Ridiculous Mpg!!

[flamezmack]

Hi there peeps..new member here...im a proud owner of a 1999 ford focus zetec 1.8 with 74 on the clock..owned it for about 3 months now..love it to bits..apart from the shocking mpg!!..on the weekend i put in 25 quids worth of petrol...and the focus gave me pretty much 65 miles before the petrol light came on which is atrocious!..i know these cars are not known for their great mpg..but this is becoming very taxing on my wallet..things ive done to try fix it is a regular service including fuel filter change..

tyres pumped to optimum level..changing gear before 3000 rpm..

my next option was to buy a code reader and see if that pulls anything up as i dont have any error lights on the dashboard

theres also the option of getting a new 02 sensor..but they are abit pricey and prefer to use that as a last option

please please please help

what else could it be??

much appreciated thanks!! :)

[wase16ll]

quickest way of finding out, take it for an emmissions check, ask nicely at an mot station for a 4gas readout at idle speed, and around 2.5/3k revs

get it nice and warm first for an accurate test....will tell you everything you need to know, wether there is a pending problem, or its just plain greedy :)

[flamezmack]

ill give that a go as soon as..any other suggestions on what it could be??

[FOCA]

Has it got any modifications - eg a K&N filter etc ?

Anything else strange happening (apart from exessive thirst) like AC staying on, wrong temp readings etc?

The trouble with thinking "25 quids worth" is its an amount of money, not an amount of fuel, - i used to put £10 in at a time, as time went on, this was less and less fuel -

work out the actual MPG from your £25/65 miles - i cant because i don't know what you are paying for your petrol

its about 16/ 17mpg at £1.37 per litre (£6.22 per gallon) (mabee you've got a petrol leak or someone is nicking your petrol?)

what are your "optimal" tyre pressures? is it stock wheels/ summer tyres? weather conditions (no, i don't think that would drop the MPG like that )

[flamezmack]

no modifications apart from 17' alloys..right now petrol is at £1.38 per litre round where i live..ive got my tyres pumped to 36 psi. low profile tyres..car seems to run fine..gets up to temp within reasonable time..no hesitation on acceleration..drive is smooth..its just the petrol!!.lol

[BOF]

Just to eliminate something - check that the brakes, particularly the rears, aren't sticking on. The easiest way to check is to check the wheel temperatures after a moderate drive along some dual carriageway/motorway without much brake usage. Come to a halt gently (use mostly engine braking, if possible) and go round the wheels (carefully!) and check that there aren't any excess temperatures. Actually, the use of an optical pyrometer is quite advised, if you have one available, but otherwise it is the manual method, but do bear in mind that one or more might actually be quite hot.