Con, bear in mind that diesels get more efficient the more you tune them, so at double stock power i'd be expecting better mpg than normal. Pretty sure you're right about the box on the vans too, seem to remember the one i drove was screaming at 80 lol. The car i got 72mpg from was effectively on a stage 1 map with some very minor lightening work (maybe 30-40kg lighter than standard) and generally in excellent condition, most of it's in the driving though.
Tips for good mpg (for anyone interested):
- When coasting in 4th/5th, DON'T take it out of gear.
These engines don't inject fuel at all when coasting in top gears, so keep it in gear, whereas if you take it out of gear it needs to inject fuel to keep the engine at idle.
- Tune it.
Efficiency goes up with tuning, in particular: remove restrictions from the exhaust; sack off the EGR; lower the car and refit the undertray if you haven't got one already.
- Keep the car in good condition.
An engine with fresh oil and filters will have less frictional and pumping losses; a good chassis will mean all the wheels point in the same direction and roll unrestricted (think binding brakes, knackered bushes, tracking, etc), reducing friction; believe it or not, clean bodywork causes less air resistance, so keep her clean.
- Drive smooth, keep momentum.
Plan as far ahead as possible: if you see a corner coming up then use the engine braking to slow down (remember it's not injecting fuel), same for junctions; leave plenty of room between yourself and the car in front so you've got plenty of time to react without wasting energy; if a car in front of you (doesn't have to be immediately in front, look further) starts indicating then ease off the throttle, may mean you don't have to brake at all and by the time you catch traffic it could be back up to speed.
When i was doing research into this, I found driving style makes the biggest difference, unsurprisingly. Some of the ways to improve economy weren't so obvious though, wouldn't have known about the 4th/5th gear thing if someone else hadn't told me. The condition of the car makes more of a difference than you might think - i've gained nearly 6mpg on my current one, just by servicing it and sorting out my beam, brakes, tracking and bushes.
Tips for good mpg (for anyone interested):
- When coasting in 4th/5th, DON'T take it out of gear.
These engines don't inject fuel at all when coasting in top gears, so keep it in gear, whereas if you take it out of gear it needs to inject fuel to keep the engine at idle.
- Tune it.
Efficiency goes up with tuning, in particular: remove restrictions from the exhaust; sack off the EGR; lower the car and refit the undertray if you haven't got one already.
- Keep the car in good condition.
An engine with fresh oil and filters will have less frictional and pumping losses; a good chassis will mean all the wheels point in the same direction and roll unrestricted (think binding brakes, knackered bushes, tracking, etc), reducing friction; believe it or not, clean bodywork causes less air resistance, so keep her clean.
- Drive smooth, keep momentum.
Plan as far ahead as possible: if you see a corner coming up then use the engine braking to slow down (remember it's not injecting fuel), same for junctions; leave plenty of room between yourself and the car in front so you've got plenty of time to react without wasting energy; if a car in front of you (doesn't have to be immediately in front, look further) starts indicating then ease off the throttle, may mean you don't have to brake at all and by the time you catch traffic it could be back up to speed.
When i was doing research into this, I found driving style makes the biggest difference, unsurprisingly. Some of the ways to improve economy weren't so obvious though, wouldn't have known about the 4th/5th gear thing if someone else hadn't told me. The condition of the car makes more of a difference than you might think - i've gained nearly 6mpg on my current one, just by servicing it and sorting out my beam, brakes, tracking and bushes.