Poor fuel consumption beyond belief

[hubballi]

I have a 1999 1.6 focus which recently had an engine swap for a newer zetec 1.6. When I first ran it after the transplant the fuel consumption seemed a little less efficient than the older engine. It usually averaged around 100 miles on £10 of fuel. I put £10 in a week or so ago and have only done 38 miles and it's nearly empty. It's very depressing as running it around town seems to drain it. I know petrol has gone up a bit more but nothing to justify it doing that poor miles per gallon.

It's just had it's MOT and my mechanic can't seem to understand why it won't be as good as the old engine but it definatley isn't and is getting worse.

My Peugeot 106 wasn't as plush a car buy oh how I miss it's economy.

[artscot79]

I have a 1999 1.6 focus which recently had an engine swap for a newer zetec 1.6. When I first ran it after the transplant the fuel consumption seemed a little less efficient than the older engine. It usually averaged around 100 miles on £10 of fuel. I put £10 in a week or so ago and have only done 38 miles and it's nearly empty. It's very depressing as running it around town seems to drain it. I know petrol has gone up a bit more but nothing to justify it doing that poor miles per gallon.

It's just had it's MOT and my mechanic can't seem to understand why it won't be as good as the old engine but it definatley isn't and is getting worse.

My Peugeot 106 wasn't as plush a car buy oh how I miss it's economy.

the average combined mpg wouldnt get you 100 miles on 10quid of fuel so it sounds like summat was always wrong even assuming you got the average mpg of 37 miles 10quid is just over 2 gallons 2.2 gallon at 37 mpg you should get 74 miles total on the motorway you may get 80s but not 100mpg thats 50mpg and it aint a diesel so thats seriously unlikely if you mean that the fuel dial is at the quarter mark thats good for a good 40 miles and it still wont be on red when you fill up that would give you around 78miles roughly which is where it should be

[hubballi]

Well I can definatley say it did almost exactly 200 miles on £20.

the average combined mpg wouldnt get you 100 miles on 10quid of fuel so it sounds like summat was always wrong even assuming you got the average mpg of 37 miles 10quid is just over 2 gallons 2.2 gallon at 37 mpg you should get 74 miles total on the motorway you may get 80s but not 100mpg thats 50mpg and it aint a diesel so thats seriously unlikely if you mean that the fuel dial is at the quarter mark thats good for a good 40 miles and it still wont be on red when you fill up that would give you around 78miles roughly which is where it should be

[catch]

Well I can definatley say it did almost exactly 200 miles on £20.

Well that must have been some motor you had there. You can check the gov mileage figures out for any car on this very good site WiseBuyers Guides

As you can see I've selected three 99 plate 1.6 motors on that linked to page, that's your 98-04 range mk1 Focus

Now if you had an engine out of a mk2 04-07 1.6 Zetec range it could be either a 113bhp or the 99bhp.

Now whilst I'm quite happy with 99bhp version. Unfortunately I was not aware of there being two engines in the 1.6 stable at the time of my second hand purchase in October of this year. And had I seen the "What Car? Used Car of the Year [2009] - Small family car" award, I would have searched out a 113bhp spec'ed Zetec Climate. But never mind I ended up buying the best 2009 second hand car of the year, in the class I was looking at, down to right spec. I just missing out on the pros choice in engine, because of my ignorance.....bugger

I will say that knocking about town right now in this weather, doing say mostly 3 mile journeys. Stood ticking over before these journeys, whilst the "quickclear" does its job to remove the ice. And with the aircon on to clear up misting windows, I'm only getting around 28 MPG. Yet to see what it will do in normal weather conditions as I only bought it mid October.

[artscot79]

Well that must have been some motor you had there. You can check the gov mileage figures out for any car on this very good site WiseBuyers Guides

As you can see I've selected three 99 plate 1.6 motors on that linked to page, that's your 98-04 range mk1 Focus

Now if you had an engine out of a mk2 04-07 1.6 Zetec range it could be either a 113bhp or the 99bhp.

Now whilst I'm quite happy with 99bhp version. Unfortunately I was not aware of there being two engines in the 1.6 stable at the time of my second hand purchase in October of this year. And had I seen the "What Car? Used Car of the Year [2009] - Small family car" award, I would have searched out a 113bhp spec'ed Zetec Climate. But never mind I ended up buying the best 2009 second hand car of the year, in the class I was looking at, down to right spec. I just missing out on the pros choice in engine, because of my ignorance.....bugger

I will say that knocking about town right now in this weather, doing say mostly 3 mile journeys. Stood ticking over before these journeys, whilst the "quickclear" does its job to remove the ice. And with the aircon on to clear up misting windows, I'm only getting around 28 MPG. Yet to see what it will do in normal weather conditions as I only bought it mid October.

the only way to know for sure is wait till the red light comes on put 10 litres of fuel in and drive till the red light comes on again and then take the mileage to work it out you may have put 20 quid in but there would still have been fuel in the tank as welll as the reserve its feasible to get 50 mpg with purely motorway driving sitting at 60mph but not combined knocking around town

[hubballi]

It's really strange as it got to 49 miles on the clock and it flashed empty. (one thing, the petrol gauge is a bit up and down, in fact it shows empty sometimes when full) It's just very unstable but it does settle after a bit. I even turn the engine off when waiting at lights if they are taking their time. I also get my speed up and take the foot off the accelerator and let it run until it needs more power as opposed to keeping your foot on the fuel all the time like some people.

