Advice Fuel Consumption/Saving etc

[Laddey]

So i do around 70 miles a day, motorway miles.


In a 1.6 focus zetec tdi it costs around £20 round trip in fuel money. That's doing around 80-90 mph contstant.


Every morning we'd fill up at the local garage and get fags/redbull etc.

Now i'm driving a 1.5 diesel. Would this reduce the cost to get to work?

Would i benefit, (now i work on my own) by filling the tank up full every time it runs low? More milage for my money etc?

Also lowering my speed to 70 mph, would this make a big difference based on revs?

What about a fuel card with the points scheme...Are they actually beneficial in some way?

 

[Tom]

Smaller engines have to work harder to achieve the same performance, so not necessarily.

You shouldn't ever let your tank run low, when it gets to half way, fill it up. There may come a time where you need to drive when all the local stations are shut.

Yes.

Only if you value tidier accounts. I just use a credit card, it does the same thing.

 

[Laddey]

Smaller engines have to work harder to achieve the same performance, so not necessarily.

You shouldn't ever let your tank run low, when it gets to half way, fill it up. There may come a time where you need to drive when all the local stations are shut.

Yes.

Only if you value tidier accounts. I just use a credit card, it does the same thing.

Cheers mate.


Other than when the local garages are closed, is there any other benefit from keeping your tank full? I hear running it on low will eventually have an effect on your engine some way.

 

[Punishment]

going 90 instead of 70 will dramatically increase your fuel consumption more than engine size or anything else

 

[Mabs]

Every morning we'd fill up at the local garage and get fags/redbull etc.

i know how you can save money on your trip

 

[Tom]

Cheers mate.


Other than when the local garages are closed, is there any other benefit from keeping your tank full? I hear running it on low will eventually have an effect on your engine some way.

No, running the tank low will not affect the engine in any way, shape or form. Ignore the idiots who think that the tank will "suck up dirt at the bottom" if allowed to run empty. One, fuel is taken from the bottom of the tank. Two, that's what fuel filters are for. Three, the tank will have a gauze filter for big stuff.

 

[Laddey]

i know how you can save money on your trip

Yeah too true. Can of redders is hitting £2.30 now. 1 a day aswell. Gonna knock that on the head.

going 90 instead of 70 will dramatically increase your fuel consumption more than engine size or anything else

Cheers dude. I heard thats why lorries and other vehicles are limited to 56mph?

No, running the tank low will not affect the engine in any way, shape or form. Ignore the idiots who think that the tank will "suck up dirt at the bottom" if allowed to run empty. One, fuel is taken from the bottom of the tank. Two, that's what fuel filters are for. Three, the tank will have a gauze filter for big stuff.

Lol thats what they say aswell. It sucks all the shit up from the bottom of the tank. Cheers again.


Fuel saving and such. Would you prefer to have:

1.6 petrol or a 1.6 diesel?

 

[rynnor]

drive at 55 - diesel v petrol is pretty much even now with the extra you pay for diesel and diesel engines are heavier thus increasing fuel use.

 

[Laddey]

It's 36.3 miles from my house to Saica Papermill in Carrington.


72.6 miles round trip...Instead of doing lets say an average of 70mph i'll do 55 but how long extra would that add to my trip? One way.

 

[Chilly]

oh come on, it's not a hard sum...

72.6 m @ 70mph = 1h2m
72.6 m @ 55mph = 1h19m

I bet you spend at least 10-15 mins at either end messing about in cities anyway, the extra 17 minutes will be less in that case as your average speed wont be 70 for the whole journey.

Wind resistance rises as the cube of speed, so even a modest reduction from 70 to 55 will massively reduce drag and consumption of fuel.

 

[Laddey]

Maths wasnt my strongest subject in school.


thanks though

 

[Vae]

I'm driving a 1.4 litre petrol and one thing I have noticed is the increased mpg I get from using the higher octane fuel. I get about 12-13% extra mpg for an increase in cost of about 5-6% based on the information from the trip computer. Presume it's reasonably accurate but not sure.

