Hi all,

Having browsed the forum for a longish time now im intrigued as to how so many people with vrs diesels seem to be getting so much better mpg than me!

So I have set myself a challenge - to improve my current mpg, 430 miles a tank, to over 500.

I would welcome your suggestions on how best to achieve this & will post up my findings over the next few weeks

I will track my progress over the next few weeks tank by tank

The car is currently pretty standard apart from a smooth stage 1 remap which hasn't affected my mpg, brakes and RARB.

Things like checking your tyre pressures, a good service etc. I've also found I get better mpg if I plan ahead, anticipate traffic lights, free wheel down hills (while in gear I may add!)

It also depends on the kinds of roads you drive, I get around 430-450 miles to tank but I live in an area which is full of hills!

Are you using the expansion tank first and foremost?

Do you have an Iphone or something like that, theres some great apps which keep track of your fuel / car costs. My average is 45.59 mpg over the last 3,402 miles.

I don't have a vRS, but a 1.9 PD100 estate.

My average mpg over the last 6 months is 61 mpg. I hope to better this when the weather gets warmer!

There are a few good threads about getting good mpg......but the basic driving technique is to drive/accelerate slower, anticipate the road as far ahead as you can and get off the throttle early to slow down rather than using the brakes.

New air cleaner is a must regularly.

DB

Thanks for the suggestions so far

The only thing I do that is different I think is I tend to accelerate relatively briskly to my chosen speed (as in brisker than other traffic but by no means thrashing it) and then stick it in top and cruise the B roads at say 65. I try to drive smoothly and anticipate.

I do have a couple of potential bad habits tho.

One is that I like the feel of the torque so when i say accelerate briskly i mean holding it in gear when im accelerating say up to 3.5k to ride the wave lol

The other is definite silly behaviour which has to do with my love of warmth, whereby I often arrive at my destination and relax in the car for a few mins with the engine and heater blowing to keep me comfy lol

Presumably if I could resist this urge and just go in the house immediately it would save some fuel, it's just a bit of an odd ritual with me lol

Let me take you through it...

1. Arrive at destination

2. Switch heater to max temp & angle vents

3. Place hands on vents & smile with contentedness (is this a real word)

4. Recline seat and surf the Internet for approx 15 min (briskoda normally or car hunting)

5. Turn off engine and go inside

How much fuel do u think could be saved by skipping steps 2-4 on a daily basis? Lol

I might give this a go too. I was quite impressed today when the fuel light didn't come on till 400 miles - Not bad with a lead foot and lots of extra horses.

Mission 500 miles has a new recruit!

Welcome aboard sir!! what mods are u running?

Been thinking of renewing my MAF - not sure how expensive this is....does anyone know the part number?

What I find with improving MPG is that it takes so much effort and concentration to increase it, but you can blow it in a single spirited acceleration and be right back where you started. Remember that Top Gear where Jeremy drove an Audi v8 diesel from London to Edinburgh and back on one tank?

Don't let it put you off though, I find that just by having the trip MPG showing on the display turns my right foot into eco-mode. It becomes a little game to keep the trip mpg going up and not down. Even if you're not looking at it, you'll not dare put your foot down because you know the number will plummet. You'll quickly notice how slowing your acceleration makes a huge difference, as does spending as much time as possible coasting to a stop, with the MPG showing '---' = overrun = unlimited MPG. If you have the MPG function on your dash that is..

Clean the EGR valve! Made a huge difference to mine today, 40MPG to 50MPG+

Many thanks, Johal87! Will sort this tomorrow eve and report back how many miles has yours done?

Has anyone tried low resistance tyres? Lol

Ecp about 60 to 80 quid ish after discount n surcharge back.

Dont get cheap one tho get the bosch

Thanks Billy2981 - whys it so expensive? Ebay do one for like £21 lol

Because the eBay ones are meant to be rubbish! People on the BMW forums have said they've been no better than the failed MAF they had already.

£80 is good though - it's £160 RRP for the 330d! (I think I got it down to about £105ish)

Less weight is good - can you do without the spare wheel or rear seats? (Rear seat removal adds loads of road noise though.)

I find up shifting too fast can be worse as it makes the engine labour so I often hang onto gears that little bit longer.

