Fuel consumption problem

[IWantAnAudiRS6]

That short drive to work is definitely not helping. Has it been cold out recently too? Cold starts and short trips where the engine can't heat up are the hardest things on motors and fuel economy.

It has been quite cold, but always gets to around 75ºC-85ºC (optimum temperature) in about 3 minutes. The work drive doesn't help, but I am not bloody walking- it's 25 minutes, and also winter!

Superchips quoted me £293.45 for a remap (4bhp extra. Woo), is that likely to help my consumption or kill it? Unfortunately, the engine has been going since the 205, maybe before (pre-1985), and it pulls along about 1000kg of car. Underpowered, maybe?

[Quiggs]

The chip won't make a huge difference.

Winter is rough on cars. Since you haven't said there's a CEL on, it would indicate to me the car is working within the manufacturer's specs. So technically, there's nothing wrong. If it's really bothering you, put a few extra pounds in your tires, change the air and fuel filters, pull the battery to reset the ECU, and maybe consider new plugs/wires. Otherwise, it'll probably get better once it gets warmer.

[IWantAnAudiRS6]

Thanks Adam, I will take it down the garage when I get back from Barcelona. I just want to be able to get the maximum efficiency out of it- just spoke to a bloke who pulls 340 miles from his 2.0 GTi 206 (with 138bhp). No fair!!

(Oh yeah- CEL? It is all standard, except for the über-gearknob and Peugeot seatbelt pads )

[Clivey]

Superchips quoted me £293.45 for a remap (4bhp extra. Woo), is that likely to help my consumption or kill it? Unfortunately, the engine has been going since the 205, maybe before (pre-1985), and it pulls along about 1000kg of car. Underpowered, maybe?

£300 for a 4bhp increase on a 1.1 is NOT worth the bother. Not only that but it wont help your fuel economy due to the fact that a Superchip will sharpen throttle response and improve the power/torque curve (making the car easier to keep "on the boil" but not easy to drive it leisurely).

The pedals in my car are the most sensitive of any car I've ever been in (I feel like a ballet dancer when I get in my car after not driving it for a while lol) and it definitely doesn't help the MPG. I think the poor economy I'm getting is all to do with the set-up of the car (close-ratio 'box, sensitive pedals and power curve), but it means that my car has suprised one or two motorists driving considerably more expensive machinery (made a 5-series driver shit himself a couple of weeks ago, he saw me coming up behind him on a dark dual carriageway and changed lanes without checking his mirrors, pulling into the path of an arctic, then upon realising he'd pulled out of the way of a Vauxhall Corsa, he put his foot down again).

[IWantAnAudiRS6]

Yeah, real-world performance isn't that bad. And the Superchips stuff is more tongue-in-cheek... but they do help economy too, surprisingly.

A Corsa? I learnt to drive in one. I didn't like it. The Peugeot is much more laid-back, but the brake pedal is actually like a sponge...

Have you tried dumping your clutch yet?

[Clivey]

Yeah, real-world performance isn't that bad. And the Superchips stuff is more tongue-in-cheek... but they do help economy too, surprisingly.

A Corsa? I learnt to drive in one. I didn't like it. The Peugeot is much more laid-back, but the brake pedal is actually like a sponge...

Have you tried dumping your clutch yet?

One thing about Vauxhalls...different models of the same car can be vastly different to drive. You have to pick them wisely. We had a Vectra 2.0 GLS and thought it was excellent, whereas when said car needed a service, the courtesy car was once a Vectra 1.8 LS, which drove nowhere near as well.

Same thing applies to Corsas. Mine being an SXi with better steering/suspension/drivetrain drives much better than the standard ones (like a Comfort or Design, for example) (which understeer easily). I have to get quite silly before mine does that to the same level. When my dad first started as a driving instructor, he took out a franchise and had a Corsa 1.0 Life, it drove completely differently to my Corsa and it'd be unfair to judge mine based on experiences in the one my dad had. I'm going to make a thread about my car when I've cleaned it and got some decent photos.

What model of Corsa was it and what didn't you like?

And yes, I've figured my car out as far as launching it is concerned, it's not too bad considering what it is. Wheelspin when changing from 1st to 2nd on a full-bore start in a 1.4-litre supermini is a laugh...

[derekthetree]

Apart from that, I'm contemplating taking it to Superchips and getting the ECU remapped

seriously?

don't count on too much of a hike from a 8v 1.1

and you'll probably get even worse fuel consumption

('tis a nice engine though, had it in my old 106. you can rev the nuts of it and it doesn't care )

[IWantAnAudiRS6]

One thing about Vauxhalls...different models of the same car can be vastly different to drive. You have to pick them wisely. We had a Vectra 2.0 GLS and thought it was excellent, whereas when said car needed a service, the courtesy car was once a Vectra 1.8 LS, which drove nowhere near as well.

What model of Corsa was it and what didn't you like?

And yes, I've figured my car out as far as launching it is concerned, it's not too bad considering what it is. Wheelspin when changing from 1st to 2nd on a full-bore start in a 1.4-litre supermini is a laugh...

