Dramatic drop in FE. A few questions...
Hey there,
It's been a while since I've posted and it's good to come back and see this site really developing! Nice job! Anyways, so I got a new job where I take a train to work, and I only have to drive 2 miles to and from the park & ride each day. I went from driving about 45 miles a day, to driving 4 miles a day. Wahooo!!!!!! The thing is, my FE seems to have gone way down. I haven't had to fill up for over a month now, but I have only gone 200 miles on this tank and I'm almost at E. I think this is happening for a few reasons: - It's been cold out, and I usually let the car warm up for 2-3 minutes in the morning and in the evening before I drive it. - The car never really gets fully warm during the 2 mile drive to the park & ride. - The 2 mile drive to and from the park & ride is low speed, through a neighborhood and through a few stop lights, I am under 40 mph the whole trip. Could those reasons alone be enough to decrease my fuel mileage from 36+ to more like 20? I'm not really complaining since I went from filling up once a week to less than once a month, but I still am a bit perplexed at this dramatic decrease in fuel efficiency. What do you think? |
I think all of the above is correct. The shorter the commute the worst the FE. Why idle the car for 3 minutes? You get 0 MPG's when you're idling. Just let it warm up as you drive "low speed" through the neighborhood. Also might want to change oil a lot more often since the car nevers warms up enough to get the moisture out. You could also try a Engine Block Heater for the first leg.
|
Short Trips = Killer
Short trips kill FE, BUT...
Using Park-and-Ride makes up for it. Since you're not getting kind of FE all the time, for long trips, then you may be stuck; however... THe fuel savings with PnR more than make up for it -- good work there! If you really want to improve the FE from the Home-to-Parking area, perhaps an Engine Block Heater would get you to closed-loop sooner and better FE. RH77 |
So you don't think I should let it warm up at all?
It just makes me nervous because I don't know if I want to drive it before warm oil gets to the turbo. I'm not sure if I should be spinning the turbine before the bearings are good and lubed up with warm oil. And a block heater is a great idea. I'll look into picking one up. |
Gently Drive + Oil Warmer (unless the EBH does it)
Quote:
Since the turbo is a concern, something that also warms-up the oil may be a good option. (Not sure about the options here). RH77 |
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Cold Soak
Even when the car was parked at the airport at close to 0-degF, I'd scrape, startup, and go. Granted the auto-trans doesn't want to work completely at first, but it moves...kinda.
...second gear kicks-in eventually. :rolleyes: Man did I need the blanket idea then -- of course no heat until the gauge is up to Norm-Temp. The trick is to let the car move itself when cold. Use high-idle to move along in 1st, then shift to 2nd, etc. Before you know it, the gauge is moving. RH77 |
Many years ago, I drove my grandpa's '72 Matador wagon while my car was being worked on. It turned out to be one of those cars that would start when every other car in the neighborhood wouldn't. Back in '83, the temp was -22F on Christmas Eve morning and my brother had to go and do chores at grandpa's. His truck wouldn't start and he asked if I could take him. The car had been sitting more tha 8 hours so I told him I would if it will start. It started right up as though it had been running an hour earlier but, when I shifted into gear, it wouldn't move. That was one of the only times I've ever had to let a car warm up before I could drive it. A few years ago my '92 Gran Prix started and moved right away when it was ~-8F.
|
Okay, maybe I'll just start up and go. I bet that would save quite a bit of fuel. I think I spend probably about 6 minutes a day idleing, and 8-10 actually driving.
I also park in the garage so the car never gets that cold anyways. I'll just start and go for a while and see if that helps. Thanks for the tips! |
Why not use a 5W or 0W synthetic oil? Anyone?
|
The advice above is good, in particular:
For the morning journey - get an engine block heater, use it before each journey. This will dramatically reduce the outgoing fuel consumption (and, the engine will get closer to full operating temp on the outgoing journey, so will be a bit warmer when you go to do the return journey. - Grille / rad block to help the car warm up faster - Start the car, leave it for 10 seconds (unless you can roll off your drive in Neutral). The 10 seconds is just to let the oil get around the engine (should take just a few). - Drive gently, but get up to speed efficiently, not labouring the engine. - It is more efficient to use 40-60% throttle, even when cold, to get up to the right speed, then choose 5th gear. Return journey. When arriving at your destination, put an engine blanket on - without creating a fire risk. This will hold in a bit more of the heat. If you could plug the EBH in at work that would be brilliant, but not likely to be possible When arriving at home, try to arrange it so that you can quickly get the car where you want it e.g. lined up in the garage, then switch the engine off. On my car (small 1.8 engine), the fuel consumption at idle is like driving at 10-20mph, so you lose fuel economy simply by idling. |
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
All times are GMT -8. The time now is 03:44 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.