what I get...........

 

[obi_waynne]

Smiles per gallon is much more important than miles per gallon.

 

[T9 man]

Smiles per gallon is much more important than miles per gallon.

Could not have put it better myself!

 

[picassoonwheels]

Smiles per gallon is much more important than miles per gallon.

You have my vote on that!!!!



Now Isn;t that better?.

 

[Massive]

i done it in the focus, but i wanted to see how low i could get the mpg by going flat out with late gear changes

 

[HDi fun]

i done it in the focus, but i wanted to see how low i could get the mpg by going flat out with late gear changes

I managed to get a 58 plated Vectra estate 1.8 down to 22.9 on a gallon without trying. Very disappointing, as was the rest of the car. Completely spineless performance with a whiney and irritating torqueless engine.

 

[bigbadjoe]

Waynne, I do hope during your fuel MPG battle you were keeping to the speed limmits???? I detest with a great passion people who drive at 45-50 mph to get better mpg out of there car. If the speed limmit was 70, then these people would do 60. If the speed limmit was 50, they would do 40. They are total jack asses, who drive around in there own bubble of self ignorance and personal indulgance.

Not saying that you of course!!! lol :amuse:

 

[obi_waynne]

Definately sticking to the speed limits bbj, i'd hate to be accused of slowing anyone up.

 

[HDi fun]

Sticking to the limit is essential unless you really do have the whole road to yourself. Sitting at 40mph in a 60 limit with a 9 mile queue of traffic behind is unfair.

Dad - are you TAKING NOTE !!!!

 

[bigbadjoe]

Thats ok then! :bigsmile:

They are the sort of people that will have a go at anyone overtaking them, although they are fully unaware, they are making the road dagerous because they are forcing people to take unnessacarry risks to overtake. If we all did 60, there would be less crashes!!

 

[HDi fun]

I'd better just add that it's best to drive at the speed limit provided it's safe to do so. Just in case someone thinks I mean hammering along at 60mph in fog and ice.

 

[T9 man]

I'd better just add that it's best to drive at the speed limit provided it's safe to do so. Just in case someone thinks I mean hammering along at 60mph in fog and ice.

For anyone who know's you HDi, the thought would not even enter our heads!

 

[Massive]

Waynne, I do hope during your fuel MPG battle you were keeping to the speed limmits???? I detest with a great passion people who drive at 45-50 mph to get better mpg out of there car. If the speed limmit was 70, then these people would do 60. If the speed limmit was 50, they would do 40. They are total jack asses, who drive around in there own bubble of self ignorance and personal indulgance.

Not saying that you of course!!! lol :amuse:

i do 60 on motorway (most of the time )
only because of the stupid fuel prices, and my cars drinks it getting old and i think its going to die before i pick uop the new one :/

 

[HDi fun]

For anyone who know's you HDi, the thought would not even enter our heads!

That's allright, then

 

[bigbadjoe]

60 on the motorway? So your the one that makes trucks overtake you doing 61 mph, blocking the middle lane, causing congestion, and slowing everyone up 2 miles behind you to a neer stand still? Just because you have a car that does not suit your finatial situation? Or because you have a car that is not sutiable to drive on the motorway, as your afrade of the cars ability at driving at such speeds?

Both points lead me to believe, you should not be on the motorway.

Sorry to say it mate. Its drivers that do 60 on the motorway that really annoy me.

I know the fuel situation is terrible. But I am a strong believer in that we should not all slow down to save fuel, but protest against the government for putting the price so high. Slowing down, only means the government is winning. You are accepting the change.

If you look at it from another point of view, and you hit a congestion jam on the motor way (witch was prob a result of someone doing 60 and a truck went to over take them 3-4 miles up the road) and you have to start stop, start stop, idal, start, drive at 15mph for 10 min, stop and so on, you will be using far more fuel than you would have done staying at a constant 70mph.

I think any car cought on the motorway doing less than 60mph should be given 3 points inless they have a good excuse.

 

[HDi fun]

A little bit sweeping but the base points are good. My Dad does this, sits there at 55mph thus forcing EVERYTHING else into the middle lane, mostly good vehicles. THUS forcing the remaining drivers into lane 3. THUS creating what is little more than a 1 lane road with massive differences in speeds between the lanes. This cannot be good for safety.

60 on the motorway? So your the one that makes trucks overtake you doing 61 mph, blocking the middle lane, causing congestion, and slowing everyone up 2 miles behind you to a neer stand still? Just because you have a car that does not suit your finatial situation? Or because you have a car that is not sutiable to drive on the motorway, as your afrade of the cars ability at driving at such speeds?

Both points lead me to believe, you should not be on the motorway.

Sorry to say it mate. Its drivers that do 60 on the motorway that really annoy me.

I know the fuel situation is terrible. But I am a strong believer in that we should not all slow down to save fuel, but protest against the government for putting the price so high. Slowing down, only means the government is winning. You are accepting the change.

If you look at it from another point of view, and you hit a congestion jam on the motor way (witch was prob a result of someone doing 60 and a truck went to over take them 3-4 miles up the road) and you have to start stop, start stop, idal, start, drive at 15mph for 10 min, stop and so on, you will be using far more fuel than you would have done staying at a constant 70mph.

I think any car cought on the motorway doing less than 60mph should be given 3 points inless they have a good excuse.

 

[turbonutter69]

Thats ok then! :bigsmile:

They are the sort of people that will have a go at anyone overtaking them, although they are fully unaware, they are making the road dagerous because they are forcing people to take unnessacarry risks to overtake. If we all did 60, there would be less crashes!!

