hey all ive notices recently that my fabia eats petrol like anything :(, does anyone know any mods or parts that can increase the MPG and make fuel last longer. im only 18 so insurance is still rather high at the moment so cant be anything that would bump the insurance up alot. i was thinking of a aftermarket panel filter (not a induction kit) to replace the stock paper filter, would this increase the mpg by much? whats the best amount of rev's to keep to make the petrol last longer? cheers any advice about this would be amazing!

cheers guys

james

Edited 16 August, 201114 yr by JamesT

It would help if you give some idea of the MPG you are getting, how you measure it and what kind of motoring you do.

A simple fault like a bad coolant temp sensor can cause it to eat petrol but without knowing your MPG we don't know if your usage is normal.

A well maintained/fault free car tends to be more efficient, so that's the first thing to look at.

It would help if you give some idea of the MPG you are getting, how you measure it and what kind of motoring you do.

A simple fault like a bad coolant temp sensor can cause it to eat petrol but without knowing your MPG we don't know if your usage is normal.

A well maintained/fault free car tends to be more efficient, so that's the first thing to look at.

im not sure weather is becuase im only doing short trips around town as not at work atm due to holiday but ive used 1/4 tank of petrol in 35 miles so i was running at about 14.4 MPG. it may be the short journeys what you think?

does seem rather low, but then you should know more than anyone what your car does on slightly larger trips. It goes without saying that short trips will not really be good for any aspect of the car. You may want to look at how you are driving your car, the usual lead foot syndrome etc.. if not you need to look more mechanically to make sure that all parts of the fueling and combustion are correct. I wouldnt waste your money on mpg improving mods. Its been shown many a time to do ***k all to improving mpg. Diesel engines do respond quiet well to these but N/A petrols dont. Might even be worth having a look on youtube I know 5th gear did a test on mpg saving mods. As predicited the results were expected....Terrible.

The 1.4mpi does seem to be less efficient than the newer engines, our 1.2 model 2 70hp seems to be a bit more frugal, but at a cost of purchasing a more expensive motor, although cheaper to tax

I would check over on vagcom, you may see some kind of faults that could be causing a degredation on performance.

Also what about the basics like service, changing plugs etc ?

That is where you should look to improve mpg as said above, not chasing snake oil cures

My car eats fuel but I have a busted thermostat (I am replacing it as soon as it gets delivered, hopefully tomorrow!) that has an effect on your MPG a little bit

Really good info guys thanks a bunch i will most certainly look into all of this and report back soon

thanks again guys

james

Yep a new air filter will help if the old one has been in there a while, but an OEM one will be just fine. Check the car heats up within a few minutes of setting off and gets to the mid mark - if the thermostat is broken (they tend to do this on the mpi) you will have less MPG.

Other than that the 1.4mpi is generally quite thirsty. Just stick with the basics. Air filter, spark plugs, oil + oil filter change, and look at any codes that may be brought up with a vag-com/vcds scan.

Another thing you can try is cleaning the throttle body and running a throttle body adaptation.

The easiest way to improve MPG is to get another car.

Make sure the tyre pressures are correct too!

What in the way of mpg is everyone getting on their MPI's anyways?

I'm currently getting 34mpg after air panel filter replacement for a pipercross, and cold air ducting to replace the standard pipe, redirect the crankcase breather to a catch can, and clean up throttle body/intake manifold/map sensor.

I've found the best fuel for MPG is Shell Fuelsave standard unleaded. I tried Tesco Momentum 99 and noticed no benefits MPG or performance wise. This is only based on one tank full of each though. I usually use either Tesco or Morissons standard unleaded as those are closest to where I live.

Are you seeing unburnt fuel at the exhaust?

Spark plugs would be 1st call personally.

My 1.4 MPi isn't the most economical thing around town that's for sure, but recently i've only been doing long runs, well 40 miles to work and 40 miles back on the motorway. I use Shell regular unleaded (although I tried V-Power the other day) and usually put in about £50 worth, or 36 litres ish. I get about 400-420 miles before the tank is enough in the red for me to fill up, which equates to about 40 mpg which i'm kind of happy with. This is driving relatively carefully, particularly when not on the motorway. Judging the road and not accelerating hard helps a lot and dropping the clutch as late as possible coming up to junction/roundabouts etc.. but on the motorway i'm usually doing 70-75 so not eco driving as such. Using V-Power I also put in £50 and got roughly the same amount of miles for less litres so it sort of evens out either way. I do think the engine was smoother on idle and seemed smoother in general but nothing significant really.

Edited 19 August, 201114 yr by scooter1556

I'm only a rookie, but I strongly recommend giving the MAP and throttle body a clean as advised by anewman. Scroll down on this page to find out what to look for if you get lost. MPG for conservative driving went up from 31 to 40.