Piss poor MPG

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 18:23

OK, here it is, i've been driving around on this tank of fuel like an old lady thinking that it is purely my driving style that is giving me less than sterling MPG but i'm coming to the conclusion that it isn't me! I reckon i'm going to get not alot more than around 20mpg out of this tank but that's all i seem to get out of any tank, almost no matter how i drive; i live in Milton Keynes, the traffic flows freely and i just don't get why this is the case. Any suggestions why this might be happening or any suggestions what might need changing/doing to help improve this would be most helpful. I'm not too technically minded so please keep it simple

billz · Post by **billz** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 18:33

Silly question but is it serviced regulary. I have the 3.0 and i have just hit 27.6 and that is after a run round the Derbyshire dales, car only does 20 miles each day to work and back, in the week and is driven farely hard at weekends but it never drops below 26mpg. If i cruise at 80 on the Motorways it creeps upto 28/29mpg
bill

J1SUA · Post by **J1SUA** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 18:34

What model, what's the distance to work, average speed limit to work i.e. Town / motorway etc

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 18:39

She's a 2002 2.2 sport - has been seviced regularly all her life but not by me as i've only owned her a year and it's not time for the service yet. Admittedly i don't work that far from home; work travel is only a max of 15 miles each way but i do try to give her a blow regularly and MK roads mean she isn't crawling along at 20mph, it's 60/70mph roads from my door all the way to work.

Brian H · Post by **Brian H** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 18:57

Does your car get up to temp? The temp guage should sit bang in the middle and not move as it is a buffered temp guage.

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 19:04

Ardchyle wrote:Does your car get up to temp? The temp guage should sit bang in the middle and not move as it is a buffered temp guage.

Yep, bang on center.

wonderloaf · Post by **wonderloaf** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 19:08

Mines a 2001 2.2 Sport and I do about 40 mile round trip every day, mostly on A roads with a bit motorway thrown in and get about 30 mpg using normal unleaded. Just switched to V power premium unleaded and now getting a smidgen more, so think there must be something wrong if you're only getting 20mpg.

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 19:16

wonderloaf wrote:Mines a 2001 2.2 Sport and I do about 40 mile round trip every day, mostly on A roads with a bit motorway thrown in and get about 30 mpg using normal unleaded. Just switched to V power premium unleaded and now getting a smidgen more, so think there must be something wrong if you're only getting 20mpg.

That's what i'm thinking but nothing "seems" wrong, the car sounds and feels right, nothing untoward that i can tell of, just that the MPG's cack.

Z3cade · Post by **Z3cade** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 19:18

A biggy is fuel... do you use supermarket fuel? as if i use this i get shocking mpg... about 180miles out of a tank.
Only shell v power gets me good mpg. I average 28-32mpg running on v power.
short drives will always get you bad mpg..
best ive had out of my 2.8 was 290miles out of a tank on vpower

seasurfer · Post by **seasurfer** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 19:43

Hi, just to throw a spanner in the works, doesnt matter what grade of fuel i put in, i always get 37/38mpg on a 1998 2.8,on a and b roads. im not a snail driver but i dont drive it like its been stolen either

i treat him with alot of care and thats with the hood down.

I tested those figures last summer, but just tested again (fill to brim, drive then refill and work out the sums) been down to yorkshire today and still get the same mpg. well pleased

Gill

Z3cade · Post by **Z3cade** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 20:05

You sure yours isnt a diesel Gill?......

seasurfer · Post by **seasurfer** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 20:22

no, its chicken poo

Gill

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 20:24

Z3cade wrote:A biggy is fuel... do you use supermarket fuel? as if i use this i get shocking mpg... about 180miles out of a tank.
Only shell v power gets me good mpg. I average 28-32mpg running on v power.
short drives will always get you bad mpg..
best ive had out of my 2.8 was 290miles out of a tank on vpower

I'm getting this mpg from BP fuel! Honestly, i can't seem to get this back up to where i feel it should; i'm aware that short journeys don't do the MPG any good but.....