Yes, that can catch you out when you're buying the same model again

It was a 1.2 5-door Design with steel wheels, I hated the brake feel- it was very wooden. The handling was very reassuring and chunky- the only way I can describe it! Throttle response was ****ing dreadful- never had any urgency

Handbrake worked well, and the clutch was superb- you could reverse up a hill using just clutch control. It was a good car, but a bit too 'grown-up' for my tastes- I like my cars to have a mischievous edge to them, like they're a bit immature.

Yep, I occasionally launch the 206, it's a brilliant laugh- like Derek says, you can rev the hell out of it! (This is the odd day that I hammer it around...)

I also beat a Nissan Patrol with the 3.0TDi off the line a few weeks ago

What I love most about it is the agility- you can chuck it around, and (tyre profile limitations notwithstanding), you can really throw it through corners.

[Clivey]

It was a 1.2 5-door Design with steel wheels, I hated the brake feel- it was very wooden. The handling was very reassuring and chunky- the only way I can describe it! Throttle response was ****ing dreadful- never had any urgency

Handbrake worked well, and the clutch was superb- you could reverse up a hill using just clutch control. It was a good car, but a bit too 'grown-up' for my tastes- I like my cars to have a mischievous edge to them, like they're a bit immature.

Hmmm, that's interesting to say the least...sounds almost completely different to my car!!!

The brake feel is wooden and sounds like your experience but other than that; as far as handling goes, my car is very agile and changes direction like a hunting dog on speed! It's probably something to do with my steering, which is extremely light - so light the car feels nervous a lot of the time (I'm curious to know whether the car you drove had especially light steering...?) as well as what I'm about to mention:

- My car has sports suspension, which quels understeer that is apparently a characteristic of Corsa C & D models

- The throttle response is electric, the pedals on my car are so light that I actually find it difficult to drive. People that haven't driven my car before often over-rev it because the pedals are so light and it's also very easy to spin the wheels away from junctions without even trying.

- I also have a close ratio gearbox fitted to my car, seeing as it's an SXi. It makes no difference to the 0-60 but it makes a big difference to in-gear acceleration times.

Sometimes though, it's not a good thing: On the motorway my car is peaky and it revs a lot at motrway speeds (~4,000rpm at 70mph), it never seems to be happy sitting at 70 because the car's at it's peak revs for torque. It wants to pull and pull until it maxes out. I often find myself doing 80-85 as it's so sensitive.

Similarly, my clutch is over sensitive. It's very, very light to the point where it's actually difficult to reverse slowly uphill whilst turning (to reverse onto a steep driveway for example) and it's easy to stall. Also, my handbrake is close to useless. On my drive (14% gradient), there's no way the handbrake would hold the car alone, I can feel and hear the car straining unless I leave it in gear (which I always do)

Yep, I occasionally launch the 206, it's a brilliant laugh- like Derek says, you can rev the hell out of it! (This is the odd day that I hammer it around...)

I also beat a Nissan Patrol with the 3.0TDi off the line a few weeks ago

What I love most about it is the agility- you can chuck it around, and (tyre profile limitations notwithstanding), you can really throw it through corners.

The SXi's easy to launch; as I said, I get a lot of wheelspin in 1st, then more when changing to 2nd. 50mph comes up in 2nd gear with 80 in 3rd...not your average supermini!

[jediali]

The SXi's easy to launch; as I said, I get a lot of wheelspin in 1st, then more when changing to 2nd. 50mph comes up in 2nd gear with 80 in 3rd...not your average supermini!

...not a defensive driver then. I hope your not sterotyping the male just passed driving test

I dont think those vauxhall men intended the corsa to be difficult/easy to launch, light controls etc

[Clivey]

...not a defensive driver then. I hope your not sterotyping the male just passed driving test

I dont think those vauxhall men intended the corsa to be difficult/easy to launch, light controls etc

Don't worry. I'm not about to add to road the casualty figures for 2007.

Regarding launching the car, I've only ever done it twice. That was on an empty road with no-one else around to suffer consiquences if anything went wrong. And the only reason I did it is that I wanted to learn about driving...i.e. "What does happen when I drop the clutch at max. torque revs?" and "When should I change gear for optimum acceleration?"

Normally I try to drive as smoothly as possible and I often change up as low as at 2,500rpm. Sometimes though, the sensitivity of the pedals in my car (they really are very light) means that even when you're concentrating on driving in a smooth fashion, your driving feels no smoother than average. I find my dad's Mini One D much, much easier to drive smoothly.

IWAARS6's comment about the throttle response of the 1.2 Design interests me, as mine seems totally opposite to that. I was seriously considering getting my pedals adjusted at one point, as I personally consider them too sensitive.

[h00t_h00t]

Apparently the average fuel consumption for a 1.1 206 is about 43mpg, so mid to high 30s of town driving sounds about right.

[Bob]

Just reading through this thread, I've been thinking about all the differences between driving in the UK compared to over here and all I can say is wow... My car has a 5.0 L v8 and gets 10 mpg

[Quiggs]

I've got a bad O2 sensor and get 24. So ha.

And I flog my car daily. So double ha.

[IWantAnAudiRS6]

Just reading through this thread, I've been thinking about all the differences between driving in the UK compared to over here and all I can say is wow... My car has a 5.0 L v8 and gets 10 mpg

Is that US gallons or imperial gallons?

If it's US, then I get 39mpg.