my 2001 456mgt mileage is pathetic | FerrariChat

my 2001 456mgt mileage is pathetic

Discussion in '456/550/575' started by ross, Jun 27, 2011.

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  1. ross

    ross Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Mar 25, 2002
    38,163
    houston/geneva
    Full Name:
    Ross
    ok, we ferraristas are not supposed to care about this aspect BUT over here in olde yurrup where gas costs more than $10/gl it is becoming an issue.

    i just drove up to the nurburgring and back to hang out with jim and his p4/5 for the race. the distance covered was roughly 1500 km. mostly highway, and mostly either in switzerland where the death sentence kicks in at 30kmh over the speed limit, and in germany where all but the last 150km was on highways currently under repair or with such serious traffic that speeds were autolimited to around the 130km limit anyway. so only roughly 300km total was spent trying to break the speed of sound. roughly 100km spent poodling around german backroads at slow speed for fear of hitting deer, hikers, or race fans.

    and the numbers are......
    in town mileage 6 mpg, and highway 13mpg.

    this is the same mileage i calced on the last big trip i took it on 2 years ago and 2 services ago. so nothing changed, except gas prices are higher and i am noticing it more. and it is seriously pi55ing me off now.

    the car is in decent shape, regularly serviced (altho due for a big one at the end of the summer), and has only 19k km on the clock.

    i cannot believe this is normal. and if it is, the situation is even more pathetic than i imagined. my 512tr in similar scenarios gets about 10mpg city/20mpg highway. the 512bbi get about the same and sometimes even better (go figure that out??), and the cs gets pushed to the outer limits of sanity and lawlessness and still gives back better figures than this at around 7/14 or 9/18 depending on where i am and what gas i use.

    so what can i do about this that wont cost so much money that i will finally let the hate part of my love/hate relationship with this car win out and dump it.
     
  2. Mark456M

    Mark456M Formula Junior

    Aug 26, 2008
    562
    UK
    Full Name:
    Mark Hannaford
    Ross, I get way, way better than that. Do you have a hole in your tank??
     
  3. Andrew D.

    Andrew D. F1 Rookie

    Jul 6, 2008
    3,979
    Goodwood Ontario
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    Andrew D.
    6 miles per liter isnt bad. or didnt you mean that? I'll take it off your hands for only a small fee.
     
  4. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Eight Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    85,600
    Texas!
    First buy XOM.

    Then drive.

    Dale
     
  5. Mark456M

    Mark456M Formula Junior

    Aug 26, 2008
    562
    UK
    Full Name:
    Mark Hannaford
    MPG = Miles Per Gallon. If it was only liters, he wouldn't be complaining :D
     
  6. 166&456

    166&456 Formula 3

    Jul 13, 2010
    1,723
    Amsterdam
    #6 166&456, Jun 27, 2011
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2011
    This could simply be one or two bad lambda sensors, or a case of one or more bad intake gaskets (leaning out the mixture on one or more cylinders, causing the computers to enrich).

    20mpg for a TR? That's good. Could be true though, I believe I once found information quoting the 2.7 Motronic 456's to be better in this regard over the 5.1. Perhaps in those early days Ferrari could get away with more playing of the numbers, I don't know. It did make at least 20% difference though (like 33L/100km city for the 5.1 versus 24 for the 2.7). I found the 33 figure outrageous, but perhaps not so?
     
  7. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    39,318
    Clarksville, Tennessee
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    Terry H Phillips
    Ross- I hope that is US mpg and not UK mpg or that is really bad. You said you are due for a major service, so there is at least one thing to do not on the list. Know you will have the spark plugs changed, so consider using equivalent Bosch Platinums or NGKs instead of the recommended Champion A59GC. The thing not on the list is to have your injectors rebuilt. Not sure what it costs in Europe, but it is only about $20 per injector here. For some reason they seem to wear fairly quickly and that can affect both cold start and fuel efficiency.

