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[Cheesney]

I have a Colt CZ2 by the way, but the Mitsubishi forum is dead this seems to be way better.  I have just bought a 1.3 CZ2 manual (not a Clear-tec) and I know it's early days but I find the mpg not that great.  I need to do other calculations but just wanted a rough idea of what people get from the 1.3 please?  I decided to get a 1.3 as the mpg seemed hardly anymore than a 1.1, but with a bit more power.  The car has an extremley low mileage and is mint.

The only test I have done so far is ran the tank down to the last bar on the fuel gauge filled up with £41.50 and got 310 miles, I went down to the last bar flashing this time and to fill it back up cost £52.50.  I know it doesn't make sense as the first pump could of clicked out way before it was supposed to.  I used a different pump the second time but the same garage.  The fuel computer shows the average mpg to be around 35mpg.  The fuel computer seems to display the current mpg as terrible unless the car is in 5th gear hardly touching the throttle at around 50 mph.  I am not sure how this computer works but it seems like a real piece of crap, even worse than the one that was in a Focus that I had that read rubbish too.  Yet when I look on the net most people seem to reckon that they are accurate to a few percent 

My driving is mainly a commute to work at around 50 mph and 10 miles each way and not a huge amount of stop/starting.  The car is probably under warranty as it was bought from a Mitsubishi dealer, although my experience of main stealers has been very poor in the past.  I obviously need to carry out more checks, and I am trying to be as light footed as possible.  I understand that manufacturers mpg figures are probably unatainable too.

I just wondered what ForFour drivers get out of their 1.3's or other models to please?

[Cheesney]

I just noticed teh miles per tank thread.  Firefly's 45mpg from a 1.3 seems great to me, what I was hoping for, still need to do more calculations.

[CrazyG]

Low mileage + mint could mean that the car has had a very sheltered life,
that is...that it has never been gunned/stressed and is still 'tight'.
There is good n bad news in that !
1/ it could be 'recovered' by some hard motoring that will will loosen
    everything off and then allow it to perform better.
    Maybe it needs a good thrash to 'clear the cobwebs' out of it...
2/ you could start booting it, but as it may only have been 'pussy footed'
    it might not like it and somethng may go bang ! It has been known
    for other manufacturers engines, but as these are known to be a
    virtual 'bomb proof' engine, I'd not worry too much.

As for 'in car' computer mileage read outs.....even we have members
who have questioned' their reliability...most seem hit n miss. Besides,
there are so many other factors...such as if you fill your car on a hot
day you will get less in the tank as the fuel expands as it gets hotter.
Ambient air temperature, wind direction, and other things all come
into play.  As some would say..."it is a science unto itself".

[Alex]

Forfour trip computers only show average fuel economy.

If your colt also displays instant fuel economy, use that to guide your driving. Fuel consumption really is lowest in 5th gear when barely touching the accelerator, so you'd better get used to reading the road to keep up momentum, use the brakes as little as possible (lift off the accelerator in good time, so the road gets a chance to clear until you meet the obstacle), use large throttle openings and keep the revs low.

I change gear soon after the car gets rolling, plenty of throttle, change up at 2200-2500 rpm from 2nd to 3rd, then change up at 2000rpm into fourth, and if the road allows for a higher speed, rev it to 2000rpm then change to 5th, from which i only shift down if the rpm drop bellow 1500 OR the engine load would be too high if i tried accelerating in 5th (full car, uphill, need to accelerate quickly).

Smaller wheels help, steer away from wide alloys as they will bog down the car and it will be impossible to navigate the city in 5th with heavy wheels.

My 1.3 returns better fuel economy when the city traffic is clear then when driving it on the open road. It has almost 200.000kms and taller springs with oversized wheels + a brab spoiler, and i don't drive it specifically for economy, I drive fast and just try and keep the engine at revs and loads that lend themselves to efficiency.

So low revs, low load, and when you need to accelerate use lots of throttle, change up soon, keep the engine revs where it develops the most power/fuel used (read about brake specific fuel consumption).

Learning about the car and engine allows you to drive it more efficiently. By switching your driving style you can save more gas than anything else you can do to the car to improve it's efficiency, I guarantee it.

[djames108]

Agreed about the driving style, the gear ratios seem quite low compared to other cars - perhaps to tailor it to city/town driving. I shift up as early as possible and keep in as high gear as possible to keep of the throttle as much as possible. It will happily do 30mph in 5th as long as its not uphill

I've never measured the economy i'm getting I don't seem to get as much as I think I should but that is probably just my guesstimating
Plus if I did measure it and my economy was on the low side there isn't a great deal I could do, I already use super unleaded, run redex through every couple of months, keep tyre pressures up, drive economically.

[Problemchild]

hi - sorry for not picking up on your thread sooner - please don't see that as a reflection of your choice of mitsubishi bodied mitsubishi

my dad has a 1.3 and he gets very very good mileage from it. 50+ on a gentle run.

