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Technical Eco driving

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Technical Eco driving

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ahmett

Prominent member
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Sep 23, 2010
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Location
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Talking about eco driving in athens on my way to
Work it is all downhill. Since the traffic sometimes
Is absolutely ridiculous like today, i turned off the engine,
Put the car in neutral and let it coast down the hill
Start and stop for about one mile! I hope i didnt
Hurt the brakes too much as i was always pressing them to
Keep the speed at 5 mph but since the speed was
So slow i dont think it should be a problem!
 
Please don't coast with the engine off, it's really daft. The steering on the 500 is electric so you will lose assistance and of course the more you brake the less vacuum assistance you will get. Sure you might save a little, but how much will an accident cost?
 
I agree with you on that, I only did it when it was absoutely jam packed and we did not advance more than 10 meters at a time at a speed of 5 mph. Under normal traffic conditions i would never do it. Funnily enough after the car starts rolling the steering wheel is easy enough to turn, this must be reminiscent of cars before the days of power steering! (exactly like the smart i drove which didnt have power steering). The brakes also have no hydraulic assitance of course. In any case only to be done if you are going meter by meter down a hill without any chance of speeding up.
 
306maxi said:
Please don't coast with the engine off, it's really daft. The steering on the 500 is electric so you will lose assistance and of course the more you brake the less vacuum assistance you will get. Sure you might save a little, but how much will an accident cost?
Click to expand...

so you do care :)
 
arorat said:
so you do care :)
Click to expand...

I cringed :eek: when I read the opening post and then I remembered Greek petrol prices are not too far behind Turkish prices at €1.59 a gallon. I supposed the price of petrol is also linked to the country's 'average' earnings. The most I would do in stop dead traffic is to turn the engine off. At least your handbrake would still work.

Eco drving for me in the thirsty 1.4 is using the 6th gear (of course without labouring the engine) to 'beat the odds a little' and making sure that you have your tires probably pumped up !

And the bike works wonders on the short trips to the shops. I don't understand why one would drive 'around the corner' when a 5-10 minute walk will get them there.
 
arorat said:
so you do care :)
Click to expand...

Always have done :) I think some people have got the wrong end of the stick with me ;) Safety of other people is paramount for me :) I went for a drive the other day on an empty road and had a few little moments, but I would never ever dream of driving like that with others around :)
 
loveshandbags said:
I cringed :eek: when I read the opening post and then I remembered Greek petrol prices are not too far behind Turkish prices at €1.59 a gallon. I supposed the price of petrol is also linked to the country's 'average' earnings. The most I would do in stop dead traffic is to turn the engine off. At least your handbrake would still work.

Eco drving for me in the thirsty 1.4 is using the 6th gear (of course without labouring the engine) to 'beat the odds a little' and making sure that you have your tires probably pumped up !

And the bike works wonders on the short trips to the shops. I don't understand why one would drive 'around the corner' when a 5-10 minute walk will get them there.
Click to expand...

You dont have start stop?

I find when im in traffic going down hill and start stops kicks in, if i only roll bellow 6mph start stop wont re start the engine untill i either speed up or press the clutch. This way the power steering and brakes are still fully active.
 
Thats lucky for you! When ordering my Fiat 500 1.4 Duallogic in June 2010, i did not even mention start and stop guessing that it would come automatically by that time. When I recieved it on September 1, I found that it did not have start and stop! Guess Fiat didnt care about the Greek market! It is a shame because in Athens you are stuck in traffic most of the time! And yes the last time I filled up the car the price of petrol was 1.62 Euros per liter. The bike thing? Athens is much too hilly to have a bike and you would be killed for sure (Athens I think has one of the worst road deaths rate in Europe) ! In any case I tried this experiment because I was really bored and stuck in traffic without any hope of going above 5 MPH for at least 1 kilometer.
 
mjsmke said:
You dont have start stop?

I find when im in traffic going down hill and start stops kicks in, if i only roll bellow 6mph start stop wont re start the engine untill i either speed up or press the clutch. This way the power steering and brakes are still fully active.
Click to expand...

No Mike. I'm not as fortunate as you with the Euro 5 stop/stop engine :). The '09 is the 'old' Euro 4 engine even thought it hasn't even reached 5K yet.
The worst thing about turning the engine off is 'losing' the blue & me connection with the mobile.
 
ahmett said:
Thats lucky for you! When ordering my Fiat 500 1.4 Duallogic in June 2010, i did not even mention start and stop guessing that it would come automatically by that time. When I recieved it on September 1, I found that it did not have start and stop! Guess Fiat didnt care about the Greek market! It is a shame because in Athens you are stuck in traffic most of the time! And yes the last time I filled up the car the price of petrol was 1.62 Euros per liter. The bike thing? Athens is much too hilly to have a bike and you would be killed for sure (Athens I think has one of the worst road deaths rate in Europe) ! In any case I tried this experiment because I was really bored and stuck in traffic without any hope of going above 5 MPH for at least 1 kilometer.
Click to expand...

