On a trip down south and back, I've noticed I've got far better MPG than usual. Mostly motorway miles (some stop start traffic and town driving included though). The car's fuel light normally comes on with about 2 gallons left in it but mileage estimate is close to 0 miles for range.
The Mazda6 diesel currently has done 470 miles with a range estimate of 100 miles remaining (and that means there's still two gallons left after those 100 miles) and the needle is not anywhere near the last quarter.
Possible reasons:
- I got two new tyres fitted to the rear on Wednesday
- Warmer weather
- I filled up at a different fuel station than normal on Tuesday (Total but I'd normally not use them but it was convenient and the fuel light was on). Pump was very slow so maybe I fitted in more diesel? But the 'right amount' went in from experience based on when the fuel light is on, i.e. about 56 litres.
- Volcanoes...
The car has now done over 31k miles so it's been broken in for a while now.
The real check will be tomorrow when I fill it up but I know it's not used the 56 litres I put in yet.
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I thought everything was being blamed on Nick Clegg
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Good oh ! Ahem... on the other hand, I made a 360 mile round trip yesterday and my mpg was rubbish. However, for once, the roads were quiet, it was sunny, I was up for it........
You know all that stuff I've spouted in the past about how cruising along doesn't mean you take much longer to get places ? Total nonsense actually.....
:-)
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rtj70,
It's very, very obvious why you're getting better fuel consumption. It's so obvious I'm amazed that the combined brilliance of the forum has yet to come up with it. Where are you Number Cruncher?
You've been driving downhill to down South. Just you watch it get worse when you back up North.
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I like the logic but the 470 miles includes going downhill to the south and then back up to the north. With the 100 or so miles range in the tank before the fuel light comes on then that's not bad.
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Something serious is going wrong?
Sorry, my glass is half empty.
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Maybe it's finally decided not to dump diesel into the engine oil? It's a Mazda6 diesel after all.
I'm happy if it's improved but curious why. Probably never to be repeated. The last time I got close to this miles on a tank the fuel light had already come on.
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possibly the change of fuel from winter fuel to summer fuel (less additives).
From April the fuel is gradually changed (as its used).
Maybe the warmer weather also helps.
These are just ideas, please feel free to flame me or confirm.
I have also noticed the fuel economy improve.
For example my last tankful was with lead feet never changed up below 3krpm and still got 48mpg
Last edited by: diddy1234 on Sat 24 Apr 10 at 00:27
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>> possibly the change of fuel from winter fuel to summer fuel (less additives)
I did think of this but I've had the car since new in October 2007 and this is the best range I've got ever. Maybe I was mimsing a bit at times!
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...Maybe the warmer weather also helps...
I've always thought the temperature has a big impact on fuel consumption, particularly if you do a lot of journeys starting from cold.
The CC3 is doing 3-4mpg more now than when it was really cold a month or two ago.
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I have to say thats pretty pathetic. I once got 690 miles out of the tank of the laguna and 550 miles per fill was the norm.
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>> I have to say thats pretty pathetic. I once got 690 miles out of the tank of the laguna and
>> 550 miles per fill was the norm.
I know I could easily get over 500 miles out of the tank if brave enough. When the fuel light comes on and I fill up I can only ever fit about 56 litres in. So the reserve is around least 9 litres. But when the car is reading 0 for the range and the fuel warning light is on I chicken out normally.
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It's my ambition to get 700 out a tankful in the Passat but I'm coward enough that I'd want a spare tank in the boot.
The warmer weather makes a big difference and I've found that the more mpg a car does the greater the variation in absolute terms, though maybe not in percentage.
And if you cruise below 70 then the mpg heads towards the heavens. But the fun factor heads South.
JH
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Normality will resume shortly. Someone will be along to explain how your injectors are about to fail, the DPF is about to clog, the DMF will break into a thousand parts and the cam belt will snap taking the engine with it.
All in a days work with these modern diesels init ?
Or, it could simply be down to a different, spring, brew of diesel you filled up with and the last of the winter fuel effects being blown away.
I was over in the UK a couple of weeks ago. I was driving back to Hull on the M62 and noticed my instantaneous fuel consumption dropped by 10mpg where the road goes from three down to two lanes around Jctn 38.
I was on cruise control, no hill, the only difference I noticed was the road surface.
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The FocuST average is steadily climbing from an indicated 28mpg (actual around 29) towards 29 (actual around 30), same driving style, same roads.
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The Golf's computer this week has been showing somewhere around 61 mpg average when I pull into the car park at work, against the 55 or so norm of the winter months. No change in the route, traffic conditions or driving style. I put it down to the change in diesel blend as we move into warmer weather. Every diesel car I've had has shown a similar improvement around April/May time. The computer, on the few tankfuls I've bothered to calculate it, is optimistic by 5%.
On a kind of related note, a few of us were having a crafty smoke out the back at work the other day and looking at the layer of (presumably) volcanic ash on many of the cars. We were wondering if this will cause any premature deterioration of air filters and subsequently fuel economy? Has anyone bothered to check their air filter over the past week, and what were the findings?
Last edited by: DP on Sat 24 Apr 10 at 08:58
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>> On a kind of related note a few of us were having a crafty smoke
>> out the back at work the other day and looking at the layer of (presumably)
>> volcanic ash on many of the cars.
>>
Is the layer on cars any worse than other years ?
Maybe it is by virtue of the fact people are talking about it or is it pollen time ?
Can't say I've noticed any ash on our cars because they are coated in yellow pollen as per normal.
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well I fitted my new one on tuesday. Its a doddle to slip in and out so I will let you know.
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Warmer weather - the Passat jumps 5-10% once the temp gets above 15 degrees. Also suspect one of the various fuel and water temp sensors is knackered but haven't been bothered to fix it yet. As long as I carry on getting 55MPG to work and 750 miles to a tank I'm not complaining.
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The main thing is to carry out the calculation such that you get a valid figure. Any figure calculated as an average over a period of less than a month I view with a pinch of salt.
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Marked improvements in mpg are due to the increase in ionising radiation from solar sun spots, thus improving fuel atomisation and combustion.
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It's taken me 4mths to find out how to zero the average mpg trip (had to look in the book in the end which felt like failure) so it'll be interesting to see what improvements are seen over the next couple of weeks.
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Well I used 46 litres to do that mileage. Which included at least 50 miles town driving (lots of short journeys) and some start-stop traffic on bits of the motorway. I usually calculate MPG when I fill up so I know this has been an improvement. Not huge perhaps.
With the fuel left in the tank it ought to have been able to do more than 150 miles more (so total of about 635 miles). And I know I could drive it economically but I don't bother ;-)
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Markedly Improved MPG - lancara
