[v1kra9]

Originally Posted by Topolino

Last week did a trip of ~1300 km and closely monitored the FE of my Beat. Please see the file attached herewith for more details. All calculations are made on tank full to tank full basis, total load being 160 kg.

I am getting only 10 KMPL on city, and 12 on highway, is there something wrong ? :( and i am a very careful driver !

[sajjt]

Originally Posted by alstonlobo

Now that the ICE project is complete, I am planning to install Bi-Xenon HIDs with angel eyes for my car.
Doing a lot of study and research on this. Probably will do a retro fit for the headlights and also looking at possibilities for projector lamps for fogs.
Interested in Bosch or Hella projectors at 4300K and 3000K fog lamps. Plans to materialise when Vitamin M is at its optimum level

Alston, getting a ready to snap on HID kits are easily available ranging from 7K onwards. Am using it on my beat, your choice of CT is good as 3k is too yellow with less absorption in bad weather. Why don't u consider 4.3K as its easily available than your preferred 3K and 4.3K is considered to be the best among all CT with a good balance over visibility as well as the white tinge light.

Considering the projector are also a good thought but only thing is pulling me back to use it in car. Bi Xen projector's high beam is not that impressive as the reflectors can offer. So am using it in my bike.

Here's it:


Hella/Bosch are very good brands to invest but very highly priced say about 25K. You will be happy with a HID kit as the Beat has got a perfect round reflectors which will take care of the focusing issues can arise on retrofitting HID kits on Halogen reflectors. A round reflector will give more focus and will emit less glares compared to other reflector shapes.

Originally Posted by v1kra9

I am getting only 10 KMPL on city, and 12 on highway, is there something wrong ? :( and i am a very careful driver !

Ah. at last. Am not alone here. I got many friends from my place who used to complain about the FE, but from here you are the first one dude. Am getting an average of 12kpl with mixed conditions including Highway+city+b2b crawling with AC but strictly in a range of 70-80kph. All was full tank to full tank figures and there is not much change after and before the ECU re mapping. I am getting a decent mileage from other cars I drive, so there should be something tweaked I hope.

Hey, when was your purchase? Mine was on end of Feb. I think there should be some bugs to be identified in the first production lot. Others please confirm, Salbin, Alston, Topolino.... Lets find out something matches.

[alstonlobo]

Originally Posted by sajjt

Alston, getting a ready to snap on HID kits are easily available ranging from 7K onwards. Am using it on my beat, your choice of CT is good as 3k is too yellow with less absorption in bad weather. Why don't u consider 4.3K as its easily available than your preferred 3K and 4.3K is considered to be the best among all CT with a good balance over visibility as well as the white tinge light.

Considering the projector are also a good thought but only thing is pulling me back to use it in car. Bi Xen projector's high beam is not that impressive as the reflectors can offer. So am using it in my bike.

Thanks for the info and advice Sajit. I'm wary of fixing just HID bulbs without projectors as the light would scatter. Having projector is a good way of focussing the beam. The reason why I prefer 3000K for fogs is that it has a yellowish tinge and yellow is the standard fog light colour though here normal halogen bulbs are used.

Another advantage of having the projector is for its cosmetic appeal just like the ones you see on luxury cars like BMW etc.

I'm in the thought process for the time being, will let you know as and when I have updates.

[Sheel]

Beat diesel caught testing--
2011 Chevrolet Beat Diesel caught testing; India launch in early 2011

[sajjt]

Originally Posted by alstonlobo

Thanks for the info and advice Sajit. I'm wary of fixing just HID bulbs without projectors as the light would scatter. Having projector is a good way of focussing the beam. The reason why I prefer 3000K for fogs is that it has a yellowish tinge and yellow is the standard fog light colour though here normal halogen bulbs are used.

Another advantage of having the projector is for its cosmetic appeal just like the ones you see on luxury cars like BMW etc.

I'm in the thought process for the time being, will let you know as and when I have updates.

Yes, projectors offers better control over beam spread and cut off line than the reflector based headlamps. Being with a round headlamp it can tackle much better than any of the other shapes of reflectors. That's why I am using it on my car. I was using the HID kit on my bike and later on once I found that it’s emitting a lot of glares I kept it aside and installed the projectors.

