so while reading on this forum i noticed that users brag about doing around 35 mpg in a fely... ever since the carburetor refurbishing (turns out that felicias dont like when you drive them on lpg all the time) i cant get more than 17 mpg. but i dont think that thats the whole problem bacause even before i couldnt get more than 20 mpg. me living in macedonia could partially be the reason, because many local mechanics say that this is due to the low quality of fuels over here. i read about the tip on changing the thermostat but i fail to recognize what is the actual effect of changing the thermostat. as far as i know it affects only the antifreeze not the petrol itself. so any help will be much appreciated... what can i do to increase the mpg? car has passed around 63k miles ...

thanks in advance

Edited 9 May, 201115 yr by chaos11

I take it this is actually a carburetor car and not a fuel injection one like all British spec Fellies are?

Whatever, if the thermostat isn't controlling the engine temperature properly, you'll be spending longer with the engine running cold, which means running with a rich mixture, and hence a high fuel consumption.

If the car was injection, I'd advise replacing the engine temperature sensor, because these sometimes fail on the EMS channel without failing o n the guage channel, and that means the engine running rich all the time.

If it's a carburetor car, I'd look at the ignition system, starting with the spark plugs, high tension leads, and checkking for pitting on the points faces.

at first thank you for the swift reply. and yes it is a standard carburetor felicia. so by your opinion is it normal for it to spend this much petrol (because of the carburetor i mean)? and one more question - what is "pitting on the points faces" - i dont have too much experience with engines besides checking oil and antifreeze.

Edited 9 May, 201115 yr by chaos11

It strikes me as using too much fuel; the mid 30s figures are about what I'd expect for a carburettor 1.3l car (based on 40some years experience of a variety of makes and models).

You can forget about the engine temperature sensor as a problem though, because this car doesn't have engine management.

Instead, if it has an automatic choke, check that it settles down to a hot idle at maybe 800rpm.

The points faces (contact breaker points, inside the distributor) should be smooth. If there are little bumps and holes on them, it means that the condensor (a capacitor) has failed, and needs replacing.

I suspect the real answer may be to just replace the high tension leads and spark plugs.

It strikes me as using too much fuel; the mid 30s figures are about what I'd expect for a carburettor 1.3l car (based on 40some years experience of a variety of makes and models).

You can forget about the engine temperature sensor as a problem though, because this car doesn't have engine management.

Instead, if it has an automatic choke, check that it settles down to a hot idle at maybe 800rpm.

The points faces (contact breaker points, inside the distributor) should be smooth. If there are little bumps and holes on them, it means that the condensor (a capacitor) has failed, and needs replacing.

I suspect the real answer may be to just replace the high tension leads and spark plugs.

ok will give it a try these days. just one more question. what is the changing interval of the spark plugs in an average carburetor car? thanks for the tips....

Back when I drove petrol engine cars, I used NGK copper core single electrode plugs, and could feel the engine being "brighter" (no specific individual claims; just slghtly better at everything) when I changed the plugs about every 12_000 miles (19_000 km) or so.