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 20:33

i'm gonna have to do more checking on this, what's the fuel tank size again? Wanna make sure i've got all my figures right.

billz · Post by **billz** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 20:35

Not sure of Tank size think it is either 40 or 45 litres. As to short runs my missus only does 10 mile to and from work 5 days and the 27mpg never drops, we always fill up with the same amount of fuel every sat morning
bill

wonderloaf · Post by **wonderloaf** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 20:36

So far I don't fuel type makes a huge difference, as I said I've been trying V power for the last few weeks and found that I still get about 30mpg, If your only getting 20mpg it might be worth spending some money on some kind of diagnostic test to try to highlight where the problem might be.

MickJ · Post by **MickJ** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 20:44

billz wrote:Not sure of Tank size think it is either 40 or 45 litres. As to short runs my missus only does 10 mile to and from work 5 days and the 27mpg never drops, we always fill up with the same amount of fuel every sat morning
bill

51 litres I believe. I have a 2.8 and a blast down the motorway this afternoon gave 37mpg (according to mpg thingy) at 65\70mph and 29mpg at 80\110 (short period I hasten to add) so it does sound as something is wrong if you are getting that mpg from a 2.2.

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 20:47

I get more than 20mpg from my M

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 20:49

It appears that 51 litres is right Mick which is just over 11 gallons, i'll do some more checking and find out more - appreciate everyones input so far as i'd rather be spending extra cash on little mods i want than tax for the Government so i want to get this sorted.

Geoff H · Post by **Geoff H** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 21:56

Diamondj wrote:i'm gonna have to do more checking on this, what's the fuel tank size again? Wanna make sure i've got all my figures right.

It doesn't matter what the tank size is the only accurate way to test is the fill the tank to the brim and trip the clock, then when you refill the tank to the brim see what miles you have done to the fuel you put in. Not much help but I only get 19 mpg on short runs with Tesco's fuel in my 1998 2.8, the latter models (with dual vanos) are better on fuel consumption.

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 22:14

Geoff H wrote:
Diamondj wrote:i'm gonna have to do more checking on this, what's the fuel tank size again? Wanna make sure i've got all my figures right.
It doesn't matter what the tank size is the only accurate way to test is the fill the tank to the brim and trip the clock, then when you refill the tank to the brim see what miles you have done to the fuel you put in. Not much help but I only get 19 mpg on short runs with Tesco's fuel in my 1998 2.8, the latter models (with dual vanos) are better on fuel consumption.

Yep, that's what i've been doing but if my claculations are off due to me thinking my tank was smaller in litres tha it is and not recalculating in gallons correctly i'm getting a flase reading that's why i wanted to know how many gallons i can get in the tanks etc - i'm going to fill it up again tomorrow as when i filled up last i did "trip the clock", so i'll recheck my figures, i'm still not expecting it to be great though.

DC · Post by DC » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 22:52

Diamondj wrote:
Geoff H wrote:
Diamondj wrote:i'm gonna have to do more checking on this, what's the fuel tank size again? Wanna make sure i've got all my figures right.
It doesn't matter what the tank size is the only accurate way to test is the fill the tank to the brim and trip the clock, then when you refill the tank to the brim see what miles you have done to the fuel you put in. Not much help but I only get 19 mpg on short runs with Tesco's fuel in my 1998 2.8, the latter models (with dual vanos) are better on fuel consumption.
Yep, that's what i've been doing but if my claculations are off due to me thinking my tank was smaller in litres tha it is and not recalculating in gallons correctly i'm getting a flase reading that's why i wanted to know how many gallons i can get in the tanks etc - i'm going to fill it up again tomorrow as when i filled up last i did "trip the clock", so i'll recheck my figures, i'm still not expecting it to be great though.

Just to reiterate Geoff's point, tank size is not required when calculating mpg, just amount of fuel used and miles covered.
This might make calculations easier
http://www.torquecars.com/tools/uk-mpg-calculator.php
Dave.

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Sat 09 Apr, 2011 23:03

Appreciate the input - i do get it, i just wanted to know what the tank size was, i know i don't need to know that to calculate miles travelled x litres used. The reason i wanted to know was it also enables me workout how good/bad my fuel gauge maybe i.e. if the tanks appears to be all but dry but it only takes 46 litres to fill it i know that there was another 5 litres left in the tank so i can get a feeling if the gauge is off.

