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The problem with the Escort has been solved (damaged fuel line), and now I have another question (or two) :-)

A friend and I plan on embarking on a long journey (370 miles, and then back again, so 740 in total) in a 51 plate Polo (1.4 16v). The problem is we are trying to work out how much it will cost in petrol. The tank holds 45 litres (£37.00 +/- £1.50 depending on price etc) and we have worked out that he gets 245 miles to the tank, commuting through minor roads (no motorway miles) and doing Indian deliveries at night sometimes with a passenger (and often with quite "sporty" driving).

Would it be safe to assume that doing 70mph on the motorway for the majority of the journey in 5th gear, with 3 people and luggage would return a better fuel consumption figure (i.e 260 miles to the tank?). We are not sure if the extra weight load will cause fuel consumption to rise.

Also, the car has done 34k and he has had it from new, but learned in the car so the clutch will be needing replaced in the not so distant future. Would motorway miles put much wear and tear on the clutch compared to driving through streets etc? The clutch doesn't slip at all when performing the standard checks (i.e caning through the gears and putting it into 5th @

20mph and putting the foot down). Is there any chance that the clutch will let go on the motorway leaving us needing a tow? There isn't any option of taking another car and we're just at the stage of working out the total costs involved of travelling (on a well needed break).

Thanks for any replies,

Graham

Reply to
Graham
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Graham ( snipped-for-privacy@pztech.dynu.net) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Probably not that much, assuming you're not stacking a roof rack five foot high with your luggage.

Think about it - Rough numbers, it's going to be three tanks full - or just over £100. £35/head. If a quid or three either way is going to be a huge issue, then perhaps he ought to think about flogging his nice valuable car and buying a shed.

But it doesn't show any signs of it. How do you figure that?

Think about it - how often is he going to be using the clutch on the motorway?

Probably marginally less than a 747 emptying it's toilet tank at 30,000ft and the big chunk of frozen turds coming through the sunroof killing you all.

The fuel cost for that kind of journey is going to be negligable compared to the other costs of any kind of worthwhile break.

Is it pinking at all?

Reply to
Adrian

Nope - just a medium sized case each (5 day trip)

Suppose - just trying to get a figure together :-)

He keeps complaining the clutch pedal is heavy and that the biting point is quite high.

Not very often, which is a theory I put to him, but himself and his dad are sure that because the clutch is going faster it's putting more wear on it (can't really argue when its 2 vs 1)

LOL :)

True.

Nope :-) Thanks for your time - it's always handy to have another opinion.

Graham

Reply to
Graham

Graham ( snipped-for-privacy@pztech.dynu.net) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Not even when the two don't have the *faintest* clue what they're talking about?

Reply to
Adrian

Stick with your guns. They're both wrong, and you know it. (if in doubt, you've been told here).

Irrelevant, but may cause less intellectual problems for them than the right answer: Are they sure the clutch is going faster? Do they know how fast the clutch goes (hint : it's between the engine and gearbox, so it's related to engine speed, not road speed.)

The right answer is it only wears when it slips. Which, unless they sit there with their foot on the pedal all the time (which you'd know, because it would stink), is only when they're changing gear or setting off - and not much for the former case if they've got any mechanical sympathy.

(I thought Pinking Peter was dim, but I'm impressed with their level of stupidity. If it wasn't for it being a polo I'd have asked if your mate was PP...)

cheers, clive

Reply to
Clive George

The message from "Graham" contains these words:

No - far far less.

Reply to
Guy King

Approx. 24.5 mpg from this car sounds a bit low - even driven with gusto around town my wife's 1.4 Clio returns at least 30mpg.

All things being in good nick, there's no reason why this car shouldn't achieve at least 37mpg on a 70mph run - that's only two tanks full. If my aging 1.8 Scirocco can manage 45mpg over that distance then I feel sure the

1.4 Polo should do better.

Clutch: your mate reckons it's going because it's heavy with a high biting point - has it always been like that *on this car*? What's he comparing against? If a different car then doesn't he realise they differ from car to car?

Reply to
DocDelete

It's a car - *anything* can go wrong. It sounds to me like you haven't clocked up many motorway miles at all so far, and are a little apprehensive to say the least. To be fair, I can sympathise and we all go through that little barrier.

