Another mpg thread! (S3 owners please read!)

:yahoo:I'm glad I don't really look at mine. Did do at first just to see what was happening. Now I just put vpower in and drive. :racer:
 
Surely you guys should be looking at what mileage you are getting per tank, not 5 miles here and there
 
Daily trip to work is 9 miles .....ups and downs on B roads ...I average 32mpg.
Daily trip back from work ......same route .....I average 29mpg.

I did a trip to London a few months back ...Northampton to Esher (West London outskirts) and I managed 38MPG on the way down there. That was in a mix of flowing and not flowing traffic.

Way back was a different story as my right foot suddenly became a lot heavier........Strange that ;-)
 
I average 290-330 before light comes on. I usually do 40 miles a day.
 
When I drove to Bristol a few months back, had a little test with a few things. At 70 on the M5, I was able to average 37.8 mpg over 15 miles. For a further 15 miles I used CC at 70 and this dropped to 33.4 quite quickly. I usually average mid-high 20's when around town and mid-high 30's on the motorway. Usually get between 295-325 miles from a full tank, car has covered 22k.
 
Not sure I agree with the responses where people are saying "if you're worried about MPG then you can't afford to run it".

I could if I really wanted to afford to run a V8 S5 or C63 AMG, so the S3 running costs don't worry me in the slightest.

I do still however pay close attention to the money I'm putting into it, because I like to account for where my cash goes every month. Just because someone is bothered about where money goes doesn't mean that they necessarily don't have very much of it.

FWIW - My commute is 6 miles of mainly 30mph/traffic and I'd be lucky to get mid-20's. I normally average 240 to slightly less than a tank (I normally try to fill up just before the light comes on)
 
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Wondering Soul said:
When I drove to Bristol a few months back, had a little test with a few things. At 70 on the M5, I was able to average 37.8 mpg over 15 miles. For a further 15 miles I used CC at 70 and this dropped to 33.4 quite quickly. I usually average mid-high 20's when around town and mid-high 30's on the motorway. Usually get between 295-325 miles from a full tank, car has covered 22k.
Click to expand...


That's interesting. I don't see why CC would lose you 5mpg, but next time I get chance I'll try 70mph without the CC, see if that improves things.
 
One led indicator off a full tank of super unleaded 200 miles not a exact calculation but not far off, noticed this today,also noticed all 4 tyres looked a little low,yeah they where all 30/31 so back up they went car felt better to drive instantly,hopefully this should increase the crud mpg
 
Last edited:
Well, just drove 4 miles home from work. Thought I'd try not driving like a granny for a change and got 14.8mpg. If it hadn't been for a short stretch of downhill 40, I'd probably have been in single figures.
 
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Fuel economy is something I keep a real eye on, as I tend to do higher than average miles, and historically, prices at the pump have been crazy.
So I was anxious when I went to a sports petrol car after having disslers for so long (albeit a few have been Discos).

So I have been using Road Trip app on my phone and I am averaging, after 4000 miles, about 32mpg.

First few tanks I did on 98/99RON (Momentum and Sainsbury's) and I did the next 4 or 5 using normal unleaded.

Not an exact science, but I have found that for the extra £2-2.50 it takes to fill with Super, I get the same MPG, driving in a similar manner. However, the difference in immediate power is notable when using normal unleaded. Even the tailpipes are sootier as a consequence. As a result, I'm sticking to Momentum (find it does slightly better figures than Sainsbury's brand) when running the car.

As for MPG.... well, I tend to sit around 60-65 on the daily commute with little stop/starting, in Economy drive select. On the occasion that I get stuck behind someone doing 50, or am in a rush, I'll pull back on the stick and drop it into S mode just to give me that immediate power for overtaking. I don't like Economy as the kick down is slow (and I hate the coasting mode when you lift off the throttle as the time for it to pick back up again is horrendous).
So, I'm doing mostly commuting under 70 on a A/B type single road, with about 10-15% when I'm in a hurry. Thing that is very noticeable is it doesn't take long for your >35mpg that you've just spent 20 mins coaxing out of the engine, to disappear in the blink of an eye oif you spend 30 seconds on the throttle.

