[PowerSpike]

Originally Posted by toyotafanboi

6. Almost all modern cars have a feature called deceleration fuel cut off (DFCO) which essentially cuts off fuel when decelerating in gear above a certain engine rpm. This means when going downhill, staying in gear not only provides engine braking but uses virtually no fuel (when off the accelerator).

Are there any hypermiling techniques you guys use that are not mentioned here? Please share them below

Excellent points all.
On the 6th point, while coasting downhill, there are 2 schools of thought.
A. Keep the car in gear with AC on to achieve more mileage.
B. Keep the car in neutral to reduce frictional losses and allow car to build more speed so it glides further on the flat portion of the road.

I prefer to follow the 2nd point as most of the times I drive solo. But I believe that in a fully loaded car the first point will give more mileage as the car will have enough weight to overcome the frictional losses.

Thoughts welcome.

I have also gamified the process of getting more mileage each time I take the car out.

I have a Petrol Maruti Swift and am averaging 20.7 KMPL in city and semi-highway drives that includes 20% bumper to bumper traffic.

This is the overall FE figure as per the car's inbuilt computer after over 10,000 kms since purchasing the vehicle and not tank to tank filling method.

However, I don't skip comfort over mileage. Eg. If I have to talk to my friends when parked for couple of hours, I keep the AC on.
If I have to reach someplace quickly I drive fast without looking at the FE figures.

I compensate for the above higher gas consumption by
A. driving more sedately in the left lane, ensuring that the current FE is always higher than the avg FE, even when climbing a slope.
B. Anticipating breaking points and trying to "time the signals" (while ensuring I'm not a nuisance to others around me on the road)
C. Using ABCs as less as possible as mentioned above.
D. Keeping the Fastag recharged to avoid excessive stoppages at toll booths.
E. If possible, changing my travel times to use the roads when they are less occupied.
F. Regular and recommended maintenance at authorized service centers.
G. Filling fuel from only 1 company petrol pump (HP) to avoid mixing fuels from different providers.
H. Keeping tyres well inflated at regular intervals.

[oh_maan]

I have an Innova Crysta MT and I have been wondering about how cruise control and driving modes interact with one another.

Crysta has 3 drive modes: Eco, Normal and Power (Sports). Eco is really dull on the throttle response, Normal is peppy and Power mode is bliss. Now, I know that as it gets peppier, there is a drop in FE. But what I am unsure off is what happens if I switch on cruise control in each of these drive modes. When cruise control is on, will it use the same amount of fuel (and therefore drive mode with cruise control has no impact) or will it continue to use the same amount of fuel as in manual mode and so there is a drop in FE?

My driving style is to get upto cruising speed (100-120) as quickly as possible and then cruise. Therefore Eco mode is just too dull on highways and I prefer to be on Normal mode to build speed quickly and then switch on cruise control and mode to ECO mode. If cruise control will use the same amount of fuel in all modes then it will save me all this switching back and forth.

[A.K.]

Hello everyone.

I have a 2016 Creta petrol which I recently serviced at my neighborhood garage.

I used the recommended 5W30 fully synthetic, changed the oil filter, air filter, cabin filter, brake pads etc.

Since my car had clocked 50,000 kms I decided to flush the engine with Liqui Moly engine flush and change the spark plugs as well. The shop had an option of NGK Iridium spark plugs and I thought they'll be a good option.

All good so far. The car revs much more smoothly than before. There is a slight judder in 1st gear for the past 10,000 odd kms, which my mechanic attributes to the clutch. It affects drivability and takes away from a smooth ride. Past the 1st gear, it revs quite smoothly.

Now the problem, after a couple of tank fils, I realized that my mileage had dropped quite substantially. I am tanking up every 350 kms which works out to about 7 to 7.5 kms per liter. It used to be around 9.5 to 10 kms per litre before the service. My wallet is bleeding.

I have no other modifications or have done anything different this service.

I hope someone can help me diagnose this issue.

Thanks.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by A.K.

Now the problem, after a couple of tank fils, I realized that my mileage had dropped quite substantially. I am tanking up every 350 kms which works out to about 7 to 7.5 kms per liter. It used to be around 9.5 to 10 kms per litre before the service. My wallet is bleeding.

Have you actually calculated properly tank-to-tank refills based on trip meter readout and liters consumed to auto-stop? Perhaps you use the aircon a lot more considering it is summer now? Are the tyre pressures stable?

[A.K.]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Have you actually calculated properly tank-to-tank refills based on trip meter readout and liters consumed to auto-stop? Perhaps you use the aircon a lot more considering it is summer now? Are the tyre pressures stable?