 

[Influenza]

You only get 70 miles out of £20 in a tdi?

 

[Zenith.UK]

So i do around 70 miles a day, motorway miles.


In a 1.6 focus zetec tdi it costs around £20 round trip in fuel money. That's doing around 80-90 mph contstant.


Every morning we'd fill up at the local garage and get fags/redbull etc.

Now i'm driving a 1.5 diesel. Would this reduce the cost to get to work?

A smaller engine uses less fuel than a larger engine, but also has to work harder to get the same effect. It's better in the mid-range speeds, not so good at faster speeds.

Would i benefit, (now i work on my own) by filling the tank up full every time it runs low? More milage for my money etc?

Yes, it is better to keep your fuel in the upper half of the fuel gauge. If you go into the red, the fuel filter will stop any sediments from the bottom of the tank getting into the fuel line, but repeated times running on red may reduce the filter's efficiency over time.

Also lowering my speed to 70 mph, would this make a big difference based on revs?

This single change WILL make the biggest difference for you. In fact you should try tootling along at 60mph to see just how much your MPG goes up compared to 70mph.
I have a similar car to you and get around about 55mpg with "ordinary" driving. If I put my foot down to 80-85 on fast roads, that drops to about 45-50mpg. If I ease off to 60mph or so, I get 60-65mpg. That's almost a 50% improvement in fuel efficiency just by easing off the accelerator a little.

What about a fuel card with the points scheme...Are they actually beneficial in some way?

I always fill up at Tesco so I can get Clubcard points. They changed it in November last year so that you get 1 point for every £2 of fuel but that still totals up when you're using £20-£28 a day. My shopping, electric bill and fuel all come to about 2000 points a quarter which means £20 in shopping vouchers. Not a huge amount, but better than a kick in the teeth.

Another thing that affects your fuel efficiency is your style of driving. Do you floor it from the lights? Or brake at the last second? Hard acceleration and hard braking are killers for your MPG. Moving away from lights smoothly, changing gear up when you hit around 2000rpm helps reduce fuel use at those times. Spreading out your braking also helps.

Chilly did the time calculations for you. I'll do the money calculations.
72.6 miles @ 65mpg = 5.08l * 137.9p/l = almost spot on £7
72.6 miles @ 55mpg = 6.00l * 137.9p/l = £8.27
72.6 miles @ 45mpg = 7.33l * 137.9p/l = £10.11

Driving at 80mph costs you £10.11 per day. You're putting in double that so your actual efficiency is actually more like 25-30mpg.
Driving at 70mph costs about £8.27 per day. A saving of £1.84 a day from doing 80mph.
Driving at 60mph costs about £7.00 per day. A saving of £3.11 from doing 80mph, or £1.27 from doing 70mph.

Put that into monthly figures, slowing down from 80 to 70 saves you about £42.32 a month.
Slowing down from 70 to 60 saves you about £29.21 per month.

Slowing down from 80mph to 60mph saves you about £71.53 per month.
I urge you to consider driving a bit slower, not just for safety reasons, but also for your pocket's sake.

 

[Wij]

So i do around 70 miles a day, motorway miles.


In a 1.6 focus zetec tdi it costs around £20 round trip in fuel money. That's doing around 80-90 mph contstant.

£20 for 70 miles in a 1.6d ? I pay about £17 for 100 miles in my 2l petrol :/

 

[Laddey]

£20 fuel will get around 110-130 miles on the computer in the focus but it soon goes down especially on the motorway.

I guess its the speed on the motorway.

I'm gonna cut down to 60 mph defo.


Thanks for the input guys its appreciated.


Also the 1.5 diesel is a 6 speed gear box so sticking her in 6th will reduce the revs which will reduce the fuel consumption.

