Any tips on better fuel consumption?

humberklog · 11-10-2013 12:31am #1

I drive a swb '05 (older model) Suzuki Vitara. It's a 1.6 petrol automatic.

I drive it in 2 wheel mode.

A few days ago I put in E30.60 @ E1.548 lt. from Appple green. I've driven twice and clocked up 107km. The driving was a mix of motorway (app. 80km @ 110km p/h) and North County Dublin. So not too much traffic congestion.

The petrol gauge was pretty accurately measured.

By my maths that works out at less than 15 miles per gallon. I prefer judging fuel consumption using imperial measurements.

Could someone check my maths :pac: and perhaps would have some tips on getting a better fuel performance.

I've tried only taking journeys with a tail wind. No joy.

deadeye187 · 11-10-2013 12:33am

Walk more!

humberklog · 11-10-2013 12:37am

deadeye187 wrote: »

Walk more!

I walk plenty and get public transport daily.

dh0011 · 11-10-2013 12:39am

A few suggestions which you may or may not be doing
1 fill the car right to the top. Drive it til it is empty and refill. Note the number of liters it takes to refill and the distance covered on the tank of fuel. This is the real way to calculate mpg. Post the numbers here when you have them and I can do the number crunching for you.

2 consider using dipetane

3 accelarate smoothly

4 make sure your car has been serviced recently

5 consider buying your fuel at an alternative station with a good reputation and a known brand.

Interslice · 11-10-2013 12:40am

humberklog wrote: »

The petrol gauge was pretty accurately measured.

What did you measure it with?

http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Your-Car%27s-Fuel-Efficiency-%28MPG%29

visual · 11-10-2013 12:48am

you should be getting between 25 to 28 mpg. 30mpg would be the dream...

a lot will depend on how well the car is serviced
tyres pumped to correct pressure
and not carrying around a load of crap in the back... something we Jeep owners do without thinking about.

How did it do in its last emission test. (NCT) ?
was it always bad or did you just notice this more recently ?

humberklog · 11-10-2013 12:49am

Interslice wrote: »

What did you measure it with?

http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Your-Car%27s-Fuel-Efficiency-%28MPG%29

I filled it on Sunday when the gauge needle was exactly on the empty line and drove it today until it was back in the same position. Then crunched the numbers.

I did the same a couple of weeks ago and got much the same result from a different garage (Gulf).

The car was serviced a year ago. I top with oil regularly enough and there's 4 new tyres on it too.

dh0011 · 11-10-2013 12:51am

i would suggest another service
things like plugs or the air filter could be a problem
How many miles are on the clock?
How many miles a year do you do?

tim3000 · 11-10-2013 12:52am

I have a suzuki older and different model to yours but I couldn't keep petrol in it. Was spending circa 20 quid a day on it. Perhaps a service is whats needed. How long since the last one?

dh0011 · 11-10-2013 12:53am

Could you have a sticky break caliper perhaps?

humberklog · 11-10-2013 1:03am

visual wrote: »

you should be getting between 25 to 28 mpg. 30mpg would be the dream...

a lot will depend on how well the car is serviced
tyres pumped to correct pressure
and not carrying around a load of crap in the back... something we Jeep owners do without thinking about.

How did it do in its last emission test. (NCT) ?
was it always bad or did you just notice this more recently ?

Carries very little. No tow bar. Mostly only driver, no passenger.

It could probably do with a full service. I had a bad experience with Atlas on one of their service deals and then I gave it to a trusted mechanic to have it serviced. All was grand- as in it was mechanically sound.

Passed NCT no problem last time but I don't remember the emission results. NCT's due next month.

I noticed it being juicey from the start- have it 2.5 years. I'd a fairly economical Ford Ka prior to the Vitara There's only 80k on the clock. I think the consumption's gone up a little since having the car but not suddenly and not a lot more.

challengemaster · 11-10-2013 1:05am

humberklog wrote: »

NCT's due next month.

