Fuel consumption - question

**eurofan** · 05-10-2007 10:39 AM

hi guys, any help will be appreciated.

i'm driving a 5AT 2006 lux.

the fuel consumption in my car seemed to have worsened recently. it used to be about 12-13 L/100 for short trips with frequent stop/starts. it's now running closer to 15-16 L/100 for a similar trip.

AFAIK, the only two variables which i've changed was:
a) using fuel from a different Shell station (although i used the same VPower98)
b) increasing tyre pressure to 35/33 from 34/32 (higher pressures should improve fuel consumption due to lower rolling resistance?)

fuel consumption on highways (110kmh, cruise control, level road) is now about 6.6-6.8 L/100. i don't know what it was before, but from the postings here, this looks normal.

my driving style is unchanged, so i'm just puzzled why the fuel consumption has worsened over short trips.

**r-r-redEuro** · 05-10-2007 10:41 AM

we have a thread about fuel consumption already you can discuss your problem through there.

in before closed.

**terryansimon** · 05-10-2007 11:34 AM

you started carrying anything in the boot, by any chance?

**eurofan** · 05-10-2007 11:44 AM

no change to boot content or number of passengers, so no real change in car weight...

also, i didn't post this under the main fuel consumption topic coz my question was in relation to changed (and unusual) fuel consumption observations - didn't want to clutter up the other post.

**jamchen** · 05-10-2007 12:32 PM

Originally Posted by eurofan

hi guys, any help will be appreciated.

i'm driving a 5AT 2006 lux.

the fuel consumption in my car seemed to have worsened recently. it used to be about 12-13 L/100 for short trips with frequent stop/starts. it's now running closer to 15-16 L/100 for a similar trip.

AFAIK, the only two variables which i've changed was:
a) using fuel from a different Shell station (although i used the same VPower98)
b) increasing tyre pressure to 35/33 from 34/32 (higher pressures should improve fuel consumption due to lower rolling resistance?)

fuel consumption on highways (110kmh, cruise control, level road) is now about 6.6-6.8 L/100. i don't know what it was before, but from the postings here, this looks normal.

my driving style is unchanged, so i'm just puzzled why the fuel consumption has worsened over short trips.

Too much or too less tyre pressure may contribute to some change in fuel consumption..
Did you had your car serviced recently?

**Merlin086** · 05-10-2007 12:54 PM

Being a auto with good fuel economy in a higher gear, the logical explanation would be that for some reason the transmission is staying in lower gears for longer, either by a lead foot or a tranny fault.

Does it appear to be revving harder before changing up?

**eurofan** · 05-10-2007 01:51 PM

thanks for your comments, guys.

the car feels unchanged - no higher revving, no loss of power, gear changes as normal, etc... if i hadn't been looking at the trip computer, i wouldn't have noticed the fuel consumption increase at all.

the car gets the scheduled service every 6 months. it's been about 3-4 months since the last one, so maybe this could be the cause...