Is there a way to "reduce" fuel consumption

[bobby]

I drive a C43, and have heard if I put it into Neutral when sitting at lights, waiting in queues etc it will reduce fuel consumption.

1: Is this true?

I have seen that the idle is at 500 RPM when in "D" but moves up to 750 RPM when in "N", so surely it would take more fuel in that mode?

2: What is Neutral actually for?!

3: What are the "W" & "S" settings and do they affect fuel consumption?

Your feedback much appreciated,

Regards

Bobby

 

[bobby]

... and an explanation of the right siode of the gearlever gate would be most welcome, is the 1,2,3,4 the equivalent gears, i.e. like manual?

 

[television]

I drive a C43, and have heard if I put it into Neutral when sitting at lights, waiting in queues etc it will reduce fuel consumption.

1: Is this true? NO

I have seen that the idle is at 500 RPM when in "D" but moves up to 750 RPM when in "N", so surely it would take more fuel in that mode?Too small to measure

2: What is Neutral actually for?!N is for longer periods when stuck in traffic or testing the car

3: What are the "W" & "S" settings and do they affect fuel consumption?
W is a second gear start for more relaxed driving and the shift points are higher in S
Your feedback much appreciated,

Regards

Bobby

You will get more answers

 

[imadoofus]

With respect, Bobby; if your need to conserve fuel is that marginal, then you've got the wrong car.

 

[television]

... and an explanation of the right siode of the gearlever gate would be most welcome, is the 1,2,3,4 the equivalent gears, i.e. like manual?

When these are selected, for example if you were doing 50 mph and you wanted to overtake without using kickdown, you could bring the shift back to 3, and the car would stay in 3rd gear for a quicker over taking move, and then you could put it back to D.

It will hold the gear selected up to the max RPM allowed and not change up.

On downward changes you can use say third to obtain engine braking, the gear will only engage when the road speed of the car matches the max speed for that gear selected. once engaged it will hold onto 3rd.
The same thing applies to any other gear selected

 

[carnut]

I find the best way to improve my fuel consumtion is to go FASTER!

Worst mpg was in a traffic jam that started outside my house ( pop festival locally) and I managed 4mpg over 2 miles!

Normal driving around country lanes going at about 30 -50 mph for a jolly = 23 mpg

Fast drive home from Devon at ***mph = 29mpg

My car is born for the Autobahn!

 

[carnut]

On downward changes you can use say third to obtain engine braking, the gear will only engage when the road speed of the car matches the max speed for that gear selected. once engaged it will hold onto 3rd.
The same thing applies to any other gear selected

Pre-selector gearboxes!! You remember those!?

 

[television]

Pre-selector gearboxes!! You remember those!?

I have had them on the Armstrong Siddeley and Lanchester and daimler cars.

they were great fluid flywheel as they were known

 

[RoseTattoo]

Pre-selector gearboxes!! You remember those!?

Yep, Routemaster or the model before - would love to have driven one.

 

[Alfie]

I drive a C43, and have heard if I put it into Neutral when sitting at lights, waiting in queues etc it will reduce fuel consumption.

1: Is this true?

I have seen that the idle is at 500 RPM when in "D" but moves up to 750 RPM when in "N", so surely it would take more fuel in that mode?

2: What is Neutral actually for?!

3: What are the "W" & "S" settings and do they affect fuel consumption?

Your feedback much appreciated,

Regards

Bobby

Best way to improve economy is to drive more carefully. Change up as soon as possible change down as late as possible. Best tip though is to completely take your foot off the accelerator when slowing down, in plenty of time. Uses the engine to brake the car. The fuel is cut off so you use nothing whilst decelerating and your brake pads/disks last a lot longer too.

 

[vijilants]

If you drive a C43, you shouldn't really moan about fuel consumption. That car was never made for the fuel economy conscious.

 

[Stratman]

While I agree with everything you say Alfie, it kind of defeats the point of having a C43.

Then again, you don't buy one of those to save money.

 

[bobby]

Lol - I asked the question out of interest chaps!

This is my 2nd C43, I know the nature of the beast well! ;-)

 

[bobby]

Malcolm, Alfie,

Thanks for your responses!

 

[Diesel Benz]

I don't see any conflict in the interest to know how to save fuel even if one owns a super car. Not even if one actually wants to save fuel from time-to-time. It does not mean one would never try pedal to the metal.

To me the attitude to "save even if one could afford not to" is what makes one a high end MB owner (I'm not a high end MB owner but I do follow the principle, perhaps some day MB makes a big diesel and I can afford it ).

 

[BTB 500]

Most M-Bs have a section in the handbook on how to maximise economy ... my SL500 even has an MPG needle on the dash

 

[cjab98]

television summed it up pretty well.

I'd just add that I use N when sitting at the lights, as it takes the car out of gear so you aren't putting any load through the transmission.

As for the 4,3,2,1 I use them mainly for decelerating, for example when coming up to a junction or roundabout, as it will save wearing out the brakes excessively. I also use it when going down a steep incline to keep the car going at constant speed and use engine braking. It's like using the gears to slow down a manual car. Don't really need to drop down gears for overtaking in a C43, although other auto's might need to . The kickdown on the C43 is also pretty quick, so if you need it you won't have to anticipate as much like on certain auto's.

 

[mark.t]

I drive a C43, and have heard if I put it into Neutral when sitting at lights, waiting in queues etc it will reduce fuel consumption.

1: Is this true?

I have seen that the idle is at 500 RPM when in "D" but moves up to 750 RPM when in "N", so surely it would take more fuel in that mode?

2: What is Neutral actually for?!

3: What are the "W" & "S" settings and do they affect fuel consumption?

Your feedback much appreciated,

Regards

Bobby

buy a diesel :bannana:

 

[C240Sport97]

just because it is a V8 doesn't mean you can't get decent mpg if you drive carefully.

From my 5.5 litre V8:

 

[BTB 500]

I'd just add that I use N when sitting at the lights, as it takes the car out of gear so you aren't putting any load through the transmission.

As for the 4,3,2,1 I use them mainly for decelerating, for example when coming up to a junction or roundabout, as it will save wearing out the brakes excessively.

Bit of a conflict there. You're worried about the load on the transmission from the engine idling, but then use engine braking to slow the car rather than the brakes? What do you think that does to the transmission?!

FWIW Mercedes generally say to leave it in D at traffic lights. You are causing wear to the selector mechanism shifting it to N and back.