So 32mpg is ok. I know that if I have a week where I'm tearing around, or feel like I need to open the taps, I'll get substantially less than that.

Folks should factor in the tyres they are running, the size of wheels, the fuel, the weather (head winds, colder?), load (even a couple of adults in the car makes a huge difference) and also the amount of miles you've done on the engine to date (less miles usually means tighter engine and less MPG in my experience).

Anything above 30mpg is acceptable for me based on the car, the power, the drive train and the occasional mental moment when I blow all the other hatchbacks off the road ;)
 
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Sure most of you heard the news but oil barrel prices have dropped through the floor so the price at the pump is going down down, way on down.......... so stick in a tank full and enjoy yourselves!!

Switch the DIS onto compass or something if yer tempted to check the fuel consumption!! :)
 
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Simon L said:
Sure most of you heard the news but oil barrel prices have dropped through the floor so the price at the pump is going down down, way on down.......... so stick in a tank full and enjoy yourselves!!

Switch the DIS onto compass or something if yer tempted to check the fuel consumption!! :)
Click to expand...

I give up. I really do. Talk about missing the point....

I don't care if petrol is free. My car is using 20% more than it should which means something is wrong with it. It could be an air leak, a faulty sensor, an ignition issue, an ECU issue. It could be a gearbox or 4x4 issue, or a wheel alignment or tyre issue. The list is endless, but whatever the reason, there is an issue.

Why has this thread turned into a judgement on what I can afford? I paid for my car by putting my pin number into a card reader. I own the car outright, not on finance, so I'm not skint thanks very much. I clearly stated in my OP that if my car is normal, than I am happy with that. My car clearly is not normal.

This is my first Audi, I had Vauxhalls before. I can tell you now if I had posted this on the VX forums, I would have had help, not judgement.

Thanks to everyone who has assisted in this thread, in particular NickyF who is the only one to have taken 5 minutes to answer my thread as I requested.

Please, if you wish to help, tell me what mpg your car averages at a constant 70mph. Not your trip to work or your average over x thousand miles, 70mph.

Thankyou.
 
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TurboBen said:
I give up. I really do. Talk about missing the point....

I don't care if petrol is free. My car is using 20% more than it should which means something is wrong with it. It could be an air leak, a faulty sensor, an ignition issue, an ECU issue. It could be a gearbox or 4x4 issue, or a wheel alignment or tyre issue. The list is endless, but whatever the reason, there is an issue.

Why has this thread turned into a judgement on what I can afford? I paid for my car by putting my pin number into a card reader. I own the car outright, not on finance, so I'm not skint thanks very much. I clearly stated in my OP that if my car is normal, than I am happy with that. My car clearly is not normal.

This is my first Audi, I had Vauxhalls before. I can tell you now if I had posted this on the VX forums, I would have had help, not judgement.

Thanks to everyone who has assisted in this thread, in particular NickyF who is the only one to have taken 5 minutes to answer my thread as I requested.

Please, if you wish to help, tell me what mpg your car averages at a constant 70mph. Not your trip to work or your average over x thousand miles, 70mph.

Thankyou.
Click to expand...


Two hour trip at a constant 70 mph on CC (no overtaking but did drop down to 60 a couple of times briefly)..

Averaged 33 mpg using the DIS info. We have pretty average 98 RON fuel -closer to the UK 95. Ambient temp 28 C. Flat road with a few curves, a few hundred metres above sea level. Dry surface. Set in Comfort mode.

Only checked for this thread. Won't be looking at the DIS fuel data again (didn't before).
 
WarwickL said:
Two hour trip at a constant 70 mph on CC (no overtaking but did drop down to 60 a couple of times briefly)..

