All - MPG values fiddled - Leif

I heard a discussion on R4 today about official MPG figures. According to their source, the car makers are allowed to do the measurements themselves, and to manipulate the cars by removing mirrors, blocking radiator grills, replacing the tyres and pumping them up high and so on. So the figures they measure are not accurate.

It is rather disgusting in my view, but the problem is with the authorities who allow it, not the car makers, who have to compete with each other.

All - MPG values fiddled - brum

Was headline news on BBC news website but now mysteriously pushed away into obscurity

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21759258

I've been saying this for years, only to be ridiculed on a certain forum (not this). Even "standard base spec" EU cars are nothing like UK spec motors (skinny tyres, no a/c etc etc) but now the cat is out the bag - they DO cherry pick vehicles - they DO tweak engines/lubricants - they DO lie about all the other factory provided data (engine running in/loosening up data and aerodynamic/rolling resistance data) that is factored into the "calculation"

All - MPG values fiddled - RT

If you only knew what EVERY car manufacturer does to cars before letting the press "test" them - to get the best possible write-up - then the emissions testing is tame by comparison.

It's EC Commissioners who define exactly what tests are carried out - that they're generally unrepresentative is their fault, not the manufacturers.

All - MPG values fiddled - galileo

If anyone remembers the Mobil Economy Runs that were annual events in the 1950s/60s, incredible consumption figures were obtained on ordinary roads.

It was believed that tweaks included not only thin engine, gearbox and axle oils, but oil instead of grease in hubs and hard tyres.

Not sure if coasting was allowed, though the main influence on economy was how the cars were driven, factories used trained drivers as the Run results were valuable in advertising.

All - MPG values fiddled - unthrottled

I'm not sure that oil would work in hubs because the sliding velocity is insufficient for hydrodynamic lubrication. The main factor was that the cars were run all day long so that everything was hot and hence friction was minimised. If you drove any car at a 55 mph for 12 hours straight, you'd get fairly impressive numbers!

All - MPG values fiddled - S40 Man

Is the same thing happening with new Eu tyre ratings? The manufacturers test these themselves also

All - MPG values fiddled - Andy P

I was under the impression that official MPG tests were done on a rolling road, so removing mirrors and suchlike would have no effect at all.

www.carbibles.com/fuel_engine_bible_pg4.html

All - MPG values fiddled - brum

Aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance is factored into the testing by the manufacturer doing a "coast down test". Vehicle is run along a test track at a set speed and allow to coast to a halt. The distance travelled etc is used to determine drag etc and is used as described below. Manufacturer has the opportunity to massage this important data as described by the BBC article.

nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/112104033/pdf_lecture/lecf

Driving Cycles for Light Duty Vehicles

"The emission test driving cycles are composed of a cold start period, idling, moderate acceleration and deceleration, and cruise modes. The test cycle is given in terms of vehicle speed versus time. The light and medium duty vehicles are driven through the prescribed driving cycle on a chassis roller dynamometer. During operation the engine is required to develop road horse power that depends on the vehicle speed for a given vehicle. The road horsepower requirement versus speed data as provided by the vehicle manufacturer or determined by vehicle coast down test is stored into chassis dynamometer controller to simulate the real life road operation of the vehicle. The vehicle weight i.e. inertia needed during transient modes of the driving cycle is simulated by mechanically changing the rotating masses or electronically changing the inertia on the roller dynamometer."

All - MPG values fiddled - TeeCee

Nothing new.

Didn't Austin-Rover's manage to wring something like 70mpg out of the Metro in testing? ISTR the car used was vaguely Metro-shaped, but rather more streamlined than the production vehicle.

Still, shows what can be done, even with a carb-fed antique 1.0 "A" series engine.

All - MPG values fiddled - RT

And Jaguar got 150mph out of an "adapted" E-type for the launch press road tests - including an unseen undertray to improve the airflow - I'm not sure that any STANDARD E-type could ever get to 150mph !!