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You can get 35mpg out of your MX5?
Motorway @ 70 ~ 3500rpm its doable.
2.0T FSI Engine??
- Thread starter Slime101
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Motorway @ 70 ~ 3500rpm its doable.
Soldato
Yeah I am mega dumb, I ignored the fact that a stopping distance is greater, which matters not a jot when a transit 10ft from your backside at 90mph
What do you do in 50mph roadworks? wait for the lorries to pass through first?
And we are not talking about a few MPG points here, we are talking about significant savings in fuel costs. If you can't do it, so be it, but having achieved it safely for many years, along with many others it is as safe as you are with your driving and awareness, if a lorry tailgates you, it is easily solved by changing your position in the traffic, but I guess moving lanes and passing is too much effort.
Soldato
Yeah it's fun to try in a car with a trip computer and see how high you can get the average MPG. I've done it with hire cars. For a few miles or so. Not over a whole journey. Llike Matt82 I find it tedious, and usually these people sitting at 55 on the inside lane are those who drive a Vauxhall Zafira and meander out into the middle lane to overtake a lorry and perhaps increase their speed to the dizzy heights of 60 
Thus causing congestion. Yay.
Thus causing congestion. Yay.in 50mph roadworks, i move over to lane 2 if possible because lorrys will go faster, its just easier for them to undertake than have to go around you.Dr Who said:Yeah I am mega dumb, I ignored the fact that a stopping distance is greater, which matters not a jot when a transit 10ft from your backside at 90mph
What do you do in 50mph roadworks? wait for the lorries to pass through first?
And we are not talking about a few MPG points here, we are talking about significant savings in fuel costs. If you can't do it, so be it, but having achieved it safely for many years, along with many others it is as safe as you are with your driving and awareness, if a lorry tailgates you, it is easily solved by changing your position in the traffic, but I guess moving lanes and passing is too much effort.
honestly, i brag about mpg on here enough of the time anyway, id love to try a whole trip at 55mph but i just couldnt. i drive an tweaked audi s4, so im not that sort of person
another thing is, the tram lines are worse on lane 1, when its raining those tram lines are more of a pain too. if you do (by some miracle) have to overtake anything, it can be pain trying to get out into lane 2 as people wont let you out (300bhp+ helps me though)
what difference have you found (mpg wise) at that speed?
Yeah it's fun to try in a car with a trip computer and see how high you can get the average MPG. I've done it with hire cars. For a few miles or so. Not over a whole journey. Llike Matt82 I find it tedious, and usually these people sitting at 55 on the inside lane are those who drive a Vauxhall Zafira and meander out into the middle lane to overtake a lorry and perhaps increase their speed to the dizzy heights of 60
yup, youre the same as me... i do have an interest in the mpg, but i do want to get to my destination pronto
i always used to brag at how good my golf was on petrol, but i still travelled at the normal 70-80mpg
same with the s4, ill get 28-30mpg travelling at the normal 70-80mph
if i tried to drive at 55mph, id end up in tears in no time at all... like a mad dog id want to chase all the cars that passed me
i can't sit at 90km/h on a motorway.
i've done it a few times on business if i'm not being paid for travel, or i'm geniunely not in a hurry.
but it's so hard
i'd much rather blast past everybody and get home 3 minutes earlier
Soldato
If I'm driving for work I'm more likely to go slower because it'll increase my profit from the mileage claim
Soldato
Quite, on longer journeys it makes quite a difference. I breezed down the A3 to Portsmouth earlier at around 0.9 leptons and the journey went flying by 
Soldato
Average increases from 55mpg at 75mph to nearly 80mpg at 55mph in the A3, instantaneous flutuates from 50mpg to nearly 105mpg with the cruise locked at 52 in roadworks (GPS indicated 50mph) depending on the gradient.
I understand where you are coming from, and to be honest, I used to belt around all over the place a few years ago, and rarely achieved more than 30mpg. I just got fed up with the stress of driving fast, and looking for every opportunity to save time, ending a journey keyed up and often with a headache. My father was a Police driving instructor, and he got me hooked on a relaxing drive and saving money. I now view a performance car as one that is capable of overtaking safely when needed, cornering well if I want some fun, but not something I have to drive mega fast all the time.
