Mk3 1.6Tdci - First 500+ Mile From Tank Of Fuel !!

[tomo2001]

Hi

Had my car since end of July last year, now coming up 20,000 miles. This week saw the first reasonable mileage from a full tank of fuel. I managed to squeeze 520 miles out of her and when brimmed again, checked out at 54mpg.

The main difference was instead of sitting on the motorway doing 70mph, I travelled cross country on 'A' Roads doing 60mph.

The previous two tanks were checked at 49 and 48.5 mpg respectively. Incidentally the fuel computer is now showing an average 51.1mpg which is an improvement following the re-calibration work I had done at the dealers on the first service.

[cuke]

Hi, it is good that you are getting much better mpg now. Most people fail to understand how much a difference driving at 60mph can make to the mpg than at 70mph...

Chris

[tomo2001]

Hi, it is good that you are getting much better mpg now. Most people fail to understand how much a difference driving at 60mph can make to the mpg than at 70mph...

Chris

Agreed but driving at 60mph on the motorway just winds people up and HGV's hang on to your tailgate

[mitch84]

That sounds spot on OP , I have a mk2.5 1.6tdci and I'm averaging 54mpg

[salsheikh]

most of my journeys are short stops so never get any decent mpg, low 30's normally.

[jimrex]

That's awesome! I am currently struggling to maintain 44mpg <_< I find keeping the read-out on instant mpg rather than average helps as you can keep it as high as possible. My car is going in today to have the fanbelt (I think!) replaced... do you think I should have it recalibrated as well?

[jeebowhite]

the problem with A roads at 60 is that your more stop/start and go/slow than you are on a motorway. So its not always the better option. I prefer motorways to travveling the A roads to work, might cost a few MPG sometimes, but its better for the stress levels.

Plus if I need to get somewhere, I can put my foot down and get there (legally... of course!) where as a country road, you can only go as quick as the tractor in front of you!

[tomo2001]

That's awesome! I am currently struggling to maintain 44mpg <_< I find keeping the read-out on instant mpg rather than average helps as you can keep it as high as possible. My car is going in today to have the fanbelt (I think!) replaced... do you think I should have it recalibrated as well?

Worth asking the question

[cuke]

Hi, when trying to obtain the maximum mpg it is always a comprimise between a safe speed and a driving for economy, as per usual. But you cannot expect to maximise the mpg at any speed over 60mph. Its common sense really...

Chris

[tomo2001]

Hi, when trying to obtain the maximum mpg it is always a comprimise between a safe speed and a driving for economy, as per usual. But you cannot expect to maximise the mpg at any speed over 60mph. Its common sense really...

Chris

Didn't manufacturer's also refer to 56mph as the optimum speed for fuel consumption ?

[artscot79]

1.6 ti vct petrol i get 505 miles from a tank doing b roads mainly and town driving. thats a brim test over last 3months

Shell optimax 1.47.9 litre spent 30quid so 20.2 litres in total and got 216 miles from that with 34 miles in reserve thats a 9.3mile journey mainly flat there then 13.5hrs later doing the return journey 70percent uphill and some town driving on my days off.

[tomo2001]

1.6 ti vct petrol i get 505 miles from a tank doing b roads mainly and town driving. thats a brim test over last 3months

shell optimax 1.47.9 litre spent 30quid so 20.2 litres in total and got 216 miles from that with 34 miles in reserve thats a 9.3mile journey mainly flat there then 13.5hrs later doing the return journey 70percent uphill and some town driving on my days off.

??

[artscot79]

simply put i get 505 miles from a tank of petrol so the diesel isnt doing that much more really though its still good my mates seat diesel is doing 40mpg

[Pitmonster]

Didn't manufacturer's also refer to 56mph as the optimum speed for fuel consumption ?

Not quite.

For comparison purposes all cars are tested at a constant 75mph (120 kph), a constant 56 mph (90 kph) and a simulated 'urban' route (stop-start city driving)

Of those 3 the 56mph test is the most economical, but it does not mean that it's the most economical speed to drive ALL cars at.