Averaged 33 mpg using the DIS info. We have pretty average 98 RON fuel -closer to the UK 95. Ambient temp 28 C. Flat road with a few curves, a few hundred metres above sea level. Dry surface. Set in Comfort mode.

Only checked for this thread. Won't be looking at the DIS fuel data again (didn't before).
Click to expand...

Much appreciated.

Apologies for my tone in post 53, I'd had a few last night lol
 
TurboBen said:
I give up. I really do. Talk about missing the point....

Please, if you wish to help, tell me what mpg your car averages at a constant 70mph. Not your trip to work or your average over x thousand miles, 70mph.

Thankyou.
Click to expand...

I have given you a pretty good comparison based on my circa 60-65 mph trip that is more or less constant throttle for around 15 miles on a flat road with minimal bends. It will throw up around 35-37mpg. So 70mph on CC giving 32mpg, sounds about right.

If you want my honest opinion, I think Audi will laugh you out of their service centre if you go in and question your figures. If it was 20mpg, then fair enough, but come on mate. You think you're driving a Prius or something?
 
Steady 70 I get 32 to 33 .. BUT it can drop to around 28 depending how I drive it up and down hills.
I also notice on a engine for around 15 mins the consumption is much lower.
Only my first month of ownership , but find the fuel consumption is very delicate to the right foot.
 
TurboBen said:
I give up. I really do. Talk about missing the point....

I don't care if petrol is free. My car is using 20% more than it should which means something is wrong with it. It could be an air leak, a faulty sensor, an ignition issue, an ECU issue. It could be a gearbox or 4x4 issue, or a wheel alignment or tyre issue. The list is endless, but whatever the reason, there is an issue.

Why has this thread turned into a judgement on what I can afford? I paid for my car by putting my pin number into a card reader. I own the car outright, not on finance, so I'm not skint thanks very much. I clearly stated in my OP that if my car is normal, than I am happy with that. My car clearly is not normal.

This is my first Audi, I had Vauxhalls before. I can tell you now if I had posted this on the VX forums, I would have had help, not judgement.

Thanks to everyone who has assisted in this thread, in particular NickyF who is the only one to have taken 5 minutes to answer my thread as I requested.

Please, if you wish to help, tell me what mpg your car averages at a constant 70mph. Not your trip to work or your average over x thousand miles, 70mph.

Thankyou.
Click to expand...

Ben, I'm really not bothered you singled out my comment to have a pop at even though I hadn't actually said diddly squat about your financial position.

If your genuinely concerned about your car take it in, that is after all any owners entitlement.

But seriously, I really don't get what your trying to achieve by comparing with other owners fuel consumption. No two cars will ever be the same, too many variables, and lets be honest Audi aren't gonna be interested in a load of random data you've collated from strangers on the internet..

There's no question that this forum is incredibly useful for checking other members experience on a whole range of issues but I just don't think this is one of those issues. Nothing personal and no hard feelings.
 
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Simon L said:
Ben, I'm really not bothered you singled out my comment to have a pop at even though I hadn't actually said diddly squat about your financial position.

If your genuinely concerned about your car take it in, that is after all any owners entitlement.

But seriously, I really don't get what your trying to achieve by comparing with other owners fuel consumption. No two cars will ever be the same, too many variables, and lets be honest Audi aren't gonna be interested in a load of random data you've collated from strangers on the internet..

There's no question that this forum is incredibly useful for checking other members experience on a whole range of issues but I just don't think this is one of those issues. Nothing personal and no hard feelings.
Click to expand...

First off Simon, apologies for the above post, I'd had a few so probably shouldn't have bothered. I wasn't singling you out, yours just happened to be the last post. You were talking about the cost of fuel, and some on here have directly questioned my financial position without knowing a thing about me.

Fuel consumption is something that's difficult to diagnose. I've already had one sensor fail withing 24hrs of owning the car. Just because it's new doesn't mean there won't be anything faulty.