JJ

[mr singh]

my 1.1 regularly gets over 40MPG and that's with a 25 +/- 5 miles commute to work and car easily get over 420 miles to a tank, although the past couple of tanks, i have been pushing it and managed to get close to 475 miles on 1 tank.

my route to from Leeds to York can consist of either A64, A1237, or A58 up to Wetherby, B1224 to Rufforth and then A1237

i do have to say i dont hang around either, i do give it plenty of shoe (redline it before changing up), but i barely use the brakes to slow down. i do however use, and insist on using shell v-power.

my tyre pressures are set to 36 PSI all round, which on the forfour is higher than comfort but less than fully loaded

[mozilla]

I doubt v-power  makes much difference to mpg on the n/a forfours...

[mr singh]

I doubt v-power  makes much difference to mpg on the n/a forfours...

it does! my 1.1 felt sluggish when i once had to fill with 95 ron.

[Problemchild]

i put a tank of non v-power in the brab and my god its noticeable

JJ

[mozilla]

That's cos the brabus primary map is designed to run on high octane. 95 ron will retard the ignition as the mixture ignites before its meant to. The other forfours map have been developed with 95 ron otherwise it would state it in the handbook to use super

[FireFlower]

Hello, I would like to ask what kind tyres you are using? High roll resistance tyres consume a lot more fuel. http://www.goodyear.eu/uk_en/tire-advice/eu-tire-label/fuel-efficiency/index.jsp

And basically because I am used to driving trucks I get usually better fuel consumption than manufacturer states. Like in my old car I got average fuel consumption as low as 4.1l/100km on highway (5.8l stated by manufacturer).

• Learn to hop gears when car is not loaded heavily or pulling anything. From stop acceleration with one or two passengers: 1st to 2nd, to 3rd and good acceleration to wanted speed (I rev up max 4000-4500 rpm), and hop to the 5th gear then.
• Maintain your speed with the highest possible gear and the lowest gas pedal press as possible. 1.3 engine sweet spot for efficiency is between 2000-3000 rpm.
• Free roll hills down with gear on highest gear that car doesn't wildly accelerate or deaccelerate (experiment to find good gear for different speeds). Basically at 50mph speed you barely need to touch the gas or brake, just let the gravity do the job.
• Learn to read the traffic situations. Basically a lorry with trailer behind it using your lane to turn takes about 30s empty to turn and over 60s when fully loaded. You can see is the lorry empty by looking at its bogey is one of them lifted up which indicates that the lorry is pretty much empty and the trailer is also because the trailer is always unloaded first.
• Check tyre pressures are ideal for your tyres. The car's pressures for tires are for the stock tires but you can use the pressure difference on your new tyres. Basically 2.2 bar is ideal for stock brand & model tyres with driver and one or two passengers. 2.5 bar is recommended if pulling trailer or car fully loaded with passengers. You get correct tyre pressures for your tyres from tyre manufacturer.
• Learn engine braking, basically clutch pedal is up and gear is on. For 1.3 the best practice goes like this: fifth gear 50mph (2500 rpm) --> release accelerator --> wait until 2000 rpm --> change gear to 4th --> wait until 2000 rpm --> change gear to 3th --> wait until 2000 rpm --> change to 2nd gear --> wait until 2000 rpm --> change to 1st gear --> let revs to drop 500 rpm --> clutch braking

-----------
Above idea is to deaccelerate and wait until you get greenlight to continue your way (you see from far are the red lights on) and you modify when you start to engine braking based on your experience of the situation (are there a lot cars fully stopped, do you know the traffic light change habits etc) and of course how fast your car deaccelerates with engine braking. Basically more torque from engine == faster deacceleration by engine braking. In time you learn to do this by habit and then you need to do from time to time good brakings so brake pads and plates don't go bad and rusty :)
[/list]

It is the thing you need to learn in theory first and always practice afterwards when you're driving ;)

[Cheesney]

Thanks for all the replies, can't believe I got so many replies.  Post on the Mitsubishi forum and get none.  Certainly a lot of great info here and superb advice.  I have been looking at the trip computer and even though I think it is crap it supports the driving styles listed in the posts on this thread, if I have it set to display the current mpg.  I agree the car could of been owned by some old bloke and needs a good ragging to loosen it up!  Fireflower I will post the tyres that the Colt has fitted tomorrow.

Great forum btw :-)

[Problemchild]

cztoc used to be just about passable but now it's gone down hill and is just unuseable with all the historical data lost with the new site!

This is the best source of info you will find!!

JJ

[Cheesney]

Yes I agree this is a very good forum.  I guess it possibly has something to do with that the ForFour although the same car as the Colt is a bit more unique so owners probably take more of an interest in the car.  Having said that I'm pleased with the Colt, only really issue is the garbage stereo and speakers but I am in the process of replacing all of that.  Thanks again