Zed Carer · Post by **Zed Carer** » Sun 10 Apr, 2011 06:23

Diamondj wrote:The reason i wanted to know was it also enables me workout how good/bad my fuel gauge maybe i.e. if the tanks appears to be all but dry but it only takes 46 litres to fill it i know that there was another 5 litres left in the tank so i can get a feeling if the gauge is off.

There's been quite a few previous posts on the accuracy / non-accuracy of the Z3's fuel gauge. The float can get stuck - mine (99 2.8 M52TU) did this when I first got it but a few tanks of V Power just about cured it. I can still drive 60 to 70 miles after filling without the gauge moving but once it gets going it seems to be fairly consistent.

The on-board readout has never matched my actual fuel consumption - the computer keeps saying 35 to 37mpg but the actual is 29 to 31mpg. On the other hand the miles to go before empty is quite accurate.

With no other obvious problems its difficult to see what could be wrong - getting the codes read could at least eliminate some possibilities even if it doesn't identify the actual problem.

Lazzzydog · Post by **Lazzzydog** » Sun 10 Apr, 2011 16:34

He just needs one of the girls to do his sums and he'll soon be up to 40mpg.

seasurfer · Post by **seasurfer** » Sun 10 Apr, 2011 16:36

What do you mean exactly

nothing wrong with my maths, i have a calculator and a t-total zed, just like me

Gill

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Sun 10 Apr, 2011 17:17

The last 106 miles - averaged 22mpg and i didn't driver her that hard, somethings definitely not right

Vic-Z3 · Post by **Vic-Z3** » Sun 10 Apr, 2011 20:17

Unless the garage forcourt is robbing you blind you have a problem there ....

I also drive a 2002 2.2i double vanos m54 and like you do a mixture of short
drives to and from work and at the weekends longer more spirited runs.
It works out at between 29 - 33mpg in mine.
This is on the so called cheaper unleaded from Morrisons.

Hard Top · Post by **Hard Top** » Sun 10 Apr, 2011 21:26

seasurfer wrote:and a t-total zed, just like me

Gill

Right, that's you off my list for party invites.

HT

seasurfer · Post by **seasurfer** » Sun 10 Apr, 2011 21:38

Which List

anyway, i might not want to come to one of your party's, depends if you have buttons on offer

Gill

trigg35 · Post by **trigg35** » Sun 10 Apr, 2011 22:15

well i only get about 20mpg from my 2001 2 .2 sport with 52000 on the clock.had inspection2 at 47000 and is running fine.no way can i get the figures mentioned here.dont drive it like other cars though where i change gear at 2500rpm or so.tend to hold the gears to hear the exhaust note (i love it!)and spin it up to the red line every so often,on a trip to the midlands i filled up in cornwall and nearly ran out on the m5 before the m42 and had to drive at 50mph for 20 miles until i crawled into services.did about 200 miles on a tank doing 70-85 mph.my 2.5 diesel van does about the same so im used to it.used to work in milton keynes - are you not up and down the gears for roundabouts all the time.due to its grid system there are loads.

Hard Top · Post by **Hard Top** » Sun 10 Apr, 2011 22:17

Sorry Gill, no buttons, we only do Scooby Snack's over here.

The Scooby Snack is a burger, its a popular fast food.

But!!!!!!!!!

Scooby Snack is also a drink, comprised traditionally of melon liqueur (such as Midori), vodka, coconut rum (such as Malibu), pineapple juice, and whipped cream.

Got to love this noise.

http://youtu.be/oPdGQCPEFBY

HT

TaffZee · Post by **TaffZee** » Mon 11 Apr, 2011 06:47

Just done a run out on Saturday, we had a varied driving route, Motorways,A roads B roads, and some spirited driving where we could, My 2.8 returned 28.3 per gallon, which I am very happy with. As the weather gets warmer I am getting more to the gallon!

Driving it slow and steady doesnt work for me! I get poor consumption if I keep the revs low, best fuel consumption I find is at 3000 RPM.

Z3C · Post by **Z3C** » Mon 11 Apr, 2011 08:36

Diamondj wrote:OK, here it is, i've been driving around on this tank of fuel like an old lady thinking that it is purely my driving style that is giving me less than sterling MPG but i'm coming to the conclusion that it isn't me! I reckon i'm going to get not alot more than around 20mpg out of this tank but that's all i seem to get out of any tank, almost no matter how i drive; i live in Milton Keynes, the traffic flows freely and i just don't get why this is the case. Any suggestions why this might be happening or any suggestions what might need changing/doing to help improve this would be most helpful. I'm not too technically minded so please keep it simple

Do you have wide tyres in your car? The all popular 255 rubber at the back will definately get your consumtion to drop. The only question is how much! Of course different tyre brand will perform differently too.