I drove my Pug for 500 miles recently to run it in (and that meant just normal driving for me, odd overtake, 6-7k rpm for very short periods). That is a high performance engine and over that period, mixed town, A-B roads, some M'way at between 50-80 mph I still managed to achieve an average of 35mpg, I am fairly confident that had I drove it for economy, I could achieve 40mpg+. In January I am going to try a cross country route from Bristol to Northamptonshire, and I am going to do my darndest to achieve that, just for the challenge.
Driving for economy is a challenge like I said, if you can accept the challenge, and get to the end of a journey feeling relaxed and knowing you have just saved yourself a few gallons of fuel, you can treat yourself to a nice cold beer, effectively for free, is there any better tasting beer?
Absolutely. It can be the difference between 65mpg and 45mpg for example. ie going 44% further on the same fuel!
A 200 mile trip at 45mpg uses 4.44 gallons, 20.2 litres and costs £21.61 (at 107p/litre). The same trip, in the same car, could be done at 65mpg, use 13.99 litres and cost £14.97. Saving £6.64 - enough for a free lunch!
Over a 10,000 year, the difference is £332 - free insurance!?
People DO get really worked up about fuel prices changing by a few pence a litre. Those few pence a litre, say a 2p duty hike, only add around £20 to a 10,000 mile year.
It's daft for people to complain about a few pence fluctuation in fuel prices at the pump which leads to tens of pounds variation over a year, when then their own right foot is responsible for hundreds of pounds variation in cost.
there's no way in hell i'd sit at 90km/h on a long journey.Quite, on longer journeys it makes quite a difference. I breezed down the A3 to Portsmouth earlier at around 0.9 leptons and the journey went flying by
the longest i have to go on business is around 50miles return, so really the difference between slipstreaming a lorry and blasting along is around 8mpg (high 40s to low 40s)
however, over such a small distance it doesn't really matter. although it does all add up, seeing as i'm doing around 600 a month. but even so, that's hardly a large amount. shame a lot of it is in town..
regarding long distances, **** that. fast as possible tyvm
Soldato
I can totally see where you're coming from Dr Who. My mood varies, that's all 
And I've just never been one to "dawdle" I guess. I personally find it more stressful trying to acheive maximum economy as I'm more like "oh bugger I need to overtake that lorry, oh double bugger there's a load of cars in the middle lane, oh tripple bugger, if I accelerate too hard to match their speed my economy is going to drop "
Also, neither of my cars are capable of amazing MPG anyway. So the difference between 65 and 80mph won't be a great deal. If I had a car with headline figures of 65mpg I might be more tempted to try and match it I dunno. Different strokes for different folks
And I've just never been one to "dawdle" I guess. I personally find it more stressful trying to acheive maximum economy as I'm more like "oh bugger I need to overtake that lorry, oh double bugger there's a load of cars in the middle lane, oh tripple bugger, if I accelerate too hard to match their speed my economy is going to drop " Also, neither of my cars are capable of amazing MPG anyway. So the difference between 65 and 80mph won't be a great deal. If I had a car with headline figures of 65mpg I might be more tempted to try and match it
I dunno. Different strokes for different folks
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Dr Who said:Driving for economy is a challenge like I said, if you can accept the challenge, and get to the end of a journey feeling relaxed and knowing you have just saved yourself a few gallons of fuel, you can treat yourself to a nice cold beer, effectively for free, is there any better tasting beer?
i went to both le mans and nurburgring (over 400 miles each way for both trips) and both times got over 40mph in my old golf gti 16v, 200k+ mile old beast
one day ill give the 55mph thing a try, but i can see myself crying all the water out of my body.
as for cruise control, i really want that on my s4, i think thatll make a huge difference to the mpg
cruise control uses more fuel than keeping a steady throttle imo.
with your foot on the throttle, you can leave it at 35mpg say, and it will slow down uphill and speed up downhill, whilst not using any more fuel.
cruise will obviously accelerate uphill, thereby using more fuel.
makes life easier for your feet and knees though
Soldato
I can totally see where you're coming from Dr Who. My mood varies, that's all
I think you are right mate, my wife drives her car like she stole it, when I drive the journey takes longer but the whole family is relaxed when we get there.
