Fuel Consumption

Nomad1946 · Veteran Member

Fuel Consumption

bill12 · Guru

That's average to good for a landcruiser towing a van, and about 6.5klms/ltr.My diesel courier/ slide on with boat&trailer gets 7 to 8. Yours is not bad for a big vehicle. Bill

The Hats · Senior Member

You should be happy with that, that is a good result, My old 4.2 diesel patrol towing an off road camper would only get about 18-19 lp100ks .
My new V8 toopy gets around 20-21 towing a 3.5 ton van .
Cheers
The Hats

Baz421 · Guru

Nomad1946 wrote:
[spoiler]

Hi,
Have just returned from a short "test me" trip of 2,600Km. Melbourne - Hay - Mildura - Swan Hill - Melbourne. All but about 300km on the "black top"

Van = Jayco 16' Pop Top. Tug = 1993 Toyota Landcruiser Diesel Wagon. 5 Spd Manual

Mileage averaged just under 15Lt to 100Km

Would this be classified as. Bad ? Poor ? Fair ? Good ?

-- Edited by Nomad1946 on Wednesday 25th of June 2014 11:36:18 PM

I'm assuming non turbo,, if so I'd say relatively good but if turbo I'd say not so good for that weight. We Have 2005 LC79 turbo, 6.5 tonnes all up weight and regularly get 18l sometimes 20l to 100km in that relatively flat open country to drive on.

-- Edited by Baz421 on Thursday 26th of June 2014 01:19:35 PM

Gunny · Member

Hi Nomad1946

I have a 21'6" caravan weighing in at around 2600kg and a Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel.

I spend around 8 months each year on the road travelling in all kind of conditions.

The best I get is 12.9l/100km and the worst has been 15.1l/100km,

I bought a Jeep!!!!!!

CMan · Member

Your fuel consumption is very good. it is not unusual to see 25l/100 kms plus with a big rigs.

Best to research fuel figures online from reputable sources. Quotes I have heard from travellers are ridiculously low, about half the blokes I talk to reckon they get better fuel economy than the official figures for their car when it is not towing, which is of course impossible.

Cupie · Guru

It has been my experience that many either tell porkies about their fuel consumption .. or only guess.

I keep a spreadsheet of my touring trips and used to come in at around 19.2L/100 in a 4.2 EFI (petrol) Patrol pulling a 21'6" van around 2.4 ton. This includes around 25% of driving without the van.

BTW I prefer the standard L/100K as the measure of consumption. But each to their own.

Baz421 · Guru

Cupie wrote:
It has been my experience that many either tell porkies about their fuel consumption .. or only guess.

I keep a spreadsheet of my touring trips and used to come in at around 19.2L/100 in a 4.2 EFI (petrol) Patrol pulling a 21'6" van around 2.4 ton. This includes around 25% of driving without the van.
BTW I prefer the standard L/100K as the measure of consumption. But each to their own.

Agree,, we keep a fuel log also,, but we drive to maximise economy also.

Also prefer L/100km,, is using the other you should go to 3 decimal places for consumption IMHO.

Nomad1946 · Veteran Member

Baz421 wrote:

Cupie wrote:
It has been my experience that many either tell porkies about their fuel consumption .. or only guess.

I keep a spreadsheet of my touring trips and used to come in at around 19.2L/100 in a 4.2 EFI (petrol) Patrol pulling a 21'6" van around 2.4 ton. This includes around 25% of driving without the van.
BTW I prefer the standard L/100K as the measure of consumption. But each to their own.
Agree,, we keep a fuel log also,, but we drive to maximise economy also.
Also prefer L/100km,, is using the other you should go to 3 decimal places for consumption IMHO.

[spoiler]
This was our first trip with this van ... New to us .. Haven't towed for over 30 years. So we kept all fuel receipts and distances at every fill ... Travelled a total 2,749 Km. Used 400.69 Litres non Turbo 4.2 L 4x4 'cruiser. So, am happy with that for a "firsty" ... Travelled about 300k on dirt without 'van ; about 400 black top without van.

Baz421 · Guru

Nomad1946 wrote:

[spoiler]
This was our first trip with this van ... New to us .. Haven't towed for over 30 years. So we kept all fuel receipts and distances at every fill ... Travelled a total 2,749 Km. Used 400.69 Litres non Turbo 4.2 L 4x4 'cruiser. So, am happy with that for a "firsty" ... Travelled about 300k on dirt without 'van ; about 400 black top without van.

You will get used to it as we did,,,, we started from scratch and found out where/how we drive to maximise fuel economy,,, for us it 2000-2200 RPM on flat,,, big hills 2400-2600 RPM at the start to minimise downshifting.