 

[ECA]

Ditching the fags and redbull will save you a fiver a day = £25/better off already.
Drop down to 60-65 on the mway = another fiver = another £25/week.

= £50/week better off. = 10-15 good hookers/year.

 

[chipper]

It's 36.3 miles from my house to Saica Papermill in Carrington.


72.6 miles round trip...Instead of doing lets say an average of 70mph i'll do 55 but how long extra would that add to my trip? One way.

we buy white test off you its poo dunno if it comes from abroad tho tbh

as always accelerate gently dont keep braking as you then have to accelerate
dont go silly speeds it just burns fuel ridiculously fast

get some body else to drive you in there car

diesel will generally get you more bang for your buck as long as your doing the distance to justify it as said tho prices have pretty much evened it out

 

[Rubber Bullets]

It's also worth considering your style of driving. Hard acceleration and harsh braking both use far more fuel. Gain speed gently, avoiding using full throttle, and try to anticipate when you need to slow down and just ease off the throttle and let the car coast rather than slamming brakes on at the last moment. Learning this sort of anticipation can also help to make you a more attentive driver too.

RB

 

[Fweddy]

A full tank will make fuel economy marginally worse simply because of the weight. Personally I still full my tank up fully every time, but it is worth taking anything out your car you don't need in there. If you have crap in your boot you can't be bothered to take out then you're paying to shuttle it back and forth every day.

 

[Tom]

It's 36.3 miles from my house to Saica Papermill in Carrington.


72.6 miles round trip...Instead of doing lets say an average of 70mph i'll do 55 but how long extra would that add to my trip? One way.

You work about 2 miles from my house I have a mate who works at the same mill.

Can you tell them to hurry up and finish the fucker so the council sorts the road out? It's doing my head in!

 

[TdC]

just worked out the mpg for my alfa... 27

 

[old.Tohtori]

Well, if you can't save in fuel, save the fuel in other stuff.

Did you know that if you smoke one less cig a day, drink one glass of juice/soda/whatnot less and eat one slice of bread less, you can save up to 15€/month.

Used to do that to fund MMO

 

[MYstIC G]

Use this Fuelly | Share and Compare Your MPG to monitor your MPG. It'll snap you out of your driving habits.

 

[Laddey]

You work about 2 miles from my house I have a mate who works at the same mill.

Can you tell them to hurry up and finish the fucker so the council sorts the road out? It's doing my head in!

Lol we're doing the suspended ceillings on Monday then its ready to go for the floor fitters! That place is HUGE!


Thanks for your advice chaps

 

[soze]

Use this Fuelly | Share and Compare Your MPG to monitor your MPG. It'll snap you out of your driving habits.

Ouch my 1.6 focus gets between 33 and 22 mpg on that site. Makes me want to test drive that new Kia Rio with the 88mpg combined.

 

[Zenith.UK]

Use this Fuelly | Share and Compare Your MPG to monitor your MPG. It'll snap you out of your driving habits.

Thanks for the heads up on that site. I already get a good idea of how my MPG does from my trip computer but let's see how well that site compares.

 

[Mabs]

If you have crap in your boot you can't be bothered to take out then you're paying to shuttle it back and forth every day.

that is also very true

 

[Mabs]

Use this Fuelly | Share and Compare Your MPG to monitor your MPG. It'll snap you out of your driving habits.

thats ace
it reckons my car is 38.5 mpg
and whenever i do any distance in it , i reset it, last time i went leeds-> southampton it averaged 48mpg, and 57mph..

/edit
its a 2.4l diesel volvo V70

yes i know, im middle aged, almost

 

[JingleBells]

thats ace
it reckons my car is 38.5 mpg
and whenever i do any distance in it , i reset it, last time i went leeds-> southampton it averaged 48mpg, and 57mph..

/edit
its a 2.4l diesel volvo V70

yes i know, im middle aged, almost

If you use UK MPG (which your car will record) you get 46.3MPG - I think Soze fell for that one as well, by default it's using US MPG.