    Taz
    Terry Phillips
     
  8. ross

    ross Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Mar 25, 2002
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    #8 ross, Jun 27, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 27, 2011
    so thats what i need to tell the dealer. lambda sensors and injectors, and better plugs. anything else?

    the numbers i gave for the tr are the best i have achieved. obviously horsing around or vmaxing will suck down more - but i was trying to compare a similar drive in the 456.

    no, i dont have a hole in my tank. i checked !
     
  9. 166&456

    166&456 Formula 3

    Jul 13, 2010
    1,723
    Amsterdam
    Yes a few more things - if the intake has not been off for a while I'd highly recommend it, since it's hard to see whether there's an air leak there. Doing so also makes accessing the valve covers a lot easier, so when done as part of a large service (including belts and cam oil seals), it will not add hours to the bill.
    There are only benefits to remove the intake with a large service; it allows the hoses in the 'valley' to be replaced if not done already. There is always crud around the injector holes, you might risk having falling that into the intake if the injectors are removed with the intake still on the engine. Have the injector seals replaced with the Viton ones from Mr Injector.co.uk and ask for the intake gaskets to be updated to the later type.

    Have them check the spark plug leads, there was a recall for them once. Also the plugs on the wires closest to the exhaust (coil pack side) get cooked internally from exhaust heat, with outside rubber looking fine, inside insulator totally burned. Last, check the fuel pressure regulators (these can leak, you can also check them easily yourself by taking off the vacuum hose on them with a running engine).
     
  10. ross

    ross Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Mar 25, 2002
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    this has all been helpful. thanks guys.

    different question. i have 2 different places i go for service on the ferraris. one is the dealer, where i usually go with the newer cars and for warranty or computer driven issues. the other is a little shop where the mechanic has no computer diagnostic capability but does very well on the bbi and the 512tr.

    so you think the low tech mechanic can handle the issues involved on the 456, or does all that require the dealer's computers etc.?

    (i think i know the answer, but just checking)
     
  11. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Jul 19, 2008
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    Ross- Your regular mechanic should be able to handle all those issues. An SD2 readout after he is finished might be worthwhile just to make sure nothing is loose. While she is down is the perfect time for replacing the plenum hoses with Scuderia Rampante Innovations silicone hoses and also consider getting Dave's gold connector kit to make sure all the electrons get to the correct spots. Doing so will eliminate any spurious CELs, etc.

    Taz
    Terry Phillips
     
  12. tajaro

    tajaro Formula Junior

    Mar 22, 2009
    686
    Gulfport Florida
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    Erik V
    Terry; Didn't you mean the 128 oz gallon in the USA vs. the 160 oz gallon in the UK? 6 miles for a UK gallon is only 4.8 miles for a USA gallon- right?
     
  13. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Erik- That is correct, and that is why I said if that was UK mpg, it was really poor. Our pint is 16 oz and theirs is 20 oz and it scales from there, like you noted. The Brits bought their gasoline in liters last time I was there. I think that started when the old analog pumps could not get the price high enough to cover an Imperial Gallon of gas, so they switched to liters. Not an issue with the new pumps, but now nobody probably wants to know how much a gallon actually costs.

    British pint is a better deal for beer, though.

    Taz
    Terry Phillips
     
  14. 456GD

    456GD Karting

    Nov 14, 2010
    143
    London, UK
    Full Name:
    George
    My owners manual suggest an average of 22.24mpg @ 75mph and 22.35mpg @ 56mph while urban circle is at 9.5mpg

    Never measured it properly but I think I average about 300-330miles from a full tank which would imply 13-14mpg

    By the way mine is 456 GT
     
  15. 166&456

    166&456 Formula 3

    Jul 13, 2010
    1,723
    Amsterdam
    #15 166&456, Jul 4, 2011
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2011
    I did a great trip this weekend to Goodwood and London. 80% highway, rest country roads and a hellish rush hour (or perhaps just hellish by my standards) through London on Saturday aft that took hours. Some speed involved including long stretches of 140+ but no sound barriers were hit. 1250km and an estimated 200 litres for the entire trip (456GT).

