Use just straight unleaded not the premium stuff i did for a long time since i changed to the normal unleaded from the 98ron stuff save about 3 or 4 litres to the 100km. Drive as easy and smooth as possible, Run small wheels around town etc.

 

"TB42 FUEL ECONOMY" ......... That's a contradiction if I ever heard one ... Sorry mate they are just thirsty buggers ....

 

You want to try using a V8 petrol Range Rover !

Try to minimise anything giving friction. Low roll resistance tyres blown up to max; wheel bearings in good order; wheel alignment correct; check brakes aren't binding; good quality oils throughout; free wheel hubs working properly; replace engine driven fan for an electric one. I'm sure there's more but its a start. Fact is, the engine's old tech, the 'troll weighs a ton (well 2 +actually!) simple physics it's going to take a lot of fuel to shift it.

 

There is no such thing with a TB42, If i was worried about fuel economy i wouldn't have a petrol 4wd, seriously all of what Phil 2.8TDGR has mentioned helps.

 

235/85R16 tyres help. Much better than wider tyres. Less rolling resistance. 7.5R16's are better but that's just too skinny for my liking... Do your wheels and tyres suit 90% of the driving you actually do ?

Get any un needed weight out of the car, if you dont need to carry two spares during the week, dont, if you dont need a full complement of tools and spares with you all the time, leave them at home.

If you have roof rack that you dont use every weekend, leave it in the shed. Wind resistance is a killer too. Wind resistance is linked to speed. The faster you go the more fuel you'll use.

Try doing your usual weekly run at a slightly lesser speed. 100km/h will suck through the juice, 90 -95 might be a lot better.

Premium unleaded is supposed to increase your mileage, less fuel / 100kms. The ads say up to 5% but I think less than that is the norm.

I used to use Nulon in the engine, gear box, tranfer case and diffs on my FJ45. Dont know that i ever measured a saving in fuel consumption but I used to do a lot of kms and a 0.5% saving would have been worth it. Besides, it made me feel better and it definitely made the gear box and transfer case much smoother to use.

I also had a 2.5 exhaust and genie / pace maker / heat seeker (? ) extractors over the years. I never measured a decrease in fuel consumption, a very small one should have been there though. It certainly made the thing nicer to drive.

I love vacuum guages... they give you a good indication of how well you're going. Slight changes to throttle position and speed really show and if you get into the habit of driving optimally you can save a bit.

If you're doing a lot of driving a lot of 2% savings all begin to add up. No single thing you do will drop your fuel consumption down to 12/15 litres / 100 kms ( aside from not driving over 70km/h ) but if each thing you try knocks of 0.5 - 1 litre / 100km you'll be better off.

Or you just say bugger it, I want 35inch tyres all the time, I want to drive at 110kmh, I want to carry xyz, I want to drag corrollas at traffic lights and I'm prepared to pay for it.

Let us know how you go.

 

Go the full hog & get a gas system when i bought my maverick 2 years ago i wouldn't even consider buying a patrol or any 4wd for that matter that is not on gas. With my gas system i use 20 litres per 100ks around town. do the sums gas is dear here in coffs at 68.5 with 4 cent a litre discount. Thats $13.70 per 100 ks even cheaper on the highway.The only down side is the power loss & as we all now the gq is no speed machine & to lose 10% och that hirts but for the price i'll have to live with it. Or buy a corralla but it wont tow the boat

 

Very simple equation: $100-00 per week + to run my GQ on petrol; $50-00 pw on lpg; $80-00 pw for the equivalent Diesel. $1-41.9 (atm) vs $0-53.8 vs $1-51.9 cplitre. LPG runners can be tuned to reduce the power loss to 5% or less. Get to know a good lpg mech.
As a point of interest, when looking into possibly updating from the GQ (didn't want to & diverted the Wife off into a new Grand Carnival instead) one of the candidates was a 100 series 'Cruiser: 4.5 litre/Twin-Cam/24-Valve/EFI/Auto/constant 4WD etc etc. Do you know how much fuel those things use? They're no better than our Patrols, in the real world. Boy, there would've been a Gas conversion going on that REAL quick!
Speaking of the Grand Carni. We took the kids down the coast to visit the Grandparents & play in the surf yesterday. 400 km round trip, brand-new, VERY tight 3.8 V6/5-speed auto, did 21 mpg including climbing back up the Clyde Mtn, worked out at $80-00 in fuel. The '05 Carnival it replaced (2.5 V6/5-speed manual) would've cost $63-00 & my Patrol a neat $50-00. Horses for courses.

