Are my mpg to low?

[Austin-182]

Evening guys, ive read a number of times, the pre cat lamda is the one to change if mpg are low, but what im trying to decide on, is if my mpg are low or normal due to the use of my car

So, i use my car every day to go to work, only about a 10 min drive at the most, the same to get home. The gf lives about 4 miles away from my house, and mixed within that, drives to rhe metro (shopping centre) about 25 mile away from home and obv the same back.

Im only getting around 28mpg at the moment, i used toget around 30 mpg and when my decat went on about a year ago it went upto about 32/33mpg but now im around 28

Do you think its worth changing the pre cat lamda?

I recently did the trip to trax and thought id see what mpg i got on the way as its about 3.5 hours of motorway but only returned around 33mpg although i did kind of stick at 85ish all the way down

 

[Gouldy]

my MPG has dropped to about 25 just recently. i dont know if its down to trying another fuel or not. what fuel do you use?

 

[Austin-182]

I use v power mate, allways do and allways have
Im running decat and luckily i dont have any lights on my dash and i dont want to mess that up by swapping for a new lambda (it may not actually change that anyway though)

 

[Gouldy]

thanks, i am going to look at getting a new lambda then.

tbh its worth a try, they arnt expensive to replace IIRC

 

[Addicted]

try the usual trick - drive 60mph on the motorway and reset mpg, you should get 40+.
if not, probably Lambda!

 

[Jon.G]

I'll keep an eye on this, I do very similar journeys/miles and get around 28-30mpgs.

I do see a good return on long motorway journeys though.

 

[Dan519]

Paying for a diagnostics plug in will save you wasting money on a lambda if it's working fine (need to look at live data, not codes!!) and if it is that then a new sensor will pay for itself in saved fuel. I've seen cars hit the 40's so it does sound like yours isn't right, unless you drive uneconomically that is

 

[Toms_clio]

At 85 it will be revving it's nuts of!!
Try driving at 70 and you will get 44 - 50 mpg..

 

[Dan519]

my ITB'd mk1 always got over 30mpg at similar speeds, closer to 35 mostly

 

[Toms_clio]

Really :0. I thought itb's gave like 18 mpg..

 

[Jon.G]

Cheers, I'll get it looked at.

 

[Austin-182]

Let me know how you get on Jon, think il look into mine getting checked aswell

 

[Dan519]

Really :0. I thought itb's gave like 18 mpg..

god no. Do it right and under sensible conditions you can improve on standard. It's only where you're driving hard and using more power that you'll use more fuel

 

[stephen chadwick]

mines dead on 30mpg and thats mostly urban driving. how do you reset the mpg to 0? tried holding in the button but dosent do anything?

 

[Spee]

Button next to the odometer/trip computer.

 

[stephen chadwick]

Button next to the odometer/trip computer.

sorry if im being dumb im rather tired. do you mean on the end of the stalk?

 

[skycap]

It's the button that sticks out between the speedo and the rpm gauge...

 

[skycap]

It's the button that sticks out between the speedo and the rpm gauge...

 

[fletch8]

I do a similar route and mines aroubd 36 including a 40 minute motorway round trip once a week

 

[Rhys Beal]

Since I decat'd mine, the mpg went down from around 32/33 to 27/28 mpg?!

This doesn't sound right either does it?

 

[steve32c]

sorry if im being dumb im rather tired. do you mean on the end of the stalk?

Use the button on the end of the stalk to select gallons used then press the reset on the dial

 

[Gouldy]

Paying for a diagnostics plug in will save you wasting money on a lambda if it's working fine (need to look at live data, not codes!!) and if it is that then a new sensor will pay for itself in saved fuel. I've seen cars hit the 40's so it does sound like yours isn't right, unless you drive uneconomically that is

i had my diagnostics machine on it this morning. when watching the live data i am getting readings from the pre cat lambda but i am not getting a reading from the post cat lambda. could this be whats causing the low MPG's?

i know that the first lambda is in a closed loop control system and alters the fuelling accordingly and as far as im aware the second sensor is there to see if the cat is working or not?

 

[stephen chadwick]

Use the button on the end of the stalk to select gallons used then press the reset on the dial

thanks

 

[ryanhavana]

My MPG is 34.6 FML!

 

[Gouldy]

Been out in mine now and it's getting 25.7

 

[.Stevo.C.]

I take the trip computer reading with a pinch of salt tbh. Mine is currently reading 38-40 but it still seems quite heavy on fuel.

 

[Gouldy]

After my earlier diagnostics check I have been out in the car and burnt the rest of the momentum 99 off, filled it to tue brim with v power and gone for another blast resetting the trip computer. For some bizarre reason I am now getting 32 to 35 MPG. I can't believe how much difference the v power has made compared to the Tesco fuel. I'll not make that mistake again.

 

[JEEMO]

I always use Shell fuel in mine and today on country roads crusing at between 50-60 it was showing 44.7mpg on the trip computer. Thats in a fully serviced, standard 182 FF. Everyone elses seems so low to me.

 

[Jon.G]

v power is only 98. Can't be that surely?

 

[Gouldy]

v power is only 98. Can't be that surely?

v power is 99 RON, the car has always had v power and been spot on. just recently i thought i would give tesco 99 a try. the car didnt feel as good and my MPG dropped to about 25 average, which is shocking. so back in with a tank of v power and a few miles later the car is back averaging 33 MPG and running like it did before.

 

[Jon.G]

Oh yeah, its changed. Always thought it was 98. Usually use Tesco's due to the money off and clubcard points.

 

[Gouldy]

after how poor my 182 ran i would recommend changing to v power jon.g

 

[alex-avfc]

I aren't sure if your mpg are or are not low.

 

[Jon.G]

after how poor my 182 ran i would recommend changing to v power jon.g

I swap between the two in all honesty. Tesco's just seem to be cheaperish.

 

[Ricardos]

My peak average MPG

WP_000754 by Ricard o1, on Flickr

 

[Jacko90]

If you have a decat and no emissions light on your dash, then thats not always a good sign. How long has the decat been fitted for? It can take several hundred miles to turn it on. I use shell standard as they dont offer v-power for some reason? Which is a big shame, but id rather use them over Tesco or Jet!! But i tend to see around 30.5mpg average with some sensible and some quick bursts.

 

[Austin-182]

Decat has been on Since january this year

 

[richo]

Just for reference my average MPG is usally 32/33 when driving to work (town driving).

On a trip up the parkway it's usually about 39/40mpg.

Edit.. Mine also has a decat.

 

[Goodj]

short journeys always cane fuel.
and 10 miles IS a short journey.

I managed 41mpg going London-Preston-London the other week. V-Power, safe speeds, climate on, not driving like a tool and rushing up to the back of queues in case I miss out on something.

Mechancially 100% standard 172

Driving style dictates MPG

 

[Gregor11]

Oh yeah, its changed. Always thought it was 98. Usually use Tesco's due to the money off and clubcard points.

thing with tesco fuel is this, even though they have fuel stations, they are still classed as a supermarket, so they are only required to clean their tanks once every 6-weeks, were as shell, bp etc have to clean their tanks every week. so tesco fuel tends to contain for dirt, water content etc, always stay away from dirty tesco fuel!! (its cheaper due to reasons like this)