As you all know the price of Petrol is rising and may hit century in a few years from now.

I thought
why my Honda Eterno scooter offers only 55-60 km/liter mileage? I tried some simple and rough
calculations based on fundamentals of friction, IC engine and combustion of fuel. There is nothing new
in this but it has nearly answered my difficulty.

→ Few specifications of Eterno Scooter :

Engine volume : 150 CC, 4-stroke
Mass of scooter : 121 Kg
Max. Permissible load(Rider, accessories and other dead loads) : 167 Kg
Horse Power : 8.2 bhp @6000 rpm
Compression ratio R : 9.3 to 1

→ Net Calorific Value of gasoline(petrol) : 34.6 Mega Joules/Liter i.e. 34600000 Joules

→ Tractive force(pulling force) during vehicle travel :

F = μr. m.g
Where μr = Co-efficient of rolling friction = 0.02 to 0.06
m = mass traveling
= Myself + Scooter + Scooter accessories
= 54 + 121 + 40( Two extra wheel with metal fittings)
= 215 kg

Hence F = (0.04)(215)(9.81)
= 84.366 Newton
(γ -1)
→ Efficiency of IC engine with Ideal cycle η = 1 - [1/R ]
(1.39 -1)
= 1 - [1/9.3 ]
= 0.58
But to account for real IC engine cycle to justify heat losses to coolant and exhaust, this figure
should be multiplies with 0.70
η = 0.70 × 0.58 = 0.406
Again mechanical efficiency should be accounted which includes frictional losses in engine, rod,
axel and bearing and also vibration losses. So multiply this with 0.5
η = 0.50 × 0.406 = 0.203

→ Now assuming that scooter has traveled ∆L meter per liter of Petrol with reasonably constant speed
Work done = Force × Distance traveled
= 42.18 ∆L Joule
This mechanical work is extracted from the combustion of 1 liter petrol and this transformation
process is only 20.3 % efficient as we have predicted earlier
Energy from Fuel = Work done
0.203 × 34600000 Joule = 84.366 ∆L Joule
Hence ∆L = 83254 meter = 83.25 km
But in actual driving conditions acceleration and deceleration are frequent; also sometime we have to
drive with an extra passenger so the mileage reduces to actual value

→ Now assume that I have started my scooter which was at rest and I am acquiring a speed of
60 km/hr in just 20 seconds at maximum permissible loading (Total mass traveling= 167+121=288 kg)
and also assume that meantime I have traveled 200 m at constant acceleration a :
 Applying d = V0 t + (½) a t 2
d = distance traveled
V0 = Initial velocity
t = time
a = acceleration(assumed constant)

Then 200 m = (0)(20) + (1/2)(a)(20)2

Hence a = 1 m/s2
Power required in this harsh driving condition:
P = (Velocity) (Force)
= (60 km/hr)(1000/3600)(m×a)
= (16.67)(288 kg ×1 m/s2)
= 4800 watt
Horse Power = 4800/746 = 6.43
Also at 288 kg total load the force calculated by friction equation is just 113 Newton, much
lower than 288 Newton in above calculation.
So at 8.2 HP rating of scooter there is still some scope for rude driving.

→ This was just a rough calculation based on several assumptions. Please correct it and send back if
you have some accurate tool/method.

The other dimension to this can be as shown below:

Say 8.2 BHP engine i.e. 8.2 X 0.745 = 6.109 KW power
Power X Time = Energy
6.109 * X = 34600 KJ (Energy produced from 1 liter petrol)
X = 5664 Seconds
X = 1.57 Hour
Say, your vehicle is travelling at average speed of 40 KMPH

Distance travelled in 1.57 Hours would be 62.8. i.e your mileage would be 62.8 KMPL.
Perhaps this is the reason why vehicles with less BHP give more mileage.

Correlation between velocity and mileage can be established. But, this is just a rule of thumb
calculation.