That 'magic speed' that gives the best possible economy depends on so many factors including torque and gearing, and is different for all cars.

You may even find that by increasing your cruising speed by a few mph you are then able to change into a higher gear, and thus lower your revs and fuel consumption.

[artscot79]

very true i get better mpg at 65 to 70 than 50 for some reason

[tomo2001]

simply put i get 505 miles from a tank of petrol so the diesel isnt doing that much more really though its still good my mates seat diesel is doing 40mpg

Ok cheers, last post was a bit hard to decipher. :)

[cuke]

Not quite.

For comparison purposes all cars are tested at a constant 75mph (120 kph), a constant 56 mph (90 kph) and a simulated 'urban' route (stop-start city driving)

Of those 3 the 56mph test is the most economical, but it does not mean that it's the most economical speed to drive ALL cars at.

That 'magic speed' that gives the best possible economy depends on so many factors including torque and gearing, and is different for all cars.

You may even find that by increasing your cruising speed by a few mph you are then able to change into a higher gear, and thus lower your revs and fuel consumption.

Hi, the EU test seems a bit more detailed:

"In the European Union, passenger vehicles are commonly tested using two drive cycles, and corresponding fuel economies are reported as 'urban' and 'extra-urban', in litres per 100 km and (in the UK) in miles per imperial gallon.

The urban economy is measured using the test cycle known as ECE-15, introduced by the EEC Directive 90/C81/01 in 1999. It simulates a 4,052 m (2.518 mile) urban trip at an average speed of 18.7 km/h (11.6 mph) and at a maximum speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). The extra-urban cycle or EUDC lasts 400 seconds (6 minutes 40 seconds) at an average speed 62.6 km/h (39 mph) and a top speed of 120 km/h (74.6 mph).^[24] EU fuel consumption numbers tend to be considerably lower than corresponding US EPA test results for the same vehicle. For example, the 2011 Honda CR-Z with a six-speed manual transmission is rated 6.1/4.4 l/100 km in Europe and 7.6/6.4 l/100 km in the United States^{[citation needed]}."

Reference http://en.wikipedia...._in_automobiles

The ECE-15 test cycle is detailed here http://en.wikipedia....n_Driving_Cycle , note it refers to the test taking place on a rolling road, thus there are no external influences, wind, road sufaces, corners or inclines.

I made no reference to any 'magic speed' but referred to the known fact that the faster you drive the more power the car has to use to push itself forwards through the air. Thus the size of the frontal area of the car, especially the rake of the windscreen can have a greater or lesser impact.

As we are meant to talking about the the Mk3 Focus we then should be refering to a vehicle the same shape and one that has similar gearing.

Chris

[Sara Fiesta]

Hi

Had my car since end of July last year, now coming up 20,000 miles. This week saw the first reasonable mileage from a full tank of fuel. I managed to squeeze 520 miles out of her and when brimmed again, checked out at 54mpg.

The main difference was instead of sitting on the motorway doing 70mph, I travelled cross country on 'A' Roads doing 60mph.

The previous two tanks were checked at 49 and 48.5 mpg respectively. Incidentally the fuel computer is now showing an average 51.1mpg which is an improvement following the re-calibration work I had done at the dealers on the first service.

Mines says 47mpg on the average thingy, I'm getting 525 per tank 2100 mile on the clock, the miles left in tank is a bit crazy I noticed in the morning it will show say 330 I tavel 1 mile and it's dropped 5-10 miles is yours like that?

[rojariggs]

Agreed but driving at 60mph on the motorway just winds people up and HGV's hang on to your tailgate

HGVs are limited to 56mph so if they're up your chuff then you must be driving below 60mph. You'll probably find that your speedo is under-reading by a few mph. You can check this by comapring it to the speed on your sat nav if you have one. Sat nav speed readings are more accurate than car speedos. HGV speedos are calibrated and are accurate so an indicated 56mph in a HGV really is 56mph whereas in your car it is quite likely that an indicated 60mph is only 56-57mph.

