[OnTheLam]

Hi guys -- this is my first post here. I've had my car about six weeks and put 3,700 or so miles on it, including a 1500 mile spirited drive, a couple of track days and a couple of shorter spirited drives. I'm on my second set of brake pads for the steel brakes, and I've had the welcome v10 upgrade to the software.

I love the car, it is a fantastic driver, super light, super fast and lively, but not so robotically controlled as I was led to believe by the journos. I have no trouble pushing the back end out and having a little lively fun with the car, but it is also extremely composed on the track. Great stuff.

My one jaw-dropping moment with the car came when I realized that, while the car gets 22 mpg on the highway in Auto, it gets only 3.8 mpg on the track or under performance driving conditions. It makes spirited use of the car quite challenging in remote locations. You can literally watch the gas gauge drop at speed.

I've driven 12-cylinder Italian gas hogs that got far better mileage under performance conditions.

Yet I have not seen a single review mention this obvious characteristic of the vehicle. I had to become an owner to learn this?

Really?

 

[andy c]

You will find that you are getting that low because you are using full revs all the time,if you want better fuel economy but be still as fast rely on the torque and short shift,then you will average 5 mph around a track,this was put to some of us by the Mclaren development drivers who sat shotgun at the first Mclaren track event in the uk.It might be laughable but its not far off a 50% difference with no loss of performance,but maybe a loss of the fun factor.And you must have the world record for pad use 1800 miles per set You must spend alot of time standing on the pedal

 

[roundincircles]

No come on it drinks gas on the track, just sucks it right down the exhaust but if you short shift , as Andy advises, you will break thru' the 4mpg threshold but our gallons are 25% bigger than Texas Gallons here in the UK.

 

[OnTheLam]

Thanks, guys. I noticed during the break-in period that the car had great torque low in the band, so I was able to go fast without redlining . . . but once I got through the break in period, I started driving with a little more gusto.

As for the pads, it was front pads at 2700 miles and the rear pads lasted a little longer, till 3200 miles.

 

[TerenceHill]

rely on the torque and short shift,then you will average 5 mph around a track

I don't need a MP4-12C for that, I would manage that with a bicycle.
SCNR

 

[andy c]

I don't need a MP4-12C for that, I would manage that with a bicycle.
SCNR

Wondered when someone would spot the delibrate mistake!!!!

 

[Gazza]

Ok, now Im convinced my Porsche PCCB brakes are far far better than that on a 12C. Still on original pads with 41000 kms (3 years) and more than 30 track events and rotors look like new.
Im stunned they only lasted that long.

 

[andy c]

Ok, now Im convinced my Porsche PCCB brakes are far far better than that on a 12C. Still on original pads with 41000 kms (3 years) and more than 30 track events and rotors look like new.
Im stunned they only lasted that long.

We are talking standard iron rotors Gazza,as an example i also never changed my pads on my PCCB brakes on my 997tt at up to 47k,but my previous 997tt with iron rotors i was changing the pads and rotors every 5k,so at the moment at 10k on my 12c they are fairing far better than my first 997tt ever did.So thats more like apples vs apples,not apples vs pears.

 

[HyperMac954]

I managed 3.0mpg a few weeks ago at Laguna Seca. That was a blast!

 

[andy c]

I managed 3.0mpg a few weeks ago at Laguna Seca. That was a blast!

My new aim in life is 2.99 ,i will get a picture !!

 

[AugustWest]

Can't compare brakes here - anyone who's gone through pads that quick is seriously flogging the car! I'm surprised you've gotten 3.8mpg, actually! ...The WORST I've managed has been 5.8...

...but that was on a public road.

 

[ergoproxy]

What kind of mileage did you see in V12 cars on the track?
Probably none of the cars in question are direct injection but 3.8? Strap a gas can to your wing.
My truck could pull a house around the track and get that. It's a bit top heavy though.

 

[AugustWest]

I once saw 2.something in an Aston Rapide that was being hammered at Willow Springs. Pro driver, three passengers in the car. I was in the back seat - it was interesting being sideways with four people on board. I quite like Rapides, now that I think about it - it hustled around that track nearly as well as the DB9 coupe that was also there.

 

[roundincircles]

What kind of mileage did you see in V12 cars on the track?
Probably none of the cars in question are direct injection but 3.8? Strap a gas can to your wing.
My truck could pull a house around the track and get that. It's a bit top heavy though.

At Silverstone in a V12 Vantage 5mpg but only two gears used/ needed. Awesome brakes by the way for such a heavy car.

 

[OnTheLam]

I was doing my best to go fast, so, yes, flogging. The car really drives great.

Just to be clear, the rotors were fine at all times. I've ruined rotors before, so I was watching the pad wear carefully.

I originally noticed the 3.8 mpg not on the track, but when I was driving in a remote area down the Klamath River in Northern California. It is a part of the planet with very few gas stations, and the ones that are there are somewhat irregular -- they are unmanned and don't take credit cards, something called "card lock", where you are supposed to pre-pay for a card to buy gas. The card is sold in some local business that is closed on Sunday (when I was there). The only gas station I could find with a human in attendance (a nice Native American lady) sold only 87 octane regular. In desperation, I bought a few gallons just to get back to civilization . . . after my experience, I got curious about the mileage on the 12C and checked it at the track, my next hard drive.

(I never much worried about the mileage in my 12 cylinder Lambos, because they have large fuel tanks, so even in remote areas driving hard, I was never particularly concerned about fuel levels. At the track, I would rarely fill the Lambos past half full, to save a bit of weight.)

 

[Ritesh]

Ok, now Im convinced my Porsche PCCB brakes are far far better than that on a 12C. Still on original pads with 41000 kms (3 years) and more than 30 track events and rotors look like new.

I would check the mm on your PCCB pad. I had a GT3 and the overall conclusion on Rennlist was to change pads at 50% to avoid damage to the rotors. Rotors are good for 100K miles if pads are changed at appropriate time.

 

[OnTheLam]

I was doing my best to go fast, so, yes, flogging. The car really drives great.

Just to be clear, the rotors were fine at all times. I've ruined rotors before, so I was watching the pad wear carefully.

I originally noticed the 3.8 mpg not on the track, but when I was driving in a remote area down the Klamath River in Northern California. It is a part of the planet with very few gas stations, and the ones that are there are somewhat irregular -- they are unmanned and don't take credit cards, something called "card lock", where you are supposed to pre-pay for a card to buy gas. The card is sold in some local business that is closed on Sunday (when I was there). The only gas station I could find with a human in attendance (a nice Native American lady) sold only 87 octane regular. In desperation, I bought a few gallons just to get back to civilization . . . after my experience, I got curious about the mileage on the 12C and checked it at the track, my next hard drive.

(I never much worried about the mileage in my 12 cylinder Lambos, because they have large fuel tanks, so even in remote areas driving hard, I was never particularly concerned about fuel levels. At the track, I would rarely fill the Lambos past half full, to save a bit of weight.)

Visual aid:
My 12C in the middle of nowhere, wondering where its next tank of gas is coming from . . .

 

[Russell996]

Visual aid:
My 12C in the middle of nowhere, wondering where its next tank of gas is coming from . . .

Lovely picture. But can't be the middle of nowhere, must be full detailing service just back round the corner out of sight, car is just so clean! Sweet.

 

[997]

Looks like this whole downsizing engines is pretty much a joke....

 

[OnTheLam]

Lovely picture. But can't be the middle of nowhere, must be full detailing service just back round the corner out of sight, car is just so clean! Sweet.

The car was rained on all night and much of the morning, which kept it looking fairly clean.