Anyone else do this? Compete against your car's....

[thepeoplespal]

.. computer for better mpg on a long trip? I've a fairly regular 150mile trip on M40 and M25 and in an attempt to remain with a licence, I've started to compete against the average mpg computer reading, I try this by avoiding the average mpg reading from increasing while still maintaining a decent average speed for the whole journey.

Best I've achieved so far is 51.2 mpg averaging 62mph with my recent change to a 1.8 tdci C-max, the speed limited sections on M25 really bump up the economy. I've also found that roof bars cost between 3.5 and 5.0mpg on my longer journeys.

Biggest surprise is a trip computer that is actually slightly pessimistic, but 0.2mpg difference on a brim to brim is not far of completely accurate in my books.

[Screechmr2]

I would go insane at the dull monotonous slow driving when trying to achieve the mpg

[anonymous-user]

No as I would rather be at home or at my destination rather than worry about 0.2 mpg.

[generationx]

I make it a mission to try and beat my satnav eta as much as possible. This usually has a detrimental effect on mpg...

[KungFuPanda]

No.

[brrapp]

generationx said:

I make it a mission to try and beat my satnav eta as much as possible. This usually has a detrimental effect on mpg...

Me too, I love to race the sat nav although it's never very magnanimous in defeat, doesn't even acknowledge it got it wrong.

[anonymous-user]

yes once, i had a disco v8 mk1, trying to get more than 14mpg on a 350 mile trip, but i just loved that creamy v8 noise and kept putting my foot down to hear it every few miles, didn't go much faster though.

[CrutyRammers]

Jesus Christ.

[spookly]

generationx said:

I make it a mission to try and beat my satnav eta as much as possible. This usually has a detrimental effect on mpg...

I do this too. I must admit I have managed to beat it by a very large margin. MPG was well sub 20.

[Dr Jekyll]

On one regular return trip with a lot of low speed limits, I zeroed the trip when I filled up then tried to cover 250 miles before the range remaining figure went below 250 miles. Usually managed it with a few miles to spare. Not bad for a 2.0 litre petrol Mondeo.

[Evanivitch]

Screechmr2 said:

I would go insane at the dull monotonous slow driving when trying to achieve the mpg

It's not about driving slow exactly, it's about momentum.

On the flat is a bit boring unless you fancy tailgating a HGV (those extra tall one's are great).

On the down hill you can neutral coast from the top, then gain at the bottom ready to bleed speed on the way up the other side.

Can all be quite stimulating for a while, but I did eventually grow bored of it when I got a (computer) 75 MPG on 40 mile trip home.

[thepeoplespal]

Trexthedinosaur said:

No as I would rather be at home or at my destination rather than worry about 0.2 mpg.

Overall average speed of 62mph isn't too slow given the 30mph limits each side of the journey and the 30mph, 40mph and 50mph limits I had on the motorways.

[ScoobyChris]

generationx said:

I make it a mission to try and beat my satnav eta as much as possible. This usually has a detrimental effect on mpg...

Me too - as well as the signs on the motorway which say how many minutes it is to a specific junction.

Chris

[carreauchompeur]

No, I regularly try to beat the sat nav ETA though.

[PorkInsider]

CrutyRammers said:

Jesus Christ.

This.

[caelite]

Honestly, yeah I do that. I actually find hypermiling to be fairly focusing and keeps my attention on a long journey. Sitting at 80mph on cruise control, half paying attention to the road, half thinking about what I'm getting for dinner that night is what pretty much everyone else does. Sitting at 90-100mph moving constantly between lane 1 and 2 & making progress in light traffic is fun, but nowadays it will cost you your licence eventually. Sitting at 55-60, analysing the road ahead for hills and dips and adjusting your throttle accordingly ensuring you are doing as little accelerating/braking as possible, isn't fun but keeps my focus sharp on long drives.

And then I hit a B-road I know well as I am 'almost home' and ruin all the MPG progress I have made in about 5 minutes flat.

[harmy2010]

I don't try and beat the computers MPG reading but as i cover quite a lot of miles over the course of the year i generally keep an eye on the MPG reading to see if i can beat my last run.

If you don't do much miles this can seem 'boring' or 'dull', but going 80-90mph all the time is equally as boring after a while and the chances of getting caught speeding are higher the more miles you do. I would rather keep my license clean and have a hoon on the weekends, then get to my destination a few minutes quicker and chance my license everyday.

My A45 AMG regularly achieves between 38-40mpg on long runs which is much better then i thought when i bought the car. It has become a perfect daily for me and gives me the chance to go to Wales every now and then and enjoy the car for what it is.

[Johnnytheboy]

generationx said:

I make it a mission to try and beat my satnav eta as much as possible. This usually has a detrimental effect on mpg...

Yes, I do this.

My 35 minute commute takes 45, according to my sat nav every morning.

Sod the MPG.

[tigger1]

Evanivitch said:

On the down hill you can neutral coast from the top

Don't do this. Almost certainly uses more fuel than being in gear with modern engines, and also leaves you less able to get out of trouble if necessary.

[poing]

Johnnytheboy said:

generationx said:

I make it a mission to try and beat my satnav eta as much as possible. This usually has a detrimental effect on mpg...

Yes, I do this.

My 35 minute commute takes 45, according to my sat nav every morning.

Sod the MPG.

Same, my phone tells me the traffic and travel time each morning. It'll say something like "More traffic than average, todays commute will be 36 minutes."
Challenge accepted!