We have done several identical trips to Birmingham over the last few months and Harry usually achieves around 43mpg.

The trips have been done in varying weather from calm and sunny to windy and headwinds and I get roughly the same result which I was quite happy with.

On today's trip, however, I got a nice surprise.

54mpg average and that was with the air con on.

Over the last few days I have noticed that the average consumption figure has been much better than usual but to gain an extra 10 mpg is a little surprising considering my driving has not changed and traffic conditions have been similar too.

Is it because the engine has suddenly loosened up at 8000 miles?

I would have expected this to be a gradual process?

Comments gentlemen.....

I too have noticed a significant improvement in economy according to the maxidot, of around 3 to 4 mpg recently, the car is just at 22k.

I suspect it is a combination of the weather conditions, and summer fuel, and will drop off again as the winter arrives.

I haven't confirmed it from actual fuel use yet though.

I have gained 2-3mpg through warmer weather and a looser engine but nothing as dramatic as your experience.

I have gained 2-3mpg through warmer weather and a looser engine but nothing as dramatic as your experience.

I wish we'd had some warmer weather, dry would be a start but even warm rain would be OK

I used to work for a major Japanese car manufacturer and did emissions/economy testing. The official figures are from an engine having done 30,000! When testing brand new, 0 miles engines for conformance, we applied an offset to allow for the future improvement. (Also worth pointing out that official cycles are done in a temperature controlled room, on a warm engine and the driving cycles are like driving with your gran on an especially slow Sunday drive)

We have done several identical trips to Birmingham over the last few months and Harry usually achieves around 43mpg.

The trips have been done in varying weather from calm and sunny to windy and headwinds and I get roughly the same result which I was quite happy with.

On today's trip, however, I got a nice surprise.

54mpg average and that was with the air con on.

Over the last few days I have noticed that the average consumption figure has been much better than usual but to gain an extra 10 mpg is a little surprising considering my driving has not changed and traffic conditions have been similar too.

Is it because the engine has suddenly loosened up at 8000 miles?

I would have expected this to be a gradual process?

Comments gentlemen.....

I too have noticed a significant improvement in economy according to the maxidot, of around 3 to 4 mpg recently, the car is just at 22k.

I suspect it is a combination of the weather conditions, and summer fuel, and will drop off again as the winter arrives.

I haven't confirmed it from actual fuel use yet though.

Have you guys turned off the Aircon recently?

No Seriously, in my Roomster I noticed an idle consumption of 1.2 l/h with the aircon on and 0.7 l/h without (Climatronic), so there is definately a difference even though it is probably not this big over longer driven distances.

Edit typos

Edited 27 September, 201114 yr by the_raz

Have you guys turned off the Aircon recently?

No Seriously, in my Roomster I noticed an idle consumption of 1.2 l/h with the aircon on and 0.7 l/h without (Climatronic), so there is definately a difference even though it is probably not this big over longer driven distances.

Edit typos

On idle my fuel consumption is - - - mpg, which incidentally is the same as overrun mpg, but I'm sure my car uses fuel when idling........

On idle my fuel consumption is - - - mpg, which incidentally is the same as overrun mpg, but I'm sure my car uses fuel when idling........

If you have maxidot you can change the units - but it changes odometer and trip to km also!

When you are on the UK gallons units ---mpg means either zero miles per gallon (ie tickover where engine is running using fuel but you are going nowhere) or it means infinite mpg - ie on over-run where you are covering distance but using zero fuel.

If you switch to litres/100km units then at tickover the display switches from litres/100km to litres/hour, my Octavia shows 0.7-0.9litres/hr with no air-con and 1.1-1.2 litres/hr with air con. On over-run it shows zero litres per 100km.

Incidentally, this is how you can prove that coasting down hill in neutral uses more fuel than rolling down hill on over-run.

Brilliant; and thank you!

If you have maxidot you can change the units - but it changes odometer and trip to km also!

When you are on the UK gallons units ---mpg means either zero miles per gallon (ie tickover where engine is running using fuel but you are going nowhere) or it means infinite mpg - ie on over-run where you are covering distance but using zero fuel.

If you switch to litres/100km units then at tickover the display switches from litres/100km to litres/hour, my Octavia shows 0.7-0.9litres/hr with no air-con and 1.1-1.2 litres/hr with air con. On over-run it shows zero litres per 100km.

Incidentally, this is how you can prove that coasting down hill in neutral uses more fuel than rolling down hill on over-run.

You may have used slightly less fuel but you will be going several miles an hour less as the internal friction of running the engine at 2 or 3 thousnad rpm rather than 800 at tick over and then you wil lose plenty more fuel getting back up to speed, even in the 1.8TSI with its very high 7th gear ie red line is over 200 mph at 29 rpm/1000 revs! Try it both ways and see the difference. The experience is to know each hill and know what speed to start it at so you are not doing more than 80 mph at the bottom of the hill, and hope you do not get baulked. Only do this in the DSG and not either of the manual Octys.

Edited 27 September, 201114 yr by lol

If you have maxidot you can change the units - but it changes odometer and trip to km also!

When you are on the UK gallons units ---mpg means either zero miles per gallon (ie tickover where engine is running using fuel but you are going nowhere) or it means infinite mpg - ie on over-run where you are covering distance but using zero fuel.

If you switch to litres/100km units then at tickover the display switches from litres/100km to litres/hour, my Octavia shows 0.7-0.9litres/hr with no air-con and 1.1-1.2 litres/hr with air con. On over-run it shows zero litres per 100km.

Incidentally, this is how you can prove that coasting down hill in neutral uses more fuel than rolling down hill on over-run.

