Fool economy

[Blobcat]

As my ole Pappy taught me - an egg on the brake pedal. Great advice.

Umble.

I've been playing on the way in and out of work and with absolutely minimum braking I can get the 3 Eco displays to max out so they glow green, They are Balance, Throttle and Coasting. My commute is just 4 miles each way and I'm getting 55-60 mpg by maxing the Eco display.

It's not a huge amount of fun driving like this but it is the way to max the economy.

 

[Blobcat]

Broke the 70mpg barrier

 

[Naraic]

Impressed.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Amazing!
My e-bike can't even do that. Well, maybe a bit more ...

Beats 30 mpg max from a Ford Prefect all those years ago.
Top speed probably less than your 58mph average. Even a heater was an aftermarket extra then, and all it did was stir the fug using warmish water from the rad.

Umble

 

[Craiglxviii]

I've been playing on the way in and out of work and with absolutely minimum braking I can get the 3 Eco displays to max out so they glow green, They are Balance, Throttle and Coasting. My commute is just 4 miles each way and I'm getting 55-60 mpg by maxing the Eco display.

It's not a huge amount of fun driving like this but it is the way to max the economy.

In a 110" Landy? That's astonishing!

I don't have the pics available but I was able to hit 70mpg average indicated (at 55mph top speed, and VERY careful throttle application) with my old Golf PD GT TDi 130. That was an amazingly economical car. Best I ever did was 782 miles to a fill which works out to 64.4mpg actual, averaged over 2 days running.

 

[Yugguy]

I'm only getting a 39mpg average in my 646 C220CDI. I don't think that's too bad for a 10 mile each way journey. I think it would go up if the journey was longer and the car spent more time travelling at proper operating temperature.

I want a remap next March (bonus time) which if it is like my others should raise cruising mpg a bit.

 

[Blobcat]

The biggest difference I've found driving my E220 is how little speed it loses when you take your foot off of the gas, it coasts (Gliding mode) for ages and really takes it's time to drop speed. This I think is the key to getting the best economy by planning ahead as far as possible and never braking (not even for UFO's)

 

[LostKiwi]

I got 34mpg from my E240 W210 (which is actually a 2.6) when I took Malcolm down to Watford and back the other week.
I was impressed!

 

[Naraic]

I got 34mpg from my E240 W210 (which is actually a 2.6) when I took Malcolm down to Watford and back the other week.
I was impressed!

I can get that from my CL!!

 

[LostKiwi]

I can get that from my CL!!

Show off!

 

[Submariner1]

Broke the 70mpg barrier

21 mpg on a short trip to town, with a bit of traffic

Blimey 70mpg ... thats amazing

 

[C350Carl]

The biggest difference I've found driving my E220 is how little speed it loses when you take your foot off of the gas, it coasts (Gliding mode) for ages and really takes it's time to drop speed. This I think is the key to getting the best economy by planning ahead as far as possible and never braking (not even for UFO's)

One of things i've hated about the two Mercedes I've owned is that even on downward slopes the car still slows down quite rapidly.

I've only found a couple of downward bits were it doesn't and they have been fairly steep. Always thought this is part of the reason for their poor economy in relation to quoted figures. Especially round town.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I'm pretty sure my fuel economy on the 350cdi would be markedly better if the 245 front and 265 rear tyres were changed to 215 section. It's quite ironic really when manufacturers are putting Eco stop/start features on cars and at the same time equipping them with supercar rubber. The only winners of course are the tyre manufacturers and oil companies.

 

[C350Carl]

I'm pretty sure my fuel economy on the 350cdi would be markedly better if the 245 front and 265 rear tyres were changed to 215 section. It's quite ironic really when manufacturers are putting Eco stop/start features on cars and at the same time equipping them with supercar rubber. The only winners of course are the tyre manufacturers and oil companies.

And the additional grip they give you of course.

You can fit smaller 17" wheels and go 245 all round.

 

[Submariner1]

One of things i've hated about the two Mercedes I've owned is that even on downward slopes the car still slows down quite rapidly.

I've only found a couple of downward bits were it doesn't and they have been fairly steep. Always thought this is part of the reason for their poor economy in relation to quoted figures. Especially round town.

