23 Sep 2008
Little Symbol tips on how to save petrol
The Turkish-built Renault Symbol is a new economy car that will soon reach GCC shores in the coming months. To celebrate its European debut, the French manufacturer held the officially-monitored Renault Symbol Eco-Challenge in Turkey which saw the diesel-powered Symbol 1.5 dCi 85 return fuel consumption figures of just 3.15 litres per 100 km, which is equivalent to a range of 1700 km on a full tank. While the diesel model will not come here, Renault says they applied eco-driving guidelines that can be used in any car. And they’ve listed out those fuel-saving ideas.
ECO-DRIVING TECHNIQUES:
Tip n°1: Improve your gearshifts
• Shift down at approximately 1000 rpm
• Shift up to the next gear at approximately 2000 rpm in diesel vehicles and at 2400 rpm in a petrol-engine vehicle
! At 50 kph, you should already be in fourth or fifth gear.
Tip n°2: Drive smoothly
• Maintain a steady speed as soon as possible (from 40 kph)
• Brake with the engine and use your foot brake as little as possible.
! At 50 kph in fifth gear, lift off the accelerator 100 metres before a red light.
Tip n°3: Think about how you accelerate
• Up to 50 kph, it is preferable to accelerate briskly up to fifth gear
• At speeds in excess of 50 kph, acceleration should be smooth
! Change gear very swiftly up to fifth gear.
Tip n°4: Climbs and descents
• Keep to the same speed when going down a hill
• On an uphill gradient, let the car shed speed, but without becoming an obstruction for other road-users. If possible, maintain your vehicle at a steady speed above 40 kph
! Use descents to take your foot off the accelerator, not to increase your speed.
Tip n°5: Use your motor smartly
• Turn off your engine if you stop for more than one minute
• Do not warm up your engine even in winter
! Pull away as soon as the engine has fired up
Tip n°6: Treat your vehicle well
• Check tyre pressures every month
• If you have to use the air conditioning, make sure the difference between the temperatures inside your vehicle and outside is not too great (5 °C maximum)
• Do not leave any unnecessary loads in your vehicle
• Remove roof bars and roof boxes when not in use.
! Proper servicing and proper use of your vehicle are as important as eco-driving.
These are not new ideas for seasoned drivers, but it should help out a lot of people who like to pound on throttle and brake pedals like circus chimps. Don’t be a symbol…of bad driving.
by assassin, on September 23 2008 @ 4:04 pm
again with symbol !
by vivek, on September 23 2008 @ 6:01 pm
but i thot that warming up the engine is good for the engine life instead of steppin on the throttle right after it has been fired up!!
by RayD, on September 23 2008 @ 7:17 pm
I was thinking the same thing Vivek
As for the driving tips, although very handy/useful, 99% of the folks here aren’t/haven’t done any of them…it’s a good thing the cars we get are durable enough to withstand the crappy driving styles of the people here.
by azz, on September 23 2008 @ 9:17 pm
eco friendly symbol will be really appreciating if it works, because of the rising non stoppable fuel prices and consumptions around the world and especially here in dubai….good job by symbol, renault
by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury, on September 23 2008 @ 9:48 pm
The method is to start up the car and get moving immediately, but not to push the engine. You keep the revs low and acceleration slow until the car warms up. Sitting and warming up is a pre-1980s thing, with carburetted cars. Modern fuel-injected cars don’t need an idle warm-up.
by vivek, on September 23 2008 @ 11:39 pm
not 99% rayd, no one does it!! in fact, there might be people who may want to follow all that, but are forced not to follow it. Reachin 5th gear by 50-60 kph is the best xample; do that in a signal stop n u r eithr honked at like crazy or evn rear-ended..but anyway, as u said, the cars are gud enuf to withstand the totally messed up driving styles here..
