Austin Mini greetings for the UK and questions for you :)
 

Hey everyone - i live in the UK and im 17. I have been driving for 6 months - i have kept data on my fuel consumption from day 1 - but i have not actively pursued improved economy until now, where i thought i would have a bash at it for some fun (very geeky of me lol)

So just a bit of info about,
Petrol is currently about 139.9p ($2.23) per litre around here.
Thats £6.37 ($10.18) per UK gallon
Or £5.30 ($8.48) per US gallon

My car has averaged 29.36 uk mpg (24.45 us mpg) (9.62 l per 100km) between 16th sep 2011 and 25 mar 2012 over 1733 miles. mostly town driving and country roads with the odd bit of fast dual carriage ways.

I am going to see how much i can improve this by as an experiment (which i may adopt full time if improvements are good). Im not out to alter the car - just to change driving habits.

I have a vacuum gauge in which should help me.

The engine is a 998cc, with a HS4 carb, stage 1 upgraded exhaust and after market air filter - the head has also had some porting to improve flow. it has loads of mods in other areas - too many to list.

So you got any tips for me, i have been doing some EOC (i have NO power steering or servo brakes so i dont lose any functions - good advantage to an old car really) - i have a particular 3.5mile trip to my girlfriends which is all up one way and all down the other.

Perhaps you have some specific tips for someone like me using an old engine with carb? does it use any fuel when decellerating in gear?

Looking for any help really!.

here are some pics:
oops they are not allowed.

Welcome! Sounds like you have a great, fun car. Many of us used to be classic
performance guys (hot rodding, racing) that have even turned 180 degrees, or live a mixed life w feet still in both world's.

Even though it was a tight fit, (I'm 6 4" w long legs) I enjoyed a nice '72 Honda AZ 600
Coupe I used to have, so I have a feeling of what your car is like.

Check out the 65, and 100 tips to help you get better mpg.

I suggest your exact questions be posted in the Ecomodders Central section.

Again, welcome! If you treat your driving life like a bank account, and keep it healthy;

My '87 CRX makes sure that I have fun in all respects!
you can still make withdrawals at times. (read more aggressive driving)

I still enjoy some canyon type running briskly through switchbacks, and such taking
the racing line. For me, I use gravity to its full extent, one can still feel a little
racy, while still basically using NO throttle deeper than saving type driving, continuing
to stay away from using brakes as much as possible.

We all have favorite roads.

It is fun to revisit a favorite to see if one can improve, and run it cleaner.

It's also a blast to do a brand new road, and know you are doing it well. Especially, if
you are two states away from home, and you are being followed by a local who knows it well, but you are still smooth enough to keep that person way behind!

Look forward to seeing pics of your car once you have enough posts in!

Well, it depends on how far you want to go. If it was me, I would put together some money and schedule a rolling road session with a specialist that has wide band O2 sensor capability and optimize the carb and ignition. Those old engines did at least have a decent combustion chamber. Also, do a compression and leakdown test on the engine to make sure that it is in proper internal health ( do that first, my head was running in reverse when I started writing this ).
Going further in, and this is along the lines of what people have done with the Geo Metro, do a cam swap. I know with your pushrod motor it's a little more involved, but the payoff is great, especially if you are not racing the little bugger. I would talk to Kent or Piper and ask about a maximum torque/fuel economy grind that boosts the torque in the idle to 3000 rpm range, and short shift that thing like a diesel. I am not sure if anything can be done with the gearing in the Minis ( you have the one with the integral gearbox, right? ). Look at the differences between a standard Geo Metro and the XFi version and pattern your car along that line.
The carb does not have a fuel cut feature, unfortunately, but the good news is is that your car is so small and light that with a few changes you'll be way better mpg wise than right now. I thought those small engine Minis were in the 40s or better fuel economy wise ( US ).