Hmmm
The ability of the engine to slow the car used to be directly correlated to how good the compression of the engine was.
Rings and bores shot, less braking effect.... ! i.e. When you take your foot off the gas the engine brakes the car.

OK in this echo mad world they may have recently addressed that with gearbox software.

 

[Submariner1]

I'm pretty sure my fuel economy on the 350cdi would be markedly better if the 245 front and 265 rear tyres were changed to 215 section. It's quite ironic really when manufacturers are putting Eco stop/start features on cars and at the same time equipping them with supercar rubber. The only winners of course are the tyre manufacturers and oil companies.

The biggest winner with Echo Stop start is the manufacturer.
1. They get there huge EU grant !
2. More people buy their cars as they see better mpg.
3. The will sell more batteries and starter motors
4. Engines will do half the expected life span, in relation to previous kinds.

Had a brilliant conversation with a top Oil engineer. Boy his take on Echo stop start was devastating.
- over time twists the crankshaft ... minutely as the starter gearing is not in the centre of the engine
- everytime the engine stops, the weight of the parts, be it the crankshaft or the piston and con rods sqeezes the residual oil film designed to protect the bearings on start up, to virtually nothing, and exponentially increases engine wear every time it stops.
His take on echo stop start, was get in car, start it ... immediately turn off echo stop start, engage seatbelt then drive!

Its about as stupid as Assyst Servicing running oil changes up to 14,000 miles.
Have a look at my bought from new cars after 5000 mile oil changes ... looks like crystal clear golden syryp. Verses one run to 14,000 between changes, just before the service is due that oil looks like freaking tar!

That was all about knocking out a couple of services on a 3 year lease!
If a lease company saves £1000 on servicing, and has 1,000 cars on lease!!! Thats £1M saving, Hell thats a huge contribution straight to their bottom line.

 

[Rory]

One of things i've hated about the two Mercedes I've owned is that even on downward slopes the car still slows down quite rapidly.

I've only found a couple of downward bits were it doesn't and they have been fairly steep. Always thought this is part of the reason for their poor economy in relation to quoted figures. Especially round town.

I guess they've varied over the years but I don't like the way mine runs away down steep hills. If cruise is engaged it'll downshift to try and hold the car, but I think later cars will brake too.

I'd have thought that as long as you had the slightest touch on the throttle pedal then it shouldn't slow, although I realise that won't cut the fuel flow completely as being off the gas will.


I was quite surprised to see my wife's year old VW Tiguan has a "coast" setting in the multi-function-computer. Not tried it though.

 

[LostKiwi]

And the additional grip they give you of course.

This is a fallacy.
The amount of rubber in contact with the road is largely a constant depending on weight and tyre pressure.
A wide tyre gives a short wide contact patch and a narrow tyre will give a long skinny contact patch.
This is partly why wide tyres aquaplane more in wet conditions (the wedge of water to lift the tyre is wider and there is insufficient length of contact patch to maintain the rear in contact with the road).

The wider tyre does give different dynamics in how the car feels and reacts to cornering forces (carcass distortion for example) but the contact patch (and static grip) is largely the same.

 

[C350Carl]

This is a fallacy.

The amount of rubber in contact with the road is largely a constant depending on weight and tyre pressure.

A wide tyre gives a short wide contact patch and a narrow tyre will give a long skinny contact patch.

This is partly why wide tyres aquaplane more in wet conditions (the wedge of water to lift the tyre is wider and there is insufficient length of contact patch to maintain the rear in contact with the road).



The wider tyre does give different dynamics in how the car feels and reacts to cornering forces (carcass distortion for example) but the contact patch (and static grip) is largely the same.

Hmmm I wonder why they are testing wider tyres for F1 if they don't give more grip!

Wider tyres give more grip or they wouldn't stick wider rear tyres on AMG's

Whilst I understand what you are saying. The wider tyres still give more lateral grip with longitudinal being roughly the same.

 

[LostKiwi]

The reason wide tyres are advantageous in some circumstances is to reduce heat build up. A narrow tyre will have more flex as the longer contact patch distorts the tread into a DIY shape more than a wide tyre (wider shorter contact patch). The additional flex creates heat which can degrade performance. A narrow tyre also has higher slip angles which contribute to more heat as well as making turn in less precise.