New personal best MPG.
- Thread starter timmus
- Start date
MikeMarsUK
A2OC Donor
You're beating my current mpg! Hovering around 73-75 at the moment. Although I'm hoping that after Vince replaced the damaged heatshield under the car & also left handbrake cable last week I might see an improvement in the next tank.
timmus
A2OC Donor
It'll be a one-off, Mike!
You're using your car mostly to go to and from work, meaning you've got plenty of cold starts, etc. I think I started the car only 6 times during this whole tank, which is not representative of its general use. My moving average over the preceding 5 tanks will almost always be lower than yours.
Tom
dan_b
A2OC Donor
timmus
A2OC Donor
I'm not sure, Dan. I have a good relationship with Radim from EuroTuning and have done a fair bit to promote his product both here and on the VW T4/5 owners' club, so it's a possibility. However, how many kits are we looking at here...? You, Tony, perhaps Jeff and a few others...? With that in mind, I can't see it being a massive saving, nor can I see everyone having the funds available at the same time...
Tom
MikeMarsUK
A2OC Donor
I did ask about a multibuy saving when DJ expressed an interest, but the only saving was the £50 shipping fee which didn't seem worth the bother. That was only for 2 kits of course.
6cyl Chris
Member
If there was, my cheque book would be out already!
timmus
A2OC Donor
Now that Vince and Radim have a working relationship, if the kit is purchased through Stealth, you don't pay postage anyway, so there's little to be gained here. I suppose Radim may give a group discount for 5 or more identical kits...? Relative to the total cost of the upgrade, any saving would be tiny, so I'd be inclined to just buy when you can afford it...
timmus
A2OC Donor
Well, I'm updating this thread for precisely the opposite reason to the usual one...
My last tank of fuel was my worst in a long time. Very unusually, I burnt an entire tank just pootling about my locality; I don't think I engaged 6th at all. I couldn't begin to estimate the number of cold starts or the amount of time spent edging forwards in traffic. Nevertheless, I averaged 58.4mpg. You've gotta love the A2.
Tom
My last tank of fuel was my worst in a long time. Very unusually, I burnt an entire tank just pootling about my locality; I don't think I engaged 6th at all. I couldn't begin to estimate the number of cold starts or the amount of time spent edging forwards in traffic. Nevertheless, I averaged 58.4mpg. You've gotta love the A2.
Tom
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MikeMarsUK
A2OC Donor
Not a serious mod suggestion here, but sometimes when I am trapped in very slow moving traffic I feel like I just want some pedals so I can move the car forward by a few feet manually without having to start the engine for the 20th time...
timmus
A2OC Donor
I've got a new whole-tank personal best, but only just... 78.0mpg.
Lancaster -> Liverpool -> Stealth -> Northampton -> Milton Keynes -> London -> Lancaster; 579 miles on 33.75 litres. At current fuel prices, that's 8p per mile.
Other than 50-or-so miles of cross-country and 20-or-so miles of urban driving, it was all motorway miles, with cruise set to my usual true 60mph. I had no seats in the car other than the driver's seat, though climate control was on all the time and I made full use of the comforts. I've still not cracked the magic 80mpg, though...
Tom
Lancaster -> Liverpool -> Stealth -> Northampton -> Milton Keynes -> London -> Lancaster; 579 miles on 33.75 litres. At current fuel prices, that's 8p per mile.
Other than 50-or-so miles of cross-country and 20-or-so miles of urban driving, it was all motorway miles, with cruise set to my usual true 60mph. I had no seats in the car other than the driver's seat, though climate control was on all the time and I made full use of the comforts. I've still not cracked the magic 80mpg, though...
Tom
timmus
A2OC Donor
The stand-still on the M25 certainly didn't help, nor did the absurd number of roundabouts between the M1 and Tony's house!
Losing the 17" wheels will help, though the 16s that I shall replace them with will still be a 7J. Whilst I always enjoy getting higher cruising economy, I'm not willing to pigeon-hole the car into being just an eco machine. The handling and grip offered by 205 tyres is something I also value. However, I nevertheless think you're right; I will crack the 80mpg mark with the tweaks I have left to do.
With diesel at ~£1.40 per litre, travelling big distances at 8p/mile is incredible! Obviously the total cost of private transport is somewhat higher as I'm only talking about the cost of the fuel itself, but even so...
Tom
Losing the 17" wheels will help, though the 16s that I shall replace them with will still be a 7J. Whilst I always enjoy getting higher cruising economy, I'm not willing to pigeon-hole the car into being just an eco machine. The handling and grip offered by 205 tyres is something I also value. However, I nevertheless think you're right; I will crack the 80mpg mark with the tweaks I have left to do.
With diesel at ~£1.40 per litre, travelling big distances at 8p/mile is incredible! Obviously the total cost of private transport is somewhat higher as I'm only talking about the cost of the fuel itself, but even so...
Tom
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MikeMarsUK
A2OC Donor
Congratulations, great figures
There are many new interesting LRR tyres available now, for example you might be able to fit the Pirelli P7 Cinturato Blue (my usual tyre widths are too narrow for the P7).
dan_b
A2OC Donor
195/50/16 still gives you a lot of grip and braking power, but it's a bit more "chuckable" than the 17s as I think you get a bit more steering feel. Obviously it's difficult to compare as you have different springs and I have the Whiteline RARB all of which change the handling balance too.
Your longer 6th is clearly making a big impact on those long motoway runs though
Your longer 6th is clearly making a big impact on those long motoway runs though
timmus
A2OC Donor
It seems having a 6th gear, as a single mod, blows all other eco-tweaks out of the water. I've got the front wheel arch spoilers and the aero wiper, and I'm sure the remap and the EGR plate also help, but my car's a spec-laden beast running 205 tyres on 17" wheels... and I'm now getting 78mpg simply by setting cruise and sitting back.
When I first got my car, my cruising economy was around 66mpg. After various tweaks, including those listed above, gearing the car up slightly with oversized LRR tyres and changing to the longer 5th, I managed to get my cruising economy to 72mpg. I'm now suddenly up to 78.
Given that I already had the longer 5th, I honestly didn't expect to see such a big improvement in cruising economy. I expected the savings to come from my better combined economy thanks to the return of standard 5th rather than any additional cruising efficiency. I think both Mike and I have been surprised by the gains on offer. However, that still doesn't mean you'll ever justify it on financial grounds!
I've just had a look at the P7 Cinturato Blue tyres that Mike mentions. Sadly, they don't do them in the size I'd like; 205/50/R16. So, I've just bagged a real deal on a set of the out-going Goodyear EfficientGrips. They're exactly the same tyre as I'm currently running on my 17s, which means I'll be able to assess the gains in fuel economy from the down-sizing of my wheels alone.
When I first got my car, my cruising economy was around 66mpg. After various tweaks, including those listed above, gearing the car up slightly with oversized LRR tyres and changing to the longer 5th, I managed to get my cruising economy to 72mpg. I'm now suddenly up to 78.
Given that I already had the longer 5th, I honestly didn't expect to see such a big improvement in cruising economy. I expected the savings to come from my better combined economy thanks to the return of standard 5th rather than any additional cruising efficiency. I think both Mike and I have been surprised by the gains on offer. However, that still doesn't mean you'll ever justify it on financial grounds!
I've just had a look at the P7 Cinturato Blue tyres that Mike mentions. Sadly, they don't do them in the size I'd like; 205/50/R16. So, I've just bagged a real deal on a set of the out-going Goodyear EfficientGrips. They're exactly the same tyre as I'm currently running on my 17s, which means I'll be able to assess the gains in fuel economy from the down-sizing of my wheels alone.
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