miles per gallon

[Andyhot]

Hi everyone,
what sort of mpg is everyone getting.
My b18ft 5 is returning a consistently terrible 60 miles to £20.
Now I think there must be something very wrong.
Its mainly stop start short journeys of only a couple of miles so the car doesn't really have chance to get warm but that is steady driving with No boost at all.
I can't see or smell any fuel leaks, does this seem about right as I expected better.
Any ideas?
Thanks Andy.

[Simon .J. Rose]

Hi,

Just as a comparison I have a 1.6 Mitsubishi Colt that I use as my daily run around and like you I only do a few miles a day in it (3 miles each way to work), I get about 80 miles out of £20 as its permantly on choke, so I think your 60 miles might be fairly accurate.

Best thing to do is fill it up and go for a long steady drive to see what MPG you're getting then, if its still 60 miles on £20 you probably have a problem I would say

[Guv]

I get about 35-40miles from a tenners worth of v power on my b18ft r5, so pretty much the same as yours. I always thought mine was abit heavy too, see what others have to say. The cold weather will make it run rich to.

Is your b18ft engine modified or stock?

[Andyhot]

Hi simon,
You might be right and i agree about it constantly being on choke.
Its just that the car has the actuator slackened right off so doesnt make any boost and it doesnt really get reved past 3k in day to day driving and the engine is currently standard.
It has never been brilliant on fuel but its just lately that i have been noticing it more and clocking it. Some days i might do a few longer journeys but the fuel consumption still stays around 16-17 mpg :eek:.
I think there may be a problem with the ecu temp sensor or wiring as i believe that would tell it the engines colder than it is and put more fuel in (keep the choke on.)
Anybody else have any ideas?
Thanks Andy

[Andyhot]

Hi gordini,
The engine is standard and that is just regular unleaded as i am running no boost i dont think i need the more expensive fuel.
Thanks Andy

Just looked on a mpg calculator and it seems your getting around 22-23 mpg with super unleaded about an extra 10p a litre, compared to my 16-17 is yours shorter stop start or long journeys.

[Tony Walker]

Have you removed your thermostat? where abouts does your temp gauge sit while driving? costs pennies for a new temp sensor so worth tryin imo.

[Andyhot]

Hi Tony,
The temp gauge rarely passes the first marker about 1/4 of way up on short journeys but will go up to 3/4 on longer journeys. I did replace thermostat but the new one didn't have the hole that I presume helps bleeding that the old one did so I drilled a hole in the top of it. Maybe the holes too big and slowing down the car getting to temperature. Where is the best place to get temperature sensor from as I want to change it and ill replace the wiring to it as it looks past its best and could be affecting the resistance of the sensor.
Thanks Andy.

[Robbo]

so its got nothing to do with the price of fuel creeping up? if your measuring how many miles you get to pound. i remember when i could tank my xr2 for £27:)

[Tony Walker]

i'd personally use eurocarparts but gsf are good too. any local factors, difficult to say what water temp that is.

[Guv]

Here a link for a b18ft temp sensor -

http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/product_info.php?products_id=3911
(http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=temperature+sensor+b18ft&checkbutton=Go)

[Matt Cole]

I bet you aint running the standard lambda sensor?:D

[Andyhot]

No its got nothing to do with cost although that makes 16 mpg harder to swallow.
Matt your correct I haven't got a lambda sensor connected although I have a lc1 to fit and I think that has a narrow band output. I'm sure I read that you don't need a lambda do you think that's causing the engine to run in some sort of safe mode ie Rich.
Thanks Andy.

[Guv]

im running my r5 without a lambda sensor without any overfueling issues. I would hook up the lc1 and see how rich it is running.

[REGGY5GT]

iirc when theres no lambda sensor where theres spose to be one the engine goes to a default richer side mode, i know when they are present but broke they go to rich mode as default.

[Matt Cole]

Plug your lamda back in and report back!:agree:

[Andyhot]

I haven't got the standard lambda otherwise I would of fitted it when doing the conversion.
Will the narrow band out put off the lc1 do or am I best getting hold of the proper one.
Thanks Andy.

