[drsingh]

http://motoroids.com/news/maruti-suz...onomy-figures/

I have always wanted to know, how these mileage rallies work.

And how randomly picked drivers can turn into hyper milers with 'tips and tricks' from 'maruti engineers' .That too in real world conditions with checkpoints at every 10 kms.

And I guess no remaps of any kind.!
People who have participated in such marketing driven events or those with technical know how,kindly enlighten the rest of us!

http://www.rushlane.com/maruti-suzuk...r-1276590.html

[drmohitg]

I am sure there is some kind of catch here. There was earlier a similar drive with Nano and once with Manza IIRC. In real world this is surely not possible. But even with a very modified style of driving is it really possible to attain figures of 40 kmpl? Unless you are going downhill in neutral .
But can these results be fabricated, under all that media attention?

[girishglg]

The mileage figures are actually an 'Amaze' ing effect

Clearly Maruti is feeling the heat of its latest competitor and creating all types of marketing hype to guard its wares. Read on from ET-

http://articles.economictimes.indiat...-petrol-option

MSI said over 2,100 participants took part in the Dzire mileage rally held across 31 cities to contest how economically they could drive their cars. In Delhi, 105 people took part and the average mileage in diesel option was 30.9 kmpl, while in petrol it was 26.63 kmpl. In Mumbai the average mileage of 62 participants in diesel was 32.4 kmpl and in petrol it was 30.6 kmpl.

Not sure how many cars actually delivered 45kmpl

[Soumyajit9]

These are purely Marketing Driven programmes. There could be various factors contributing to such a magical mileage. Some factors could be:

- Type of Fuel used - This could be a high quality (probably best) quality fuel directly sourced from oil companies. This might not be readily available in real world.
- Type of Tires - These could be some some modified / customized tires which cause the least friction. Who knows, they might be sourcing F1 tiers for that matter !!
- Engine mods - The engine could be modded for performance factor, but a company wouldn't possibly go that far, because a customer would only say "Maruti's engine delivers 40km/l. A customer wouldn't think of the ideal conditions while buying a car. The only think that will strike a customer is Maruti's superior engine.
- Roads - Ofcourse there are no "optimal conditions" road in India. Unless you are truck driver and always drive on Eexpressways (Yamuna for instance).

So if one starts considering all these factors, one "can" or "might" be able to achieve that mileage feat. Apart from that, Maruti is Maruti and Tata is Tata. The list of these brand loyalists are uncountable. Customers will buy a Maruti or a Tata irrespective of these gimmicks.

[agambhandari]

Most of these are Manufacturer backed rallies, with no third-part auditing party. Who is to certify, that the cars didn't stop midway , to refuel?
There are some that are done by the Magazines, but those are not done in real world conditions, and done at constant speeds.

[supremeBaleno]

Marketing gimmick, like what we have seen being done by other manufacturers in the past. As it is, the ARAI FE figures are themselves not real-world figures, but the general public assume that they will get those figures and end up disappointed. Add to it, these kind of tall claims and the disappointment increases.

[StarrySky]

I have hit 29.0kmpl (figure from MID) in my Fiat Punto MJD over a distance of more than 75km (from Trichur to Cochin). It wasn't a mileage rally, just an early morning start and minimal AC usage. This was about 2 years back when the 4-laning work was still going on in this stretch. I was checking out how much fuel mileage I can get (that's why AC usage was minimal). The photo is in my ownership thread.

Just 2 weeks back, I hit 26.0kmpl (figure from MID) with 100% ACC usage in the same car over the same stretch. This time, I wasn't even trying to set any mileage records - but was just driving as smoothly as possible, with speeds never exceeding 90kmph, mostly between 70-80kmph.

So an average figure of 30.9kmpl for diesel cars in the rally in Delhi (as per report quoted above) does not surprise me at all. In fact, it sounds low for a mileage rally. Even 32.4kmpl from the Mumbai rally looks very much achievable.

[drsingh]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

These are purely Marketing Driven programmes. There could be various factors contributing to such a magical mileage. Some factors could be:

- Type of Fuel used - This could be a high quality (probably best) quality fuel directly sourced from oil companies. This might not be readily available in real world.
- Type of Tires - These could be some some modified / customized tires which cause the least friction. Who knows, they might be sourcing F1 tiers for that matter !!
- Engine mods - The engine could be modded for performance factor, but a company wouldn't possibly go that far, because a customer would only say "Maruti's engine delivers 40km/l. A customer wouldn't think of the ideal conditions while buying a car. The only think that will strike a customer is Maruti's superior engine.
- Roads - Ofcourse there are no "optimal conditions" road in India. Unless you are truck driver and always drive on Eexpressways (Yamuna for instance).

