[ashis89]

Originally Posted by nilpat

Lots of interesting articles floating around. I will give a try to Italian Tune up thing for my Figo 1.5 TDCi

I have small tip for city driving with mediocre traffic.
Don't drive sedate unless you are tired instead accelerate a bit and change your gears frequently to match the speed. Obviously you need to overtake vehicles quickly in this process; you will see increase in FE at least by 2-3. This works best for me.

I have observed the same thing in my WagonR. Change the gears to keep the engine between 2-4k rpms and the FE remains consistently good. It's a different story in open roads, where cruising rpms of upto 3k rpms gives the best FE.

[sachinkudva]

Hi guys,

I am back to discuss an old and unsolved issue in my Punto Diesel 90HP.
Earlier I had posted on how I had an issue of reduced pickup, black exhaust smoke and reduced mileage in the car. After a lot of running around I found the rubber turbo pipe to have broken. This caused the black smoke and also damaged the glow plugs. After replacing the glow plugs (in warranty) and the turbo pipe, the pickup and mileage issue was fixed. But unfortunately the low mileage issue still remains.

Recently I again had a glow plug and black smoke issue. I told KHT to straight away check the turbo pipe. Bang on! Set me back by ~3.5K but smoke and glow plug warning light is gone!

So now with the mileage issue -
I used to consistently get 14-14.5 in city and 17+ on highways (@ 130+ kmph) first 3 yrs of the car. I replaced my clutch @60000 and since then I have had this issue.
After the replacement I get 10-11 in the city. Highway mileage is great though. If I'm driving 80-100 I can expect 18-19+ and 100-120 I get 16-17.

So the issue is not with fuel quality or fuel station but definitely with city driving - that's when I am using the clutch all the time. But no clue whats the problem here - or even whether it is related to the clutch. Did the fiat guys mess up while replacing the clutch last time?? Did they use faulty components?? Is there a clutch cylinder leakage??
Or is it the fuel pump?? Do fuel pumps work differently in city and while on highway??

Whenever I talk to fiat, they take me for a test drive and set the display to Ic (instant cons.) which shows good readings and tell me all is fine. Only I know that the Ac (average cons.) which used to show 14-14.5 over a good 500 KMs now shows 10-11 with city usage. Service guys have totally blamed this on my driving technique!

I somehow made peace with this issue for almost 2 yrs now but now I am closer to replacing the clutch for the second time. And this time I want to get it right.
I really want to hear from any one who has faced an issue of reduced mileage right after getting the clutch replaced.
Also this time I plan to go in for a better after market clutch kit. Reviews tell me Luk is the best option I have so I am planning to go for it! (not sure what make Fiat uses.)

Any pointers anyone!? do help..

[Jeroen]

In all honesty, I would be very surprised if a clutch, any clutch, can make such a difference in fuel efficiency. Your figures suggest almost 1/3 drop. I'm not sure what other members get as average fuel consumption? Always difficult to compare but still might give some clue. A substantial drop in FE is usually related to something amiss in the fuel system, e.g. Fuel Filter injectors, air inlet filter, or some leakages as you found out. Any error codes showing on an OBD reading?

Jeroen

[sachinkudva]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I'm not sure what other members get as average fuel consumption?
Jeroen

Well, to be honest I am only comparing to my own FE before the major Punto 60K service. Also, its not that I blindly follow the Ac reading in my cluster display. I have been one of those OCD cases who resets the trip meter each time the reserve fuel warning lights up - to manually check if my mileage is consistent. And that's why I made a big deal of this issue to Fiat!

Now what beats me is that I get good (as good as before) mileage on the highway and the drop is only in city driving. And I believe any issue with the Fuel injection system would affect my highway mileage as well, right? All that I can think of as different, is the clutch usage - unless I am wrong!

Also, to list down all that Fiat does for the major 60K service apart from the oils and filters (verified from the e-bill) - gear cable replacement, clutch kit replacement, timing chain replacement.

As far as OBD goes, haven't confirmed myself as customers are not allowed inside the service centers. But SA always maintained that all readings are normal.

I also read today that bad transmission oil can cause a drop in mileage. But the bill shows that transmission oil was replaced as well. Now whether this was done, done right, done with the right oil, done with right amount of oil I don't know. But 3-4 Kmpl drop?? That's very strange.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by sachinkudva

Well, to be honest I am only comparing to my own FE before the major Punto 60K service. Also, its not that I blindly follow the Ac reading in my cluster display. I have been one of those OCD cases who resets the trip meter each time the reserve fuel warning lights up - to manually check if my mileage is consistent. And that's why I made a big deal of this issue to Fiat!