[SCHWARTZ]

It will run learner with the ecu's lambada sensor in there, i took mine off and plugged my afr gauge in instead so that it would richen it so i could run more boost:D Remember as its colder the fuel will be denser dont know if the ecu accounts for that tho also 3/4 on the temp gauge is high have you swapped the volvo temp sensor for the renault one? (not the one for the ecu the one on the flywheel side of the head). If not then it sounds like your car isnt warming up right until the end of your journey and on choke all the time.

[philg]

It will run learner with the ecu's lambada sensor in there, i took mine off and plugged my afr gauge in instead so that it would richen it so i could run more boost:D Remember as its colder the fuel will be denser dont know if the ecu accounts for that tho also 3/4 on the temp gauge is high have you swapped the volvo temp sensor for the renault one? (not the one for the ecu the one on the flywheel side of the head). If not then it sounds like your car isnt warming up right until the end of your journey and on choke all the time.

Gary am i meant to change the sensor on the block for a gt one?

I have not changed it and my gauge does not work, i can not tell you if its the clock itself not working though as i have never seen the gauge work.

[SCHWARTZ]

would still work with the volvo sensor it just reads high on the gauge nearly into the slats when its its at normal temp so must be your gauge matey.

[philg]

would still work with the volvo sensor it just reads high on the gauge nearly into the slats when its its at normal temp so must be your gauge matey.


Ah feck, the oil does not rise to :scared:, I basically get in the car and start praying :D

Going to have to look for a set of working clocks as mine have had white dials and i don't think you can change them.

[Andyhot]

Hi mate,
When i say 3/4 i mean the line at about 11 oclock position and thats about where the fan kicks in. its never gone into the slats.
when i said it rarely passes the first marker i meant the line about 10 oclock not the one at the bottom of guage at 9 oclock sorry for any confusion and i cant be 100% the guage is reading exact as its got white dials fitted and they never seem perfect after being messed with.
I have fitted the gt temp sender as i nearly cr#pped myself the first time i drove it as the needle went into the slats without the fan kicking in.
So am i correct thinking along the lines of needing
A new thermostat to help it reach temprature quicker,
a new ecu temp sender incase its telling the car its cold when its upto temprature,
Replace temp sender to ecu wiring as it looks dodgy(bit brittle and old),
Lambda sensor fitting(will the lc1 narrowband output be suitable or am i best fitting both)
Thanks Andy

[SCHWARTZ]

lc1 narrow band? my lc1 is wideband are you using a different gauge or something? If youre woried about fuel consumption id fit the o/e lambada sensor but id also have the lc1 to keep an eye on things. Try the stat first rather than doing everything and never finding out what it was, And sort the dodgy wiring. Mine will sit at the 10 Oclock mark all day long but it did creep near the 11 Oclock mark when idling due to a dodgy fan and injector harness but never when driving.

[Andyhot]

Hi,
I know the lc1 is a wideband controller/sensor but I thought it had a wideband and narrowband out put so it could be connected to ecus that run in closed loop and need a signal adjust to the required afr.
I must be mistaken as I read that much stuff online about different things ive probably got mixed up.
Thanks Andy.

[James5]

Hi,
I know the lc1 is a wideband controller/sensor but I thought it had a wideband and narrowband out put so it could be connected to ecus that run in closed loop and need a signal adjust to the required afr.
I must be mistaken as I read that much stuff online about different things ive probably got mixed up.
Thanks Andy.

Yeah you can get it to simluate a NB02 sensor if you need it, the manuals show you how to do it

[dave r5]

From Pitsea tesco to toddington services 9.8 lyra
That was m25 50 mph off boost.

Or frOm pitsea to rainham and back which is about 50 miles it's a full tank for me which is 20 ltrs, that's traffic boosting platings with others,

[Andyhot]

Hi Dave,
So from what I find on a route planner and my calculations you get about 27mpg on a run off boost and 11mpg with mixed boosting and traffic.
Thanks andy