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Hypothetical question .. Would there be a noticeable difference in fuel consumption on a long journey, carrying one, two, three or four people ? ( say a 1200 kg car carring an extra 75 / 150 / 225 / 300 kg.
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yes,higher capacity in weight being pulled by engine increases fuel consumption ie takes more fuel to drive engine
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Steve
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Having my mam and dad in the car with all their holiday luggage added 2mpg on a 100 mile trip that I do every couple of weeks at the same speed on the cruise at the same mpg in fairly traffic-free conditions. That would be a 1500kg car carrying an extra 220 kg or thereabouts.
Not very scientific I grant you but it gets the ball rolling.
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All depends on the power of the car, find little difference in the
(old) five when loaded to the gunnals on a holiday trip. I would imagine that a 1400cc petrol hatch might consume more than normal.
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This question reminds me of one we were set in A-level physics. A man in his van together weighing 2000kg are delivering 100kg of live pidgeons to a client when they come to a bridge with a 2000kg weight limit. If he startles the birds so that they are all in the air, will he be able to cross the bridge?
I remember the answer but not the explanation.
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Answer = No. The pidgeons must generate lift to stay in the air and that presses down on something which, in this case, is the inside of the van.
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Having my mam and dad in the car with all their holiday luggage added 2mpg on a 100 mile trip that I do every couple of weeks at the same speed on the cruise at the same mpg in fairly traffic-free conditions. That would be a 1500kg car carrying an extra 220 kg or thereabouts. Not very scientific I grant you but it gets the ball rolling.
Good. I knew someone would have worked it out from experience. Although shouldn't it be subtracted 2 mpg? ;-)
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I guess it depends partly on the journey. If you drive the whole journey on a perfectly straight, flat road with no other traffic, then the weight won't make much difference -- the issue is wind resistance.
However, if you are stopping and starting a lot, or going up lots of steep hills, then extra weight will make the engine work much harder. If the car has huge reserves of power, it may not make that much difference, but a lower-powered vehicle it could be significant.
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