There's is a wrong belief that a bi xenon projector is far better than the any reflectors. It’s very true in low beam where you will get a nice, decent and needless to say legal beam pattern. It can’t be beaten by any type of reflector HLs. But once you switch to high beam the impression changes to a bit disappointment as the visibility is being sacrificed to an extent and you won’t feel confident while cruising high speeds where you want to see the things in a bit more distant view. There the reflector high beam takes the credits for lighting up the distant views and of course, it creates glares and without glares how will the on comer will notice you? Check for the luxury cars with projectors will have quad setup i.e., 2 low beam projectors and 2 reflectors high beams. The reason is simple as what I said before. Before using the projectors even I too had this assumption that this will be ultimate lighting system, but once started using it, thing were changed.

Yes, the halo rings got a nice appeal and it will stand out in the crowd once you switch it on. Sadly no halos are available for normal size reflectors except the cheap LED strips which makes car worse. Thing is, you won’t get a good halo rings like BMW’s using as it's very expensive to source. The only option left is going for the Chinese versions Angel Eyes with CCFL or even with LEDs but that won’t serve the purpose of DRL (Day Running Lights). It's just a show off piece rather than the proposed utility. If you closely watch my picture it's CCFL and the visibility is only at the time of evenings or early mornings where we put on our park lights while driving.

I wish beat had a quad HL setup like FIAT steeds like Linea, Stile etc so that I can go in for the projectors for low beam and the stock HB will be intact as stock.

Originally Posted by Sheel

Beat diesel caught testing--
2011 Chevrolet Beat Diesel caught testing; India launch in early 2011

That’s very interesting to hear that Beat is coming up with a Diesel variant. But the price difference between petrol and diesel are bit disgusting. It's just 30K? Can't imagine the price difference is going narrow.

[informmaha]

Originally Posted by quadmaniac

I don't believe that. MB is one of the most sold colors, from what I've seen on Hyd roads. (Perhaps only after the green)

Unless our taste in color varies too much from city to city

So if thats really the case... then

+ the blue would become somewhat of a collector's item ;-)
- I hope they'd have the color for paint jobs etc

Yes Quad, rather than variation from city to city, its from state to state

As far as i have asked in many places in chennai, tamil nadu (deep south) and bangalore every dealer says that MB is the less sold color and they say CG, Red and Linen biege are the most sold colors, but i dont believe on LB though, since you cannot spot many on road (since i went for LB they might have added that color to the list for my sake ). I agree on the other 2 colors. Have not checked personally in other states though.

So we can expect many new metallic colors in another 6 months along with the LPG and diesel variant.

[Topolino]

Originally Posted by informmaha

@ Topolino

Wounder how you have this much patience to do all the calculations.. Great work and your vehicle has good FE too.

Thanks informmaha, Most of the time me and my wife are on-board and all the record is kept by my wife. I simply tell her the odometer reading, driving condition (Highway, Sub-Urban, City (normal/B2B), Uphill/Downhill, at what rpm car is being run, amount of petrol filled. She notes down everything and at the end of the day we do all the calculations.

Originally Posted by sajjt

Needless to say, good work Topolino What is your normal rpm range? Within 2k? Am a careless driver in 1-2 gears as it will shoot beyond 2k at times.

I usually upshift between >1400 - 2000 rpm band in normal city traffic. But on highways some times also took car upto 4400 rpm in 1st gear and upto 6000 rpm in 2 gear and many a times upshifted between 3000-3500 rpm band. Worst FE I ever got is 10.8 kmpl without AC in city, but that was when I abused the car, most of the time upshifted between >2400 - 4400 rpm band and drove mostly in 1st-2nd-3rd gears. Best FE I ever got is 19.70 kmpl without AC on highway, when I upsifted between > 1400 - 2000 rpm band and kept < 2500 rpm in 5th gear.

Originally Posted by v1kra9

I am getting only 10 KMPL on city, and 12 on highway, is there something wrong ? :( and i am a very careful driver !

Originally Posted by sajjt

Ah. at last. Am not alone here. I got many friends from my place who used to complain about the FE, but from here you are the first one dude. Am getting an average of 12kpl with mixed conditions including Highway+city+b2b crawling with AC but strictly in a range of 70-80kph. All was full tank to full tank figures and there is not much change after and before the ECU re mapping. I am getting a decent mileage from other cars I drive, so there should be something tweaked I hope.

10 kmpl in city and 12 kmpl on highway is definitely very less. On highway with 100% AC ON I got ~18 kmpl, speed 70-80 kmph, rpm < 2500.

Originally Posted by sajjt

Hey, when was your purchase? Mine was on end of Feb. I think there should be some bugs to be identified in the first production lot. Others please confirm, Salbin, Alston, Topolino.... Lets find out something matches.