Hi Ishaan,

I've done tankfull to tankfull. Tyre pressure was 33 psi as always and I have always driven with AC on so this sudden and dramatic drop is alarming.

I've just checked my oil level as well and the damn mechanic has overfilled the oil.

I've checked on the dipstick and it's an inch more than the max mark.

Could that be the reason or is it the iridium spark plugs ?

[goandude]

Drove Bangalore to Goa and back last week in my i20 turbo 1.0 and took same route.

Onward drove around 100 +/- 10 kmph for 330 kms out of 600 and got an FE of 21.2 (rest of the 270 kms were done at similar speeds both ways).

Return journey did those 330 kms at 80 +/-10 kmph and got an FE of 21.4 in spite of climbing ghats of about 3000 ft and horrid Bangalore traffic on ORR.

Just goes to show how speed alters mileage drastically

[A.K.]

Sure speed do affect mileage but I'm driving the same speeds and same route. My mileage has decreased by 20% after my last service.

I've done 2 tank fils and that's when I realized I'm getting just 350kms on a full tank. That's crazy low. It's a run of the mill Hyundai not a supercar.

[Amil]

Originally Posted by A.K.

I've checked on the dipstick and it's an inch more than the max mark.

That is never a good thing. The oil level should never exceed the max mark. 1 inch is too much. Make sure you drain some of the engine oil asap.

More info on it here

About the mileage issue, if anything, the iridium spark plugs should increase the mileage because of better fuel combustion (opinions may differ on this one). If in doubt, switch to old spark plugs for few days and test it out.

Check the right grade of oil for your engine type again. Some site says 15w40 is recommended for 2016 model creta.

Check if handbrake is released fully. Maybe drop by the authorized service centre to check if the ECU is working correctly as it should.

[A.K.]

Thanks Amil.

I took a thin pipe and drained out the excess oil from the dipstick inlet. It was approx 600-700ml. Now the oil sits around mid way between maximum and minimum.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by A.K.

Sure speed do affect mileage but I'm driving the same speeds and same route. My mileage has decreased by 20% after my last service.

I've done 2 tank fils and that's when I realized I'm getting just 350kms on a full tank. That's crazy low. It's a run of the mill Hyundai not a supercar.

The drop is significant and may be attributed to throttle or clutch settings which may have been changed by the mechanic when you informed him about the clutch issue.
20% difference is too much, and your engine may be running on wrong air to fuel mixture or incomplete combustion. Why don't you put back the recommended sparkplugs and see for yourself? You can put iridium ones back if it is ruled out.

[NG_EV]

Originally Posted by PowerSpike

Excellent points all. On the 6th point, while coasting downhill, there are 2 schools of thought. A. Keep the car in gear with AC on to achieve more mileage.
B. Keep the car in neutral to reduce frictional losses and allow car to build more speed so it glides further on the flat portion of the road.

Please never coast in neutral. It may save some fuel but will delay reaction time in case of emergency. For driving in hilly terrains there is a whole section on driving in the road safety forum. Please do not compromise safety for some gain in fuel economy.

[ash22]

Hypermiling my Skoda Rapid 1.6 TDI yesterday from Chennai to Vellore.

Got 35 Kmpl. Measured tank-tank and got 34.2 kmpl.

- Maintained 60-70 kmph
- Steady acceleration and maintained only engine breaking when required.
- Since it was early morning, AC was not required and had to roll down the driver side window to minimum level.

[veembilviswam]

Originally Posted by GTO

Team-BHP enlists the various methods by which you can squeeze the most out of each drop of fuel. Each step by itself will account for a small increase, but if practiced in combination can increase your FE by as much as 20%!

Thank you very much GTO, for the beautiful explanation of things to be followed to obtain maximum Fuel Efficiency.

[condor]

Originally Posted by A.K.

My mileage has decreased by 20% after my last service.

@A.K, any update on your issue ?

Had not seen your post earlier, but one point that stood out as a possible cause is the brakes. It is possible that brake pads were not installed correctly, causing the drop in FE. In such cases the wheel rims/alloys would have warmed more than usual. However in your case it is already 3+ months now and this possible cause would have worn out, if I can use that term

[A.K.]

Hi Condor,

I had it serviced again at a Hyundai Worshop in Mumbai.
Kunal Motors.
I changed the Iridium plugs and had them replaced with stock factory ones.
Clutch, flywheel, gear oil were replaced because the car was judderring in 1st gear. It's a manual.
Had the engine oil, filter etc also changed.
Brakes were not replaced since I had had them changed just 1,000 kms back.

FE is around 9 now. Up from 7.5.

So I can't pin point what made the change but I suspect the spark plugs were a misfit.