and mash..sumtimes, esp during winters, i’ve noticed tat my 2-yr old mondeo, whn tryin 2 move it immediately aftr firin up the engine, thre is sum kind of misfire or sumthin happening..like, whn i put it into drive n depress the accelerator as soon as startin, thre is a delay in takin off; n whn on brakes, the rpm needle jumps simultaneously between 400 & 500 rpm; all tis, till the engine temp comes up to normal..tis happns only if i take the car widout ny warming-up!!..Evn my old Chevrolet Barina used to show the same character..
by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury, on September 24 2008 @ 12:51 am
It could be any number of things, as that is not entirely normal. See this to figure out potential issues:
http://www.btinternet.com/~madmole/Reference/Idle.html
by spyke, on September 24 2008 @ 1:20 am
Hey mash regarding the immediate driving off after start, i though the same thing most guys over here though of. I was always under the impression that warmin the enigne and bringin it to almost normal temp allowed the oil to be less viscous and thus allowing the oil to lubricate the pistons within the cylinders effectively..
I try very hard not to floor the throttle everytime i get into my vehicle but to maintain a constant speed as much as i can, but limit my self only for may be a fast over take or sumthing..
by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury, on September 24 2008 @ 1:35 am
Modern engines warm up as you drive slowly initially. As for the highway, cruise control is your friend.
by Samir, on September 24 2008 @ 5:03 am
mashfique, how do u manage do all the stuff like making reviews, news, photos etc. and doesnt look like u get a lot of sponsors… Must be tough job for you… Anyways ur doing an amzing job.
by thatsit, on September 24 2008 @ 9:10 am
the warminig up tip is so stupid…it true that engines nowadays warm up faster than old models…but still…man in any catalog you will notice that you have to warm the car for 30 sec and then move if you want…and its true that its not good to warm the car too much…and there is no engine oil in the world that can get hot and start lubricating the engine in 2 seconds…and the problem is that they are saying’winter’!!!!WHAT??? in my case…i wait till the rpm goes down lower than 1000 and then start moving slowly till i see that the temperature gauge start moving. our professor was workin in ford and told us about the importance of warming the car up…and even you might feel that the gear shifts are not smooth at the begining of driving without a worming up…all of this proves that the oil is still not in a good mood to allow the pumps to push it…actually its known if the oil is very new and you kept the car for a long time to cool…the oil will be in a form the looks like WAX…and it takes time to get hot and then start circulating. this is really stupid…i cant imagine just starting the car and start moving directly…its like an action movie
by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury, on September 24 2008 @ 12:28 pm
I was now looking up more facts on this. Apparently a modern engine needs no more than 30 seconds to circulate the oil. When you realise that an engine is already revving at around 700 rpm when started at idle and hasn’t blown up, moving off and driving slowly under 2000 rpm for a few minutes will speed up the warm-up process without stressing the cold engine. Also, other parts away from the engine will not even warm up unless you start moving.
Just wanted to add that I wouldn’t take the word of professors on such things too much (if he said to idle the car). They haven’t worked in a real job since the 1980s, so he probably last worked on a 1980s Ford (some of the crappiest cars on the planet back then). My professor thinks power stations are automated nowadays, although I can see my father come home pissed every day from the power-plant due to work stress. Interestingly, an AUS engineering professor once emailed me for car advice, but he was cool.
Hopefully, all your cars have an engine temperature gauge, which is what I keep looking at initially. You can speed up after it reaches its usual temperature.
On another note, thanks Samir.
by cb, on September 24 2008 @ 1:35 pm
“When you realise that an engine is already revving at around 700 rpm when started at idle”
-
hmm when started at idle the rpm is over 700 isn’t it? above 1000 is what i’ve noticed. goes down to around 700 once its warm.
by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury, on September 24 2008 @ 1:48 pm
So the engine is already at a higher rpm than idle. No harm done to get moving slowly.
by assassin, on September 24 2008 @ 2:16 pm
there is a tip can be helpful.
( always fill up your petrol tank at night, because a liter of cold petrol is heavier, the petrol stations sell the size of the petrol, not the weight.
