Older Car more MPG diesel Why ?

Daff_Duck

Daff_Duck

Daff_Duck

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My Diesel car is now entering its 11th year on the road and over the last 6 months I have noticed an dramatic improvment in my fuel consumption. I do exactly the same route to work every day and the same journeys at weekend yet I am getting as much as 20% extra return in miles per gallon. Now some of it I can attribute to the fact that I qualified as an LGV driver and now albeit in my early 40s actually know how to drive a vehicle sympathetically. using the correct gears and speed. But my question is that surely that doesnt account for the vast increase in fuel savings blimey I am getting as much MPG as my wifes brand new car . for example on say £20 of diesel I can easly get 300+ miles which for an 11 yr old car I believe is fantastic. others may disagree but what causes the extra fuel savings I read somewere on here that the older the car gets the more economical it is.. is this true?
 
Everything frees up as the engine gets older. There is less transmissional loss etc. All together this means the engine is not working as hard and giving you the boost in economy. If the engine is still healthy it should gain power with age as well.
 
It will loose power at some point. But say a 100,000 mile VW gti 16v engine. All the bearings in the engine are nicely worn in. As long as the engine hasnt been thrashed the valves will still seal well and piston rings hold the compression etc.
But yes once there is excessive wear then it will start to loose power.
 
1996 golf gti 16v. 159k miles. 174bhp :D

aiming for 180 when i go back in april

as for the OP's car. different driving technique is probably what it is
 
HEADRAT said:
Actually lots of mutlivalve engines are actually faster after they've been worn in abit.

HEADRAT
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Yeah, from new to 20,000 miles. Not after 11 years?

May be a case of less power = more MPG?
 
Tim said:
Yeah, from new to 20,000 miles. Not after 11 years?

May be a case of less power = more MPG?
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Nope, if you are losing power from age then I'd say the compression is going, so therefore mpg will also drop.
 
Just your driving technique will probably be the main influence and types of roads driven. Drive it at 55mph for 90% of the time and the mpg will rocket especially in a diesel.

Did you replace any parts recently, repair anything or empty the boot of 10 bags of concrete :p
My cars weight has decreased over time due to rust :cool: Also tyre pressures can affect mpg
 
The other answer could just be that anything electrical on the car has now given up the ghost and so it eats less fuel. Modern cars drink like a fish because of all the gadgets.

Or.. you've just stopped ragging the living b*****s off it! :D
 
Could be as the weather is getting slightly better? Over the winter months the vRS was only getting high 40's to the gallon, seems to have improved quite a lot now :)
 
when i got my ibiza gti rolling roaded @ stock with 44k miles on it was 127bhp (suppose to be 115.. now its 167 (load sof mods tho)
 
Leeum said:
Could be as the weather is getting slightly better? Over the winter months the vRS was only getting high 40's to the gallon, seems to have improved quite a lot now :)
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Thats another one often said, theres a richer mix used when the engine is cold. Just that would make 20% if you do city miles with lots of cold starts
 
Thanks for the replies peeps - I do have 10 bags of concrete in the back :D well it feels like it with all the crap I carry around. I think however not that I drove badly but not sympatheticaly but did cut corners to such an extent that I am now reaping the benefits in an increase of MPG.
I know that there are many contributing factors especially when you try to compare MPG. But if this continues and the car continues to age then hopefully I can look forward to even more fuel economy.

:D
 
Sooo... essentially we have established that you drive like my dad. The last time his diesel motor was floored was in 1996 when he was reminiscing about the good old days in his Vauxhall Viva :p

For comparison he gets around 50mpg out of his '94 309 diesel. He gets grumpy if its under 50mpg, normally its over :D
 
Maybe your injectors were blocked up, and a few long runs have cleared them out?

I know my derv seems faster/better mpg after a longish motorway blast. :D

My 205TD is 15 years old and I think I get bet 40-50MPG, not bad for something that old - but then they weigh next to nothing. :)
 
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