My purchase is of April. Oxygen and Salbin are also getting good FE in the range of 13 - 17 kmpl.

[Gautam Misra]

Originally Posted by Joy

I agree with you regarding Figo's plastic quality. Since my parents stay with me, I am thinking in terms of rear and boot space. But anyday if I take petrol, it will be Beat LT (though not taken test drive of Figo petrol).

The plastic quality of the Beat is a class apart. However, it's boot space which may not be to the liking of your parents.

[akshatverma1979]

Originally Posted by Topolino

10 kmpl in city and 12 kmpl on highway is definitely very less. On highway with 100% AC ON I got ~18 kmpl, speed 70-80 kmph, rpm < 2500.


My purchase is of April. Oxygen and Salbin are also getting good FE in the range of 13 - 17 kmpl.

Even i'm a very enthusiastic driver wih revving the car crazily very frequently...my last 3 FE tankfull to tankfull were
1) 15.2 kmpl --- City 80% Highway 20 %
AC 30 % Non-AC 70 %

2) 14.9 kmpl --- City 90 % Highway 10 %
AC 15-20 % Non-AC 80-85 %

3) 13.7 kmpl --- City 80 % Highway 20 %
AC 35 % Non-AC 65 %

So, i guess ppl getting 10 kmpl ,somethingswrong. I dont even care to upshift at 1500-2000 rpm and frequently go upto 3500-4000 or more, still getting good FE. If u r getting 12 odd kmpl then i guess its acceptable. I started getting above 13 only after my 5000 km service. Am at 7800 kms on the ODO right now.

March end LT Model. Without ECU remapping.

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by akshatverma1979

Even i'm a very enthusiastic driver wih revving the car crazily very frequently...my last 3 FE tankfull to tankfull were
1) 15.2 kmpl --- City 80% Highway 20 %
AC 30 % Non-AC 70 %

2) 14.9 kmpl --- City 90 % Highway 10 %
AC 15-20 % Non-AC 80-85 %

3) 13.7 kmpl --- City 80 % Highway 20 %
AC 35 % Non-AC 65 %

So, i guess ppl getting 10 kmpl ,somethingswrong. I dont even care to upshift at 1500-2000 rpm and frequently go upto 3500-4000 or more, still getting good FE. If u r getting 12 odd kmpl then i guess its acceptable. I started getting above 13 only after my 5000 km service. Am at 7800 kms on the ODO right now.

March end LT Model. Without ECU remapping.

What I believe its the AC that is the culprit. You are getting these figures as your AC usage is less than 30%. I can assure you that you cant get more than 12KMpl with that kind of driving with 100% AC on.

With 100% ac and 100% city driving I am getting 12 Kmpl.
Its like my 5 KM trip to office takes 20 min (most of the times) and that too with 100% AC. Idling and AC eing. This being 70% of the time I spend in my car, FE cant be said bad.
* I am running with remapped ECU - Comparatively better performance. Should take a toll on FE.
* Found out Tyre pressure = 27 PSi. Got corrected. Will post FE figures in next tankful.

Bottomline- Want more FE. Turn off the AC.
IMHO AC is too much of a chiller. People with ACC should be loving it!!

[akshatverma1979]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

What I believe its the AC that is the culprit. You are getting these figures as your AC usage is less than 30%. I can assure you that you cant get more than 12KMpl with that kind of driving with 100% AC on.

With 100% ac and 100% city driving I am getting 12 Kmpl.
Its like my 5 KM trip to office takes 20 min (most of the times) and that too with 100% AC. Idling and AC eing. This being 70% of the time I spend in my car, FE cant be said bad.
* I am running with remapped ECU - Comparatively better performance. Should take a toll on FE.
* Found out Tyre pressure = 27 PSi. Got corrected. Will post FE figures in next tankful.

Bottomline- Want more FE. Turn off the AC.
IMHO AC is too much of a chiller. People with ACC should be loving it!!

Without AC FE surely does increase, But not so much that i'll get just 10 kmpl with AC. Mine is ACC which i always kept at "LO" setting. In summers my AC usage was 95-100 %, so naturally got low average. But even with my Enthusiastic driving, I always got 12.5-13.5 hovering average. Never did it drop below that. In fact u had advised me way back in the ownership thread to do it the 'tankful to tankful' method. What i mean is after 5000 kms service its persistently above 13.5 kmpl,even the one time i used it post service with 80 % AC on, i got 14 kmpl (mostly city). So i guess its something wrong with the car or the way the person is driving for the ppl getting 10 kmpl.

