Fuel Consumption?

[Guest Andrea]

Hello again,

 

i've had my c1 just under 3 weeks now and am getting roughly only about 43mpg out of it. i drive about 15 miles on straight country roads, no traffic until i hit belfast, and i tend to get in early enough so i beat the really bad traffic, am not stopping and starting too often, i think i'm driving more in the extra-urban range, but still not getting what i should be getting out of a tank. :lol:

 

my brother says it takes a month or so for a new engine to start returning 'normal' mpg....really not too sure about all this, this is my first car (so maybe my driving has something to do with it :rolleyes: ). what's everyone's experience with this? would really appreciate the advice!

[techbod]

yes it takes time for the engine to loosen up on a new car that's why you have to take it in for its first service at 500 miles and they put new oil/filter in, what you get in mpg depends on lots of things ie:- if you drive with the window open your creating drag, under-inflated tyres, full car loading, driving with the headlights on, heavy foot so you have to take lots into account :rolleyes: anything that causes loading on the engine has a price and yes headlights/spot lights cause the alternator to work harder which costs fuel

[Guest Andrea]

yes it takes time for the engine to loosen up on a new car that's why you have to take it in for its first service at 500 miles and they put new oil/filter in, what you get in mpg depends on lots of things ie:- if you drive with the window open your creating drag, under-inflated tyres, full car loading, driving with the headlights on, heavy foot so you have to take lots into account :lol: anything that causes loading on the engine has a price and yes headlights/spot lights cause the alternator to work harder which costs fuel

 

hope the engine loosens up soon! headlights, eh? not much we can do about that.....I have driven off twice in my first week with no lights on.... :rolleyes: but like i said, completely new to this! I may try turning them off in the morning when i really dont need them then. and as for windows, bit cold the past week, so windows havent been down. cant imagine having heat on, even at low power, will be good for fuel consumption either. am lucky, cos i generally hate having the heat on in cars....

[techbod]

at least you now know what effects fuel consumption because many dont think of these things

[Martin_1973_uk]

My car became quicker and looser over time but the fuel consumption was always rather good, in the high 50's. What is your driving style like, are you heavy with the pedals as on a small engine car the driving style makes a huge difference. I would investigate this further if I was you. Not sure having the lights on should make that much difference as the car is driving the alternator to a point all the time.

[techbod]

think of the alternator as a power station the more things you have on the more it needs to produce so puts a load on the engine especially big audio systems :lol: as for the lights yes its minor but when your talking low mpg costs everything counts and probably those who drive with fogs on during the day to make the car look aggressive or stand out and power up that amp with the windows open will realise there is a cost for every thing :rolleyes:

[Guest Andrea]

those who drive with fogs on during the day to make the car look aggressive or stand out and power up that amp with the windows open will realise there is a cost for every thing :rolleyes:

 

i think those sorta folk dont even think twice about fuel economy!!! the high mpg was a definite draw when i was chosing this car, not to mention the miniscule tax ;)

 

tbh, i think my driving 'style' could improve, since i'm only driving 4 months now since the test, i think there's still much i could improve eg, bit nervous at tough junctions, and find myself revving a bit too much....today i accidentally revved in first gear up to 6000!! i'm sure that's not helping things either. :lol: I am improving this, tho sometimes i just gets me! so yes, i could help myself by not doing things like that!

[techbod]

you only get better with experiance and I feel sorry for you with the bad drivers on the road today all full of anger and not enjoying driving like when I passed my test cough not many cars on the road then lol but it was more a pleasure driving then, I dont drive too much these days :rolleyes:

[Martin_1973_uk]

The Alternator belt is always been driven by the engine and that is enough to provide the electrics for most things if they are used or not. All the wasted energy goes in to charging the battery. Putting on these appliances shouldn't affect the car that much.

 

I think we have hit the nail on the head. The C1 is high geared to get this incredible economy. If you start reving it to make it go this will soon evporate. If that is your driving style and you find the C1 slow so you have to rev it then you would be better off with a bigger engine car or a diesel that might do MPG in the 40's but will be fast enough so you don't feel the need to rev it.

 

I personally change gear early and very light with my right foot and carry the speed in to corners and roundabouts. A police driver training course could be what you need as they teach you to keep the progress without losing the economy.

[Guest Andrea]

The C1 is high geared to get this incredible economy. If you start reving it to make it go this will soon evporate. If that is your driving style and you find the C1 slow so you have to rev it then you would be better off with a bigger engine car or a diesel that might do MPG in the 40's but will be fast enough so you don't feel the need to rev it.