Now what beats me is that I get good (as good as before) mileage on the highway and the drop is only in city driving. And I believe any issue with the Fuel injection system would affect my highway mileage as well, right? All that I can think of as different, is the clutch usage - unless I am wrong!

I also read today that bad transmission oil can cause a drop in mileage. But the bill shows that transmission oil was replaced as well. Now whether this was done, done right, done with the right oil, done with right amount of oil I don't know. But 3-4 Kmpl drop?? That's very strange.

I would think you would find yourself in very good company here on TeamBHP in terms of fellow OCD-s who all reset their trip meters every time. I know I do.

Still, it's very normal to have a substantial difference between city and highway driving. 30-40% would not be unusual for most cars I would think. I see similar on my various cars.

Even so, your averages appear to have started deviating from what you were used to after the clutch repair.

A few things can wrong with a clutch repair. The clutch could be slipping, the transmission might not be fully alligned with the engine, the bearing might have some problems etc. It would be very difficult to imagine that would give a big change in FE. Also to your point it would be across all of your usueage. And, the list of issues I just mentioned would show up with different symptons and are likely to get worse very quickly too. Clutches that slip wont lasst long, bearings that havent been installed properly wear out very quickly, lots of noise etc.

Transmission oil can influence you FE by a few percentage points, but again typically across the range of driving conditions.

It's difficult to think of anything that would effect city driving FE and not highway driving. The one I can think off, long shot, is tyre pressure. If your pressure is way too low, that will effect city driving FE. More resistance. But at highway driving a low pressure is likely to be less as it usually means the tire temperature increases quite a bit. Again, a bit of a long shot.

Jeroen

[sachinkudva]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

And, the list of issues I just mentioned would show up with different symptons and are likely to get worse very quickly too. Clutches that slip wont lasst long, bearings that havent been installed properly wear out very quickly, lots of noise etc.
Jeroen

I'm glad you mentioned this. With my stock clutch I managed 60K. But now, less than 45K later, I am really having a tough time changing gears in heavy traffic. So obviously this kit hasn't lasted too long. I'd like to think 45K is quite a poor life for a clutch kit! I guess I read in the Punto manual that the car is made for 1 million gear changes or something!

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by sachinkudva

So obviously this kit hasn't lasted too long. I'd like to think 45K is quite a poor life for a clutch kit! I guess I read in the Punto manual that the car is made for 1 million gear changes or something!

Hah, that's an interesting one: how many gear changes would you get in 45k of driving. Obviously depends a bit on city versus high way driving. But I wouldn't be surprised if it is very high for most Indian cities because of traffic conditions.

I don't think I have ever had a problem with a clutch or replaced any part on any of my cars with less than 150K! But that's in Western Europe / USA.

My wife is from the West Indies, Barbados and that is very dense city/commute traffic these days. So endless shifting. And there I see the same thing, 60K appears to be not unusual.

Jeroen

[gurnoor_singh]

Dear TeamBHPians

One of my friends has tried a product related to fuel saving. He claims to have increased mileage of 2-3 kmpl for Maruti Swift VDI (2012). When I first saw the product I was confused that will it even work !! Then I took a test run on his vehicle, obviously I couldn't check the mileage in a 5 km test run but surely the product helps you drive in economy mode. Basically, it's a sticker on which mileage values are pre-written for every speed. Also, the gear scale is mentioned too (Best thing for a beginner driver).


(After pasting the sticker)

We planned a small trip to his native village which was 96km away (Total distance of the trip was 198km). I decided to drive the turbocharged beast. We were cruising at 100 km/hr for about 40-45 km's and the product indicated the fuel efficiency of 20 kmpl ! After seeing the fuel efficiency of 26 kmpl at a speed of 80 km/hr from sticker, I don't know why but I reduced the speed to 80 Km/hr and for the whole trip, I kept my speed at 80 km/hr. As his native house was almost on the main road, we had to drove in the city for about 3-4 km's other than that we drove on the highway at a constant speed of 80 km/hr.

At the end of the day, it was time to refill, I must say the product actually worked !! We got a fuel economy of 23.8 kmpl. This product actually guides you to drive at nominal speeds. Maybe the values printed would have been tested by ARAI, ICAT or some third party.

I will surely give a detail on how these values where calculated.

Here are the instructions for the installation.
This can be fitted on speedometer glass or on inner speedometer plate itself.
BTW my friend decided to install it on inner speedometer plate and he installed it on his own without any help

NOTE: Depending on the vehicle you may need a technician for opening the speedometer for installing it inside.