[sajjt]

Originally Posted by akshatverma1979

Even i'm a very enthusiastic driver wih revving the car crazily very frequently...my last 3 FE tankfull to tankfull were
1) 15.2 kmpl --- City 80% Highway 20 %
AC 30 % Non-AC 70 %

2) 14.9 kmpl --- City 90 % Highway 10 %
AC 15-20 % Non-AC 80-85 %

3) 13.7 kmpl --- City 80 % Highway 20 %
AC 35 % Non-AC 65 %

So, i guess ppl getting 10 kmpl ,somethingswrong. I dont even care to upshift at 1500-2000 rpm and frequently go upto 3500-4000 or more, still getting good FE. If u r getting 12 odd kmpl then i guess its acceptable. I started getting above 13 only after my 5000 km service. Am at 7800 kms on the ODO right now.

March end LT Model. Without ECU remapping.

Makes me shy by seeing this figures man. But the upshifts are more careful in my case as most of the times it wont cross 2K but at times for the 1-2 gears and for the rest of the gears will be 2-2.5K.

Sounds something something wrong or my car is yet to run 5K kms?

My best figure was 12Kpl but thats an average of all conditions of drives so it doesnt give any promising figures I hope.

Originally Posted by oxyzen

What I believe its the AC that is the culprit. You are getting these figures as your AC usage is less than 30%. I can assure you that you cant get more than 12KMpl with that kind of driving with 100% AC on.

With 100% ac and 100% city driving I am getting 12 Kmpl.
Its like my 5 KM trip to office takes 20 min (most of the times) and that too with 100% AC. Idling and AC eing. This being 70% of the time I spend in my car, FE cant be said bad.
* I am running with remapped ECU - Comparatively better performance. Should take a toll on FE.
* Found out Tyre pressure = 27 PSi. Got corrected. Will post FE figures in next tankful.

Bottomline- Want more FE. Turn off the AC.
IMHO AC is too much of a chiller. People with ACC should be loving it!!

+1 Oxygen, but how long you can keep way this super chiller when driving? I am so addicted to its performance, not felt so effectively in other cars in the same category

AC compressor eats up a good chunk of power from the engine. You can see the rpm drops almost 3-4 bars of rpm at idling when you switch on the AC. I will be using the AC as much as possible but being its a super chiller I switch off the AC switch every now and then.

There's another chance of lower FE, amplifier. If you switch on the ice at idling, there too you can see a few drops of rpm when you push the volume to its half limit especially some hip hop type of music. But I dont play music loud when driving but we should not rule out that possibility too.

But there's nothing to worry when compared to other 1.2lts. Figo is returning an average of 12-14kpl, AStar is returning bit higher 14-16kpl average. No idea about the other Polo and Micra.

Originally Posted by akshatverma1979

Without AC FE surely does increase, But not so much that i'll get just 10 kmpl with AC. Mine is ACC which i always kept at "LO" setting. In summers my AC usage was 95-100 %, so naturally got low average. But even with my Enthusiastic driving, I always got 12.5-13.5 hovering average. Never did it drop below that. In fact u had advised me way back in the ownership thread to do it the 'tankful to tankful' method. What i mean is after 5000 kms service its persistently above 13.5 kmpl,even the one time i used it post service with 80 % AC on, i got 14 kmpl (mostly city). So i guess its something wrong with the car or the way the person is driving for the ppl getting 10 kmpl.

As I said earlier, being with a smart AC how can you set the AC to low? Get the cabin cooled within minutes and enjoy the ride.

[Alphaprime1509]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

What I believe its the AC that is the culprit. You are getting these figures as your AC usage is less than 30%. I can assure you that you cant get more than 12KMpl with that kind of driving with 100% AC on.

This is not true. You see there are a number of variables that control the mileage of a car, Engine rev, AC, load, driving habits are some of them. As a blanket statement your mileage with 100% AC on should not vary more than + or - 2km of the base mileage of your car. So if the mileage of your car is say 16 km without AC then with 100% AC you shouldn't be getting less than 13.5 to 14 KMPL. If its less than that then there are other variables you should consider. What kind of a driver are you? Do you waste a lot of engine revs by over clutching or under clutching? Do you rev hard? do you do lot of idling? are you traveling short distances or do you "flame out" (turn off) the engine before it reaches optimum opertating temp? If your answer to these questions is yes, then you know who to blame.