I recently drove from Hertfordshire to North Yorkshire mostly on the A1 and stuck at 60mph most of the way. Interestingly, I actually found that there was a lot of cars doing about the same speed all the way up (and plenty going slower too) and I didn't have any issues with HGVs tailgating....

Mines says 47mpg on the average thingy, I'm getting 525 per tank 2100 mile on the clock, the miles left in tank is a bit crazy I noticed in the morning it will show say 330 I tavel 1 mile and it's dropped 5-10 miles is yours like that?

Your trip computer will assume that the way you've driven the last few miles will continue for the rest of the tank. The first mile of driving is always very uneconomical on a cold engine. This gets multiplied up by the trip computer and your range takes a bigger hit than the mileage you have actually done.

It works the other way round too. If you have been driving mainly stop start on a cold engine and then do a long journey you will often find that the range increases for a time before settling down again.

Essentially, the range would go down steadily and roughly in line with your mileage if your driving and the conditions were always identical - but they're not so the computer has to constatly readjust in order to give you it's best estimate.

[Sara Fiesta]

HGVs are limited to 56mph so if they're up your chuff then you must be driving below 60mph. You'll probably find that your speedo is under-reading by a few mph. You can check this by comapring it to the speed on your sat nav if you have one. Sat nav speed readings are more accurate than car speedos. HGV speedos are calibrated and are accurate so an indicated 56mph in a HGV really is 56mph whereas in your car it is quite likely that an indicated 60mph is only 56-57mph.

I recently drove from Hertfordshire to North Yorkshire mostly on the A1 and stuck at 60mph most of the way. Interestingly, I actually found that there was a lot of cars doing about the same speed all the way up (and plenty going slower too) and I didn't have any issues with HGVs tailgating....

Your trip computer will assume that the way you've driven the last few miles will continue for the rest of the tank. The first mile of driving is always very uneconomical on a cold engine. This gets multiplied up by the trip computer and your range takes a bigger hit than the mileage you have actually done.

It works the other way round too. If you have been driving mainly stop start on a cold engine and then do a long journey you will often find that the range increases for a time before settling down again.

Essentially, the range would go down steadily and roughly in line with your mileage if your driving and the conditions were always identical - but they're not so the computer has to constatly readjust in order to give you it's best estimate.

Thanks for the info :-)

[DaveRushton]

On average i get around 570 miles out a tank, its a 2 litre diesel and i drive at 70 most the time, unless i get annoyed then its about 71 lol. I drive 40 miles each way to work, nearly all motorway. Im happy with the MPG really, but on the average im always stuck at 44.1 lol, i may reset it soon!

[tomo2001]

Does anyone know, does the mk 3 have the same size tank as the previous model.

[GSM]

Bear in mind that the A-routes you are taking are probably longer. So although you use less fuel per mile on a given trip, you go more miles, and so your "useful miles per gallon" might actually be much lower. You're getting 520 miles to a tank now, but maybe 150 of those miles are detour miles, and at this moment, if you had gone motorway routes, you might have a lower MPG, but you might only have done 380 miles instead of 520 by this point, and wouldn't have had to have filled up yet.

Example, if I go to the shop 10 streets away via a motorway detour, I'll return home with an avg fuel consumption of 50mpg instead of the 30mpg I might have gotten if I went direct, but I'll have had to have added a 5 mile detour to a half mile trip. So the detour trip used 0.11 gallons, whereas the direct trip would only have used 0.02 gallons in total (and put less miles on my clock... remember to add the depreciation cost associated with higher mileage to your expenditure!)... bit of an extreme example, but you get the idea.

Just a thought.

[Sara Fiesta]

Does anyone know, does the mk 3 have the same size tank as the previous model.

My 2009 1.6 tdci had a 53 ltr tank and so has the mk3 :)

[rwleigh]

Interesting thread, I just thought I'd chip in at this point and say I can get 700 miles to a tank if I drive in full hypermiling mode but 600 plus is normal. Bear in mind that I have a 2.0 auto I think this is quite acceptable.

I took a photo of last time I filled up for you to see the evidence. :)