Downshifting into 3rd is OK but if long big hills going down to 2nd kills economy,,, BUT you reap the benefits going downhill eh.

Cupie · Guru

Baz421 wrote:
Nomad1946 wrote:

[spoiler]
This was our first trip with this van ... New to us .. Haven't towed for over 30 years. So we kept all fuel receipts and distances at every fill ... Travelled a total 2,749 Km. Used 400.69 Litres non Turbo 4.2 L 4x4 'cruiser. So, am happy with that for a "firsty" ... Travelled about 300k on dirt without 'van ; about 400 black top without van.
You will get used to it as we did,,,, we started from scratch and found out where/how we drive to maximise fuel economy,,, for us it 2000-2200 RPM on flat,,, big hills 2400-2600 RPM at the start to minimise downshifting.
Downshifting into 3rd is OK but if long big hills going down to 2nd kills economy,,, BUT you reap the benefits going downhill eh.

I drive by the tacko too ..... My best economy is in the same range vis 2000 to 2200 .....

Over time I have worked out how many KM I get out of every graduation on the petrol gauge. If I get more or less than my expectation, I look for reasons for the variation.

eg .. good smooth freeway..... hilly country ... undulating road ... head or tail wind (I keep a look out on the way the grass or tree tops, a fair way out from the road, are bending) ....... driving too fast or slow ... (It's so easy to just unconsciously join in with the traffic & suddenly you are far above the most economical & safe speed).

Always use the gears to hold the speed down when coming down mountain ranges. Seldom need to use the breaks to any great extent.

CMan · Member

Here is a list of the most economical vehicles to use as tow vehicles in Australia

FUEL CONSUMPTION L/100KM
Winnebago Fiat Ducato: 12.78 Diesel
Nissan Navara 1: 16.81 Diesel
Mitsubishi Pajero: 16.97 Diesel
Toyota Prado: 17.78 Diesel
Toyota LandCruiser: 19.15 Diesel
Nissan Navara 2: 20.12 Diesel
Nissan Patrol: 20.98 Diesel
Ford Territory: 21.06 Petrol
Ford Fairmont: 21.54 Petrol
All vehicles were driven with overdrive off and air-conditioner turned on

If you want to look at the article you can find it here:
www.candm.com.au/review/tow-vehicle/which-will-be-crowned-best-tow-vehicle

Read the article as the Winny did not make number one for best all round vehicle that went to the Pajero.

For the record we drive a Fiat Ducato, Jayco FD23/4 and tow a Suzuki SX 4 and that figure quoted for the Winny is roughly what we get. When towing the the suzi I can't even feel the difference. Average fuel economy when not towing, on the open road, is around 11.28 l per 100 kilometers. That was a big reason for our decision to go with a motorhome. That and the fact that the FD 23/4 is superb :)

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

Interesting. They seem to have left a considerable number of possible tow vehicles out of that list. However, as with all comparisons, it needs to be limited to a manageable number.

For what is worth (probably nothing I guess) attached is a snapshot of the spreadsheet I maintain for my Discovery 3. The cells in blue are the averages from June 2010 until June 2014 - so it gives a fairly good indication of the genuine usage I achieve. Worst has been 16.9ltr/100km pushing a head wind for 180km. I tow a 23ft, 2,600kg van (weighed on the scales)

Cheers - John

Gunny · Member

G'day rockylizard

I am glad someone else keeps records as I do.

It seems your Discovery has a similar fuel economy as my Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The fuel economy figures of some vehicles are relative to the age of the engine design of the vehicle.

I had a Nissan Patrol diesel and drove it in the same manner as my Jeep (within the comfortable rpm range of the engine, usually 2000-2500rpm).

The Jeep is 20% more fuel efficient than the Nissan.

It is interesting that the Fiat Ducato had the best fuel economy (12.9) stated in the comparative table - the Jeep Grand Cherokee has a Fiat 3 litre V6 turbo diesel - it would seem Fiat are doing something right in diesel engine design.

03_troopy · Guru

If you want to keep records of fuel economy, there is an app for smartphones called FuelLog. I've been using the free version for the last couple of years and it is pretty handy if you want to see trends in fuel usage. I mainly only use it for fuel, but it has much more ie service costs etc. I don't know what extra you get for the paid version apart from graphs of more than the last 10 refills and i think more than 2 vehicles.

My recent trip to Tin Can Bay, In my 2003 Toyota Troopy, 4.2TD HDJ78R, Towing an Avan Ray II, 11'6" over approx 3400Km @ 100KPH, and where permitted 110KPH ;) I averaged 15.4L/100Km.

