Most Economical Speed?????..........

[iwantaclio07]

Hi All,

Short on cash this month and driving to Birmingham tomorrow.

What is the best speed to do up the M1 in my 2002 Clio 172 to maximise my MPG??

Thanks

Max

 

[Harry182]

68mph

 

[Cookie]

I get 45mpg on a run @ 70mph (on the cruise control, so where 120kph is on the speedo)

 

[black kro]

50 in top, but that would be a bit dangerous!

If you can bear it, try 55 in inside lane with the lorries

 

[black kro]

p.s: I still get a constant 38mpg at a constant 120mph (70 @ 70)!

 

[Christopher]

i'd rather not eat!

pasta and sauce all month and still give the car death!

 

[iwantaclio07]

LOL!! When i did 125mph for about 30 seconds i watched my petrol needle move!!!!!! I did red line it in every gear to get there though!!!!

Thanks for the advice.

I think i will try 68mph, dont really fancy 55mph cus lorries scare the hell out of me!!!!

Max

 

[gaz44]

Use your trip computer

 

[martynh]

Stick on cruise at 70, I was getting 35MPG when I did that to and from Bristol from Bedford.

 

[Davey182]

50 in top, but that would be a bit dangerous!

If you can bear it, try 55 in inside lane with the lorries

Spot on, I've tried this, you can get it into the 60s... But what's the point in saving yourself £5 to £10 worth of petrol? You'll get frustrated as every bugger gets right up yer arse and overtakes you dangerously. Just cruise at 70...

 

[Rich]

i'd rather not eat!

pasta and sauce all month and still give the car death!

Boy speaks sense.

56 mph though at a guess.

 

[172boost]

138mph

 

[ClioTom182]

how about pushing it there?

 

[ukaskew]

I got 45mpg+ cruising at 70mph from Westbury to Pembroke last year, in the Cup with it stripped out, but obviously no cruise control.

As long as keep a good distance from other cars and therefore aren't accelerating/braking all the time it's pretty easy to get some high mpg figures without driving like a granny.

 

[oneseventwo]

I find that if you can sit at some kind of constant speed it's better than going up and down. i.e. sitting at 80 on the motorway for 50 miles seems to be a lot more economic than being stuck behind traffic doing between 30 and 40 on an A road.

It just me?

 

[Steve2004]

My car stops using petrol at all if I plod along at about 40-45 in 5th.

But that's no fun and on a motorway it might be quite dangerous. Stick to 60ish if you really want to save that fuel.

 

[Neil G]

65/70 seems a good pace for MPG...I can get over 40 by doing that speed

 

[DanUK]

Just drive it like Ange did to Wales over easter, ragging it in each gear and like a nutter, bugger still did 37mpg!!!:rasp:

 

[Marky_]

What ever speed the lorry you're slip streaming is doing.

 

[MarkCup]

Don't worry about what speed you are doing.

As Greg says above you need to focus on being smooth, planning ahead, and avoiding the need to brake.

Picture in your mind a valve in the fuel tank linked to the brake pedal which opens and lets some fuel out every time you brake. This is effectively what happens as every time you brake you've then got to accelerate to build your speed back up again...bye bye petrol.

Do everything you can (safely) to avoid touching the middle pedal when you drive and I guarantee you'll see an instant 5-10 mpg improvement.

 

[White16valver]

Don't worry about what speed you are doing.

As Greg says above you need to focus on being smooth, planning ahead, and avoiding the need to brake.

Picture in your mind a valve in the fuel tank linked to the brake pedal which opens and lets some fuel out every time you brake. This is effectively what happens as every time you brake you've then got to accelerate to build your speed back up again...bye bye petrol.

Do everything you can (safely) to avoid touching the middle pedal when you drive and I guarantee you'll see an instant 5-10 mpg improvement.

This is what I was going to say.

Thank you for saving me the effort of typing it Mark. LoL

 

[C.slicker]

30 mph in 5th returns 99mpg (off the scale) in a 1.2 so I am guessing similar in a 172.

But it may not work out economical when you are under an artic?!

 

[Peperami]

Agree with marks post. Do 70-80 in 5th, stay smooth, and you should see 40mpg in a 172. Ensure you check your tyre pressures etc beforehand too.

 

[ClioTom182]

Just done a round trip into town to pick my bother and mates up...

On the way there with cc set at 70 mph i got around 39 - 40 then on the way back with 3 19 year old lads in the back i got 37 - 38.... not bad for a rs i thought but i do put V power in if that makes a difference?

oh to add its 15 miles there and 15 mile back mostly motorway etc so cruising for most of it

 

[Peperami]

Good point mate, use v-power, gives better fuel economy by a fair bit. Second best is bp ultimate if you cant get v-power.

Used to travel on the motorway daily, and saw huge differences in fuel economy using different fuels.

 

[G_F]

50 in 5th gets me 45mpg

 

[Michael172]

i'd rather not eat!

pasta and sauce all month and still give the car death!

mate ive started eating tuna and sweetcors (mayo included) sanwiches now instead of buying s**t to eat. parents pay for it though. i might even bike to work and college !

thats all in the interest of saving up enough money to buy a f**k'n 172.

 

[edde]

Most economical speeds depends on loads of factors but might as well try just keep speeds down and in 5th.

 

[DaveH 16v]

Best is supposed to be 3000rpm in top gear, so in my valver that is roughly 56-58 mph, not overly concerned though

 

[iwantaclio07]

Cheers for all the advice,

The best i got was 50.7 mpg doing between 55-60 mph up the M1! I was well pleased!

I didnt think that driving slow would make me so happy, everytime the mpg went up i shouted "Yes, come on!!!" LOL!

Thanks everyone.

Max

 

[Deeg]

Doesn't the economic speed differ between cars?

Is 56 MPH is more / less economical in a 1.2 than in a 2L or in a 3L etc?

 

[kully]

i would agree with the 56 mark , but best idea is driving around town using 5th gear , that'll save you a load of fuel

 

[al]

56.6mph IIRC

 

[the.bear]

ah just made a 600 round trip to scotland and averaged 42 mpg in mine sitting at about 85 on motorway and every now and then giving it a good blast !!! also agree watch whats going on well in advance of you and ease off instead of braking ... makes a huge difference

 

[edde]

As i said there to many varibale one car will be 40 another 30 another 60.

Gearing Driver skill Throttle usage etc al have a huge impact also cars are most efficient at max torque but if thats when the cars rtunning closed loop it can better to run lower you realy neeed to get the engine on a engine dyno to prove it.