I've had several 2l turbos before and they were all much better on fuel than my S3. One was running over 300bhp, was 15 years old and 300kg heavier, and yes it was also 4x4. The lambda sensor failed, mpg crashed through the floor and I was getting soot out the exhaust like you wouldn't believe! Another time and a tiny air leak meant the engine would not run without stalling. The difference was I saw a change in mpg or the way the car behaved. With the S3, I have nothing to compare to, hence this thread.

It may be pointless, and Audi may well laugh me out the park. One would hope that since Audi UK are involved, they may take it a bit more seriously than last time. If not, I'll take it to one of the local tuners until I am satisfied that my S3 is as it should be.

If it's something APR take seriously, then it's something I'm going to take seriously.

http://www.goapr.co.uk/products/boost_leak_tester.html
 
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TurboBen said:
First off Simon, apologies for the above post, I'd had a few so probably shouldn't have bothered. I wasn't singling you out, yours just happened to be the last post. You were talking about the cost of fuel, and some on here have directly questioned my financial position without knowing a thing about me.

Fuel consumption is something that's difficult to diagnose. I've already had one sensor fail withing 24hrs of owning the car. Just because it's new doesn't mean there won't be anything faulty.

I've had several 2l turbos before and they were all much better on fuel than my S3. One was running over 300bhp, was 15 years old and 300kg heavier, and yes it was also 4x4. The lambda sensor failed, mpg crashed through the floor and I was getting soot out the exhaust like you wouldn't believe! Another time and a tiny air leak meant the engine would not run without stalling. The difference was I saw a change in mpg or the way the car behaved. With the S3, I have nothing to compare to, hence this thread.

It may be pointless, and Audi may well laugh me out the park. One would hope that since Audi UK are involved, they may take it a bit more seriously than last time. If not, I'll take it to one of the local tuners until I am satisfied that my S3 is as it should be.

If it's something APR take seriously, then it's something I'm going to take seriously.

http://www.goapr.co.uk/products/boost_leak_tester.html
Click to expand...

No apology necessary mate, with some of the nonsense I've posted on this forum I'm surprised I haven't been slagged off more often!

For what it's worth I thought the fuel ecomony would be better than has been too but have basically put this down to a very high proportion of my journeys being town based at typically under 40mph which is hardly conducive with getting the best bang for buck fuel wise. My exhausts soot up something chronic too, more often than not you can see traces after one day, particularly after a spirited drive. Having said that, most members seem to experience this too.

If our fuel ecomony is abnormal for the type of driving we typically do and thus the car has some kind of fueling fault I will be the first to hold up my hands and say you were right.
 
Daveotto said:
Secondly, "lying DIS" facts and data please? Several threads here show that it is inaccurate but that's the nature of the beast as it estimates over a period of time and numerous journeys and compared to an accurate measure of miles driven and metered fuel added it may be inaccurate but is unfair to say it lies.
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My DIS 'lies' to me ;) or rather, it reads around 8 to 10% optimistically, based on a brim to brim test.

Here's one such example:
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/s3-400-mile-range-club.214517/page-4#post-2167727
 
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To the OP

I do think your car is using more fuel than a typical (whatever that is) S3. But it does seem to vary a lot, how many miles has your engine done?

Mine is what I would describe as a 'loose' engine, and although I haven't done your 70mph test, at 80mph on the motorway, I will get around 34mpg.
 
Simon L said:
But seriously, I really don't get what your trying to achieve by comparing with other owners fuel consumption. No two cars will ever be the same, too many variables, and lets be honest Audi aren't gonna be interested in a load of random data you've collated from strangers on the internet..
.
Click to expand...

True words.

I'd ask Audi the question first ofcourse but most know the response.

Next step get to a tuner and do some dyno runs and get AFR's checked.

All VAG cars run quite rich stock by design although info posted in various forums shows the S3 runs leaner than cars like my GTI and R.