I've been driving my recently purchased M54 3,0l coupe regularly for a month or so now and I never ones got the consumption abowe 23mpg(US) (~10l/100km). I find it difficult to keep above that number even on the motorway. According to the specs the consumption should be somewhere around 30mpg.

On the other hand, downtown consumption figure seems to be just right. My every day trip to the office is only 4,5km long and I pass 11 traffic lights on the way. This kind of driving produces 16-18mpg(US) (when driving nicely

) which is exactly according to the specs.

For sure the fat tyres affect fast driving more than slow driving --> hence the poor mpg on the motorway!

Truth be said though, I'm not exactly a slow driver either. I just can't resist flooring it and even testing the rear traction from time to time.

If you're gonna get a proper car you better drive it properly too, aight?

TaffZee · Post by **TaffZee** » Mon 11 Apr, 2011 13:38

seasurfer wrote:Hi, just to throw a spanner in the works, doesnt matter what grade of fuel i put in, i always get 37/38mpg on a 1998 2.8,on a and b roads. im not a snail driver but i dont drive it like its been stolen either i treat him with alot of care and thats with the hood down.

I tested those figures last summer, but just tested again (fill to brim, drive then refill and work out the sums) been down to yorkshire today and still get the same mpg. well pleased

Gill

You will have to let us know where you fill up Gill, I believe what you say but that type of MPG is unheard of (until now) on a 2.8...

Jim

Frank.A · Post by **Frank.A** » Mon 11 Apr, 2011 13:57

The mpg that Gill gets is not impossible as a 'best' as my 2.8 has achieved it on BP Ultimate,according to the Comp.Mike Fishwich also claims similar figures,however I doubt it as an overall average.Mine has averaged around 33mpg since I bought it,again according to the Comp.

TaffZee · Post by **TaffZee** » Mon 11 Apr, 2011 14:18

Frank.A wrote:The mpg that Gill gets is not impossible as a 'best' as my 2.8 has achieved it on BP Ultimate,according to the Comp.Mike Fishwich also claims similar figures,however I doubt it as an overall average.Mine has averaged around 33mpg since I bought it,again according to the Comp.

The Computer is only an indication of MPG.

Geoff H · Post by **Geoff H** » Mon 11 Apr, 2011 14:42

TaffZee wrote: The Computer is only an indication of MPG.

And needs to be reset regularly or it will give the mpg, average speed ect over the period since it was last reset, how ever many months or years ago that was

seasurfer · Post by **seasurfer** » Mon 11 Apr, 2011 15:12

There was another thread a few weeks back on this very same topic, i am not alone with the mpg for a 2.8, quite a few of us get 36 +.

And, as on that thread, alot of 2.2 were much lower mpg than a few of the 2.8's and even a couple of 1.9's.

I can only tell you what i get, i fill up, trip metre, go off for the day on varied roads, fill up at the end of the day and do the maths. I still get the same answer.

The only time i was lower mpg, approx 30 was on a meet, a section was horendous, twisty and fairly fast, changing up and down for quite a few miles around rivington lake area with a few //m's - never again

I will test it again next week for those who think i cant add up

Another thought just occured to me, If you have a remap, doesnt it mean you get better fuel consumption, maybe mine is remapped, how do you tell?

Gill

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Mon 11 Apr, 2011 17:09

Maybe it is a little bit of: me/road conditions/too many short trips. I'm driving the car now as i "normally" would, a little more spirited and higher on the revs, i'll do the same test, do 106 miles and then fill up again and see what the difference is/how much worse it gets, if at all.

grandparipper · Post by **grandparipper** » Tue 12 Apr, 2011 03:36

Please clarify for me over here in the States, were you using Imperial gallons or litres in your calculations?
With American gallons and miles, I get reliably 24-26 miles per gallon in my 2.8 with a slightly opened up exhaust, no matter who's fuel I buy. I put a straight-through Magna Flow muffler on mine so it sounds sportier, but I did not expect any significant change in MPG, just the sound and a slight weight reduction.
I wonder if I had a re-map done or a chipset installed if that would make me happier. Has anyone done this? I am happy with the torque, but I think I should be getting more MPG.

