fuel economy

Whenarewethere · Guru

RE: fuel economy

yobarr · Guru

Bicyclecamper wrote:
My car, does 6.5L to the 100, without towing, but last month, I towed a Cub 1400kg camper back from Brissy, to Armidale NSW and it used 9.3 l 100km, so it's not a real comparison, but if you tow, you will definitely use more fuel

Holy Moly.That's interesting,but at over 43mpg it must be a mighty small car? Even at 9.3 L/100km,that's better than 30mpg! Cheers

yobarr · Guru

Mike Harding wrote:
I have a Holden Trailblazer (2.8L diesel) with 30,000km on the clock towing a van of about 2.8T loaded and it returns 14L to 15L/100km.
I always tow in manual never using 6th gear and never exceed a true 90kph.
My previous 3.5L petrol Jackaroo used 24L/100km when towing!

Good practice there Mike,as 5th is your best towing gear,at 0.85/1. It is a fallacy that towing in a higher gear produces better fuel economy,as the engine has to work harder,resulting in higher engine temps,higher fuel temps,higher water temps,higher oil temps,less airflow, and higher fuel consumption. My car and van weigh around 6800kg,and I tow in 4th gear at around 2400rpm all day long,up hill and down dale.Pyrometer shows 300-350 degrees most of the time,although it does get up to around 500 on a long steep climb.Fuel consumption averages 5.8km/litre,or over 16mpg,in the old language (17 litres/100km) ,and that's not too bad for a 4500cc V8 and van,total weight of 6800kg.In addition,top gear in many transmissions is an overdrive,and not designed to be loaded up.Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 28th of July 2021 03:54:42 PM

Ian G · Senior Member

Hi Peter I have an MUX, I get around 10.2 around home, when I tow my 2.5 t van I get between 15 and 18, though I do sit on 100 when conditions allow, head winds and hills are a killer, plenty of travelers stay where they are for an extra day if they know they going to get a head wind. I noticed my economy improved a little after I got a few K's on the clock, say after 40,000. I have travelled with someone with a Ranger and he gets a little worse than me.
Ian

Petemox · Veteran Member

Ian G wrote:
Hi Peter I have an MUX, I get around 10.2 around home, when I tow my 2.5 t van I get between 15 and 18, though I do sit on 100 when conditions allow, head winds and hills are a killer, plenty of travelers stay where they are for an extra day if they know they going to get a head wind. I noticed my economy improved a little after I got a few K's on the clock, say after 40,000. I have travelled with someone with a Ranger and he gets a little worse than me.
Ian

Thanks Ian.

That's about the closest to my situation. So, it appears my findings are not out of the ordinary. I think I will try a few of the suggestions made earlier regarding speed and revs etc and see if I get any improvement. cheers.

yobarr · Guru

Petemox wrote:
Ian G wrote:
Hi Peter I have an MUX, I get around 10.2 around home, when I tow my 2.5 t van I get between 15 and 18, though I do sit on 100 when conditions allow, head winds and hills are a killer, plenty of travelers stay where they are for an extra day if they know they going to get a head wind. I noticed my economy improved a little after I got a few K's on the clock, say after 40,000. I have travelled with someone with a Ranger and he gets a little worse than me.
Ian
Thanks Ian. That's about the closest to my situation. So, it appears my findings are not out of the ordinary. I think I will try a few of the suggestions made earlier regarding speed and revs etc and see if I get any improvement. cheers.

Hi Peter.You might like to consider getting your car tuned by a reputable diesel tuner.When I got mine done,torque increased 40%,power increased close on 30%,and fuel economy is now much better,at 17 litres/100km for a 4500cc V8 with total weight of 6800kg.Don't fall for trying lower revs using a higher gear.Won't work.Good luck! Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 28th of July 2021 05:29:19 PM

littledick · Senior Member

Towing a 3t van with 2017 Wildtrak usually around the 90klm mark, I can average out around anywhere from 16/ 19lts per 100ks depending on the terrain towing in 4th or auto not much different but 4th better on hills.

