new focus mileage

geanso · Ricer Joined: 18 Jun 2007 Tech posts: 23 My 2NRide:

hey tuners,
is it me or is the focus fairly thirsty for a 1.6L.i'm comparing it to my shark(1.8L) which i sold to buy the focus.
I definitely got better mileage with the shark, filling up once every two weeks.
making similar runs i have to fillup once a week.
(normal tong to east runs in traffic)

is this normal??

gfbl · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 1:43 pm Post subject:

i will try and measure mines and get back to you

geanso · Ricer Joined: 18 Jun 2007 Tech posts: 23 My 2NRide:

it seemed to sort itself out got 415k/full tank last wk.

noshownogo · Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:47 am Post subject:

you sure it wasn't your driving style for that period, or greater usage of the a/c at the time?

geanso · Ricer Joined: 18 Jun 2007 Tech posts: 23 My 2NRide:

not really,driving style remained the same.and a/c is almost always on.

Kashman · Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 3:46 pm Post subject:

damieG82 · Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 9:35 pm Post subject:

this sounds like simple physics working here. First off, japanese cars typically have a slighty lighter grade of steel used in its construction, and the inferior quality plastics also add it the reduced weight. This coupled with an engine which would give a more favourable power-to-weight ratio meant that the Galant could be a little more fuel efficient.

But you should clock actual mileage of the Focus (hope you did the same with the Galant for a true comparison)... its not good enough to look at how long it takes between fill ups, because I suspect the Focus has a smaller fuel tank than your Galant did... so assuming the Focus might actually have the better mileage, the fill ups would be more frequent still.

nes123 · Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 12:41 pm Post subject:

damieG82 · Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 4:30 pm Post subject:

^^ nope.... just got the figures for both cars and it really is physics at work.

Ford Focus 1.6 Ghia/Titanium (auto) spec:
1.6 DOHC L4, 100hp, 150nm, kerb weight 1286kg, power-to-weight ratio 77hp/ton, fuel tank capacity 55 litres

Mitsubishi Galant 1.8 Viento Exceed (auto) spec:
1.8 DOHC L4, 138hp, 181nm, kerb weight 1260kg, power-to-weight ratio 109.5hp/ton, fuel tank capacity 64 litres

So just as I suspected, the Galant is in fact lighter, and coupled with a more powerful engine, and a larger fuel tank means it would achieve better mileage and better range... the power to weight ratios explain it all... the higher the power figure per ton, the easier the engine has to work and is thus more efficient (within reason of course: a 1.6 & a 1.8 are very similar in size, but you can't compare a 1.6 with say a 2.5 which would obviously have an even better ratio).

Unfortunately I could not find any fuel consumption figures for the Galant with the 1.8 engine, but the Focus manages 7.7L/100 kms in the combined cycle, which is very respectable for the size and spec of car that its 1.6 has to chuck around.

And its not a brand or Jap vs Euro thing either, since the CS model Lancer has a power to weight ratio of 81hp/ton but manages a thirstier 8.0L/100 kms combined. The Corolla, which many argue is the most fuel efficient in this class, returns 7.5L/100 kms... so the Focus is not at all far off from the category 'leader' (as far as consumption goes).

nes123 · Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:43 am Post subject:

preach!!

thegtiman · Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 3:53 pm Post subject:

damieG82 · Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:12 pm Post subject:

thegtiman, I hear ya and agree about the comparison being off between the Focus and the Galant... but keep in mind its the 2 cars geanso has had experience with, and was comparing... I assume he was thinking a bigger sized and bigger engined car like the Galant should not be more fuel efficient than a Focus, so I got into the details to explain thats not always the case.

thegtiman · Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:24 am Post subject:

I can see where geanso was coming from, from a development point of view, as the Galant has a more advanced engine (DI) and has to be developed on a more stringent cycle JDM vs EC. What he is stating in a real life East to POS cycle, seems to be correlate to what was just said.

geanso · Ricer Joined: 18 Jun 2007 Tech posts: 23 My 2NRide:

hi guys was away for a bit.nice to see a simple question resulting in a slew of technical information.actually damieG82 that was my train of thought,
the focus is really heavier in truth(in a good way) you feel the solidness on the road
and mentally quite safe that at high speeds some cross wind wouldn't flip u over.

Triniranger · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 1:02 pm Post subject:

good day

i have a question, did your ghia come with a sheild over the tappit pan cover?