Team-BHP - ARTICLE: How to get the maximum Fuel Efficiency

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinkiedonk

11) Priodically conduct all mechanical and electrical checks yourself. Rats mice can play havoc.. My personal experience-a rat chewed off the wires to my Auto shut off of the Fuel tank.

Those are great tips. Thanks. Keep 'em coming.

Would be great if you could share/explain with photos the actual electrical checks that should be carried out..no idea about the various electrical wires and what they are meant for.

ahem if it is a diesel car in question please do note that for optimum combustion which is essential to keep your engine in prime condition you should ensure that the turbo is kept spooling at a healthy rpm hence shifting gears early will give you a good fuel figure but a noisier engine at a later date. my scorpio and swift engine are almost as good as new at 65,000 + kms and 30,000+ kms respectively. dont over rev and dont under rev and strike a good balance between engine smoothness, fuel economy and time spent on the road. edit: speed
as a tyre pressure fanatic i found no major advantage in using nitrogen except a higher price. in case any of you want to use nitrogen please note that the tyre should be under vacuum (partial) and only after that should you fill nitrogen for max (so called gain). as a tourer who adjusts tyre pressure whne on the high way or punting in the other city/town i cant afford to look for a nitrogen filling station which will charge me a bomb for top up. its cool if you are going to the same bunk on a regular basis coz then any top up is free.
dear i twenty let me reassure you that you can let go of the clutch completely in a lot more circumstances than you may be doing currently in mumbai traffic. my dad would half clutch at times due to the proximity of the car ahead but i just coaxed him into leaving it completely and letting the engine pull without any throttle input and it can make a lot of difference not in fuel efficiency but towards clutch life as well.

Hi!! Useful tips. I would like to share some experiences of mine as well. I have a swift petrol and i don't need to tell about bangalore traffic

To first get an idea of your FE, fill in for an amount that is easy for you to remember. I fill in for 1000 bucks b/w refills and i get about 250 kms at Rs50.45 / lite. Thats about 12.5 kms/ litre in city driving conditions. AC on and off 50 % of the time.You will get an average by the third refill ,which is an accurate indication of the FE/ condition of your car / How you drive. Also, try and figure out which fuelling station is good. I fill in at shell as they don't cheat on quantity. Sounds stupid but if the guy has filled in less fuel than the FE goes for a toss
Switch off the engine at lengthy signals. It does do its bit to save fuel
There is a false notion that driving in lower gears reduces FE. It does at higher speeds, not if you are in bumber to bumber traffic. I have seen some people who keep half clutching in the third gear at 20kmph. Thats bad for your FE / Clutch and the engine. Try and get into 2nd or even first gear if u are snailing at 1o to 15kmph.
Try to park the car in a shade as much as possible. If you can't then don't switch on the AC immediately after getting into the car. U will burn fuel. Open the windows, turn the blower on and turn the knob that directs the went to the feet. The logic is the colder heavier air displaces the hotter, lighter air and then you can switch on the AC. Remember to turn on the circulation button. The cooling is faster. If u can get hold of windscreen and windows visors with the suction caps, use them. The interior will be lot less hotter.
Get your vehicle serviced regularly
If you want to be the fastest off the block at signals, then kiss the FE good bye.
At speeds above 60 or 80 close the windows, it helps the aero dynamics and the FE also. I know this sounds crazy , but it is logical

Quote:

Originally Posted by netarchie (Post 1642616)

Good write up. Most of the points apply to all cars.
I have driven my fusion P 1.6 706 kms on a single tank and still about 3 liters remaining when I filled her up!

I don't use my car regularly, so I do two mileage checks immediately after a service - one for city and one for highway - and will not bother until the next service. My method is as follows; I will select a Sunday on which I will do an extensive trip of 70 - 80 KM. Then go to the Shell pump, fill up to auto cut off from a particular dispenser, and once it cuts off, continue to fill manually up to an inch below the fuel lid. Then set the trip meter to zero and drive off. While returning visit the same pump/dispenser and again fill as described. Divide distance covered by qty filled for an (almost) accurate FE figure. The above method yielded a city FE of 18.69 KMPL yesterday, with 25% A/C usage!

I will follow the same method for highway drives too. A drive to Pondy is planned for the next week-end for this. The last check was during a drive to Vellore on October 2nd which yielded 23 KMPL.

Car was serviced on 24th (second service). As soon as I do the highway test, I will not bother till next June when car will go for third service!:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gansan (Post 1654711)

Did the check on 2nd Jan when we went to Pondy. The mileage with 50% A/C usage was 22.35 KMPL. Speed maintained was 70 - 90 KMPH.

Quote:

Originally Posted by navan49 (Post 1687252)

Hi friends,

I always fill the tank till the brim. I calculate the lilage every fill. Some times mixed trips in city and high way. Some times onlly in High way. Some times only in city.

The Ritz VDi gives
18kms/ltr in city.
Mixed city Highway use 18 to 19.
High way in a speed between 80-140. gives 20 to 21 kms/ltr

Third service is over on 10050kms. Present odo is 11771. Age 4 months.

That is some driving!clap:

And your mileage figures are excellent, I must say.

Quote:

Originally Posted by navan49 (Post 1713411)

Hi gansanji,

It is a great mileage for the alto. It is like two wheeler driving with your Alto. One query is that any idea about the best fuel station around Meenambakkam,Tambaram Velachery.

I would state them in my order of preference:

1. The Shell station on GST road at Chromepet.

2. The HP station near Radisson hotel,GST Road,Meenambakkam. This will be the first bunk on your left side as you proceed from the OTA.

3. The BP station adjacent to the aforementioned HP one.

4. The IOC station (Shanthi Petroleum) immediately after Trident hotel.

5. The HP station (Mahalaxmi agencies) at R.P Road, Nehru Nagar, Chromepet. To access this you will have to climb on the MIT Flyover and enter Nehru Nagar. As soon as you come down the bridge on Chitlapakkam Main Road, you have to turn left opposite to a tall multi lamp mast to enter R.P.Road (that leads to Hastinapuram). This bunk will be to your left as soon as you enter this road. From there you can again cross the flyover in a jiffy to access GST Road and continue your journey.

Apart from these, there is a BP station (Paramasivan & sons) adjacent to Spic building at Guindy, Which is supposed to be good. All our office vehicles fuel up here. And there is another BP station owned by Lorry owners' association at Kadaperi, Tambaram. I am referring these two from anecdotal evidence only, I have not filled personally.

Hope the above is sufficient. I have no idea about good bunks at Velacheri.