Dick.

Bicyclecamper · Guru

yobarr wrote:
Bicyclecamper wrote:
My car, does 6.5L to the 100, without towing, but last month, I towed a Cub 1400kg camper back from Brissy, to Armidale NSW and it used 9.3 l 100km, so it's not a real comparison, but if you tow, you will definitely use more fuel
Holy Moly.That's interesting,but at over 43mpg it must be a mighty small car? Even at 9.3 L/100km,that's better than 30mpg! Cheers

It is a Suzuki Vitara 2wd, 2.4L engine, It is an Urban. I thought it was a AWD that I bought, had it for 2 weeks, when I realised it wasn't, but was sold as a 4WD. Went back to dealer, he gave me an extra 12 months full warranty, so 2 years, plus $2000 back in cash. The main reason, I decided to keep it was we did a 1000km trip, in it in those 2 weeks, and the economy was so good, decided to keep it. Am having Alum. bull bar constructed by a reputal company, that can take a winch and will be carrying 2 maxtrax. This basically what we did with our last 2WD, and it helped us out quite well. That warranty, has already worked out for us, as had to have a Brake master cylinder replaced, and it was $1100 for the part plus $400 labour. I bought the ca r with only 72000 original kms, for a 8 year old car. It is really in good knick.

watsea · Guru

RE: fuel economy"

Dick0 · Guru

RE: fuel economy

lkyphl · Member

There has yet to be a response from anyone driving the same vehicle as the OP .....

Phil

yobarr · Guru

lkyphl wrote:
There has yet to be a response from anyone driving the same vehicle as the OP .....

Phil

And???? While what you say may be true,the various responses received have helped the OP realise that his "findings are not out of the ordinary". Having considered the facts provided,he now is in a position where he has a range of options to try,in an effort to reduce fuel consumption. Therefore,input from members has been of great benefit to the OP. How can that be a bad thing? Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Thursday 29th of July 2021 12:11:02 PM

Mike Harding · Guru

lkyphl wrote:
There has yet to be a response from anyone driving the same vehicle as the OP .....

Phil

I'm sorry and I can only apologise.

I'll go and find someone immediately.

Eaglemax · Guru

My Hyundai 130 2008 CRDI gets 5.6 L/100km not towing. In 2016 we towed a home made caravan 750kg ATM around the basic lap of Oz and got 9.3L/100km. 18700kms at an average of $1.65 per litre meant it cost us under $3,000 for the trip. Impressive.

In terms of the OP, I think all our examples prove that towing has a dramatic effect on fuel usage. Around 30-50% more. I also found, regardless of rig I've towed that 90-95kph results in a far greater saving of fuel than 100kph.

Tony

Ubique 68 · Veteran Member

Toyota Hilux auto 2016 V6 petrol, 150 litre tank. 2100kg Jayco Outback. Just fill up and drive. Fuel is a cost of the enjoyment. Want to save on fuel? Stay put for a few days.

dabbler · Guru

Ubique. I monitor my fuel usage for range predictability and possible early warning of any issues. Fuel price isn't the issue whether I'm somewhere I'm just grateful I can buy fuel or the middle of suburbia. Awareness of your fuel consumption and if you can, improving fuel consumption, isn't always about minimizing expenditure. I'm sure many people think the same way.

yobarr · Guru

Ubique 68 wrote:
Toyota Hilux auto 2016 V6 petrol, 150 litre tank. 2100kg Jayco Outback. Just fill up and drive. Fuel is a cost of the enjoyment. Want to save on fuel? Stay put for a few days.

