The title says it all - With petrol so high can anyone explain (slowly) how you should drive to get high petrol usage?

My husbands always having a go at me for getting through fuel quickly and I always drive in high gear and at low reveloutions.

Is that correct? Is there anything wrong with driving in fifth gear at 20MPH?

Cheers all

Keep the engine at optimum revs at all times. Typically around 2,600rpms. Not sure what's best for your particular engine, no doubt someone here will.

20 in fifth might result in using more fuel than 20 in fourth depending on the traffic situation.

i brake late and hard and then give it full throttle then brake hard again, i also find i oftern have grid lock behind me is this good driving?

Drive smoothly, if accelerating accelerate gradually and on a petrol i'd not accelerate from below 2k or if 16v 2.5k. When cruising somewhere around 2k is good, if going downhill then below is allowed.

If going down a hill with an uphill bit afterwards then allow the car to pick up some speed without using the brakes, then allow the car to slow down on the uphill slope.

Look well ahead, if someone several cars ahead indicates then lift off and you will find you may not even have to brake, this saves you braking then accelerating.

There are millions of ways to save fuel. Optimum speed for cruising is about 60 on the speedo, on country roads with lots of bends 50mph seems a bit better as i don't have to brake for corners then accelerate afterwards to get back to speed, so many variables though.

Main points are planning ahead so you make minimal use of brakes, and not straining the engine(not too much throttle, not too many or too few revs)

Drive a diesel

Use the mpg shown on the dash to work out the best gear for the rpm and the conditions (hill/straight etc). After a little while, you'll "feel right" when in the proper gear at the right revs. You can easily check with the dash readout. Don't panic. Every car is different. Use the gears when approaching traffic lights (etc) so you don't have to start from a stop. I know some driving schools do push for a "drive up-stop and restart". This may be OK for keeping with the traffic when learning, but is not sensible once you've confidence and feel comfortable with the situation.

Best of luck

V

get the bus or train

Is there anything wrong with driving in fifth gear at 20MPH?

The biggest problem is that you will have no flexibility from the engine at all if you need to change speed (accelerate or engine brake). A good starting point is to try using 3rd at 30mph and 4th at 40mph to find a combination the car feels comfortable with while still retaining some control over it. The instantaneous MPG read out will be your friend here!

Aside from that, plan well ahead, be smooth and avoid accelerating and braking where possible. If you need to accelerate, do it briskly to get up to speed as this uses less fuel on average than spending a long time accelerating. Also worth remembering that a car going downhill in gear uses less fuel than going down hill out of gear.

I've been very impressed recently at how much petrol economy has come along in the last five years too...

Chris

20mph in 5th you will be labouring the engine, much like trying to pedal a mountain-bike uphill in 21st gear. In a petrol the optimum power is usually around 4k revs, so when you need power try to be between 3k and 5k, once at speed it's best to be at the bottom of the torque curve, usually around 2k on a level road and higher to compensate for any gradient, but don't let that engine start grumbling into labour. I advocate the 'get up to speed' policy, where you accelerate reasonably quickly but once at the desired speed select the highest appropriate gear and cruise. Look well ahead and plan for any eventuality which may result in slowing, using the 'box to slow gradually. Modern fuel injected cars switch off their injectors when they detect over-run, thus using no fuel at all, so when you see a hold-up ahead change down one or two gears at a time, letting the revs rise with the new gear and fall with the deceleration. Similarly, when going down hill select top gear and let gravity take over. I entertain myself occasionally when driving the wifes Octy by trying to get the mpg as high as possible. I got 114mpg average on the way to the m-in-laws last week. During the petrol protests I managed to make a VW Corrado use only 1/4 of a tank in 4 weeks, and once got 420 miles from a single tank in my Subaru Impreza. Make sure your tires are at least at the recommended pressures, but 1-2lb over will reduce drag. Keep windows closed and avoid using the A/C. You could even be so anal as to remove external parts such as the aeriel, but that's going a little far.

I tend to ensure I allow speed to gain on downhills and tail off (without braking) on uphills. Seems to be a lot better than trying to gain speed on uphills which uses a lot more effort.

In my TDI, I find keeping revs between 1500 and 2000 is best for flatland cruising

get the bus or train

I'm not too sure about the bus but I totally agree with you about the train.

I used to use the car/rail/sleeper service from Calais to the south of France regularly and I would load the car onto the train at Calais, sleep overnight in a berth, and wake up the next morning 700 km. further south.

And the best bit is that I used no fuel at all. None.

I always drive in high gear and at low reveloutions.

And what you save in fuel will go towards the cost of a new clutch.

get the bus

I always wonder why the green movement never seem to be too concerned about the 12 tonne behemoths rumbling around doing 8mpg with one person on board :confused:

London folk are all geared up for public transport, but in every other town and city, apart from 7-9am and 4-6pm the buses are usually empty. A comprehensive study of mpg/person would surely highlight that buses are NOT a green option !

Take a IAM test - the best £100 odd quid you've ever spent.

Will teach you how to save fuel by anticipating what's actually going on around you.

I have a Vrs and get between 48-58mpg out of it and an Octavia II 1.9 Tdi estate which I get 55-65 mpg out of. On a 1600 mile trip 'round Holland last year we averaged 60 mpg from the Octavia. If you drive sensibly and not too fast (over 60mph) you will achieve really good economy from your Skoda!

My husbands always having a go at me for getting through fuel quickly and I always drive in high gear and at low reveloutions.

How many miles do you do a day in the car ?? average ??

How much petrol do you fill at a time ??

I had a polo 1.416v (Petrol) before VRS and did 26 miles a day back and forward to work, I felt I was never out the garage :( filling up with £20/30 a time

How many miles do you get to a £10 ?

I had a polo 1.416v Petrol....I felt I was never out the garage :(

I've always found this. The green eco-mentalists want us to drive small engined cars, but they are so woeful that anyone with any urgency to their life spends all their time with their right foot planted and the economy ends up as bad a supercar. I had an '04 1.2 Corsa (worst car I've ever driven, and the new one was worse) which struggled to get 24mpg. Now I teach in the vRS and easily crack 40 with the students driving and over 50 average with a potential for 60+ with me driving.

I had an '04 1.2 Corsa (worst car I've ever driven, and the new one was worse) which struggled to get 24mpg.

I found this with the 1.2 Corsa courtesy cars I've driven. It simply gobbled fuel.

Was at it's worst on the open road/ dual carriageway as it had no guts and you spent your life mashing the noisy pedal. Plus it was a stressful drive as you constantly had to work the engine hard to get anywhere.

I have just been experimenting myself the past couple of days with my driving style.

I was changing gear at 3,000 revs and trying to cruise in 3rd/4th gear at 2.5k because when i first got the car it struggled like mad for power if I changed any lower.

However I am now trying to change at 2.5k and cruise at 2k it feels a lot slower but I will have to wait and see the results.

My mate just went on the speed awareness course and he was told that driving in high gears is bad as it is probably using more fuel. A lot of people get done doing 33/34mph by cameras because they think they are doing 30mph in a high gear but the car will automatically speed up with it been in a high gear taking them just over the limit.