Distance to Empty - Page 2

NZ XR6 · 18-01-2009, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ian b

The DTE is calculated on the real time fuel usage and tank contents.

If you are driving on a level road the real time fuel usage will be low, but when you climb a gradient the real time fuel usage will rise. Therefore the same fuel level could give you differing DTE numbers if you are driving in different conditions as it is simply a multiple of fuel use by fuel in the tank.

As a previous member said it simply tells you if you keep driving this way, this is as far as you will get.

To satisfy yourself watch the DTE drop if you drive hard or hold the gear lower than you normally would or rise as you drive if you take it easy.

To demonstrate I have seen a DTE reading of 1200kms after filling up halfway down the GWH from the Blue Mountains because I am running in 6th but with hardly any throttle so the real time fuel use is low and available fuel is high. I can see the numbers increase as I drive along!
Going uphill on the same road sees the reverse occur when the DTE drops by more than the kms travelled.

I treat the DTE reading as a bit of a toy and rely on the gauge to tell me when to fill.

Thanks for your reply. But I've never seen the DTE change like this with other cars. My previous lease car was a XR6, and the DTE was very stable by the time it dropped to less than 100 km. It's just crazy to drive up a hill, which isn't that steep, and have the DTE drop from 65 km to 25 km over a few km. As you say, the DTE reading is essentially useless, and the low fuel light is not much better as there's only about 5l left in the tank when it comes on.

Anyway, I'll ask for the DTE to be looked at when the car is serviced as it appears there may be a software update to resolve this issue.

scribbly · 07-01-2009, 06:21 PM

Crikey Dusty, I hope you were driving safely. Taking a picture at 70kmh looks a little hairy to me.

NZ XR6 · 07-01-2009, 08:55 PM

The DTE in mine is scarily accurate. I filled it when it was reading 45 km, and the tank took 65 litres! So I think I will refuel when the low fuel light comes on.

bathurst77 · 17-01-2009, 12:48 PM

I have seen over 950 showing briefly on my zetec. But I really only get about 700-750.

Dusty1 · 21-01-2009, 03:50 PM

I don't trust them, and use them only as a guide. Been caught out a couple of times previously, so once it gets to a quarter, I fill up.

cneave · 22-01-2009, 02:31 PM

A first post so be kind

I have a May 2008 build TDCI hatch. Did a Sydney Melbourne return trip last week watching DTE very carefully.

Bottom line it did a very sound job on highway driving. After about a 100 Ks into the trip to get rid of the city driving experience it always showed a total distance of the tank to be about 1150 ks. (fluctuated +- by about 30ks during the trip)

Refilled at ~ 1000ks and both times it took about 63 litres which by rough calculations would have been about 1111 ks if I had gone to empty

reasonably pleased with the DTE gauge and the fuel usage

apstar · 22-01-2009, 02:46 PM

And you get much better results using the cruise control as it uses fuel injection to control the speed unlike the old cable system on the accelerator peddle

apstar

cneave · 22-01-2009, 04:40 PM

interesting - cruise control is also a good way to keep ones licence

Dusty1 · 23-01-2009, 10:55 AM

That's great economy.

On a trip to Mildura in May, I found that once I went at 110 kms the economy went down hill pretty fast.

cneave · 23-01-2009, 03:37 PM

I went at 110 kms the economy went down hill pretty fast.

I did my first Melbourne trip in July and convinced myself the sweet spot for consumption was about 105 km/h (so just under 2000 revs). I am not sure whether the car is run in a little better now (done 11000 ks) or I did the numbers wrong but the vast majority of the time was on cruise control at 110 km/h (set by GPS)

The instant fuel consumption while obviously varying, typically did sit between 5 and 6 l/100k which is what you would expect

very happy with the consumption

bathurst77 · 25-01-2009, 05:22 PM

I had my car serviced last week and they sais they "updated the software for more accuracy as per the recall". I must say that since then the DTE is more erratic.
It seems to vary by about 100Km every 5 to 10 minutes! Previously it was slwoly varied.

I thnk imstarting to see what someof you are complaining about. Its weird now.
All i know is i average 9.4 l/100km on a 70 litre fill is a bout 740 km, i fill when the needle is low.