[artscot79]

It's really strange as it got to 49 miles on the clock and it flashed empty. (one thing, the petrol gauge is a bit up and down, in fact it shows empty sometimes when full) It's just very unstable but it does settle after a bit. I even turn the engine off when waiting at lights if they are taking their time. I also get my speed up and take the foot off the accelerator and let it run until it needs more power as opposed to keeping your foot on the fuel all the time like some people.

idling uses very little fuel in fact youre using more by turning it on and off and with electronic fuel injection it wont matter if you take youre foot off the car will inject fuel in order to keep the engine running so really youre not saving any fuel at all by doing these things.

i know its always advised you do it but tests have proven that with todays efi systems it doesnt work the ecu does all the work and various sensors the fuels still going in with the foot off.

ide be curious as to wether the gauge is correct you should have got at least 78miles out that ten quid so either theres still fuel in the tank and the gauge is wrong or the gauge is right but a sensor in the tanks wrong or you have a leak somewhere ide suspect the gauge or a sensor you would have got 200 miles out youre 20 quid if the car fuel gauge was telling you there was less fuel than there actaully was so in truth you may have had in total 25-30 quid in the tank looks like its a trip to the diagnostics mate you dont want the car to conk out on you when you thought you had plenty of fuel

[catch]

considering you have an iffy gauge, best thing to do is use the petrol station nozzle cut off as a sure way of knowing what exactly you have in your tank to begin with. [brimming the tank] So brim it, record the mileage, run it for a 100 miles or 200 miles or longer. The more you empty the tank before "Brimming" it again the better, as it will give you a better average consumption ,if you vary your types of journeys. Record the mileage again and note how many ltrs you put in the tank the second time around.

Then just do the maths, divide the ltrs put in the tank on the second "Brimming" say 45 ltres divide by 4.5461 to give you your gallons consumed. Then divide your miles covered since your first "Brimming" by the gallons used.

Example: I brimmed 18 Nov, then again 22 Dec, miles covered 255 divided by 8.78gallons petrol used= 29.03mpg. That period covered was short town type 3 mile journeys for the most part, undertaken at peak times, queueing in traffic at junctions and traffic lights and the like.

[hubballi]

idling uses very little fuel in fact youre using more by turning it on and off and with electronic fuel injection it wont matter if you take youre foot off the car will inject fuel in order to keep the engine running so really youre not saving any fuel at all by doing these things.

So what your saying is by taking your foot off the accelerator (decreasing the use of petrol) you are still using the same amount of petrol ? I'm sorry but that doesn't really make sense.

[artscot79]

you arent decreasing the amount the sensors and ecu decide how much fuel is needed based on speed etc you will find its still using the fuel maybe slightly less but not a great deal its also been stated that you shouldnt coast fuel injected cars i remember top gear doing the test and it made hardly any difference at all.

The optimum amount of injected fuel depends on conditions such as engine and ambient temperatures, engine speed and workload, and exhaust gas composition.

all uyou do by removing youre fooot is allow the engine to slow down due to lack of fuel then youre accelerating again to maintain the speed which burns more fuel than keeping a constant speed

autotraders tips are below

1. Remove unnecessary items

Avoid carrying objects in your boot, glove box or elsewhere as these will add extra weight to the car, making your engine work harder to put things in motion.

If your roof rack is empty, remove it – it increases drag and consumes more fuel.

2. Drive when the road is empty

It's easier said than done, but try to avoid congestion. Driving through stop-start traffic is one of the thirstiest times for your car.

3. Warm the car up on the move

Despite engines needing more fuel when they’re cold, this doesn’t mean you should let the engine warm up for five minutes before driving. It’s a big waste of fuel.

Driving actions

1. Limit heavy braking

Take your foot off the accelerator early and slow to a stop or brake early in a smooth, light fashion. Anticipate stops and avoid abrupt braking to decrease fuel consumption and increase the life of your brakes and tyres.

2. Limit heavy acceleration

Don’t accelerate harshly, as this uses a lot of fuel at once. Instead, move off gently and smoothly to your target speed and maintain it for maximum miles per gallon.

3. Close the windows

By driving with the windows or sunroof open, you're ruining the vehicle’s aerodynamics, meaning the engine has to work harder to push the car through the air.

4. Change gear early

Changing gear between 2,000 and 3,000rpm burns less fuel. Keep between these rev levels for best performance – go higher and the engine will work harder – lower and it will struggle. Both use more fuel than necessary.

5. Avoid built up areas with junctions and speed bumps

It takes more power and more fuel to get a car moving than it does to maintain a speed, so regular slowing down and speeding up isn’t an efficient way of driving.

Try to avoid busy areas full of junctions, speed bumps and traffic.

Maintenance

1. Pump your tyres

Driving on under-inflated tyres requires more engine power. Keep them pumped up in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations for the maximum miles per gallon. But don’t over-inflate them, as this reduces road grip.

2. Keep the car serviced

Dirty oil, clogged sparkplugs and faulty thermostats can increase fuel consumption, so ensure your car is serviced regularly.

3. Fit cruise control

Cruise control maintains a constant speed, reducing the gradual speeding up and slowing down effect caused by driving normally.

Cruise control is fitted as standard on many cars, although aftermarket systems can also be installed.

4. Go green

If you're serious about cutting costs, why not consider an alternative? Biodiesel and bioethanol are more efficient.

You can get your engine converted to run on liquid petroleum gas (LPG), which costs less than unleaded or diesel.

Electric and hybrid vehicles are another eco-friendly way of driving. Most are grouped into the lower car tax bands so you’ll save money there as well as on your usual petrol costs.

Fuel facts

• A poorly tuned engine can increase fuel consumption by up to 50 per cent.

• Under inflated tyres can increase fuel consumption by five per cent.

• A loaded roof rack will decrease your fuel economy by five per cent.

• A 100kg load can increase fuel consumption by up to five miles per gallon.