That means you model is probably the 140grs/km model (thinking of the manual now). Really surprised that you didn't get the stop start model because that would only be 130grs/km in dualogic model. If it had be me - I would have probably beaten the dealer up - only kidding :D
 
Funny enough the guy who sold my car was really nice. I asked for Interscope for free as a 'present' and he said yes and i got car mats, the smokers kit (they assume everyone in greece smokes of course) and foglights without asking anything! I will tell you the grams co2 of the car when i check the registration document next time i drive it, i am thinking 149?
 
ahmett said:
Funny enough the guy who sold my car was really nice. I asked for Interscope for free as a 'present' and he said yes and i got car mats, the smokers kit (they assume everyone in greece smokes of course) and foglights without asking anything! I will tell you the grams co2 of the car when i check the registration document next time i drive it, i am thinking 149?
Click to expand...

If it is - it's the Euro 4 engine - and I hate to say it - but he s*****d you :eek:. No wonder he threw in all the freebies :). Anyway as compensation to you it will only take about 3mpg off the figs and probably nothing on the open road :). The emissions figs are a bit of a joke anyway - it's the NOx that matters.
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/272413-1-4-twinair-3.html?p=2784899
 
Last edited:
You know I was thinking; all this talk about economy and todays car engines are barely more economical than engines 10 years ago! All they manage to do is lower the C02 output. Even the twinair, not THAT fuel efficient except with careful driving but thats with every car. Now car people are favoring small engines with turbochargers, hardly a technological advance if you ask me turbos for cars have been around a while! Where is all the R&D being spent i wonder??? So what if my new 'euro 10' engine has 2 g/km less than the older euro 5 engine? Doesnt seem to help my fuel economy! All theyve managed to do is start and stop and hybrids which are useful but have nothing to do with how efficient an engine is, it just turns the engine off!

Drive carefully and use the car efficiently and ignore everyone's adverts about this engine is more eocnomiical than the other one! If you really need economy get a diesel engine or as some people said on this forum a bike!
 
To get back on topic, before the new car with start stop, I regularly was in a downhill traffic jam.

One click on the handbrake was enough to let it roll very slowly down the hill saving the vacuum in the servo just in case I needed a 'big' stop.

Cheers

D
 
Has anyone put in a 'Start' button on a 'non S/S' 500 ?
The 'fog' button which I never use would be a good place for it.

On a Marea w/ender the iginition now getting worn and you have to fiddle 'a bit with it' to start. A 'Start' button might end up being a worthy 'upgrade' anfd would save on fuel if you're in stop start traffic.

On a 'conversation' with another FF 60 seconds was mentioned as the 'will I or will I not' turn if off time period.
 
loveshandbags said:
Has anyone put in a 'Start' button on a 'non S/S' 500 ?
The 'fog' button which I never use would be a good place for it.

On a Marea w/ender the iginition now getting worn and you have to fiddle 'a bit with it' to start. A 'Start' button might end up being a worthy 'upgrade' anfd would save on fuel if you're in stop start traffic.

On a 'conversation' with another FF 60 seconds was mentioned as the 'will I or will I not' turn if off time period.
Click to expand...


The main annoying thing is start and stop traffic is so start and stop with the lights and slow moving that you basiclaly never reach 60 seconds in order to turn the engine off (there are no level crossings where i live!). I think putting ss would be more trouble than its worth due to the electronical changes to the car/ the button/ software/ new larger capacity battery.
 
ahmett said:
The main annoying thing is start and stop traffic is so start and stop with the lights and slow moving that you basiclaly never reach 60 seconds in order to turn the engine off (there are no level crossings where i live!). I think putting ss would be more trouble than its worth due to the electronical changes to the car/ the button/ software/ new larger capacity battery.
Click to expand...

I guess your right ahmett. A bit of a crazy idea and probably a 17 year old upgrade. I kinda thought it was cool on a loan Beamer I liked the idea of pushing the button to start the car but thought it was pointless having to put the fob in the 'ignition' (I felt it should have been more like bluetooth - being in proximity).
On some of the trips across Dublin I know the spots where I'll be stuck for at least 3-4 minutes since they retrofitted the Luas line in an attempt to cut down on cars. At these 'junctions' I turn the car off (and hope that no one rings me) with the car stuck in 1st gear.
 
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