I don't agree. That's just a ridiculous statement to be made tbh.
Even at the speed limit you'll still get some monkey wanting to travel faster than the speed limit.
Tbh it doesn't bother me too much getting behind a slow driver. I have patience so I can wait until it's safe to overtake. Even with my measly 100bhp I can do it swiftly and safely.
If someone is uncomfortable going fast then I'd rather let them go as slow as they felt comfy. Trying to force everyone to always be on the speed limit would cause a hell of alot more traffic collisions than there is now.
The speed limit is just that... "a limit" is doesn't state that everyone has to travel at that speed it means don't go over it.

 

[HDi fun]

Quite agree. If someone is terrified to go over 35mph then best they stick to 35mph. They also shouldn't fling abuse at overtaking drivers either.

It's when they do it needlessly that we all get wound up because so many drivers are incapable of overtaking safely yet won't leave gaps for others to leap-frog 3-4 cars at a time.

 

[bigbadjoe]

I don't agree. That's just a ridiculous statement to be made tbh.
Even at the speed limit you'll still get some monkey wanting to travel faster than the speed limit.
Tbh it doesn't bother me too much getting behind a slow driver. I have patience so I can wait until it's safe to overtake. Even with my measly 100bhp I can do it swiftly and safely.
If someone is uncomfortable going fast then I'd rather let them go as slow as they felt comfy. Trying to force everyone to always be on the speed limit would cause a hell of alot more traffic collisions than there is now.
The speed limit is just that... "a limit" is doesn't state that everyone has to travel at that speed it means don't go over it.

Yeah, you will still get the odd monkey that will want to go faster, but, he will want to travel at that speed no matter what all the other drivers are doing. Where as if one sits at 40, then you have increased the amount of cars wanting to go 60. These are the people who go on eco runs and wish to save fuel. And tend not to have a car capable of overtaking, thus making them overtake and take risks.

I have to travel down the A9. 180 miles of single lane hell. If you get stuck behind a car doing 40 on that, then the 180 miles will take you 4 and a half hours. You sit at 60 and that takes your time down to 3 hours. ITS A ONE AND A HALF HOUR DIFFERENCE! And when your doing long distance (like me down to Wales) then that is one hell of a time to be sat extra.

I am happy doing 60. I never overtake someone doing 60. But why should we drive everywhere at 40mph???? Id rather @:"£~!$ Walk!

 

[bigbadjoe]

Quite agree. If someone is terrified to go over 35mph then best they stick to 35mph. They also shouldn't fling abuse at overtaking drivers either.

It's when they do it needlessly that we all get wound up because so many drivers are incapable of overtaking safely yet won't leave gaps for others to leap-frog 3-4 cars at a time.

HDI......Come on...... What are you saying??????

If they are ''terrified to go over 35'' then they shouldn't be on the roads! They should never have passed there test. They are not a capable driver.

Why is everone going all ''pink and fluffy'' towards people's feelings, and how they drive.

IF THEY ARE A CRAP DRIVER. TELL EM. THEY MAY NOT KNOW. :bigsmile:

 

[HDi fun]

That's where I disagree. With the crap public transport (nil here) we have in this country people have no choice other than to drive.

I, too, would prefer the 35mph max bunch get off the road but the fact is they have to get around one way or another.

I'd rather they stick to their max 'safe' speed than hammer around dangerously at 60-70mph.

I'm not saying it's ideal, but it's the only option we have. I'm not sure that I've gone pink and fluffy, either

HDI......Come on...... What are you saying??????

If they are ''terrified to go over 35'' then they shouldn't be on the roads! They should never have passed there test. They are not a capable driver.

Why is everone going all ''pink and fluffy'' towards people's feelings, and how they drive.

IF THEY ARE A CRAP DRIVER. TELL EM. THEY MAY NOT KNOW. :bigsmile:

 

[bigbadjoe]

I would have thought you of all people HDI, that you would not be happy with un confident drivers mooching around on OUR roads. There is a test in place for a reason, and they WILL fail you if you drive at that speed on the test.

And I know public transport is terrible, witch is why, inless there is no other option, I drive or fly. And flying is at a push.

I just think 35-40 on a road easy capable of 60 is a joke. Thats all, and I will argue the toss for hours with someone who pulls up to me and has a go that I overtook them. I have had it twice in the last year.

Funny though, I have never been pulled up before I had my Evo............ These 40mph dirvers, they could be racised against my tipe!!!

 

[HDi fun]

I'm far from happy about it, I just tolerate it because there is no alternative.

Many are elderly and you cannot condemn old people to a life of imprisonment in their own homes.

Some, however, are not elderly at all and they should be required to take another driving test.

However, there is an argument in the case of elderly drivers where they should give up driving and go and live somewhere with sufficient public transport.

Is that a fair compromise?

I think so. it's not fair either for elderly drivers, who stubbornly refuse to hand back the licence, to subject the rest of us to their erratic driving.

 

[turbonutter69]

Someone please show me where it says in the highway code that you HAVE to travel exactly on the posted limit......
The limit is there to stop people going over it not under it.

 

[HDi fun]

Someone please show me where it says in the highway code that you HAVE to travel exactly on the posted limit......
The limit is there to stop people going over it not under it.

I know what you're saying and agree completely - there are no such things as minimum speed limits, although there is a sign for it it's never been deployed or enforced in the UK as far as I know. It's virtually impossible to apply a legal minimum limit anyway.

I think we all agree that it's best to drive to the posted limit when it's safe to do so - this reduces stress and frustration for following drivers.

Most of us also will accept that straying over the posted limit for a brief period to complete an overtaking move safely and swiftly is also quite reasonable and sensible.

But we do have to accept there will be times when the posted speed limit cannot be maintained, for whatever reason.

Getting back onto the thread topic, one reason I don't think is valid is that of fuel economy - driving around in 5th gear at 35mph simply to save fuel is not good practice. It generally doesn't work, either.