I am all for saving time IF it is used wisely to improve your life, but most people will use that time saved to lay in bed a bit longer in the morning, fill it with waiting for a Soap to start on the TV, or, the main use, relaxing after a stressful drive because they feel too keyed up to actually use that time productively, so the time saving becomes wasted.
I have no shame in admitting, I am becoming an old fart to a degree, finding it more important to manage my stress levels, and believe it or not, I find driving my way less stressful than being a passenger when my wife drives
I have given up a lot of the impatience of youth, and prefer to set off well in time and relax on the drive, than have a relaxed departure time, and hectic journey.
Think of it this way, how wound up and stressed do you get when stuck behind someone at 50-55mph in a 60 limit when you want to do 60? You will probably spend the next 2-3 miles looking for a space to overtake with the stress building all the time? Running in a lower gear to keep the engine on the boil, waiting for the right gap? You eventually pass him, and as you do so, you see him slow down and turn off in your rear view mirror...
Try just relaxing and telling yourself 5 minutes doesnt matter, sit back, drive efficiently at that speed, and if you convince yourself well enough you will feel so great when he turns off, and you can gradually accelerate to your comfortable speed. Do that a few times and see how much better you feel about driving and how much money you save.
PS. Expect me to be even more condescending soon, I am doing my IAM Exam
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Yea agreed, generally.
At 70mph my engine is at 1900rpm, and if I'm sitting on motorways at 70-77mph with cruise control driving up and down hills I will get around 33-34mpg average aswell. I couldn't beat that with the ST220, I could get about the same if I worked at it, but not actually beat it, and it was quite a bit more hard work achieving that in the ST too, no effort in the Jag. So more capacity, more cylinders, more weight ...automatic gearbox and actually the same or even slightly better economy, win, win, win, win
...Who needs an oil burner for economy, pahh!
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Soldato
You're right, stress can be a dangerous thing. I always leave for journeys with plenty of time to spare; I'd rather get there 10 minutes early and sit waiting in my car listening to music than leave with no time to spare and get stuck in traffic. I guess that's the difference between people with no patience who nail it everywhere, always up someone's arse and slamming on the brakes etc, and someone who can drive smoothly but likes to make progress when safe
I love driving. The thing that stresses me out is idiots on the road. Not necessarily those doing less than the speed limit (although they do to a degree), it's just people who don't know how to drive in general. Lane discipline, forward planning, hesitation etc etc.
I quite enjoy a well executed, thought-out overtake. Sit back from the person, oh there's a straight, I get quite excited, drop a cog or two and nail it
I love driving. The thing that stresses me out is idiots on the road. Not necessarily those doing less than the speed limit (although they do to a degree), it's just people who don't know how to drive in general. Lane discipline, forward planning, hesitation etc etc.
I quite enjoy a well executed, thought-out overtake. Sit back from the person, oh there's a straight, I get quite excited, drop a cog or two and nail it
Soldato
You're right, stress can be a dangerous thing. I always leave for journeys with plenty of time to spare; I'd rather get there 10 minutes early and sit waiting in my car listening to music than leave with no time to spare and get stuck in traffic. I guess that's the difference between people with no patience who nail it everywhere, always up someone's arse and slamming on the brakes etc, and someone who can drive smoothly but likes to make progress when safe
I love driving. The thing that stresses me out is idiots on the road. Not necessarily those doing less than the speed limit (although they do to a degree), it's just people who don't know how to drive in general. Lane discipline, forward planning, hesitation etc etc.
I quite enjoy a well executed, thought-out overtake. Sit back from the person, oh there's a straight, I get quite excited, drop a cog or two and nail it
This is a good part of my point, if you see a tard driving tho, try laughing at them "ho ho ho look at that fool" rather than calling them an ****** Jeff, makes a massive difference to stress