My usual non towing usage averages at 11.58L/100Km (over a 2 year period)

My worst economy for a refill was 19.7L/100Km Towing a fairly heavy off road camper trailer up the centre @ 120KPH and maybe a tad more at times.

FuelLog

-- Edited by 03_troopy on Saturday 28th of June 2014 03:56:54 PM

Radar · Guru

Rockylizard hi

We also keep a full spread sheet of our fuel usage but added in a note like % of no or yes with van, service the car, new tires ( just love it when they say with those new tires you can expect 10% better fuel econ, like rubbish).

I have been keeping records of these cost since I purchased a prime mover and semi trailer in 1976. I now have it that it tells me how much per k's it cost for fuel, I have been not game enough to ask wife to add and over all cost to own or maintain the cars but do become interesting reading when the forum gets boring. If I was clever I would add a page or 2 for you to read as I did own until last week a 2002 TD5 Discovery Auto but it got it's matching orders after a 10 week trip down south.

Will change Avatar in couple of weeks when we go on our next trip north. I need a new photo. Ralph

Baz421 · Guru

Cupie wrote:
Baz421 wrote:
Nomad1946 wrote:

[spoiler]
This was our first trip with this van ... New to us .. Haven't towed for over 30 years. So we kept all fuel receipts and distances at every fill ... Travelled a total 2,749 Km. Used 400.69 Litres non Turbo 4.2 L 4x4 'cruiser. So, am happy with that for a "firsty" ... Travelled about 300k on dirt without 'van ; about 400 black top without van.
You will get used to it as we did,,,, we started from scratch and found out where/how we drive to maximise fuel economy,,, for us it 2000-2200 RPM on flat,,, big hills 2400-2600 RPM at the start to minimise downshifting.
Downshifting into 3rd is OK but if long big hills going down to 2nd kills economy,,, BUT you reap the benefits going downhill eh.
I drive by the tacko too ..... My best economy is in the same range vis 2000 to 2200 .....
Over time I have worked out how many KM I get out of every graduation on the petrol gauge. If I get more or less than my expectation, I look for reasons for the variation.
eg .. good smooth freeway..... hilly country ... undulating road ... head or tail wind (I keep a look out on the way the grass or tree tops, a fair way out from the road, are bending) ....... driving too fast or slow ... (It's so easy to just unconsciously join in with the traffic & suddenly you are far above the most economical & safe speed).
Always use the gears to hold the speed down when coming down mountain ranges. Seldom need to use the breaks to any great extent.

Yes we do the same with fuel gauge Cupie check km at 3/4 full; 1/2 and then 1/4,, know exactly how I'm driving,,, as really it's down to my right foot.

yackboy · Member

with a 5 speed auto 2.3 turbo diesel pulling about 1600 kg, should I be leaving tug in auto, or use the sports mode shift as a manual ?

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

It depends on what 5-speed auto 2.3 turbo diesel you are talking about I reckon.

Different makes and models have different needs quite often.

cheers - John

ogre · Veteran Member

Howdy Nomad 1946, I have a 17'6'' Jayco tandem poptop and I tow it with a 2010 Nissan Navara Dual cab ute I am running a 2.5 ltr diesel motor and it handles the tow very easilly and it is averaging 13 litres per 100 klms and unladen it returns 11 litres per 100 klms so I am very happy with it and I hope this gives you some idea of performance.

Happy towing.

Countrytech · Veteran Member

We have a 2012 Pajero 3.2 diesel and tow a 2500kg van, and the worst economy was 18.8, into a headwind, and the best was 14.3, down the highway into Melbourne.
I use 4th gear (auto) except if there is a lengthy straight down hill section. I dont keep specific data, but about 16.5 to 17.5 seems to be the average.

Without the van the average is about 8.8l per 100km That was a trip from Qld to Vic last year.

John

aussie_paul · Guru

Countrytech wrote:
We have a 2012 Pajero 3.2 diesel and tow a 2500kg van, and the worst economy was 18.8, into a headwind, and the best was 14.3, down the highway into Melbourne.
I use 4th gear (auto) except if there is a lengthy straight down hill section. I dont keep specific data, but about 16.5 to 17.5 seems to be the average.

Without the van the average is about 8.8l per 100km That was a trip from Qld to Vic last year.

John

What speed do you tow at John?

Aussie Paul. smile

Countrytech · Veteran Member

Usually about 90kph

aussie_paul · Guru

Countrytech wrote:
Usually about 90kph

Ok, thanks John.

Aussie Paul. smile