My sentiments exactly.If you can't afford the fuel,you can't afford the car.Not that it has happened yet,but I would simply park up for a day or two if I was worried about fuel or money.Recently I decided,just out of curiousity,to find out how far my car (towing my van!) could travel on full tanks. Calculated just over 1000km from my 180 litres,and happened to stumble on a servo when I'd travelled 1001km,so filled up with 173 litres,meaning not much left! You can't make omelettes without breaking eggs.Cheers

Craig1 · Guru

My boss in a previous life bought 2 v6 petrol Rodeos. After the first months fuel bills. " drive em as fast as you can, so you can get to the next servo"

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

The 3.5 Rodeo is thirsty ! Drinks more than Rod Marsh !

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Ubique 68 wrote:
Just fill up and drive. Fuel is a cost of the enjoyment. Want to save on fuel? Stay put for a few days.

Does not cost anything to monitor and reduce your fuel consumption without reducing your travel. In fact it allows you to go further for the same cost.

I bet you aren't happy to chuck away the last 1/4 of every beer? Same thing.

Cheers,

Peter

watsea · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
Ubique 68 wrote:
Just fill up and drive. Fuel is a cost of the enjoyment. Want to save on fuel? Stay put for a few days.
Does not cost anything to monitor and reduce your fuel consumption without reducing your travel. In fact it allows you to go further for the same cost.
I bet you aren't happy to chuck away the last 1/4 of every beer? Same thing.
Cheers,
Peter

As Peter said, it costs nothing but time to monitor the fuel consumption. If you wish, you can modify your driving to give more distance. For me, my monitoring is often about working travel distance and consumption rate to try to buy fuel at locations that are less expensive

Whenarewethere · Guru

A bit slower & you have the money for a cappuccino!

dabbler · Guru

And a cappuccino injects money into a local economy far more effectively than a tank of fuel or a shopping trolley of groceries. Add a vanilla slice and support small local businesses !

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Hah how much is shopping for milk ? Usually end up with 3/4 full trolly !! 2L milk ? = $80 .. lol

STRETCH ARMSTRONG · Senior Member

Hey Petemox,

I have a 2016 D-max extra cab chassis manual with enclosed tray running standard tyres. My van is 2750 max and my average is under 15 litres per 100km.

The last trip with a variety of hills and flat was 3000km from Echuca to Portland and back where l averaged 14.6. I always calculate my fuel usage by filling tank and kms travelled.

The difference, mine is manual and yours auto? I don't have a DPF, you do? Our driving styles? Tyres? The list could be large!

oldbloke · Guru

a manual is normally more economical by a fair margin.

Petemox · Veteran Member

Hi. Thanks for that. As you say the differences could be many and the issue of manual to auto could be central to it. My previous two tugs were manual and I did get better fuel economy with them although both were underpowered compared to the Dmax. I run with tyre pressures as per Isuzu recomendations. My driving style is not harsh, but I could cut back on the speed 5kph or so.

cheers.

Peter

KJB · Guru

Petemox wrote:
Hi. Thanks for that. As you say the differences could be many and the issue of manual to auto could be central to it. My previous two tugs were manual and I did get better fuel economy with them although both were underpowered compared to the Dmax. I run with tyre pressures as per Isuzu recomendations. My driving style is not harsh, but I could cut back on the speed 5kph or so.
cheers.

Peter

Use more power ......fuel burn rate increases...... pretty simple really.

Eaglemax · Guru

In the market for a new SUV. Short list Mazda cx30 AWD 2.5L, Suzuki Vitara and S cross both 1.4 turbo.

Journos often rave about the Suzuki's capable of 5.4-5.8 L/100km (Hwy) then add ("it takes 95Ron"). The Mazda capable of 6-6.5 L/100km ("takes 91Ron").

Effectively the same costs to run them due to price difference of fuel.

So those running petrol tugs that we know guzzle more fuel than diesel tugs can factor in up to 15% less overall cost with the cheaper fuel.

Tony

Possum3 · Guru

Both SIL and her daughter have the Suzuki and run regular petrol - both only do small trips, cars run perfectly - Personal opinion lower octane doesn't make that much difference. Both cars have a pretty good rap, so personal choice for comfort would have to be decider.