From my experience on the Beat which has currently run for 8000+ kms and 90% AC on it is no longer a "new car" and I consistently get a mileage of 14 to 15KMPL. IF you are revving more than necessary and your AC is always on then it is wrong to expect high mileage figures. Its a car and so the more you tax it the more it will drink. I would say, there is a way/skill/art to obtain the best mileage from your car. I usually dont tax the car too much on lower gears and climb to higher gears as fast as possible(situation and drive permitting). It is also no use looking at the rpm and then changing gears. No experience driver would do that. You need to tune your skills and be in sync with the engine in such a manner that you up shift or down shift at the exact point where a change is required. If you shift too late you will over rev resulting in more fuel intake, if you shift to early then you disrupt the gear cycle of the car or will cause some knocking if you are too slow at a higher gear. The key point here is to be at the right gear at the right speed.

Lastly, a note to those so called "enthusiastic drivers" - please understand that this is not a high performance car. Its simply a well designed city car meant to take you from point a to point b in comfort and in one piece. A fast or enuthusiastic driver does not make a good driver(This is not my personal view). By being over enthusiastic not only are you taxing the car but also creating unnecessary risk. If you are a speed freak then please hit the race track with a car that is designed for such use. I am positive that if the above factors are taken into account it will ensure long life of the cars engine and also be lighter on the pocket by guzzling less fuel (which is not getting cheaper).

Drive safe and stay cool
Cheers!

[myavu]

Hi Beaters!

Mine is an April 2010 LT Model and clocked 2500 so far (very less running in the month of August due to heavy rain and water-logging here in Delhi.

I drive with 100% AC (22-23 degree C with half blower) all the time and in terrible B2B traffic (those who know South Delhi - Ambedkar Nagar - Moolchand - Barakhamba Rd.) I am getting 11 kmpl and in the highway 15 kmpl.

OT: Now Metro had started services from Gurgaon to New Delhi and I can catch one from Saket. (40mins ride) But today it took 45 minutes to reach Saket from Ambedkar Nagar - 3Kms (reason sea of water at Saket - Thanks for heavy rain since morning 4)

Cheers!

Vinu

[sajjt]

Originally Posted by Alphaprime1509

This is not true. You see there are a number of variables that control the mileage of a car, Engine rev, AC, load, driving habits are some of them. As a blanket statement your mileage with 100% AC on should not vary more than + or - 2km of the base mileage of your car. So if the mileage of your car is say 16 km without AC then with 100% AC you shouldn't be getting less than 13.5 to 14 KMPL. If its less than that then there are other variables you should consider. What kind of a driver are you? Do you waste a lot of engine revs by over clutching or under clutching? Do you rev hard? do you do lot of idling? are you traveling short distances or do you "flame out" (turn off) the engine before it reaches optimum opertating temp? If your answer to these questions is yes, then you know who to blame.

From my experience on the Beat which has currently run for 8000+ kms and 90% AC on it is no longer a "new car" and I consistently get a mileage of 14 to 15KMPL. IF you are revving more than necessary and your AC is always on then it is wrong to expect high mileage figures. Its a car and so the more you tax it the more it will drink. I would say, there is a way/skill/art to obtain the best mileage from your car. I usually dont tax the car too much on lower gears and climb to higher gears as fast as possible(situation and drive permitting). It is also no use looking at the rpm and then changing gears. No experience driver would do that. You need to tune your skills and be in sync with the engine in such a manner that you up shift or down shift at the exact point where a change is required. If you shift too late you will over rev resulting in more fuel intake, if you shift to early then you disrupt the gear cycle of the car or will cause some knocking if you are too slow at a higher gear. The key point here is to be at the right gear at the right speed.

Lastly, a note to those so called "enthusiastic drivers" - please understand that this is not a high performance car. Its simply a well designed city car meant to take you from point a to point b in comfort and in one piece. A fast or enuthusiastic driver does not make a good driver(This is not my personal view). By being over enthusiastic not only are you taxing the car but also creating unnecessary risk. If you are a speed freak then please hit the race track with a car that is designed for such use. I am positive that if the above factors are taken into account it will ensure long life of the cars engine and also be lighter on the pocket by guzzling less fuel (which is not getting cheaper).

Drive safe and stay cool
Cheers!

Alphaprime, Good going dude.

I've been driving since the age of 20 and I assumed that I've learned a lot about driving skills during these 20 years. But your post is really an eye opener for everyone. Even though most of the tips you have pointed are not new but still never been closely followed like lugging the engine in wrong gears at some of the times. In nutshell, proper gear shift at the right time will ensure better FE as well as more life to the engine is the thumb rule to be applied.