TripleS wrote:I'm still uncertain about whether it is best to accelerate gently up to your cruising speed, and taking quite a while to reach it, or to accelerate more strongly for a shorter period. Maybe it depends on the particular model of car.
nuster100 wrote:My mpg is worse now than it was before I joined RoSpA, Yes, I use more acceleration sense, but it is canceled out by more positive acceleration out of hazards and in nsl sections of road.
hpcdriver wrote: Does anyone have more information about these tests and why the overall consumption inidicated is so optimistic?
hpcdriver wrote:It would take an enormous improvement in consumption to offset the fuel used in advanced driver training. Since I go driving for the pleasure of doing so, and choose cars for performance rather than economy, it would seem somewhat hypocritical to worry much about my fuel consumption! Having said that, I find that the greatest influence on my average consumption is the length of my journeys, with longer journeys diluting the effect of the high consumption warm-up phase. On high speed roads, I find that changing my cruising speed by a few mph seems to make a significant difference to consumption - I notice the reduction in consumption when the road is more congested.
I too am uncertain about the level of acceleration to use for economical driivng. A DSA paper on Ecosafe driving (now assessed in the ADI Part 2 driving test, and soon to be assessed in novice tests) says: 'Select the highest suitable gear as soon as possible, without causing the engine to labour'. I prefer to see a driver accelerate in a more positive way, but as others have said I am not convinced this uses significantly more fuel. The other advice given in the same DSA paper is in line with Advanced Driving.
I find that the official fuel consumption figures published for cars are always over-optimistic. I believe that the official tests take a long time to accelerate up to speed, and this may be a factor. Does anyone have more information about these tests and why the overall consumption inidicated is so optimistic?
hpcdriver wrote:I find that the official fuel consumption figures published for cars are always over-optimistic. I believe that the official tests take a long time to accelerate up to speed, and this may be a factor. Does anyone have more information about these tests and why the overall consumption inidicated is so optimistic?
Return to General Car Chat Forum
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 29 guests