(T) Sh*te MPG. :(

What?!

55MPH is about the best speed to sit at with Most 8v FIRE engines, and gear changes have nothing to do with it tbh, its more to do with when you change gear, not how often.

Same engine.

On motorways I tend to do an indicated 75 as I know in my car that is a GPS 70.

Dom

I have a 1.4 16v which is a slighlty different engine but I get 50mpg easily when going on 50 mile round trip each day to work, the mPG can be achieved you just need to be every careful with braking aswell as accelerating also look ahead and brake slowly if you know your going to need to stop. Works well for me

Slowing down slowly is no fun though.

Dom

Might not be fun but if you are wanting a better MPG then its what must be done im afraid to say

Mental.

Anyway I don't remember caring about MPG even 5 years ago.

When I try (note 'try') and drive economically I really concentrate on where my throttle is, gear changes don't play a huge part in fuel economy, for example, if I changed up to 5th at 35mph but then had to floor the accelerator to get up a hill I would get much worse consumption as opposed t staying in 4th gear, revving higher but only having say 70% throttle. I always generally shift up and down gears when I know I'll need the same or less throttle in the next gear, changing up and needing to put your foot down harder defeats the point of changing up to save fuel.

Thats just my take on things, generally works, when I do eco runs I get around 4 - 5mpg higher than I do on a normal day.

dom the fuel mpg calculators are not very accurate if you don't use them properly.

I doubt any of this is going to make any sence but;

in order to get best results with the mpg make sure your inputting around the same amount of fuel for example

10th feb - 20litres (imput millage)
15th feb - 20litres (imput millage)

If you put the same amount of fuel in when you can from your previous fill up you will have a more accurate result.

another example is where it can go wrong with the calculator

you put 20litres in on 10th feb

then go and put a further 15litres on the 12th for example (like a top up)
if you where to put data into the calulator it wouldn't be accurate and show something around 20-25mpg (depending on the milage) this is because the calc will never actually know how much you already have in the tank and will think you have used all the 20litres from the previous fill.

Mmmm? that all depends on each individual car take the mondeo mk3, with a 6 speed gearbox, it would actually be better in 5th at 56mph on a mondeo speedometer than in 6th. 5th gear 30mph/1000 against sixth gear 35mph/1000 mph..so you are sitting in a sweet spot in the torque and to travel at 74mph you need almost 20% more power than at 56mph to push you through the air.
i do hope these on not trip computer readings as i would love my well sorted 2.2tdci to hit 60mpg at 74mph, but in 4 years have never got it to average that fill up to fill up none build up area travels.....

I always fill the tank from when the light comes on anyway though.

Dom

but you do fill it with the same amount of fuel (in litres) every time? its the only way your going to get a accurate results from the calculator.

with you saying you do start stop all the time thats going to be the killer in mpg unfortionatly

I'm just gonna have to live with it aren't I.

Dom

unfortionatly yes only thing you can do is like MEP said and also just try and drive generally more smoothy. watching Instant consumpsion can help too. (make sure you still watch the road though )

Yep that does sound a little daft, and is so. if you drive slowly ie 30 mph or 40 mph in the right gear so not to labour the engine or rev it unduly then thats the best fuel consumption you can ever achieve. if by drive slowly you are changing up and down gears ever 20 seconds,then sure mpg will not be great.. any mpg challenge is based around ave speed of 43mph keeping in the max torque range
driving smoothly anticipating traffic/lights so as not to accelerate harsh and trying not to stop or brake...

Rubbish, loads of fun annoying everyone following!

No, you fill to the same level (ie brimmed and about to dribble out of the tank) not fill with the same number of Litres as thats not going to tell you much.