A petrol mileage question / Economy etc.

Thrifty tips, ideas, news & experiences on anything around the home to shopping to re-cycling etc.
bmpsands
Legendary Laner
Posts: 2660
Joined: 01 Mar 2012, 15:54
Gender: Female
Location: Buckton, East Yorkshire

Re: A petrol > mileage question

Post by bmpsands »

There's some interesting stuff there, Lancashire Lass. If I keep the clutch depressed on my car it "bongs" at me and the stop/start technology stops working for the rest of the journey.

I'm trying to be a more economical driver but feel that when I'm doing 55 on the local A roads, other drivers feel that I'm a nuisance. At least that's how I used to feel when I was dashing backwards and forwards for work trips etc. Perhaps if I bought a old lady's car folk would be more understanding.
Bea; 19 hens (most of whom I intended to get); 6 bantams (which I never intended to have); old Benji dog and young Toby dog (who I definitely wanted). Three years into country living and loving it.
User avatar
lancashire lass
Legendary Laner
Posts: 6527
Joined: 28 Jun 2007, 15:17

Re: A petrol > mileage question

Post by lancashire lass »

bmpsands wrote:If I keep the clutch depressed on my car it "bongs" at me and the stop/start technology stops working for the rest of the journey


Ah - either something is wrong with the car or the new technology likes to be in control so maybe not a good idea. The less sophisticated old bangers like mine are usually fine

bmpsands wrote:I'm trying to be a more economical driver but feel that when I'm doing 55 on the local A roads, other drivers feel that I'm a nuisance


Is 55 the most economical speed for your car or did you think that was what it might be? It takes trial and error with a little calculation to work out what is best for your particular car. If the road speed limit is National (ie up to 70 mph) then it's understandable if there are other road users behind you and you are determining their speed for them. I usually drive to the speed I feel is safe for the road conditions (might be 70 mph but some bends can be too tight to take at that speed) and when there is no-one behind me, then I would drop down to the speed I'm comfortable with whether it is for safety or economical reasons. These days I really don't do much driving other than the necessities - for the most part it is Monday-Friday to and from work, early Saturday morning to do my supermarket shop (less traffic but more importantly, less people in the supermarket :oops: ), Sunday to the allotment.
User avatar
p.penn
Moderator
Posts: 33921
Joined: 07 Jun 2008, 21:46
Gender: Female
Location: Rural Sussex

Re: A petrol > mileage question

Post by p.penn »

Thanks LL - I agree that my daily jaunt with Bailey must be using a lot of petrol }hairout{ but there is method in my madness, and at the moment drive her for 3 reasons

a) she can be a right pain on the lead, and as she gets very little in the way of actual exercise in the short walk there and back, it seems a better idea to pop her in the car and let her explode the other end {rofwl}

b) The walk is along a main road with no path, so a little bit iffy on occasions and

c) To slow the escalation of my early arthritis, I have been advised not to do too much walking, especially on concrete.

Mind you, having said that, I may just go for it again soon, as it does grieve me to get so little mileage from my car. {mr.angry}
Helen xx

3 children, 3 grandchildren, 3 chooks, 3 fish, a shrimp that thinks its a prawn and a dappy dog.
http://www.acountrygrandma.blogspot.com
Totally Scrambled
Site Admin
Posts: 13291
Joined: 07 Jul 2009, 20:33
Gender: Female
Location: Wateringbury, Kent

Re: A petrol > mileage question

Post by Totally Scrambled »

Richard wrote:I still can't fathom this out.

We buy Petrol in Litres yet we buy cars partly sold on the MPG, even telling our friends, as I do, "It gets 65 miles to the gallon" ?

We buy petrol/diesel in Litres 'cos Johnny Foreigner said that's how we have to do it but they haven't yet told us we have to measure our travels or speed in Kilometers, so what MPG a car does still is the most understandable way for us to measure vehicle economy.
Johny Foreigner doesn't measure vehicle ecomomy in Kilometers per Litre as they, strangely measure it by how many Litres of fuel a vehicle uses to travel 100 Kilometers >coc<
Our way is much better 'cos you can easily work out the maximum range of your car when you have a full tank of fuel.
Give me a system of measurement based on the real World rather than a made up system any day :-D
Dom
Ali Woks My World
User avatar
silverback
Legendary Laner
Posts: 4080
Joined: 08 Jul 2011, 14:47
Gender: Male
Location: Rural Essex

Re: A petrol > mileage question

Post by silverback »

Another thing you find with Manufacturers and MPG, is that if you have a full tank of fuel (lets say 10 gallons )t' ), and they say you will get 50mpg, then technically you should get 500 miles per tank, if fact you won't!, not with a full tank!!.
Because 10 gallons weigh more than 1 gallon, and because you have more weight, you will burn more fuel than you would with just 1 gallon in the tank!......simples :-D

You can always get more MPG in a lab

L.s.d.
Feet and inches
Pounds & ounces
Gallons quarts & pints )t'

Metric :b(
I am old and wise, because I was young and stupid!.
rhubarb93
Legendary Laner
Posts: 1714
Joined: 09 Jun 2010, 17:32
Location: Surrey

Re: A petrol > mileage question

Post by rhubarb93 »

I used to religiously fill my tank full and reset the trip each time so I could monitor consumption. That way I'd know if car was not performing well and needed attention. These days I don't bother, just use what I use.