Simon speaks the truth - comparisons just don't work to the degree of difference you mention.

All the best with any resolution.
 
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The only true way to check out your mpg is to fill to the absolute top...then drive until nearly empty and then refil...I do this on all my cars.
My Subaru-26/27mpg
2002Golf 1.6-3---30mpg(it's got a dodgy exhaust but it's just for using as a cart horse)
S3---33mpg!....so, I'd say your doing ok.
 
My run to work this morning.... 7 miles of a/b roads taking it steady... 10 miles at 70mph on motorway and 5 miles at 50mph on motorway and my obc showed 41.5mpg when I arrived.

I'm not too sure if my DTUK box improves mpg when driving my car steady.... I know it has the opposite effect when I put my foot down!
 
30.3mpg average over 19k miles of town, rural, A class roads, B class roads, unclassifiedroads and motorway work.
 
Done as some have suggested and worked out my mpg by actual fuel useage, and it turns out things are worse than I first thought.

From a brimmed tank to the red light I got 217.1 miles.

At 217.6 I brimmed the tank again, which took 47.85 litres. That's about 10.5 UK gallons by my reckoning, giving an average over a full tank 20.7mpg.

Car is booked in on Jan 5th so they can have another look. They basicly told me all they will do is check for fault codes and if none have been stored, that's my mpg. Seems a cop out to me, there are many things that could be causing it, not all will have a fault code. At least Audi UK are taking it a bit more seriously, they even suggested it could be a DSG issue.
 
TurboBen said:
Done as some have suggested and worked out my mpg by actual fuel useage, and it turns out things are worse than I first thought.

From a brimmed tank to the red light I got 217.1 miles.

At 217.6 I brimmed the tank again, which took 47.85 litres. That's about 10.5 UK gallons by my reckoning, giving an average over a full tank 20.7mpg.

Car is booked in on Jan 5th so they can have another look. They basicly told me all they will do is check for fault codes and if none have been stored, that's my mpg. Seems a cop out to me, there are many things that could be causing it, not all will have a fault code. At least Audi UK are taking it a bit more seriously, they even suggested it could be a DSG issue.
Click to expand...

I'm definitely interested to hear what Audi say but I'm still convinced this is largely down to journey type.

As I said before mine is predominantly town based and my overall average is 21.7, very similar to Naughts at post #35.
 
Simon L said:
I'm definitely interested to hear what Audi say but I'm still convinced this is largely down to journey type.

As I said before mine is predominantly town based and my overall average is 21.7, very similar to Naughts at post #35.
Click to expand...

Mixture of situations really, some spirited, some driving like my gran. Daily commute is very short, so the car doesn't get warmed up properly, so would expect poor mpg if that was all I did. But I often take it for a run to make sure it gets warmed up. There was probably at least 50 miles of motorway in there. If it wasn't for that, i'd have got less than 200 to the tank I reckon.
 
To the OP

That does sound too low MPG to me.

I will do the 70mph test, but mine is manual and with 15k on the clock. So engine is quite loose.

VAG engines are notable for taking time to loosen up. Running in style seems to impact MPG and how much oil they burn. Big differences in oil consumption on previous Golf R, R32, S3 on forums I used.

What fuel are you using?
 
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I get around 24 mpg with 1800 on the clock, that is worked out by filling the tank. The DSG isn't as good on fuel when cruising but does make up some of it when accelerating if I can keep off the loud pedal.

Compared to my Stage 1 manual 8P I seem to use around 10% more fuel
 
Ben at a steady 70 I find mine does between 32 or 34 mpg depending on uphill, downhill slope of road.

I do think yours sounds like its a little on the heavy side. I don't have my AC on, not sure if that affects it, it seems to.
 
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audi upgrades
steeve said:
Ben at a steady 70 I find mine does between 32 or 34 mpg depending on uphill, downhill slope of road.

