I have found the flaw in having great MPG figures.

ToneControl

Going back a long way, lots of Land rover owners did this, but it's an old trick:

fit a heater to the engine

http://www.kenlowe.co.uk/pre-heaters/cars/whatwill.html

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KENLOWE-HOTSTART-ENGINE-PRE-HEATER-/130632142834

then the engine is hot when you get in

 

I have another trick: I keep a 2kW ceramic heater in the car, which I run for 20 mins before I leave for work on frosty days. Clears all the windows, warms the seats and so on, very nice, and not too expensive a trick compared to 10 minutes on the drive scraping windows, etc. Quite a lot safer too than driving with a 4 square inch hole in the frost to see out of

 

 

 

btw many people labour diesel engines, thinking they are being careful and frugal, in fact it damages the engine, which cost about £5k-6k. Never let the car shudder as you accelerate

 

boogieman

chillidoggy said:

Another vote for Ford's Quick Clear windscreen, the one on my Monderosa is superb.

I had them in my last two Focuses. Great feature, but according to the sales wallah when I bought the last Focus, Ford hold the patent, so other manufacturers can't filch the idea. Turns out my Jag XF has it too though .. guess it must be something to do with when Ford owned Jaguar?

stickyfiddle

dindude said:

Wow, that is some good economy. You must drive like a vicar?

I've just bought my first deisel, brand new Golf, and I'm strugging to get 40 out of it!

Amittedly it is a bit pokey and I have a heavy right foot but I'm really hoping it is going to improve.

Get's warm quickly though

I'm getting 45 average easy with mine after 6000km, up from 35 or so when new. But I bet that right pedal is damn tempting!

chillidoggy

boogieman said:

chillidoggy said:

Another vote for Ford's Quick Clear windscreen, the one on my Monderosa is superb.

I had them in my last two Focuses. Great feature, but according to the sales wallah when I bought the last Focus, Ford hold the patent, so other manufacturers can't filch the idea. Turns out my Jag XF has it too though .. guess it must be something to do with when Ford owned Jaguar?

I think the patent has run out now.

TTony

monquixote said:

I've just got an old 2.5 diesel A6 and I'm getting about 40 out of it ATM as compared to about 54 in the 1.9 Fabia.

Old, but very well cared for by its previous owner.

The aircon knocks a good 10% off the mpg - I only used it in the real heat, otherwise left it in "econ" mode.  You'll also find that the economy improves when the weather warms up (unless you turn the air con on of course!).  With a light right foot, I was getting 45+ on longer runs.

My E350 CDi is giving me just over 40mpg to date.  Shouldn't complain given the weight of the car and the ease with which it hits any speed required ....

ICBM

That's a good point actually... the air-con in my Renault doesn't work, so I never have it turned on, which probably helps the mpg. Don't need it in Scotland anyway. On the rare occasions it's ever hot enough that I'd think about it, it's such a turn up for the books it would be a shame not to open the window .

jd0272

I only turn the air con on to see of it still works. The wife and kids got used to sweating their tits off in the heat. 

10% (+) reduction in fuel economy with it turned on = 10% (+) less 'fun' money. I'm tight.

ToneControl

I used to have this discussion in the early 90s when I had aircon and it was exotic for the UK, the facts to bear in mind are:

• On larger cars, it's 5% that it uses
• Having the windows open uses more fuel from the extra drag resistance created, without actually cooling you much
• it clears the windows when it's cool and wet. I'm a big fan of seeing where I'm going
• It's actually quite nice when it's hot
• Less fumes than having the windows open (and pollen)

 

 

ICBM

ToneControl said:

• Having the windows open uses more fuel from the extra drag resistance created

Only if you're going fast. I tend to close them when I get to the motorway, by which time the temperature is about right anyway usually.

ToneControl said:

• it clears the windows when it's cool and wet.

Not as quickly as putting the heater on and/or wiping the windows before you start.

ToneControl said:

• It's actually quite nice when it's hot 

Not as nice as having the windows open .

I agree about the pollen a bit. But otherwise I find air-con massively over-rated, and I don't understand why it's become such a "necessity" on modern cars.

That said, it does have advantages … when we bought my wife's car, it was cheaper than it should have been because the air-con was broken and the dealer didn't want to spend £400+ getting it fixed. We just kept quiet .

monquixote

Mythbusters did a test on air con vs windows. Windows are more economical at town speeds and air con at highway speeds. 

ESBlonde

I just remembered that one of the features of traditional diesels is that they can safely tick-over forever (exaggeration) with no risk of overheating which is another reason they are used on gennys and why truck or plant drivers will often leave their engines running while they leave the vehicle unattended.