Nothing else to add to this though, I'm not great at getting good MPG. :(

Thanks Triggerfish, will look for the Bosch one is there any way to know from the look of it if its had its chips? I only ask cos don't really wanna spend £80 if I didn't need to....

Re: less weight - yes I like this idea think though id prefer to do that after trying all the other options tho cos as u say it would be noisy and I don't hav anywhere convenient to store my seats really

I can't remember how off hand, but VCDS/VAGCOM will be able to tell you the health of the MAF. I think you can view the 'actual' vs 'expected' values. Another way is to unplug it and see if the car performs any better. If it does, MAF = dead (generally).

It's great fun though having a car with only one seat in it! When my Polo got flooded I drove it around for a bit without any carpets and just the driver's seat while the rest dried out. Psychologically it's much faster and better handling seeming - like a go-kart. Being able to hear the fuel pumps and the exhaust properly was awesome too. Day to day it would get boring/tiring though, so I'd think of it as a last resort.

I have a mk1 1.8T 4x4 octavia and am on a similar mission.

easy/cheap mods:

keep car well serviced, regular oil and filter, air filter, EGR clean is a must on the PD, if you have boost or vac leaks it affects the MPG a lot, clean out the intercooler as if there is a lot of oil blowby in there it can restrict air flow.

lighter acceleration (makes a HUGE difference)

less braking (anticipate and coast IN GEAR to junction,lights,roundabout with as little last minute braking as possible)

drive behind anything bigger that you (at a safe distance of course) Holy grail for me is a box luton at 75 ish

take out the weight (empty out anything you dont need in the car)

Tyre Pressures can be increased by 10% with little to no effect on handling.

Grill Block - just a bit of strong Tape over some of the grill/vents etc can smooth the air flow a lot.

remove mud flaps

keep car clean and polished (actually helps air flow, especially helps shed water in the rain)

More involved/costly mods:

Rims and tyres - not a fan of paying a premium for LRR tyres. Just go for four seasons as they will have a higher silica content and tend to be better for economy. They also work really well in the winter Lighter Rims - Mine as standard had 205/55/16 alloys and tyres that weighed 40lb each, I now run 195/65/15 alloys and tyres that weight 30lb each (and that includes the spare) so 50lb weight saving and a narrower profile so less rolling resistance and a lower frontal area so reduced drag I am also running at 40PSI (also less rotational mass so less energy required to turn the wheel)

Underbody smoothing - I swapped the engine undertray on mine for one from a tdi as the 1.8T only uses a half undertray. ultimate is a full under tray as on most cars it is the rear that causes the worst drag - especially on the octavia

Tyre spoilers - most modern cars have little spoilers in front of the tyres (started on things like the Audi A2)

aero wipers

smaller mirrors

really expensive mods:

6 spd gearbox

longer ratios (next on the list)

Re: less weight - yes I like this idea think though id prefer to do that after trying all the other options tho cos as u say it would be noisy and I don't hav anywhere convenient to store my seats really

lots of things you can do without stripping out the car. a neighbour of mine went completely OTT with a Clio a couple of years ago. He even re did the wiring looms to get rid of anything that wasnt needed , but that was after all the carpets, door linings, head lining, seats, speakers, electric windows etc all came out

Mine is used as a tool for work and as such is usually crammed with tools and bits and pieces but I still manage 40+ compared with mid 20's when I bought it

Increase the tyre pressures and loss some weight

Unpluging the maf on these wont work iirc.

The ecu doesnt have a file with expected air in values to fall back on if maf is not there so it runs or doesnt.

Pop your reg in ecp and look in engine sensors for the bosch maf.

Then enter brisk25 iirc for the dissacount.

On my Golf it ran without it. . .just! 0-40 was about doable over 20-30 seconds. I assume the same engine in a Fabia would be the same?

Also, try car parts 4 less. ECPs cheaper sister site. If it's over £100 then you can get 15% off too.

Day 1 - So far so good!

Filled up my car with ultimate diesel, cleaned and polished it plus took all junk out, changed gear at not more than 2.2k when acelerating from a stop, kept revs under 2k once in top gear, drove in the highest gear possible for the speed and use momentum, but never attempting to accelerate if there revs are below 1.5k - total shown MPG on my 15 mile commute this morning = 53.2 mpg