13 replies to this topic

[skaterava]

Something very strange is happening to my car. about a month ago i decided to work out how many mpg my car was doing on average by filling her up and then just counting the miles till the tank was nearly empty. A few weeks ago, i spent £21 filling up, which, although not completely full, was near enough, and that fuel lasted me a week, covering about 170 miles. Pretty horrendous mpg. so i filled her up again, this time spending £23 (fuel price per litre unchanged) and so far she's taken me 150 miles and she still has half a tank to go! and my driving style is unchanged. surely £2 extra fuel could not make this much difference?

one theory i had is that the fuel gauge is REALLY inaccurate. Could i be right? Its an absolute mystery to me...

[lrostoke]

Gauges are well known for being inaccurate on minis.
Only real way to get your mpg is to fill up the tank. record the mileage
Then next time you fill up , fill to same level, record the mileage and how many litres it took

example (made up figures)

1st fill mileage 84000

2nd fill mileage 84250 , 26 litres put in

this gives 250 miles on 26 litres(5.72 gals) which equates to 43.7 mpg

3rd fill mileage 84522, 27 litres put in

this gives 272 miles on 27 litres (5.94 gals) which equates to 45.79 mpg

Edited by lrostoke, 20 May 2009 - 07:41 AM.

[Boycie]

As a guide, my '76 with an 1100 Clubman engine is doing 46mpg at the mo, which I think rocks!

[brianmini]

As a guide, my '76 with an 1100 Clubman engine is doing 46mpg at the mo, which I think rocks!

I used to drive Dundee to Dunfermline every day in Brian, motorway driving.... usually battering along at 80mph (I didn't know my speedo under read back then). I'd get 200miles from "filling" the tank, but then it never took more than £20 to fill, so clearly not a full tank.

I think I was getting in the region of 35mpg, but then considering speed involved that was pretty good in my book. Down side was filling the car every second day as it was a 100mile round trip every day..... funnily enough Brian didn't like that too much and bits started to break/fall off with alarming regularity.

[skaterava]

motorway driving? thats out of the question for me. unless im only hopping to the next junction. Im always scared the car will overheat (which it regularly does) so i stick to 55-60mph and that makes it look like a 123 year old man is behind the wheel.

[danny1]

well i found otu why i coudl watch my guage move when i went in to 4th lol

my pump was corroded and pissifn fuel out every were, 4 montsh ive been driving witha broken pump, how much fuel have i wasted

[brianmini]

motorway driving? thats out of the question for me. unless im only hopping to the next junction. Im always scared the car will overheat (which it regularly does) so i stick to 55-60mph and that makes it look like a 123 year old man is behind the wheel.

Thats an underlying problem you've got there, like needing a new radiator. I put a performance 2 core in Brian years ago because it was cheap.

[dmdangermouse]

last weekend at L2B i managed 44mpg on average in my mpi
Combination of motorway and sitting in a que. I think thats quite good?

People are saying they put £20 in their mini?!
The pump always clicks at about £12 for me. Am i not filling it full?

[Ethel]

That or never running it to anywhere near empty - despite what the gauge says.

['85 City]

we put about £10 in the mini last year at about 89p a litre (i think),
and then we took my 998 mini city for witham in essex to east london which is about 40 odd miles along the motorway n stuff (average 60mph)
and drove around in london too which probably added about 10 miles to the 40 and then drove home in it and the car still had petrol in it,
does that mean the mpg was good or not?

[johnbest981]

we put about £10 in the mini last year at about 89p a litre (i think),
and then we took my 998 mini city for witham in essex to east london which is about 40 odd miles along the motorway n stuff (average 60mph)
and drove around in london too which probably added about 10 miles to the 40 and then drove home in it and the car still had petrol in it,
does that mean the mpg was good or not?

You didn't do too bad. It's simple to work out.
0.89 a litre. you put in ten pounds worth, thats 11.24 litres.

11.24 litres in gallons is 2.47. so i'll say two and a half.

a total of 90 miles. so 90/ 2.5 = 36.

Tada! 36MPG.

[rocket powered]

well i found otu why i coudl watch my guage move when i went in to 4th lol

my pump was corroded and pissifn fuel out every were, 4 montsh ive been driving witha broken pump, how much fuel have i wasted

didn't get a word of that, lol

[alicetheauto]

This might make you all slightly sick- Baby, my '88 city, regularly gets brimmed at tescos then run down to the bottom of the red line, then brimmed again. This is only about £14 though, soobviously a massive error there. BUT. I did 197 miles on this amount the other day!! Doing the maths, 100.9p/litre, 14 litres, 3 gallons, 65mpg anyone???? I was driving like a grandad, sitting at 56mph behind a lorry, but I dont care for that efficiency! Paying for its damned paint now!

[Boycie]

I can believe good mpg readings Alicetheauto. My 1098 is consistantly 40+.. BUT I don't thrash the nuts of it or spend much time in traffic. I reckon much over 60+ mph drinks fuel in a Mini though!