I do think yours sounds like its a little on the heavy side. I don't have my AC on, not sure if that affects it, it seems to.
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emmmmm, now you got me thinking...........I have my AC on all the time!! Does it still effect mpg? I mean I know it always used to but I guess maybe naively I assumed it wouldn't on a modern car??
 
WarwickL said:
I'm being a smart **** but here goes

I DONT CARE HOW MUCH FUEL MY S3 USES :D

I'm a dying breed but my saving grace is I don't and never will own a diesel so the greenies will be happy.
Click to expand...
lol I just put £50 of V-power in, £1.12 per litre :) TBH at that price I don't look at the mpg, I just enjoy the pull in 3rd gear on slip roads which always makes me smile ;) Last year we were paying £1.50 per litre!!!

But to answer the OP question (just been to look):

Today I've done 17 mile with average speed showing 21mph and returned 29.3 mpg. Driving at 70mph on motorway for about 8 mile, rest in and around town/30mph zones.

Over the last 6671 mile, average speed 25mph and returned 33.1mpg.

Most of my weekly driving is in and around town and short journeys, mainly 30 & 40 mph zones.

I'm happy with what it costs me to run for such a powerful car :)
 
Thanks for the reply's guys.

As I said earlier in the thread, I'm not bothered about what it's costing me. I'm just concerned that there is something amiss with my S3. If everyone was saying that 21mpg is normal I would be fine with that, but my car seems to be going heavy on fuel compared to others.

If all Audi are willing to do is check for fault codes, i'll take it to a tuner and pay to have it inspected, get it on the rolling road and see what's coming out the exhaust. If they tell me everything is normal, I'll just be happy that there is nothing wrong with my car (and get a phase 2 while I'm there lol)

It may be a powerful car, but at the end of the day it's still just a 2 litre four pot. It's only the turbo that makes it 300bhp, and if driven carefully, shouldn't be much worse than any other 2 litre.
 
I averaged 32.4 mpg traveling 180 miles to Chicago cruise controlling at 75 mph.
and I averaged 33.5 traveling 180 miles to Indianapolis cruise controlling at 70 mph and switching up to 75 mph.


<< 2.0T A3
 
First off, hope we all had a good Christmas!

gamegenie said:
I averaged 32.4 mpg traveling 180 miles to Chicago cruise controlling at 75 mph.
and I averaged 33.5 traveling 180 miles to Indianapolis cruise controlling at 70 mph and switching up to 75 mph.


<< 2.0T A3
Click to expand...

I assume that's in US gallons, which would be equivalent to 38 - 39 mpg in the UK.
 
I rarely get 32 in mine (manual hatchback).

Usually on my 8 mile commute (Fenland A roads) I get about 28 mpg. Although if I'm stuck behind a slowcoach that can go up to 31, if I'm late for work that can go down to 21!!!

I've seen 38 once and that was in perfect conditions with no aircon or radio. Specifically a Sunday morning when I had a hangover.
 
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TurboBen said:
Done as some have suggested and worked out my mpg by actual fuel useage, and it turns out things are worse than I first thought.

From a brimmed tank to the red light I got 217.1 miles.

At 217.6 I brimmed the tank again, which took 47.85 litres. That's about 10.5 UK gallons by my reckoning, giving an average over a full tank 20.7mpg.

Car is booked in on Jan 5th so they can have another look. They basicly told me all they will do is check for fault codes and if none have been stored, that's my mpg. Seems a cop out to me, there are many things that could be causing it, not all will have a fault code. At least Audi UK are taking it a bit more seriously, they even suggested it could be a DSG issue.
Click to expand...

A while back,mine went from an average at the time of around 28mpg to around 20mpg,with no change in route or driver.

There were no error codes,no misfires,or anything other than a sudden drop in MPG,and it took my tuner running two S3's both on laptops at the same time,to find that the throttle body load correction factor was out by around 20%,causing the car to run excessively rich.

Audi would never have found this,given that there were no apparent errors.

Good luck getting it solved.
 
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