fatboy_dave wrote: it only backs up my experience that a car with a powerful engine proves most optimal at high speed, but cars with smaller engine capacities, but claims of higher overall mpgs, suffer worse when the car has to perform at speed of above 60 mph.
This is the conclusion that I drew too. My example more extreme : The first brand new car I ever bought was a tiny Citroen AX10E when they first came out. Top speed was no more than 80mph, but the mpg claimed was 75 "at a steady 54.5mph". This claim was vastly overstated, me in pedantic mood religiously keeping to that speed whenever possible and only ever achieving 65mpg.
And with the wife driving it flat out all the way when returning from a holiday in the west country it returned a miserable 50mpg.
I found no joy in keeping to 54.5mph after that, and it is a pleasure now to drive the Rex without worrying about the effect my speed is having on the fuel economy.
S/Silver, 192ps, b. Jan 2004 - 22,000 miles, 1 mod only (= oil cooler protection grilles), 2 ProDrives, 12 meets. Still feels like a new car !
Finally achieved the 'holy grail' in the Rex - 302.2 miles on a full tank of petrol.
Drove down to Withernsea yesterday on a day out with my Dad to the nuclear bunker there. On the way there we did the boring route up past York, Hull, Beverley and some rather bizarre detours down bumpy, muddy and puddle filled lanes. (A result of which Dad now owes me one car wash as he was the navigator). This part of the journey only involved average speeds of around 70-75 (damn the fact Dad could see the speed on the road angel!!! )
On the return journey the route was a lot more interesting following a more coastal route with lots of twists and turns and then cut across to the Malton to Helmsley road (B1257), through Stokesley, Yarm and then back home. Certainly got to practise changing down my gears for the bends rather than relying on just my brakes. By some bizarre coincidence Dad's mobile rang my home phone.. when I got home very strange answer message from which I could hear no voices but a rather impressive sound of the rex's engine changing gears, revs etc going round the bends on the Helmsley road.
Determined to get over 300 miles out of her today and she didn't let me down. Picked a very convinent spot to show the warning light on the petrol gauge ... right next to a Morrisons petrol station at 89.9p a litre. How considerate!! lol
Dawn
Her car -190 strato blue RX8 with rotary crest , stainless steel strakes, bonnet dampeners, bling tax disc holder His car -Laser Blue Lotus Exige with Honda Type R Engine plus many other added extras which go on and on ....[/color]
Warning light comes on around 46 ltrs. Push it a further 30ish miles and I've only ever managed 56 litres. (The needle was below the lowest part of the E on empty!)
Mat Frost wrote: so at that price it would have been £41.35 for 302miles
Close enough .. filled up with 52.31 litres @89.9p = a grand total of £47.03
Seeing how I was on rescue mission to the boyfriend and his poorly sick lotus at the Croft circuit (:lol: must not laugh !!). I thought it was probably wise not to try and push my luck with the fuel. Hence taking the opportunity to fill up there and then.
Dawn
Her car -190 strato blue RX8 with rotary crest , stainless steel strakes, bonnet dampeners, bling tax disc holder His car -Laser Blue Lotus Exige with Honda Type R Engine plus many other added extras which go on and on ....[/color]
So thats 15.6p per mile. About 26.3mpg
Thats really good, just scanning through my fuel useage spreadsheet for the Mini Cooper S, and that seems to average about 15p per mile 27-28mpg.
Well I'm 3 quarters through my first tank and I've made 170 miles......
So if its an accurate guage I'm looking at getting 220 miles....
I haven't had the car long enough yet to learn how to drive it hard continously and now, I have to say, I'm dreading what it will do to the tank when I do that
For me I usually find that the first "1/4" on the guage lasts about 100 miles. The next half tank ("1/4" to "3/4") goes by about 200 miles and the warning light comes on about 270...
Phil
I'm only posting here now because I can't think of anywhere I "need" to drive to...
Sunlight Silver 230 - 26,299 miles and £5,140.86 in fuel (@ 20.9 mpg ave.) since 28th July 2006 and still lovin' it...
bassfiend wrote:For me I usually find that the first "1/4" on the guage lasts about 100 miles. Phil
I need that emoticon to have eyes the size of fitbaw's...
Seriously?
I'm lucky if I read past 50 miles for the firts 1/4 By the time the dial shows on max I've done about 15 - 20 miles, then it goes south seriously quick. 48 miles.
I thought I was going stunningly well this tank. I was just below the first notch past the 1/4 and it showed 68 miles. Today looked again and 138 miles 1 notch above 3/4 ....
Yup - pretty much 100% repeatable (apart from the one really mad PistonHeads thrash which got me down to 15.4mpg - see, I do try!) and as you can see from the spreadsheet I posted up then I'm racking up some silly milage (currently looking at 36k a year).
I don't hang around, beep it whenever and wherever possible and tend to hang on to gears far longer than I really need to just because I like the sound of it...
Phil
I'm only posting here now because I can't think of anywhere I "need" to drive to...
Sunlight Silver 230 - 26,299 miles and £5,140.86 in fuel (@ 20.9 mpg ave.) since 28th July 2006 and still lovin' it...
Chris
RX8 Stealth Fighter Full list of mods complete with pics can be seen here , temporarily/possible permanently off the road due to an off at Brands Hatch .
Now rocking an SC VX220 . Part of your friendly moderating team helping the keep the forum tidy, if you have any issues then feel free to drop me a pm and I'll do my best to help .
Hi Anderxander,
Driving activities consume fuel in roughly this order, going from worst mpg to best:
0. Taking it to a track - wahay! - 12 mpg or less
1. Negotiating traffic jams - 16 mpg or less
2. Urban driving - 18 mpg or less
3. "Normal" driving - A roads, dial carriageways and the occasional B road - 22 mpg.
5. Conservative motorway driving at about 75 mph in 6th gear - 330 miles a tank is quite easy - 26 mpg.
6. Motorway driving at 56 mph in 6th - nobody has ever used a whole tank this way, we are always looking for research volunteers! 30 mpg I guess.
7. Not driving it.
I thrash mine loads, mostly in "normal" driving as above, get about 220 to 250 per tank. I'm off the the north-east in a coupla weeks, when I will:
(a) spend 4 hours on the motorway
(b) get 300 miles from a tank
(c) scoff a bacon sandwhich at the little chef near Skellow
Last week, 180 miles (Stafford to Gretna - and not taking it particularly easy ) and filled up to the brim, only put 32 litres in. So assuming I'd done a full tank, 55 ltrs, that would be 308 miles
) 
.
, temporarily/possible permanently off the road due to an off at Brands Hatch 
.