ToneControl

best to keep windows shut in town centres for health reasons 

juansolo

I must be doing something wrong, I'm only getting 24mpg. Then again, I seem to get out of the car with a big grin on my face so it's worth it.

monquixote

TTony said:

monquixote said:

I've just got an old 2.5 diesel A6 and I'm getting about 40 out of it ATM as compared to about 54 in the 1.9 Fabia.

Old, but very well cared for by its previous owner.

The aircon knocks a good 10% off the mpg - I only used it in the real heat, otherwise left it in "econ" mode.  You'll also find that the economy improves when the weather warms up (unless you turn the air con on of course!).  With a light right foot, I was getting 45+ on longer runs.

My E350 CDi is giving me just over 40mpg to date.  Shouldn't complain given the weight of the car and the ease with which it hits any speed required ....

Top tip. I've been leaving it in "Auto" mode because I'm too lazy to read the book and work out what all the buttons do.  I'll try econ and see what it does to the numbers.

bertie

ToneControl said:

I used to have this discussion in the early 90s when I had aircon and it was exotic for the UK, the facts to bear in mind are:

• On larger cars, it's 5% that it uses
• Having the windows open uses more fuel from the extra drag resistance created, without actually cooling you much
• it clears the windows when it's cool and wet. I'm a big fan of seeing where I'm going
• It's actually quite nice when it's hot
• Less fumes than having the windows open (and pollen)

 

 

you seem to have omitted, 

• Creates really crusty bogies

ToneControl

bertie said:

ToneControl said:

I used to have this discussion in the early 90s when I had aircon and it was exotic for the UK, the facts to bear in mind are:

• On larger cars, it's 5% that it uses
• Having the windows open uses more fuel from the extra drag resistance created, without actually cooling you much
• it clears the windows when it's cool and wet. I'm a big fan of seeing where I'm going
• It's actually quite nice when it's hot
• Less fumes than having the windows open (and pollen)

 

 

you seem to have omitted, 

• Creates really crusty bogies

there is that

FX_Munkee

Just a quick note for those that like to turn off their Air Con.
Remember to use it occasionaly, as the seals in the system require "conditioning" otherwise they will perish.
The coolant charge contains oils which effectively lubricate the seals.
So run it every few months for a few minutes to keep the system working.

Oh and for reference I've tried turning mine off, running it manually, leaving it on Auto all of which made no measurable difference to my mpg figures, this is on a powerful modern diesel.
On my '93 MX-5 if you run the aircon you can genuinely feel the 10% reduction in power (the pump is run directly from the crank pulley), that's a lowish power old design petrol engine.

I quite like crusty bogies, although, specifically, just my own.

crunchman

Going back to the Ford windscreens, I have to say I really don't like them.  When it's good weather you see the wires in windscreen.

I was talking to my wife the other day, and we both agreed that we are glad we don't have that on our Citroen.  The horrible electronic handbrake on the other hand.....

ChrisMusic

Just reading through this, I could almost cry at the 50+ mpg figures (glad I'm not the only one thinking in old money here)

Mine is a regular old infernal combustion engine running on petrol at about a kidney and a half for a gallon.

Subaru Legacy estate, import job with twin turbos, auto box and four wheel drive, and 25-28mpg is the best I can get by careful driving, really, really try to save fuel (most days now) and I can just squeeze 35mpg.  Maybe time for a rethink.

The air con died a while ago, probably as @FX_Munkee said about the seals, wish I had known.

As @ToneControl said, it does keep the inside clear on particularly dreich days, in a way that heater and constant wiping just doesn't.

You do cook under a big glass screen on a sunny day though, air con takes the pain away.

Get caught in city traffic on a hot day, and keep your cool while all about you are loosing theirs...

@juansolo has a good point, but floor it and the consumption goes WAY down, so I can't afford the big grin nowadays  

Still it really does want a bit of mostering sometimes, so the occasional massive grin is OK, isn't it?  

ESBlonde

@ChrisMusic I was in a similar position back in the spring, kept telling myself the old Shogun was paid for and fully depreciated with parts being cheap if they were needed. Then as the tyres looked nearing renewal and a few other jobs were pending I looked about. I am saving about £40 a week and have a modern reliable machine. Fuel savings could pay for a decent motor on a finance deal even. The Octavia is a particularly frugal engine for it's size, the Saab 93 estate I looked at with the same size block was quite the flyer and I love Saab but these days fuel ain't 10/- a gallon!