B18CR drinking the juice

Hey all,

So this week my car has been drinking fuel like it's going out of fashion. I put in 20 bucks, got around 14L. This morning my trip gauge said 110ks. Started the car, and it took longer than the usual 2 or 3 cranks to fire up. This is usually my indication that I need to fill up soon (my fuel light has never come on, I don't know if it works). Usually this doesn't happen until about 140ks. I have been deliberately driving like a grandma this week to try and get better fuel consumption, but it doesn't seem to be working. I cruise in 5th gear at 60 which the car seems happy to do, try to shift before 4k, and have hardly hit VTEC at all.

Few things to clarify
1. In general, all of my journeys are short. <5ks in each direction, because everything I need to visit is close to me. I know this is probably terrible for fuel economy.
2. Always use the same fuel, shell 98
3. There is always black buildup in my exhaust, and I get the occasional pop on the overrun - to me this means unburnt fuel
4. The car is running fine. It's not missing or anything, so I don't think there's anything up with the plugs, or anything that would waste fuel.

So a couple of questions -
Where the hell is all my fuel going??
Could I have a small leak? If so, what's the most common areas for this? (I've checked the fuel filter, it seems fine)
What kind of fuel consumption do other B18CR users get?

Mine has been doing this too recently. Do you like shell petrol? Ive never seen a motor run well on it, always black exhaust and its actually noticably worse to drive

well I haven't been using it *forever*, a while ago I used to use caltex vortex 98 because it was closer to home, but shell is on the way to work so I fill up there instead. Might try caltex this week and see how she goes. Whats your avg L/100ks ??

All due respect, but did u search before u posted? This type of thread has been flogged to death.

It could be one, or more likely a combination of things from dirty filters to a worn clutch. I recommend a process of elimination.

I seriously doubt you have a leak.

I'm not a fan of Shell V-power but it's not going to give you a huge drop in economy.

search never seems to yield good results for me :\ but yes I did a little search before I started. Dirty filters as in air/fuel? Clutch is fine AFAIK, plenty of meat. Master cylinder was shot a little while back but I replaced that and it feels good now

When you search try using google with the topic and the forum name. It roots out the bullshit threads that just so happen to have the word you searched in it once.
There are many factors that could cause the ecu to pour in too much fuel. Search :D

alright well I've found a few different things... replace fuel/air filters, check plugs (don't really want new ones, iridium aint cheap :/), new dizzy cap and rotor, and oxygen sensor. also I'm gonna try different fuel and see how I go