Last weekend I took my MCS to Moroso Motorsports on the performance driving day run by Braman of West Palm Beach for their customers. What a blast! A day of high speed driving with SCCA instructors. Top speed on the straight was 115mph and the average for over 1/2 tank of gas was 8.5 mpg according to the OBC. Is that a record for the worst fuel consumption?

 

huh?

 

, talk about flooring it...

 

i'm really interested in doing something like that. Driving on track with instructors. Can anyone help me find where i can do that (miami FL)

 

Yeah. Me too. (Carolinas)

 

I hope that you aren't depending on an OBC to calculate actual fuel mpg. The only proper method is filing the tank, running the miles, filing the tank and making the calculation. I haven't performed a usage calculation but initially I doubt that it is possible to use enough fuel in a 1.6 liter 4 cylinder, considering combustion chamber volume, to get only 8.5 mpg running at track or AutoX speeds. Is it possible for this engine to intake enough air to properly fire this much fuel? I'm not questioning your statement, especially since it's based on an OBC, I'm just questioning the possibility of such usage considering the physical and mechanical restraints. Dr O, can you help us out here?

 

http://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/

http://www.skipbarber.com/driving_sc...ng_school.aspx
(Spebring FL has days)

check skip barber too.

Check your local BMW Porsche Honda clubs for tack days with instructors.

 

I'm kinda at a loss here.

So why would you say the OBC is that wrong? The car certainly knows how much fuel it is using, knows the miles. It isnt rocket science... and the engine management computer is certainly powerful. I'm sure you can calculate like a 5% error worst case.

 

Getting 25.5mpg for normal spirited driving would not be considered unreasonable - 8.5 is just three times as much fuel. Considering that at the track the car was always either at full throttle, full brakes or max cornering, this does not seem out of reach.

When arrived I had over 1/2 tank of gas and the OBC said there was a 220 mile range. We ran sessions of about 10 laps of the 2.25 mile course. After two sessions the gas light was on. I put in 5 gallons for the last two sessions and reset the OBC. After two more sessions was at 1/2 a tank. 8.5 mpg is in the ballpark.

 

I'm not questioning what went on, I'm just curious as to what the maximum volume of fuel a 1.6 liter engine can process and remain running considering that it needs more air than fuel in the combustion chamber. I'm sure that there is an engineer on here that can calculate that. Certainly not a big deal and definately not questioning your post. Just bored I guess

 

Don't forget that it gets zero miles per gallon while idleing in the paddock to bring it back up to full temp before the run, plus ideling on grid, etc. That pulls down the average even though you aren't at capacity for a 1.6 liter.

 

Google SCCA and find your local chapter. Also BMWCCA will accept MINIs in their events.

http://www.scca.com/home.aspx

http://bmwcca.org/

 

try this...
http://www.thetrackschedule.com/

the other thing to do is look up your local BMWCCA chapter and join up (BMW did design the Mini, and currently owns the brand).

(as noted by jascooper)
http://bmwcca.org/

 

I usually get between 10 and 12 MPG on the track .

 

Don't forget about the boost! On the track you're adding 12psi or so of air to the engine. In order to keep things together, you'll offset that with the proper amount of fuel. Adding boost "effectively" increases the displacement of the engine. Of course, a naturally aspirated 1.6L would see much better mileage.

 

That mpg info the OBC shows is NOT the amount of fuel the engine has produced, instead, it shows the amount of fuel that got in the engine. Remember the unburnt fuel exiting from the exhaust and make that popping sound. So it is not capable of burning that much fuel, but it sure can get them inside

And when idleing, the obc does not think that as 'not using fuel' , try that on a high-mpg averaged car and the mpg starts to decrease. Or look at the range while doing 60 on the highway with the cruise control engaged, then pull over and leave the car idling. Check the range after a minute, you will see that it decreases slightly.

So, the R56 computer is a great one indeed. I wish i could play WOW on it

 

Computers calculate the actual usage each second of use. I can say my fuel consumption has been varied a great deal from what the cars binary calculator says. I filled up yesterday and got an actual 29mpg (all city driving); on the other hand, the computer said I got 31.75mpg. I honestly don't even use the computer for anything and think of it as another thing to "go wrong" in the long run. I just break out my trusty $15 K-Mart calculator and punch in the numbers. Same thing I've been doing since I started driving in '81...

Cheers

 

I use all methods. I have the display under the tach to show instantaneous MPG (just to see how much pressing on the throttle changes consumption, not to get an accurate number), the trip computer to see what OBC thinks my average is, and also calculate MPG by the tankful. Unfortunately, my mileage sucks no matter what the method is. I get about 23-25mpg from the computer and tank calculations, and a slight press on the accelerator, sends MPG down to 6-10mpg (not flooring it, just enough to accelerate a little).

Hopefully I'll know the reason when the dealer sees the car this Friday.

The OBC can't be completely accurate because the max it can use is 99.9mpg (coasting downhill)

 

I ran 3 different sessions at Heartland Park, Topeka this year with other KC Miniacs, of those of us who remembered to reset the trip meter, averages were 8 - 9.5 mpg. Sounds about right to me, given the fact that I'm at WOT so much of the time...........

 

We need to keep this quiet, so the gov does not place a gas guzzler tax on the Mini.