Interesting.....Does it zero the settings if you change to l/100km, or does it just convert them?

as an aside, on the hours front:

I service my car on fixed simply because of the time the engine is running factor. Not distance. My car engine will be running for longer than many other vehicles between every 9500 miles approx service, (not 10,000 as some say - it is 15,000km) than some that cover 18,000 miles between services.

I wish there was a function somewhere where I could see how many hours the engine was running, rather like industrial plant and aeroplanes that are serviced after so many hours use, not miles covered.

You may have used slightly less fuel but you will be going several miles an hour less as the internal friction of running the engine at 2 or 3 thousnad rpm rather than 800 at tick over and then you wil lose plenty more fuel getting back up to speed, even in the 1.8TSI with its very high 7th gear ie red line is over 200 mph at 29 rpm/1000 revs! Try it both ways and see the difference. The experience is to know each hill and know what speed to start it at so you are not doing more than 80 mph at the bottom of the hill, and hope you do not get baulked. Only do this in the DSG and not either of the manual Octys.

I forgot about you when I posted that! Why will I lose speed? (That is a rhetorical question - no need to answer!) As you know 7th gear in the DSG is very high so when the wheels are driving the engine the gearing becomes very low so engine braking is minimal. Also as 2000 - 3000 rpm in 7th is 60 - 90mph maybe I should be using what bit of engine braking there is to stay legal.

Do the experiment yourself - you will see the proof. But I already know you never let facts get in the way of your guesswork and gut feel.

Interesting.....Does it zero the settings if you change to l/100km, or does it just convert them?

It doesn't zero the settings - just displays them in the new units. As I said though all distances are converted to km and average speed shows kph.

Interesting.....Does it zero the settings if you change to l/100km, or does it just convert them?

as an aside, on the hours front:

I service my car on fixed simply because of the time the engine is running factor. Not distance. My car engine will be running for longer than many other vehicles between every 9500 miles approx service, (not 10,000 as some say - it is 15,000km) than some that cover 18,000 miles between services.

I wish there was a function somewhere where I could see how many hours the engine was running, rather like industrial plant and aeroplanes that are serviced after so many hours use, not miles covered.

If you have maxidot, and maybe ordinary trip computer then you should be able to find out how many hours the car has run in the trip setting 2 which does not reset itself after 2 hours, of course you would need to keep a tally as it will eventually reset itself.

Ian

I forgot about you

If you have maxidot, and maybe ordinary trip computer then you should be able to find out how many hours the car has run in the trip setting 2 which does not reset itself after 2 hours, of course you would need to keep a tally as it will eventually reset itself.

Ian

I'm sad....I have done ever since I bought the car........every tankful I zero trip 2 and note average mpg, mph, time and odo reading.....

May I ask why?

But I already know you never let facts get in the way of your guesswork and gut feel.

Tsk Tsk, getting a tiny bit Trollish here?

"if you can't play nicely......"

We have done several identical trips to Birmingham over the last few months and Harry usually achieves around 43mpg.

The trips have been done in varying weather from calm and sunny to windy and headwinds and I get roughly the same result which I was quite happy with.

On today's trip, however, I got a nice surprise.

54mpg average and that was with the air con on.

Over the last few days I have noticed that the average consumption figure has been much better than usual but to gain an extra 10 mpg is a little surprising considering my driving has not changed and traffic conditions have been similar too.

Is it because the engine has suddenly loosened up at 8000 miles?

I would have expected this to be a gradual process?

Comments gentlemen.....

I have been told that VAG have settings in their engine management ECUs that change with mileage and thus when the engine is fully run in to take advantage of a free-er running engine.

Does this sound possible?

John

I have been told that VAG have settings in their engine management ECUs that change with mileage and thus when the engine is fully run in to take advantage of a free-er running engine.

Does this sound possible?

John

That is what I believe. Like when the car is remapped it takes a few hundred miles to get everything to work to it's best ability.

Edit. It constantly changes, depending on fuel put in and the prevailing conditions as well.

Out and about South London tonight, working as usual, here are my findings:

CR 140 DSG

Air con off at idle 0.6litrs/hr

Air con on at idle 0.7 litres/hr

Air con on, DSG in 'D' at idle 0.8 litres/hr

my evening trip around South London:

I stopped 5 times for a few minutes each time.

27 miles/ 43km

1 hour 38 mins

37.3mpg 7.6litres/100km

16mph average 26km/h

Mike

Free wheeling, coming to a VAG model near you soon. Quote from Audi Q3 web page:

"Transmission S tronic®

Driving is all about thinking ahead, which is just what the S tronic® dual-clutch transmission does. It works almost as two separate systems, one engaging the odd-numbered and the other the even-numbered gears. So when you’re accelerating in second, it has third gear waiting for you. And once you make the switch, it’s already thinking about fourth. With two clutches working together, you can change gears almost instantly while experiencing smooth, uninterrupted power.

The S tronic® transmission on the Audi Q3 features a new innovation. When the car is moving but not accelerating or braking, the S tronic® dual-clutch transmission disengages the clutch and allows the Q3 to roll freely (if Audi drive select is ordered and efficiency mode is selected). This enhancement helps to save even more fuel."

I'm sad....I have done ever since I bought the car........every tankful I zero trip 2 and note average mpg, mph, time and odo reading.....

Phew!! I thought I was the only one. Maybe we should go into therapy together

PS I also record the brand of fuel I use

Phew!! I thought I was the only one. Maybe we should go into therapy together

PS I also record the brand of fuel I use

Click on my fuel consumption and you can see what I mean. I also record what brand & type of fuel I use.

Aren't we the normal ones.......it's everybody else that needs therapy