Z3C · Post by **Z3C** » Tue 12 Apr, 2011 03:59

grandparipper wrote:Please clarify for me over here in the States, were you using Imperial gallons or litres in your calculations?
With American gallons and miles, I get reliably 24-26 miles per gallon in my 2.8 with a slightly opened up exhaust, no matter who's fuel I buy. I put a straight-through Magna Flow muffler on mine so it sounds sportier, but I did not expect any significant change in MPG, just the sound and a slight weight reduction.
I wonder if I had a re-map done or a chipset installed if that would make me happier. Has anyone done this? I am happy with the torque, but I think I should be getting more MPG.

Good point!

38mpg(UK) ~ 31,5mpg(US)

Here is a calculator for all consumption expressions:
http://www.markporthouse.net/rangie/fue ... ersion.htm#

grandparipper · Post by **grandparipper** » Tue 12 Apr, 2011 16:06

Thanks for clarifying.
Please help me with some basics, since most postings are in Kilometers in Europe, wouldn't it be more common over there to express fuel economy in meteric terms? I apologize for never having been over the pond, especially since many of my relatives are originally from the English Isles. I am plannning to go in the next few years.
Thanks!

Z3C · Post by **Z3C** » Tue 12 Apr, 2011 16:37

grandparipper wrote:Thanks for clarifying.
Please help me with some basics, since most postings are in Kilometers in Europe, wouldn't it be more common over there to express fuel economy in meteric terms? I apologize for never having been over the pond, especially since many of my relatives are originally from the English Isles. I am plannning to go in the next few years.
Thanks!

In the UK they use mpg(with UK gallons as discussed above). The rest of the Europe uses "liters/100km"

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Tue 12 Apr, 2011 17:24

grandparipper wrote:Thanks for clarifying.
Please help me with some basics, since most postings are in Kilometers in Europe, wouldn't it be more common over there to express fuel economy in meteric terms? I apologize for never having been over the pond, especially since many of my relatives are originally from the English Isles. I am plannning to go in the next few years.
Thanks!

In the UK, we use miles the same as you do in the states, in the rest of Europe they use Kilometers so in in England althought fuel is sold by the litre we still calculate in mpg, i know, it's all a bit messed up but that's us for ya'

My calculation were based on UK gallons.

grandparipper · Post by **grandparipper** » Tue 12 Apr, 2011 20:04

Thanks so much! That makes sense now. I usually figure we Americans are the odd ones for sticking with inches, feet, and miles instead of metric like most (but not all) the rest of the world.
Almost warm enough to take my hard top off! Enjoy!

Diamondj · Post by **Diamondj** » Tue 12 Apr, 2011 20:12

grandparipper wrote:Thanks so much! That makes sense now. I usually figure we Americans are the odd ones for sticking with inches, feet, and miles instead of metric like most (but not all) the rest of the world.
Almost warm enough to take my hard top off! Enjoy!

Just to make it even more complicated

, we in the UK use feet, inches + the metric system, depending on what we are doing and who we are talking to and heres another one, if it's very cold most poeple will say it's 1 or 2 degrees etc as in using celsius and if it's hot we will generally say it's in the 80's today i.e. faranheit

It was warm enough here and yes, i did have the roof down

Zed Carer · Post by **Zed Carer** » Tue 12 Apr, 2011 20:17

grandparipper wrote:Thanks so much! That makes sense now. I usually figure we Americans are the odd ones for sticking with inches, feet, and miles instead of metric like most (but not all) the rest of the world.
Almost warm enough to take my hard top off! Enjoy!

I'm a civil engineer and when metric units started to be used there were some strange measurements. One day I asked someone to check a dimension on site and back came the answer: "2 mteres and 6 inches"

Bench · Post by **Bench** » Wed 13 Apr, 2011 13:44

I am a civil engineer as well if you use feet and inches in my office you will hung drawn and quartered!!!

boblez · Post by **boblez** » Wed 13 Apr, 2011 13:52

Hung Drawn and Quartered by "Civil Engineers" what would Un Civil ones do?!! lol

zroadster.net

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