You can NCT it up to 3 months early, I'd suggest putting it in ASAP (unless you've it already booked). It might give some indication, rather than a mechanic going on a wild goose chase

Interslice · 11-10-2013 1:06am

humberklog wrote: »

I filled it on Sunday when the gauge needle was exactly on the empty line and drove it today until it was back in the same position. Then crunched the numbers.

I did the same a couple of weeks ago and got much the same result from a different garage (Gulf).

The car was serviced a year ago. I top with oil regularly enough and there's 4 new tyres on it too.

I do it this way too but keep a record of fills over 1000+ miles to minimise any error in using this method. And measure it on a flat surface. It's accurate to about 40 miles, so not more than 1 or 2mpg out in the end. Calculating this way over just 107km you could be easily 10mpg off.

Brimming the tank as in the link is better for a quick estimate. I just don't do it due to an 85 litre tank.

humberklog · 11-10-2013 1:13am

dh0011 wrote: »

Could you have a sticky break caliper perhaps?

Might be something in that. I've had to have the break pads done twice in as many years.

Probably only put 6k on it per year. I'm a steady driver - passed test in GB 20 year ago and keep to the speed limit. So I'm not pushing it at all. It's a Vitara- I'd look silly:).

I had the air filter checked by RAC, spotless. The plugs were recommended to be changed by Atlas- special enamel ones costing a million quid but another mechanic said they were fine. That was a year and a bit ago though.

humberklog · 11-10-2013 1:17am

challengemaster wrote: »

You can NCT it up to 3 months early, I'd suggest putting it in ASAP (unless you've it already booked). It might give some indication, rather than a mechanic going on a wild goose chase

Yeah, booked in already. I'll do a few more measures on it but will probably wait until after NCT to have it serviced.

dh0011 · 11-10-2013 1:17am

i would hold tough until the nct. the likes of a brake imbalance will show up.
If they say something is wrong get it sorted. If she passes treat her to a full service incl wheel alignment brakes getting a proper check and making sure plugs etc are changed. Also ask the lads servicing it to see if the car has any fault codes stored in the ecu.

humberklog · 11-10-2013 1:21am

dh0011 wrote: »

i would hold tough until the nct. the likes of a brake imbalance will show up.
If they say something is wrong get it sorted. If she passes treat her to a full service incl wheel alignment brakes getting a proper check and making sure plugs etc are changed. Also ask the lads servicing it to see if the car has any fault codes stored in the ecu.

I did forget to mention that the engine management light has been on orange for about 18months (just realised that was important to point out). But both the RAC and a mechanic said that it was only because it needs to be reset by a Suzuki garage.

dh0011 · 11-10-2013 1:23am

thats nonsense. I can reset it with my phone.

There is a problem in there that they dont want to or arent able to fix.

Something like an oxygen sensor could throw up an error like that and have an impact on fuel consumption.

humberklog · 11-10-2013 1:29am

dh0011 wrote: »

thats nonsense. I can reset it with my phone.

There is a problem in there that they dont want to or arent able to fix.

Something like an oxygen sensor could throw up an error like that and have an impact on fuel consumption.

The RAC guy (out restarting me as I left lights on) said it had to do with sensors in the air filter and said it was common enough in this model.

I used to have an Alfa so got to know this RAC guy and trust his advice. Especially the "never buy and Alfa again".

dh0011 · 11-10-2013 1:33am

with this app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque&hl=en
and this which i have
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/V1-5-ELM327-OBD2-Bluetooth-Interface-Auto-Car-Scanner-Diagnostic-for-Android-/171072430581?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:IE:3160
i can clear the code. The thing is that if you clear the code and havent fixed the problem the light comes back on.
A sensor in the air intake could have something to do with bad fuel consumption.
Where are you based. If your in cork i can read the code for you.

challengemaster · 11-10-2013 1:41am

humberklog wrote: »

The RAC guy (out restarting me as I left lights on) said it had to do with sensors in the air filter and said it was common enough in this model.