OH's car gives a continuous readout of fuel consumption, and we find ourselves competing to see who can get the most MPG (usually him as i am too impatient to drive at optimum speed) - a bit sad, really, isn't it? Life is too short.
User avatar
lancashire lass
Legendary Laner
Posts: 6527
Joined: 28 Jun 2007, 15:17

Re: A petrol > mileage question

Post by lancashire lass »

p.penn wrote:Thanks LL - I agree that my daily jaunt with Bailey must be using a lot of petrol }hairout{ but there is method in my madness, and at the moment drive her for 3 reasons

a) she can be a right pain on the lead, and as she gets very little in the way of actual exercise in the short walk there and back, it seems a better idea to pop her in the car and let her explode the other end {rofwl}

b) The walk is along a main road with no path, so a little bit iffy on occasions and

c) To slow the escalation of my early arthritis, I have been advised not to do too much walking, especially on concrete.


My local park (open field/woodland) is just under a mile away from home so when I used to take the dog, it was easier to go in the car so I know exactly what you mean for virtually most of the same reasons. The other - by the time we'd get there, there was no time to actually go into the park and had to come straight back LOL ... kind of defeated the whole idea of a daily walk in the park where she could run around off lead and get better exercise and enjoy herself.

Mind you, having said that, I may just go for it again soon, as it does grieve me to get so little mileage from my car. {mr.angry}


what size engine have you got? It's been 6 months since I lost my dog and to be honest, I haven't really noticed much difference in fuel consumption (mine is a 1.1L) although having said that, the ongoing road works in and around Nottingham has meant sitting in traffic queues and crawling in 1st gear for most of the way to and from work }hairout{
User avatar
p.penn
Moderator
Posts: 33921
Joined: 07 Jun 2008, 21:46
Gender: Female
Location: Rural Sussex

Re: A petrol > mileage question

Post by p.penn »

Mine is 1.6, so a bit more juicy.
Helen xx

3 children, 3 grandchildren, 3 chooks, 3 fish, a shrimp that thinks its a prawn and a dappy dog.
http://www.acountrygrandma.blogspot.com
User avatar
wendy
Moderator
Posts: 29794
Joined: 30 Apr 2007, 14:13
Location: Hertfordshire
Contact:

Re: A petrol > mileage question

Post by wendy »

I have a little person inside my car that tells me the MPG as I am driving along. He sits inside one of the dials. >dum<
But if we can walk we do.
I am with you SB...still in £.s.d
http://www.busheyk9.co.uk

If you can't be a good example........
you will just have to be a horrible warning
bmpsands
Legendary Laner
Posts: 2660
Joined: 01 Mar 2012, 15:54
Gender: Female
Location: Buckton, East Yorkshire

Re: A petrol > mileage question

Post by bmpsands »

I don't potter about when I'm on a motorway or dual carriageway (my speeding ticket a few years ago will bear this out). My car has a gizmo that tells me my mpg and on local roads 55 seems to be the optimum speed for my little car. Holding her at 70 (honestly, never above that speed) takes more fuel but there's no way that I'm doing 55 on a motorway.

If I'm on a busy road I go at the speed of the traffic, and if that's 60mph that's what I do. Where I live,most of the time I've got the roads to myself pretty much and since I'm now retired and not dashing from job to job I quite enjoy taking in the scenery etc.

We also drive our dogs to an exercise spot where the dogs can have a long run off lead. We usually combine these daily trips with other things; today for example I'm calling in to pick up a few groceries. Yesterday I was delivering eggs to a friend. This kind of thing drops my mpg down to about 43mpg because the engine never gets thoroughly warm I expect.

I quite like the idea of comparing stats by using the amount of fuel needed to do 100km. My problem, like most people, is the one that Richard identified in the beginning. We are trying to compare apples with oranges most of the time. If car manufacturers and petrol suppliers all used the same measurements I would cope much better
Bea; 19 hens (most of whom I intended to get); 6 bantams (which I never intended to have); old Benji dog and young Toby dog (who I definitely wanted). Three years into country living and loving it.
User avatar
Richard
Lord Lane of Down...... Site Owner
Posts: 30037
Joined: 26 Apr 2007, 22:48
Gender: Male
Location: Ashford, Kent, UK

Re: A petrol > mileage question > Economy

Post by Richard »

Think I'll move this to the frugal category, some good points coming out.
Just added 'economy' to the title.

I made an effort driving to Southampton and back this weeked. I tried keeping the rev counter under 3 there and back.
This was achievable on the Motorway by doing 65 - 70mph. I noticed in the 50mph M25 speed limit stretch it was down to 2.5.

Anyways, upon my return I was amazed at how much petrol I still had in the tank compared to normal.

Richard
New Member? Get more from the Forum and join in 'Members Chat' - you're very welcome
HazellB
Longlasting Laner
Posts: 896
Joined: 18 Mar 2010, 20:18
Gender: Female

Re: A petrol mileage question / Economy etc.

Post by HazellB »

My 3.5 ton van and 2L Freelander have drinking habits I'd rather not ponder too much..... but at least they're both cheaper to drive than the petrol V6 Jag I had last!
@Sheldonatsov
My horrible dog's a Twit(ter)
Post Reply