If your at all the worrying kind, then take my advice and invest around £75 a year in something like AA Relay. Just use this once over a three year (or more) period and it may well pay for itself. It shouldn't really be considered as wasted money if not used either, as personal membership will cover *you* no matter whose car you're in, driving or not.

They won't pay for a banjaxed clutch to be replaced, but they will get you home without recourse to motorway recovery services (megabucks).

Your car insurance people may offer something similar, but watch out for the "personal" membership bit - far better than it being tied to just one vehicle.

Reply to
DocDelete

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Graham" saying something like:

ROFL!

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

I think his main cause of concern is the clutch going on him !

He used to be a member of the RAC - not sure if this is still the case. His main concern is the clutch letting go and the car needing towed home.

Graham

Reply to
Graham

I hadn't worked out the MPG from that figure and looking at what you're saying I'd agree that's V6 style consumption.

It's his only car. He has driven other peoples, but he says that its well heavier than the way it was when he first got the car and it's only been recent that it's stiff. He also says the clutch pedal in his Dad's Zafira is much lighter.

G.

Reply to
Graham

If you spend more than £75 on petrol doing that distance on the motorway, and aren't doing > 80 all the way, there's something wrong with it. I used to manage to get about 100 miles for a tenner in my Ka, driving to Norwich with lots of overtaking on SC roads, and generally caning it a bit.

Reply to
Doki

Rule of thumb I've used for a few years now on cars up to 2L...=A31 per=20

10 miles so it'll cost you about =A337.

--=20 Conor

Opinions personal, facts suspect.

Reply to
Conor

Just get in the sodding car and set off. It'll cost under =A340 for fuel.= =20 If you're paranoid about breaking down, get AA cover.

--=20 Conor

Opinions personal, facts suspect.

Reply to
Conor

A worn clutch at 34k is impressive.

So it's not worn.... What's up with it? Could it just need adjusting (auto adjusters are not infallible) Air in the fluid if it's hydraulic?

Motorway running is a lot less stressful on a car than stop-start town driving.

Reply to
Chris Street

Fuel consumption - you should get much better figures cruising on the motorway than around town as long as you keep a light right foot - e.g. my own car does about 32 - 34 around town but on my normal commute (30 miles each way mostly mway) if I keep to 70 and don't accelerate hard its nearer

  1. Fully laden about 36 or slightly better than claimed "urban" mpg. Think in terms of 740 miles divided by your MPG times the price per gallon and you should be OK

The biggest wear for a clutch is around town. My brother used to manage a fleet in London, clutches used to go on all the manual cars at around 30k with the hammering, so he used to schedule them for replacement at 35. Conversely, my mainly motorway commute plus holidays - heavily laden,often with a caravan, left me with my original clutch on my old cavalier - at 125k miles. Think of this - I commuted in that car "urbanly" for a couple of years, then on the motorway for another 4. The urban driving had the front tyres worn at about 12 - 13k, the motorway had them lasting 45k. Everything else follows

Clutches do not wear by spinning round fast, they wear with lots of starts from rest. - tip - on an advanced driving course a few years ago they taught tricks to keep the car moving - slowly - up to red traffic lights, crowded junctions etc. - so the number of starts-from-rest is reduced, and of course the amount of clutch slipping.

So - your "sporty" driving is a) Knackering the clutch b) using lots more petrol than necessary c) wearing out your front tyres

I hope this helps answer your question - in truth, constant-speed m'way is the lightest, easiest for a car to do - and a lightweight like a Polo with

1400cc on a modern engine to play with will be a doddle. But make sure its well serviced and of course the oil, water etc. is properly maintained first.
Reply to
Richard Murphy

Though there's no reason why a clutch should suffer much wear at all, even in constant driving, if used properly - i.e. the biting kept right down low (as near to idle speed as possible) and the throttle used to support things rather than just revving it. With a skilled driver there's no reason why a clutch shouldn't last to at least 100-150k even for lots of town work.

I had a Fiesta van (1.8TDi - 2000/W reg) that I bought with 95k on the clock and a slightly knackered clutch. I say slightly knackered, in that it was fine, but the biting point a lot higher than it would have been had I driven it from new. I took it up to 135k with the clutch still as good (or bad) as when I bought it, and it showed no signs of remotely starting to give up. And that was stop start in London 90% of the time.

Peter

-- "The truth is working in television is not very glamorous at all. I just go home on my own at night and sit alone and eat crisps."

Reply to
AstraVanMan

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