Anyone give a shite about fuel economy?

[Popsicle]

Thats not bad mpg for a van, do you try to drive economically or just think fuck it I want to get home? I think a lot of the moaning about CX comes from people who can't string a coherent sentence together. I've worked in busy transport offices and some of the calls you get are unbelievable, its like selling a car on Facebook! If used as a backload and make new connections tool its very good.

[UltraWomble]

All Ham Bra says 39.6 for a week doing school runs

[RoadworkUK]

I  tend to be pretty unemotional about economy; I average about 35mpg from the A4 and 33mpg from the 825 - both pretty close to the 36mpg  figure that was historically regarded as "not bad" when | was a kid.

The little 306 manages 45-50mpg.

I have been absolutely astonished by the Seat Ibiza I'm running at the moment; one of those 95hp turboed three pot jobs. Filled it up this morning for less than £40 having covered 540 miles on a tank. Petrol-wise that's pretty cheap. It's just the small matter of the £18k investment up front.

[PhilA]

On 9/24/2020 at 1:59 PM, Grumblespeed said:

Probably doesn't work so well if you're packing something Americans would refer to as a "small block" though...

It does, and what people don't realize about having a big engine in a modestly light car is that you can afford to run stupidly high gear ratios with very tall overdrive. 

My Dodge (hell, that's a big block, even) does better economy at 60 than it does at 45 because it won't change into top gear below about 48 mph. At 50 it's doing about 1100 rpm and has enough torque to push the car along at that speed the throttle doesn't need to be open more than just a hair.

That's how it does upper thirties mpg. Plods along with the engine hardly turning above idle.

The misconception that big American cars do poor fuel economy came from a very real age when inefficient gearbox design with large losses coupled with early emissions equipment choked every last ounce out of the engine and drivetrain. They don't make 'em like that no more.

 

Phil

[busmansholiday]

Being a tight Yorkshireman I do show an interest in mpg. When I changed my Fabia VRS diesel to the Ibiza diesel I still have, I was chuffed I was getting almost 100 miles extra from a tankful. I was though driving 25k per year, mainly for commuting to work and it was all out of my pocket. 

I still check mpg so this week's episode of driving the Ibiza back from Torquay on Tuesday, full laden, two up at err around 70 ish got me 54 mpg. Fetching the 206cc back on Thursday, just me but with four spare wheels in it at a steady 65 ish got me 53 mpg. Happy days.

[clayts450]

15 hours ago, Popsicle said:

Thats not bad mpg for a van, do you try to drive economically or just think fuck it I want to get home? I think a lot of the moaning about CX comes from people who can't string a coherent sentence together. I've worked in busy transport offices and some of the calls you get are unbelievable, its like selling a car on Facebook! If used as a backload and make new connections tool its very good.

When I first started (in Feb) I drove like I stole it. After analysing my driving style and fuel economy, I'm a bit more laid back and now look at sustained momentum at a legal speed. So essentially, if you're  not driving at the speed limit, I'm passing you, but ever so gently.... This month's MPG figures are around the late 40s/early 50s, so I'm gradually getting there.

Yes, I've done well out of CX - two shippers now use me very regularly as a preferred subbie, and a couple of other companies also offer me work at other times. Subscription fee has more than paid for itself.

Yeah, the quality of members is at an all time low, and the bottom feeder companies are having a field day, selling jobs for stupid low rates to 'not a clue' people. Some of the stories of their antics on the CX forums are truly staggering.

[davidfowler2000]

Oh aye remember that time when I did A EXPARAGUS? Glasgow to Southsea and back at 62mph for maximum economy. Computer said 82.2mpg but the calculated was 73.6mph - 907.5 miles on 56.12L in the Golf 6 2.0GTTDI which has since been replaced with a 3.0L twin turbo Volvo V70. I regularly used to put 57.5L in to the 55L tank on that car so at those figures I could have probably got 930 miles out that tank. Had I not diverted in to Birmingham on the trip to pick up @Inspector Morose and got stuck in traffic on the way back, I reckon I could have got 1000 miles out of one tank in that car.

[Popsicle]

8 hours ago, clayts450 said:

When I first started (in Feb) I drove like I stole it. After analysing my driving style and fuel economy, I'm a bit more laid back and now look at sustained momentum at a legal speed. So essentially, if you're  not driving at the speed limit, I'm passing you, but ever so gently.... This month's MPG figures are around the late 40s/early 50s, so I'm gradually getting there.

Yes, I've done well out of CX - two shippers now use me very regularly as a preferred subbie, and a couple of other companies also offer me work at other times. Subscription fee has more than paid for itself.

Yeah, the quality of members is at an all time low, and the bottom feeder companies are having a field day, selling jobs for stupid low rates to 'not a clue' people. Some of the stories of their antics on the CX forums are truly staggering.

Sounds like the same driving style I use, unless I'm dawdling to kill time. 

I forgot about the CX forums, I used to have a glance at em occasionally, there was a brilliant one a few years ago about a subby turning up at some blue chip customer in an ice-cream van! I assume its still the same, subby's moaning they've not been paid on time and companies moaning about subby's taking co-loads and companies with no vehicles of their own chipping you a fiver on a quote cos they've bugger all margin in a job?

[clayts450]

5 hours ago, Popsicle said:

Sounds like the same driving style I use, unless I'm dawdling to kill time. 

I forgot about the CX forums, I used to have a glance at em occasionally, there was a brilliant one a few years ago about a subby turning up at some blue chip customer in an ice-cream van! I assume its still the same, subby's moaning they've not been paid on time and companies moaning about subby's taking co-loads and companies with no vehicles of their own chipping you a fiver on a quote cos they've bugger all margin in a job?

Yup, same old same old. Camper van and a school bus are new additions to the 'shockers'....