1996 850 N/A 2.0L fuel consumption

Teddy1975 · Post by **Teddy1975** » 21 May 2016, 13:49

Hi all.

Just for kicks, I've been looking at the average mpg I can get without driving too much like an old lady. As I didn't buy this car for wanting to drive fast or even to accelerate fast, I figured I'd try my hand on some basic economical driving.

I know, it's not designed as a Prius or VW eco/blue or even the newer Volvo Drives. If it was, there'd be no real challenge in it either. I like the comfort of the Volvo, my parents drive a Chevrolet Aveo and my sister has a Huyndai Getz and I frequently drive both of those cars. Albeit both are much newer, it still compares to sitting on a wooden bench and my buttocks almost sigh in relief when I get back behind the wheel of the Volvo.

Anyway, I'm getting close to my first goal of 30 mpg, at the moment it's sitting at 29.8, which I don't think is half bad. I think I can it a little higher once I have time to rebuild my brake calipers.

"Official" figure is 24.4 mpg which I think is low, even considering it's a mix of city, country roads and highway traffic.

Sommerfeldt · Post by **Sommerfeldt** » 21 May 2016, 16:21

I kind of like experiments like this.

29.8 mpg is very good - far better than can be expected from a 20 year old car in general.
My T5 is up to 22.2 right now, even with spirited driving, but that's probably as high as it's going to go with any kind of normal, mixed driving.

Have you experimented with higher tire pressures, and that kind of thing? Also, why would rebuilding your brake calipers lower fuel consumption? Are your brakes rubbing?

- S

Post by **abscate** » 22 May 2016, 05:14

I used to get 29 mpg on the T5 consistently when new on highway, but it dropped to 26-27.

The answer is as simple as Pi, when new I drove 55-60 and now speed limits are 65-70. That 10-15 extra mph is killer on mpg with a turbo. I did the experiment of dropping back to 55 and wrote a thread on it. Of course, 55 mph in NJ is a death wish.

The P2 I bought from Jim is a lean fighting machine , 32-34 mpg highway with the 2.5 NA

Teddy1975 · Post by **Teddy1975** » 22 May 2016, 16:31

Yes, the brake pads on the right hand side rubs on the disc. I've checked the wear of the pads and it's not excessive, but of course there is a bit of vibration as well as noise, both increasing the harder I brake.

I also have to put quite some pressure on the brake pedal which makes me think the pads and probably brake fluid is due for replacing. When I bought the car it hadn't been driven for at least 6 months and I didn't really have the money to sort out the brakes at the time.
I'm slowly working towards stage 0 getting bits and pieces as I get the money for them.

I haven't tried adjusting tire pressure yet, I'm ashamed to say that I really can't remember when I last checked the pressure.

Abscate, you're right about higher speeds kills mpg. In Denmark the speed limits are 30 in cities, 50 on country roads and 70/80 on highways. I drive mostly on country roads and probably bi-weekly on highways. I've gotten better at adhering to the speed limits and not trying to stomp the accelerator through the firewall when I take off from lights etc.

A 2.5 NA sounds nice, the 2.0 feels just a tad bit underpowered at times where I have to shift down to get the power to overtake going uphill for instance. Most of the time I don't really need more power than the 126HP under the hood. Well more likely 100HP after 20 years.

Sommerfeldt · Post by **Sommerfeldt** » 22 May 2016, 17:10

Getting up to stage 0 should up your power a little as well, though I agree with you - it's a big car for only 126 hp.

In my experience, I can maintain fuel economy up to 110 km/t - knocking it up to 120 takes a real toll on the numbers.

Checking your tire pressure often can be really helpful - get the pressure up to the higher recommended values - your ride will get a little harder, but Denmark's got good roads, as far as I can remember, so it shouldn't matter too much.

Sorting out your brakes doesn't need to be a big problem, as long as the piston hasn't seized. Getting the caliper off if the disc has developed a lip can be a bit of a pain, but it's definitely a DIY thing. If you can get the piston to retract, the caliper can be saved, but if not, Mekonomen has some good ones, at least around here. I just put one on my T5 - they've got a core charge, but the price isn't bad.

- S

Post by **scot850** » 23 May 2016, 08:03

Just out of interest are we talking US or UK gallons here? (3.8l = 1 gal US or 4.5l= 1 gal UK).

If using the latter (UK) we used to have a 93 850 GLT in Canada where we now live. I used to get 28-30 mpg regular city driving with a little country road driving, and my parents borrowed the car for a trip and we worked out they managed nearly 40 mpg on highway and country roads (max is 100kph/70mph on highways). I believe the engine was a 2.4 or 2.5 20 valve.

Neil.

Teddy1975 · Post by **Teddy1975** » 23 May 2016, 08:58

No lip on the disc yet, I've had the caliper off a couple of times though it fought back a little.

The caliper is quite rusty, probably original since I have a repair bill from a PO where the left hand side caliper had been replaced, but nothing on the right hand side. I'm contemplating sandblasting both calipers and yokes and just buy the rebuild kits then paint the calipers red. If I can save a few bucks by restoring the brakes myself, I will.

I don't know if you know spare-parts.dk, Sommerfeldt? It's a blue box reseller but at around 60% the price from official Volvo vendors. (I'm not sure if it's ok to link, if not, can a mod please remove it?)

Teddy1975 · Post by **Teddy1975** » 23 May 2016, 09:00

scot850 wrote:Just out of interest are we talking US or UK gallons here? (3.8l = 1 gal US or 4.5l= 1 gal UK).

I've been using US gallons as my trip computer came from a US sold vehicle.

Sommerfeldt · Post by **Sommerfeldt** » 23 May 2016, 10:14

I use Google gallons. Whatever gallons it's showing me since I'm too math retarded to figure anything with numbers in it out for myself.

Stubborn bastards... with your gallons and inches and imperial nonsense. Metric's the shiznit, people!

So to clarify, I'm at 22.2 miles per US gallon right now. Or 26.65 miles per imperial gallon. Or 10.6 liters per 100 km.

Yeah, I've seen that site, Teddy. Looks like they've got some good deals - import taxes and shipping to NOR would just destroy that, I'm afraid. I like that they've got a lot of stuff for the old Amazons as well - it's getting harder to get that stuff in Norway at least.

- S

Post by **abscate** » 23 May 2016, 15:46

Sommerfeldt wrote:I use Google gallons. Whatever gallons it's showing me since I'm too math retarded to figure anything with numbers in it out for myself.
Stubborn bastards... with your gallons and inches and imperial nonsense. Metric's the shiznit, people!

So to clarify, I'm at 22.2 miles per US gallon right now. Or 26.65 miles per imperial gallon. Or 10.6 liters per 100 km.

Yeah, I've seen that site, Teddy. Looks like they've got some good deals - import taxes and shipping to NOR would just destroy that, I'm afraid. I like that they've got a lot of stuff for the old Amazons as well - it's getting harder to get that stuff in Norway at least.

- S

Contrary to your EU-centric vision many countries share our disdain for the metric system, viz.

Liberia
Myanmar (aka Burma)
United States of America, not including Canada nor Ithaca

Ok, so two isn't "Many" but we do share a lot of things in common with these countries.