So if one starts considering all these factors, one "can" or "might" be able to achieve that mileage feat. Apart from that, Maruti is Maruti and Tata is Tata. The list of these brand loyalists are uncountable. Customers will buy a Maruti or a Tata irrespective of these gimmicks.

I doubt they emptied out fuel tanks and refilled with "super fuel"

I doubt they changed tyres.

As per reports the drivers were given " instructions for optimum mileage" and were told the result at the end. No explanation as to how they arrived at the result and no way for the participants to know how it was calculated.

I am more interested in the process- tankful method,some OBD gadgetry? or some other electronic method of measurement?

[aniketi]

Wow .. hope we will get such a dream mileage one day

My friend who used to have Dzire Diesel, used to claim that it gives 28 kmpl on highways with AC. I am not sure how accurate it was but surely he was getting very good mileage. Many Swift / Dzire diesel people make tall claims about the average. Though 45 is impossible in daily routine, 25 is also like a dream mileage for sure.

[goandude]

For serious hypermiling they would probably use a combination of techniques like:-

1. inflating tyres to 10% less than max
2. Removing ORVMs
3. Pulse and glide
4. Max speed below 90 kmph
5. no ac and all windows up
6. keeping car in 5th gear
7. selecting flat roads
8. no electrical accessories

But the above is impractical for day to day usage. As far as Dzire mileage is concerned attaching a screenshot of my full tank to full tank calculated mileage for over 38k kms and some 70+ fillings

[saket77]

Now, me ready to bear the brunt but I read in a car magazine some 12-13 years ago, (I think it was Auto India or Overdrive), that some guy has managed to squeeze a 66kmpl on a Daewoo Matiz
It was the time when Matiz was among its hey days but later succumbed to the fate of its manufacturing company- Daewoo Motors. I am unable to find a source to the above, but if any one had gone through this article or news may add a testimonial!

Regards,
Saket

[ACM]

The Claim is possible.

1) Light occupants + Less number of Occupants (preferably go solo.)
2) Average of 30 among participants is also quite good.
3) AC OFF
4) Windows UP
5) All Electronics OFF.
6) Upper Speed Limit of 60 kmph on flat roads - though on downward slopes it could be higher.
7) Keep car in 5th Gear for max time possible.
8) Jump (skip) gears while shifting up and down. - N,1,2,3,5 upshifts and 5,3,2,N downshifts.
9) Glide to a stop at signals (Should not require to brake).
10) Minimum Braking.
11) Minimum half clutch operation.

This is a good marketing trip, obviously to counter Amaze which could probably do even better in a similar contest.
11) Gradual acceleration only.

[PetrolRider]

As per my knowledge, ARAI fuel consumption figures are most optimal figures for a car one can expect in real world. Sometimes it is possible to break those figures at certain road condition and driving style, but marginally. A 4 to 5 km variation, is I think the maximum one can achieve. Even I have achieved a 4 km per liter increment from ARAI figure in my car driving at 80 and at 5th gear constantly for an hour.

If they claim double of the ARAI figure is achievable in real world scenario, why not they share the same at ARAI?

[ACM]

Originally Posted by PetrolRider

As per my knowledge, ARAI fuel consumption figures are most optimal figures for a car one can expect in real world. Sometimes it is possible to break those figures at certain road condition and driving style, but marginally. A 4 to 5 km variation, is I think the maximum one can achieve. Even I have achieved a 4 km per liter increment from ARAI figure in my car driving at 80 and at 5th gear constantly for an hour.

If they claim double of the ARAI figure is achievable in real world scenario, why not they share the same at ARAI?

ARAI fuel consumption figures typically call for a low traffic (almost Nil) situation but these are to the best of my knowledge with AC ON. The measures adopted for gaining the figures in this contest are quite dramatic compared to how the ARAI figures are obtained which by themselves are normally 20% better than what we achieve in normal driving.

[CPJ]

Maruti seems desperate to tackle the threat from Honda Amaze. These mileage rallies are nothing but marketing strategies to garner some much needed public attention back to Maruti Desire.
I bet if Honda was to arrange such type of mileage rallies then the Amaze would deliver almost the same kind of fuel efficiency if not better.