MRP=500 Rs
Bought from Amazon for 250 Rs
(https://www.amazon.in/Guru-Saver-Mar...ords=KMPL+GURU)

1. Pull on the black plastic panel from both sides.


2. Now remove 2 screws on the bottom of the speedometer. (This is left-hand side screw)


3.Now gently pull from the top to access the wiring harness. (There will be two locks present on top of the speedometer)


4. Now unlock all transparent tabs on sides of the speedometer and please be gentle. (Don't ask me why )


5. Now peel off the sticker and match the 0km/hr and 200 km/hr speed line with the sticker and paste it.

[uncledavy]

Howdy folks,

I have a brand new Ameo Diesel DSG (16 alloys) model. I have driven it around 350 or 550 km (can't remember as I write this). I started to realize my fuel meter drops down very fast. My fuel consumption meter give me 11.5 km/l. I have already been to gas station twice.

Is that normal? I assume on highway it might give me 15. I haven't tried it out as yet. I also find the diesel engine way to loud. The pickup is sluggish and I have to rev up to get some decent speed. Then suddenly I get a surge of power. I guess that's what you guys call turbo.

I am in Dehradun and VW has horrible after sales service. I will write in detail about my car purchase experience with them.

Any advice for me??

Many thanks in advance folks.

Cheers

UD

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by uncledavy

Howdy folks,

I have a brand new Ameo Diesel DSG (16 alloys) model

Congratulations!!

Originally Posted by uncledavy

. I have driven it around 350 or 550 km (can't remember as I write this). I started to realize my fuel meter drops down very fast. My fuel consumption meter give me 11.5 km/l. I have already been to gas station twice.

It should ideally improve as you complete the run in and clock some more miles.

Originally Posted by uncledavy

I also find the diesel engine way to loud. The pickup is sluggish and I have to rev up to get some decent speed. Then suddenly I get a surge of power. I guess that's what you guys call turbo.

There would be turbo lag of course but I have never heard of the VW engines being called sluggish! Expert opinion needed. And yes, the engine does sound like a tractor, no avoiding that!!

[vikred]

Originally Posted by uncledavy

Howdy folks,

I have a brand new Ameo Diesel DSG (16 alloys) model. I have driven it around 350 or 550 km (can't remember as I write this). I started to realize my fuel meter drops down very fast. My fuel consumption meter give me 11.5 km/l. I have already been to gas station twice.

Is that normal? I assume on highway it might give me 15. I haven't tried it out as yet. I also find the diesel engine way to loud. The pickup is sluggish and I have to rev up to get some decent speed. Then suddenly I get a surge of power. I guess that's what you guys call turbo.

I am in Dehradun and VW has horrible after sales service. I will write in detail about my car purchase experience with them.

You should start checking your FE only after first 1000-2000kms on the odometer. 11.5 km/l is not very bad for a diesel automatic in a hilly town like yours (Dehradun). It will improve after your run-in.

While calculating FE, please keep these things in mind

• Calculate using full-to-full method and average it to get accurate readings
• Never rely on the car's fuel guage. They are intentionally designed to be non-linear. For instance, when your guage is showing half-tank, you have less than half-tank of fuel. The guages are deisgned to remain near the F mark for a long period of time.

[Rahul Rao]

The DSG is very effecient, many people in the plains report 20+ effeciency on the highways, and 15 to 16 in city traffic. First few 1000 km always give poor effeciency, after 2000km or so you will get much better effeciency which will improve marginally as you run more and more till you reach 15000km.

Rahul

[uncledavy]

Thank you everyone. Sorry for the late reply. I was down with Viral. Better now. Yesterday, I took Ameo out for a long drive and got a 19 km/l. I came back smiling. I feel good now. Many thanks once again folks.

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by uncledavy

Yesterday, I took Ameo out for a long drive and got a 19 km/l. I came back smiling. I feel good now.
Attachment 1738406

You managed 19.4 before you did a full 2500 km running in, once you get used to the upshifts, and start triggering them with your throttle inputs, cruising at 70 - 80 with engine ticking over at just around 1500 rpm can return upto 24.

Rahul

[uncledavy]

Originally Posted by Rahul Rao

You managed 19.4 before you did a full 2500 km running in, once you get used to the upshifts, and start triggering them with your throttle inputs, cruising at 70 - 80 with engine ticking over at just around 1500 rpm can return upto 24.

Rahul

Thanks is Rahul. Can you give me more idea on what you mean triggering upshift with throttle inputs. I generally step on the accelator and don't take it out, when I am 70-80 km range.