Increase Fuel Efficiency..
Increase Fuel Efficiency..
Author
Discussion

Memorise97

Original Poster:

191 posts

143 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
... Other than the way you drive,

as I am getting a 1.6 Petrol, are there any things I can do such as adding things to the car which will increase my fuel efficiency and get more miles to the gallon?

Quhet

2,944 posts

176 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
Drive with the windows closed, don't use air con, fuel saver tyres etc

All very boring...

FreeLitres

6,128 posts

207 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
Driving style will have the biggest effect.

I believe increasing tyre pressure (no more than max tyre rating though) will reduce rolling resistance. Grip may decrease though.

BritishRacinGrin

26,581 posts

190 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
If the car is maintained properly it is pretty much 100% driving habit / style.

Some cars will run more economically on high octane fuel. Most cars can be made a little more economical with a good remap.

If a 1.6 is going to be too juicy for you then ask yourself if you really need it?

minky monkey

1,566 posts

196 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
I know you said except driving style but... Smooth driving style helps massively. Reduce sudden acceleration/braking. Look ahead and plan manouvere such as approaching traffic lights, if they've been red for a while, back off the throttle as they'll probably change to green when you get there. Same for roundabouts, look ahead and guage your speed so that when you get there, there's a space for you to get on without stopping and reaccelerating.

Also slipstreaming helps.

minky monkey

1,566 posts

196 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
I know you said except driving style but... Smooth driving style helps massively. Reduce sudden acceleration/braking. Look ahead and plan manouvere such as approaching traffic lights, if they've been red for a while, back off the throttle as they'll probably change to green when you get there. Same for roundabouts, look ahead and guage your speed so that when you get there, there's a space for you to get on without stopping and reaccelerating.

Also slipstreaming helps.

Edited by minky monkey on Monday 17th November 01:52

Memorise97

Original Poster:

191 posts

143 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
BritishRacinGrin said:
If the car is maintained properly it is pretty much 100% driving habit / style.

Some cars will run more economically on high octane fuel. Most cars can be made a little more economical with a good remap.

If a 1.6 is going to be too juicy for you then ask yourself if you really need it?
is there nothing you can do as in modifying the car such as air filters or anything, I haven't got a clue about any modifications but surely there are some?

BritishRacinGrin

26,581 posts

190 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
Memorise97 said:
is there nothing you can do as in modifying the car such as air filters or anything, I haven't got a clue about any modifications but surely there are some?
What car will it be?

The only engine modifications that are likely to help will be on the ECU side where you can optimise the map for fuel efficiency for a given fuel octane.

Air cleaners have no impact so long as they are replaced periodically.

Good maintenance will see an improvement, the correct grade oil, healthy ignition system and fuel system, lambda sensor replacement if it's very old.

Further to that any improvements would have to come from reducing the resistance the car sees from the environment, so eco tyres at the right pressure, removing anything that might cause unnecessary air resistance.

All of this st is as boring as hell though, especially the driving discipline, and the savings are miniscule so why not just buy a car you can afford to fuel and drive it how you want to?

ETA: ask yourself this; if fuel efficiency is such an important marketing tool to car makers, would they have produced a car which wasn't as efficient as it could possibly be in production spec?

Memorise97

Original Poster:

191 posts

143 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
BritishRacinGrin said:
What car will it be?

The only engine modifications that are likely to help will be on the ECU side where you can optimise the map for fuel efficiency for a given fuel octane.

Air cleaners have no impact so long as they are replaced periodically.

Good maintenance will see an improvement, the correct grade oil, healthy ignition system and fuel system, lambda sensor replacement if it's very old.

Further to that any improvements would have to come from reducing the resistance the car sees from the environment, so eco tyres at the right pressure, removing anything that might cause unnecessary air resistance.

All of this st is as boring as hell though, especially the driving discipline, and the savings are miniscule so why not just buy a car you can afford to fuel and drive it how you want to?

ETA: ask yourself this; if fuel efficiency is such an important marketing tool to car makers, would they have produced a car which wasn't as efficient as it could possibly be in production spec?
Ford Fiesta Zetec S

I get what you're saying but I just cant deal with a 1.2 again, and also can't get a diesel because I don't do motorway miles, only on weekends and even then its not many..

BritishRacinGrin

26,581 posts

190 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
The absolute best way to save fuel is not to use the car unnecessarily. The problems with using the car for very local journeys are twofold- often unnecessary and the problem is compounded by the fact that engines do not run very efficiently at all when they're cold so look at all journeys you make of less than 10 miles and see if you can cycle, carpool etc etc.

Depending on the way you use it the Fiesta should be capable of around 40mpg quite easily.