I’m not sure about it, but our college doc. used to tell us that.
is that true?
by thatsit, on September 24 2008 @ 2:40 pm
mash…when you are talking about carmakers…dont think they dont have the technology to build a perfect car…actually what we see today in the roads was based on researchs done since few years(am sure U know this)..btw..our professor came to Uni. since around 3 years and he is really jenious…U know the VGT system in porsche cars is not a new thing..actually he told me in ford a project was done and they were able to do it…imagine they worked in a camshaft that can be controlled by using electromagnetic waves…and this was done before he came here…imagine what kind of accurecy that comes out from a system like this…its better than the VTEC and the VVTI…but for sure this will not be offered in cars rightnow…its known that building a car takes sometimes at least 5 years of working…this is what happened with a porsche panamera (4 years as i remember).
by shafiq, on September 24 2008 @ 4:04 pm
I came across articles and videos on the web stating that “PURE ACETONE” added to the fuel increases fuel economy, it states that you can get 15% to 25 % improvement on your mileage, other people state that it corrodes the fuel lines, some say acetone is harmless to fuel lines etc etc. This might not go well here as octane levels are higher compared to europe and usa. i will be trying it if i can find pure acetone, btw if anyone wants to try it out the mixing ratio is 50-75ml pure acetone in 10 gallons of fuel. on american term its 2-3 fl oz fluid ounces for 10 gallons (US gallon), try on your own risk !!
by spyke, on September 24 2008 @ 5:15 pm
i guess people who are used to waiting for a couple of mins will continue to do so and ppl who are in a hurry will drive off immediately. I personally still wait for like a min after engine start before i get goin.
This discussion actually reminds me of another thing, how many guys here actually drive under 100 for the first 1000km and dont mash the throttle after your new purchase.Some motorists say that this is actually not true and on the contrary should pound on the throttle and drive hard during the first 100-200kms.Wut do you think Mash??
They basically say that by pounding on the throttle you seat the valves properly giving better overall life and performance thus ending up burning less oil as well, but if you see any vehicle manual it says to drive slow and keep revs under 4000.
by thatsit(mohamad), on September 24 2008 @ 9:21 pm
about the acetone thing…i think we dont have to mix anything with the fuel as forsure it will have more dameges than benefits.
^^^^^
by assassin, on September 24 2008 @ 10:54 pm
thatsit, you speak too much about porsche. You remind me when i was a kid i used to post large porsche photos in home. But then things changed after hearing of its
problems and insane service price. I know some one had a 2004 cayenne s and they took from him in 40000 km service that include the changing of brake pads a crazy amount, i am not going to say how much did cost because you will not believe that.
Real life is different than the porsche’s styles and techs.
A free advice to you : keep your azz gets old inside infiniti cars and if you want something better keep it growing inside any lexus cars.
by Justin, on September 26 2008 @ 1:58 am
5 degree difference in temp frm th outside would mean id have 2 set my ac at 40C!
by thatsit(mohamad), on September 26 2008 @ 1:49 pm
^^^^
hey hey assassin…BTW…the price for changing the brake pads is not true for sure…i have an idea about their prices….and i wont drive a lexus car over an infiniti car even if it still the last car in the world…go and do some modification for your prado…because the FX35 will just wooop your AZZ even without trying…OH i forgot you have now a LC 007 big aZZ giant…
by assassin, on September 26 2008 @ 9:44 pm
you know, someone called it an eleghant!! That is true, it looks like the elephant! Big azz and big ears (mirrors).
But now after 10000 km service starts to be faster it takes 8.1 sec to reach 100km. Give me your e-mail to show you that, i dont how to post a video in youtube.
by thatsit(mohamad), on September 26 2008 @ 10:06 pm
this is really good
8.1 seconds…man..that’s fast… my email b17584@yahoo.com send it for me…yalla..try to benefit from this period and make some races with nissan and other cars…make one with a patrol 2009…because in 2010 many things will change as what happened with infiniti…the offical launch for GTR..Maxima…Murano and patrol…waiting for the vedio
by vivek, on September 27 2008 @ 11:18 pm
all tips were given by Renault and tat insane fuel economy was achieved in a Symbol..They did it in a vain hope that someone out of the lot will atleast turn and look at it.Sadly, no onez bothered abt ‘em still!!!
