General Grande Punto Sporting mpg

[ChrisUK]

Yeah 1500rpm at 60mph in 6th sounds about right. And yes especially in diesels its best to use lighter throttle and use the engines momentum to help you along while driving economically but don't go over 3000rpm as then the ecu will need to advance the fueling further to get the engine speed to go higher.

When your driving for maximum performance you start with a light throttle until 2000rpm then plant it and shift at 4200rpm. Or do what I did and start in second gear without traction control doing this I could trim about 1.5sec's of the 0-60 time WITHOUT wheel spin .

 

[RichC]

Yeah all of Chris' advice is bang on. Your clutch may not be too pleased with some of his comments though, lol. Second gear starts are fantastic in the 130, pulls forever.

Rich

 

[Jim-Armao]

When your driving for maximum performance you start with a light throttle until 2000rpm then plant it and shift at 4200rpm. Or do what I did and start in second gear without traction control doing this I could trim about 1.5sec's of the 0-60 time WITHOUT wheel spin .

100% spot on. I do the same...

 

[jskn]

right iv gtta ask this...sorry if this is off topic. with regards to this 2nd gear starts how does this work?? apprently my mates dad (whos an engineer of some sort) says this is pure BS. but i was like every1 does it! so wts the physics behind it hey?? do i need to foot flat to the floor and then lift the clutch off really fast?? wts the method! lol

 

[VindiVee8]

right iv gtta ask this...sorry if this is off topic. with regards to this 2nd gear starts how does this work?? apprently my mates dad (whos an engineer of some sort) says this is pure BS. but i was like every1 does it! so wts the physics behind it hey?? do i need to foot flat to the floor and then lift the clutch off really fast?? wts the method! lol

You are using the torque of the engine to pull away (bear in mind, the Sporting with all it torque will wheel spin in the dry in 3rd!) First gear is really a bit low for spirted starts, you run out of revs and get out of the power band too quickly, changing gear takes time. Setting off in second, about 3-3.5k revs, bring the clutch up nice and easy, balancing the revs as you you go to keep the turbo spining and before you know it you will be changing to third at about 45mph. It does work, but you will use more clutch lining.

 

[Turbodiesel]

Those are some nice numbers there Jim, I like

I have another question while you guys are here if you don't mind... I know it's a diesel but does the engine actually sound any good once you get going like can you hear the turbo whistle etc?

I'm going to end up knowing more than the salesman when the time comes to buy thanks to you lot

Sorry if I'm hijacking your thread jskn. (oops! wrong person)

 

[jskn]

nah ur nt hijacking the thread! its nt even mine! how bad does it knacker the clutch??

 

[RichC]

In response to Turbodiesel, yes you can hear the turbo whistle but not a great deal, its not like a petrol turbo. It sounds typically diesel when its ticking over but when you get it on boost it does sound much better. The only reason i really know this is because i scared someone half to death the other the day when i gave it some.

And jskn, it can damage it quite badly if you do it on a very regular basis. The life of it will shorten dramatically. As far as every now and then goes, if you keep your car for the length of your finance and no longer the chances are you will never suffer the damage.

Rich

 

[ChrisUK]

In response to Turbodiesel, yes you can hear the turbo whistle but not a great deal, its not like a petrol turbo. It sounds typically diesel when its ticking over but when you get it on boost it does sound much better. The only reason i really know this is because i scared someone half to death the other the day when i gave it some.

And jskn, it can damage it quite badly if you do it on a very regular basis. The life of it will shorten dramatically. As far as every now and then goes, if you keep your car for the length of your finance and no longer the chances are you will never suffer the damage.

Rich

:yeahthat: Let someone else foot the bill

 

[jskn]

tutut! get the car and BANG!! yep needs new clutch lol....how bout 1st gear starts..that doesnt kill hte clutch does it? just out of interest lol.......

 

[RichC]

1st gear starts dont cause anywhere near as much damage as 2nd gear starts because there is less work required. If you are constantly holding the biting point and the like that will cause it to wear.

Rich

 

[Ben H]

I do a lot of town driving these days and I'm usually quite gentle. I get about 43mpg on average from my 1.9 JTD - made up of about 37mpg around town and 50mpg or so on the open road.

This doesn't sound as good as some economy claims, but I'm getting the same economy as my lady's old 1.2 60bhp Clio with day-to-day performance similar to my old Clio 172.

 

[Turbodiesel]

That's not bad at all, 50mpg on the open road sounds good to me.

BTW Ben, what's a chemical grey GP like to own? I'm interested in this colour, do you have any photos?

 

[Bob in disguise]

I normally average 45mpg on a tank and thats a mix of motorway driving, cross country and getting stuck in traffic in town for hours on end

I reckon i could get 50mpg out of it if i kept it on the motorway all the time and could resist from not booting it all the time

 

[Old-Boy racer]

Mines doing about 43 ish too but having traded in my Stilo 1.9jtd which did about 47 overall, I'm still a bit dissappointed that a more modern "multijet" turbo diesel in a smaller car can't manage better mpg. I know it gives a few more hp than the Stilo but, if you assume it's driven in a similar fashion and in a lighter body you'd expect better. I have to drive like a granny to get 50, no point in having a car like the Sporting if you're going to do that. The Stilo got well over 50 if I tried hard.