    It was a bit of a test drive, having just been serviced and this was the first long stretch for it for a long time, it had only covered a few miles in the past 5 years.
    Car was happy with the exercise with its mood improving along the way and so was mine. :D
     
  16. lsgv

    lsgv Rookie

    Nov 1, 2010
    47
    Belgium
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    Luis Gaivao
    That is a very respectable 16 liters / 100km all including the traffic part.
    Mine, a 2000 M, usually runs at that when not too much city traffic is involved. In city (I use it whenever I need to drive and that involves quite a lot of city errands but I just use every possible excuse to get it out) I get closer to 25.
    Seen the type of car, the size of the engine and its performance, I'm not complaining ;-)
     
  17. michael platzer

    michael platzer F1 Veteran

    Nov 12, 2003
    5,220
    Austria
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    Michael Platzer
    just filled up my 1999 MGT manual - 521Km - 89 litres = 17,08l/100km. Mixed use, Autobahn, in town, country roads.
    not bad
     
  18. ross

    ross Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Mar 25, 2002
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    ok, you guys are officially stellar now imo !!

    as you may have followed in another thread, i loaned my 456 to my parents to take to italy for a 10 day tour. it promptly broke down, but luckily they were not far from maranello. so i convinced the tcs (swiss equivalent of the AAA) to have it taken to the nearest dealer to the factory - turned out to be modena.
    once it got there, and they had a look at it, i spoke to the head mechanic, and many things started to fall in place. as some of you remember, my batteries have been playing up over the last year or so. the mpg has been very poor. and there was a leaking gasket giving me slow oil loss. all of these things were due to be looked at at the big 20k km service that it was scheduled to go in for in october. turns out, these issues are all related, and you guys were a great help.

    the reason the car broke down is that the gasket finally gave way in a bigger fashion, and oil got into the alternator and somehow killed it - but this is what was happening along the way and reducing the efficiency of the alternator and leaving me with a dead battery all the time. in addition, as you guys suggested, i had them check the gaskets and sensors, and effectively the intake gaskets were not sealing correctly, and this was causing the mixture to be overly rich, hence the poor mpg.

    so, since they were digging around in there anyway, i went ahead and had them do the 20k service, with the added benefit that they were about 25% cheaper than the same work in geneva !

    my parents pick up the car on thursday, so lets hope we have solved the problems once and for all !
     
  19. 166&456

    166&456 Formula 3

    Jul 13, 2010
    1,723
    Amsterdam
    Ross, thanks for the feedback on your fuel consumption issue, sounds like the intake gaskets caused you the consumption trouble. Was the idle elevated on your car before this fix, and is it now around 900-950? Did they check the lambda sensors as well?

    Nice of you to borrow your Ferrari to your parents - mine can only dream of that… but then, I only have one Ferrari :D
     
  20. ross

    ross Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Mar 25, 2002
    38,163
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    Ross
    i have not received the car back yet since my parents are picking it up tomorrow in modena. but once i get it i will be giving you all feedback.

    yes, i asked the garage to check all of the things mentioned in this thread, including the lambda sensors. their feedback is that the sensors were fine, but they might swap them out if they can find repalcements in time. the injector gaskets were fine but will be replaced. the plenum hoses had already been replaced by silicone types.
     
  21. SonomaRik

    SonomaRik F1 Veteran

    gas mileage, price !

    honestly, I haven't a clue as to mileage or what the pumps final tally is...matter of fact they could have charged me a quadrillion $$$ and I wouldn't have the faintest clue.

    Just found my window sticker yesterday and wife points out 10/13mpg. Hmmm...all I know is I have to get out to pump my own gas: CA
     
  22. ross

    ross Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Mar 25, 2002
    38,163
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    Ross
    you should read the thread more closely...the extremely poor gas mileage was a sign that all was not right and it has taken 2 years and 2 garages to find the causes. we can all say we dont care about mpg, but when it is off it is a symptom of trouble. and in this case i am happy to report that this last garage in modena has finally solved some of these issues.
     

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