…atleast, thank Renault for their attempt though some of tat sounds a l’il weird!! 
by spyke, on September 28 2008 @ 1:17 am
Assasin u really dit it in 8.1!! thats quite fast, im sure you got the 4.7l yeh?? that 4.0 can barely get to 100 in 8.1 in the prado so i doubt it’d do it in the LC. Hehe i know this is childish but i bet me can pathy can give ur LC a run for ur money..heheh..
Nyways, cheers..
by spyke, on September 28 2008 @ 1:20 am
Ohh and btw, even i got the 10000km service done and it feels faster, i startd using the 98 octane before i gave it for service, and in the 10000 service it was mentioned some sort of tuning so im assuming they reset the ECU or sumthing and as a result the ECU now probably detects increase in octane,i dont know but what ever it is it feels much faster now!!..
by Boris(K-sport), on September 28 2008 @ 7:52 am
thats right! The pathy can give LC a run for money. you get lots of items and gadgets in the pathy. and then there’s mohave which does 0-100 in 7 secs and yet gets better fuel economy than tahoe hybrid! not to mention you get more gadgets and great warranty.
by assassin, on September 28 2008 @ 2:12 pm
i think toyota is doing good job,
the 2007 LC V8 does 0-100 in 12 secs and it is lighter about 150kg than 2008 model.
as you can see both 2007 and 2008 got the same engine size but huge different in performance and the fuel economy is better than the previous model.
by Boris(K-sport), on September 28 2008 @ 2:34 pm
mohave’s 4.6 V8 does 0-100 in 7 secs but I can understand that LC is heavier but then again its got a 4.7 V8. couldnt it get 10 secs at least?
by Boris(K-sport), on September 28 2008 @ 2:52 pm
mohave: 2 096 kg
LC200: 2 580 kg
there’s 484kg difference! alright it’s 12 then.
by sar, on October 1 2008 @ 8:56 am
All rubbish talks. 40-50 what u guys are talking about. Can u do this in dubai. Even in streets people fly their machine. Leave alone others, you yourself will honk if you find somebody in front driving at 40. All this things looks good in paper only. And Mr.Boris seat 8 people in Mohave and do a desert safari trip like Land Crusier and you will whats the difference between Land Crusier and other 4wds. One more thing don’t u think Desert Safari guys won’t like to save money, are they blind or less experienced. They would have tried different types of 4wds to come to conclusion which one is best. 1 or 2 people can be blind followers not the whole world. All men reason. If a thing is better it will come on to the top automatically.
by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury, on October 1 2008 @ 1:21 pm
No one said to drive at 40 kph. The tips say what to do when driving at any speed ABOVE 40 kph.
by Boris(K-sport), on October 1 2008 @ 2:25 pm
I’m sorry. its obvious that Land cruiser and mohave cannot be compared as they are in different classes. Mohave is in Pathfinder’s or Pajero’s segment [E-segment] and Land cruiser is in the F-segment.
by sar, on October 1 2008 @ 4:25 pm
I agree mash, i ment to say that sometimes we do get chance to look at rpm meter, listen to gear shifts, observe engine noise or push, as we have noticed in many comments, but in real day to day hurry burry, people hardly get time to take notice of these things. The moment you try to do a decent driving and follow road rules, some one will flash light from behind or all cars in lane in start honking, so it always seems everybody is in race. Only thing good one can do for his car in Dubai is read the instruction manual and take the car on service at time.
by sar, on October 1 2008 @ 4:34 pm
hmm..tyre pressure. Half the petrol pumps have become like back home, no water in pump, no air in compressor, and where there is there is a queue ready to fight. Thanks to the technological advancement in tyre / rim design these days. Unlike old days, now the tyres are able to retain required psi’s for longer duration. However the Tyre Pressure Monitor acts funny in all the cars, it always shows a difference of few psi’s in every run. However the average method still works.