P.S. Why can't you 'deal with' a 1.2, you've already said you don't do a lot of motorway miles?

ging84

9,548 posts

176 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
a low viscosity oil such as A1/B1/C1/C2/A5 will give you a slight increase (at the cost of engine life except maybe A5).
Of course if your manufacturer has already specified the use of one of one of these oils, then this is already factored in.




cj2013

1,409 posts

156 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
BritishRacinGrin said:
The absolute best way to save fuel is not to use the car unnecessarily. The problems with using the car for very local journeys are twofold- often unnecessary and the problem is compounded by the fact that engines do not run very efficiently at all when they're cold so look at all journeys you make of less than 10 miles and see if you can cycle, carpool etc etc.

Depending on the way you use it the Fiesta should be capable of around 40mpg quite easily.

P.S. Why can't you 'deal with' a 1.2, you've already said you don't do a lot of motorway miles?
Because as per his 100,000 other threads in the last week, he wants to beat everyone at the traffic lights.

OP wants a reality that doesn't exist, I feel.

jamieduff1981

8,092 posts

170 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
There's no such thing as a free meal OP. We've all seen your posts. You want stellar performance for off-peak bus ticket journey costs.

Driving is expensive - it's only the degree that varies. If you can't afford to run a modern 1.6 petrol, then in all seriousness perhaps public transport is the answer until you're financially sorted out.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

228 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
You could take all the seats out incl passenger saving weight

Only half full so on an average car you'll reduce weight by 30kg
Half fill the screen washer
Remove the carpets
Remove the spar tyre if you have one
Carry nothing in the boot
Take off the passenger wing mirror its not a legal requirement after all
Lose weight yourself


But really unless you are willing to change driving style then maybe changing to times you drive ie to avoid sitting in congestion leave 45-60mins earlier so your moving at the pace you normally would vs 1st and 2nd gear crawling.


Use premium fuel
Car share so you halve the fuel usage/share costs

budfox

1,510 posts

159 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
Increasing tyre pressures to the limit that the manufacturer allows certainly works.

This was one of the contributing things I did on a 300 mile round trip to Heathrow from Somerset. Done in the very early hours I achieved 78MPG from a Fabia 1.9Tdi - That's a brim to brim measurement too, which also meant I was carrying a lot of fuel for a lot of the journey.

BritishRacinGrin

26,581 posts

190 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:


Only half full so on an average car you'll reduce weight by 30kg
The average car does not have an 80L tank

jmorgan

36,010 posts

314 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
Biggest difference I have seen is driving style. Not screwing it on acceleration etc. Trying to get the most out the car when on the move without tickling the throttle and brakes more than I have to and so on.

I tried the tyre pressures within reason and safety and the gain was measurable.

All this on a 150 mile mostly motorway commute so trying it as I was bored. Got me 34mpg to 40 mpg. Total saving? sod all in the real world. 3 quid or so. So for me it was not worth it but it gave me something to do.

So it depends on what you can get out of it and does it benefit you.

jamieduff1981

8,092 posts

170 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
jmorgan said:
Biggest difference I have seen is driving style. Not screwing it on acceleration etc. Trying to get the most out the car when on the move without tickling the throttle and brakes more than I have to and so on.

I tried the tyre pressures within reason and safety and the gain was measurable.

All this on a 150 mile mostly motorway commute so trying it as I was bored. Got me 34mpg to 40 mpg. Total saving? sod all in the real world. 3 quid or so. So for me it was not worth it but it gave me something to do.

So it depends on what you can get out of it and does it benefit you.
This.

Although if changing from a 1.2litre small car to a 1.6litre small car because the former was too slow, then it would seem that OP is just going to have to accept greater fuel consumption.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

228 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
jmorgan said:
Biggest difference I have seen is driving style. Not screwing it on acceleration etc. Trying to get the most out the car when on the move without tickling the throttle and brakes more than I have to and so on.

I tried the tyre pressures within reason and safety and the gain was measurable.

All this on a 150 mile mostly motorway commute so trying it as I was bored. Got me 34mpg to 40 mpg. Total saving? sod all in the real world. 3 quid or so. So for me it was not worth it but it gave me something to do.

So it depends on what you can get out of it and does it benefit you.
I'd say driving before rush hour or after it makes a marked improvement to fuel economy on a day to day basis.

98elise

32,704 posts

191 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
Memorise97 said:
BritishRacinGrin said:
If the car is maintained properly it is pretty much 100% driving habit / style.

Some cars will run more economically on high octane fuel. Most cars can be made a little more economical with a good remap.

If a 1.6 is going to be too juicy for you then ask yourself if you really need it?
is there nothing you can do as in modifying the car such as air filters or anything, I haven't got a clue about any modifications but surely there are some?
If there were any simple mods to increase fuel economy then the manufacturer would have done it. As has been said your driving style is the biggest factor. Hard acceleration uses more power, and braking is dumping energy as heat. Changing gear earlier will also help.