"Sensors in the air filter"

That sounds likely to be the Mass air flow sensor he was on about, which is the primary thing telling the car how much air it's getting (and subsequently how much fuel to use)

as dh says, there could also be an oxygen sensor gone too.

humberklog · 11-10-2013 1:42am

dh0011 wrote: »

with this app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque&hl=en
and this which i have
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/V1-5-ELM327-OBD2-Bluetooth-Interface-Auto-Car-Scanner-Diagnostic-for-Android-/171072430581?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:IE:3160
i can clear the code. The thing is that if you clear the code and havent fixed the problem the light comes back on.
A sensor in the air intake could have something to do with bad fuel consumption.
Where are you based. If your in cork i can read the code for you.

Ah, an app. I'll download one and give it a go. I'll have to get that light off for the NCT anyhow. The original garage that sold it is in Ratoath and I do drive through there once a week. I might pop in.

Thanks for the offer but I'm in Dublin and wouldn't be in Cork for a few weeks. But thanks again.

humberklog · 11-10-2013 1:44am

challengemaster wrote: »

"Sensors in the air filter"

That sounds likely to be the Mass air flow sensor he was on about, which is the primary thing telling the car how much air it's getting (and subsequently how much fuel to use)

as dh says, there could also be an oxygen sensor gone too.

I happily know very little about a car's mechanics, but that makes a lot of sense. If the info going in is wonky then the performance out is distorted.

dh0011 · 11-10-2013 1:45am

the app is only good with the adaptor. there are a good few lads on boards in dublin with a scan tool. Most are better than mine. I am sure one of them will offer to read the code for you. If it is the mass air flow sensor you can clean it. Wouldnt take long and a can of MAF cleaner is only a few quid at a motor factors. If that doesnt sort it you could get one from a breaker.

humberklog · 11-10-2013 1:50am

dh0011 wrote: »

the app is only good with the adaptor. there are a good few lads on boards in dublin with a scan tool. Most are better than mine. I am sure one of them will offer to read the code for you. If it is the mass air flow sensor you can clean it. Wouldnt take long and a can of MAF cleaner is only a few quid at a motor factors. If that doesnt sort it you could get one from a breaker.

Gotcha, the adaptor (which I don't have) reads the problem code from the engine's computer. Then you type that code into the App (which I do have).

dh0011 · 11-10-2013 1:52am

close the adaptor links with the phone by bluetooth. Using the app the phone becomes a display for the adaptor.

rovoagho · 11-10-2013 9:24am

The best way to resolve discussions about MPG is to buy a proper car with a proper engine (>=3l), tax it while muttering under your breath about government incompetence, insure it for an often surprisingly affordable amount if you're not a young bunny (who don't whine about MPG, so that can't be you, right?), fill it to the brim with delicious petrol, and then drive it like you stole it.

I assure you, MPG will never cross your mind again. And you'll be a much happier person.

biko · 11-10-2013 9:30am

Do the brimming method at least a couple of tanks, it's the only way to know for sure what mpg it gets.
With car in neutral on level ground, give it a small push. Sticky brakes will prevent car from moving. If this happens keep investing the brakes.
Unload car from crap, this usually doesn't really matter.
Run correct tyre pressure, check every time you fill up.
Service oil and air.
Drive like a granny.

jimgoose · 11-10-2013 10:23am

That is most certainly a shade over 15 MPG. I'd consider that silly from a V8 Jag. That mechanic person is talking through his hole. There's something wrong with that car, and it needs an OBD-II code scan.

Supergurrier · 11-10-2013 10:38am

rovoagho wrote: »

The best way to resolve discussions about MPG is to buy a proper car with a proper engine (>=3l), tax it while muttering under your breath about government incompetence, insure it for an often surprisingly affordable amount if you're not a young bunny (who don't whine about MPG, so that can't be you, right?), fill it to the brim with delicious petrol, and then drive it like you stole it.

I assure you, MPG will never cross your mind again. And you'll be a much happier person.

This is me all day erry day.

Have a tan on my face from the wonderful orange glow of my fuel light

Any tips on better fuel consumption?

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