 

certainly dont find the car too slow, it runs great that way....i think so far the 'problem' is that i havent yet found my driving style, as i'm a new driver, and i hate when i over-rev the engine, in the past few days i've been very careful not to do so, so hopefully things will improve over next while. 1 litre engine will do me just fine for now <_<

[techbod]

we could go over the top on this but its a learning curve , the alternator doesn't turn at a single speed its alternated! that's why the call it an alternator Ie:- when you turn the air con on the revs go higher and that's called load and the system has to deal with it and that's a fuel issue ( there's a little more to the alternator/serpentine belt than what it is and the alternator has more to say than its rotation

[ColinC1]

You should get around 58 MPG on average once your engine is loosened up (I have got that figure over my two years with my C1)

 

As for electric load, well lights have a really small pecentage loss compaired with A/C, or a heavy lead foot, fast off the lights stuff, or wrongly inflated tyres (shoud be 32 PSI for the standard factory fitted non-alloy tyre).

 

NOTE: Although you will get salesmen and members on car forums saying that modern car engines do not need to be run in, the engine will last longer and work better over its lifespan if you do take care to run in the engine in the first month....

 

Remember to run the car in for the first 1000 miles (one month roughly) by not going too fast, vary the engine revs on a journey, and do not over rev (if like most of us who do not have a rev counter in their C1, then your ear will have to judge revs instead).

 

Cheers, and I hope you enjoy your city bug ;)

[techbod]

well im embarrassed my Lexus does 20mpg round town and 35 motorway but then its a 4.0 32v and that's very cool ;)

[downsman]

well im embarrassed my Lexus does 20mpg round town and 35 motorway but then its a 4.0 32v and that's very cool ;)

 

I thought Alan Partridge drove a Lexus :D

[techbod]

true and so did bill gates ;) course I don't use it much because it costs too much to maintain so ill be thinking of letting it go next year if prices don't drop more than they are now as their not worth much for starters

[Guest Andrea]

i think kurt cobain had a lexus too..... ;) !!

 

this whole 'running the engine' thing-how long roughly does it take to 'loosen' the engine? first 1000 miles or so? not too sure what mileage i'm on yet (concentrating onthe trip metre at the minute). had full tank in last tuesday and have 300miles with 2 'bars' left on the petrol gauge. think by now i must be near 1000miles....hopefully my next tank will last a bit longer, then the next one too....??

[techbod]

it all depends on how you drive? running in doesn't like car to idle too long/ high speeds /short runs but 1k should be enough to start feeling the results but driving experience is more the question because until you control the car "the car will control you" only experience will prevail and that's down to you now, advanced courses are good like suggested

[TurboSlag]

I can get my Kawasaki below 15mpg if i'm kack handed, although to do that it's smashing though the 1/4 mile a second and a half quicker than a Veyron, and squeezing past 190, neither of which are advisable on public roads.

[Martin_1973_uk]

My fuel consumption was good straight out of the box and never improved. The did engine loosened up better and better during the first 1K and became more useable and powerful. Fuel economy wise, I would imagine you need to change your technique. Look for guides on U Tube or from an advanced driving school.

[techbod]

I was watching the news today and there is a test going on from wales to see what mpg they can get from small cars and they are in the 70s+ :o

last time I ever seen that was on the back of a tow truck :unsure:

[fathead82]

On average I'm doing around 400 miles on a tank, if not a little less. What I havent tested yet is what a tank actually is......I get scared when I hit the last bar & the car beeps at me. ;)

 

Anyone care to let me know how long I have left after that beep? Is there any more beeps when the petrol gets really low?!!!!! I think I worked out somewhere along the way that 420 miles is roughly 60mpg or there abouts (for £35 of fuel), so I reckon I'm in the high 50's. The car is getting better on miles for sure.

[JenJen]

Anyone care to let me know how long I have left after that beep?

Well, gallons are not used for measuring where I live, but when the car beebs at the last bar, there are still 5 litres left (1 gallon = 4.54 l).

[Guest Andrea]

i've been told that the last bar (with beeps) should get you about 30 miles tho i am really not sure about that-i've gotten roughly 40+ at that point. what really made me panic was the extra fast/loud beeps (after the initial beeps!) that happened on my first drive into work in belfast. so panicked i was, i went out at lunch time to put some petrol in, just incase i conked out in traffic later in rush hour. i needn't have worried then. lost my ****** parking space when i got back! Just couldnt face the possibility and humiliation of breaking down within a week of driving the car!!

 

think i am now making around 48mpg give or take a few mile here or there, might well be improving.... ;) this next tank should be better to judge from

[Guest Andrea]

filled my tank on saturday there (£34), have run up 67 miles since then and the little metre hasnt even 'dropped' a bar yet, out of the six. i think this may be good news, all being well. sorry to be an ABSOLUTE torture on the subject, but can this be a reasonable way to roughly gauge fuel consumption (ie 67 * 6= 402, therefore 52mpg at the minute)..... ;) ????

[Martin_1973_uk]

My first bar doesn't go down until I hit 130 miles on a full tank, the second is at 230 miles then the third at 300 or just over miles. My record is 410 miles with the two bars left, costing £33.00 to fill. I'm very light footy and driving out in the countryside to work with not a single traffic light in sight, lovely. Not bad for someone living just 50 miles from London. It worked out at 61MPG :-)