 

I used to work with a bloke who kept a block of wood under the acc pedal, reckoned it saved him big time on fuel - tight sod !!!! It was a little saloon car BTW and all his driving was on the tarmac.

If you're into 4WDs then you've got to accept its going to cost. Why buy a 4by and drive around as if its a little car ?? Just get it on gas or buy another more economical car for those daily trips that dont need a 4WD. What you save in fuel and wear on tear on the 4WD, the little car will pay for its self very quickly.

 

Thought I would post my economy figures...

97 GQ EFI LWB, lightly laden, although heavy steel roofrack on 24x7.

Usually get 25l/100km around town.

Back from a highway run today between Melbourne and Canberra. 5 people on board. Gear to suit all 5. 3x black storage locker thingos from Supercheap/Bunnings on the roof (ie extra resistance to push through the air!). Hot day, so air conditioning on full time.

Well my 110l LPG tank (of which 80% usable, so say 88l fillable) was all used up by the 300km mark. This is me, sticking as much to 110km/h as I could, nursing between 5th gear and 4th gear. No regard to fuel economy. So we were getting say 29l/100km.

For the conditions we were driving in, I'd say this is quite acceptable economy for a fully laden GQ rid with 5 people on board and aircon on, and pressing-on at highway speeds!

 

Thought I would post my economy figures...

97 GQ EFI LWB, lightly laden, although heavy steel roofrack on 24x7.

Usually get 25l/100km around town.

Back from a highway run today between Melbourne and Canberra. 5 people on board. Gear to suit all 5. 3x black storage locker thingos from Supercheap/Bunnings on the roof (ie extra resistance to push through the air!). Hot day, so air conditioning on full time.

Well my 110l LPG tank (of which 80% usable, so say 88l fillable) was all used up by the 300km mark. This is me, sticking as much to 110km/h as I could, nursing between 5th gear and 4th gear. No regard to fuel economy. So we were getting say 29l/100km.

For the conditions we were driving in, I'd say this is quite acceptable economy for a fully laden GQ rid with 5 people on board and aircon on, and pressing-on at highway speeds!

I have a 95 LWB EFI on Gas which holds 84 usable liters, and when I go to canberra with 4 guys and luggage but not carring anything on the roof i can get to Holbrook before refueling.

 

If you're into 4WDs then you've got to accept its going to cost.



Except for a good Suzuki, of course. I've had 4, culminating in a 1.3 LWB Sierra & easily achieved 30mpg from all 4, town & highway. About 25mpg off-road. I'll always remember a bunch of 'Cruiser/Patrol guys in my 4WD club laughing at my "big" long-range-tank (75 litres) one night until I told them that I got 750km from that. Throw in the jerry & that was nearly 1000km. That shut 'em up. If you only need to transport 2 (SWB) or 4 people (LWB) then I'd never knock back a Suzi. These days, of course, with 4 kids I need my much-loved GQ wagon!

 

My 89 SWB Auto is my normal car.
I get 20l/100km around town (Canberra).
Over Xmas to Qld (and back) got down as low as 14.5l/100km (I was amazed too) on the drive back down the Newel from Narrabri to Wellington....flat road and 110kph all the way...virtually unladen and slight tail wind.

 

Impressive, OldB., that's 18.8 mpg, in the old terms.

 

Yeah but it is back to normal now....20l/100km.......

 

tb42 fuel economy - an oxymoron

 

I use to get 14/15L per 100kms on 31-10.5-15 tyres then I went to 33's and now its closer to 19/20L per 100kms,still abit of stop-start driving but most is highway kms. Just keep your right foot as light as possible!

 

I use to get 14/15L per 100kms on 31-10.5-15 tyres then I went to 33's and now its closer to 19/20L per 100kms,still abit of stop-start driving but most is highway kms. Just keep your right foot as light as possible!

How are yuo reading the kms ? Did you adjust the speedo for the bigger tyres, if not then theres most of the difference.

 

How are yuo reading the kms ? Did you adjust the speedo for the bigger tyres, if not then theres most of the difference.

I've been told that I should add 10% to what the speedo says so that should apply to distance as well so I have taken this into account but it seemed hard to keep it on 90kph so I had to give more accelaration so you use abit more fuel. I have just added a manual lock up switch for the torque convertor so we'll see if there is any improvement.

 

Just noticed your Avitar, your rig has the aerodynamics of a Brick Wall !
Big tyres are great off road and look good but not for serious Highway use. If most of your Ks are road, then you've got to consider going back to a smaller tyre.

 

If you want a fourby and fuel economy there is only one choice.......Disco.200/300tdi Steady drive on a long haul can give 33mpg........that is good!

Alex

 

Ahem, or a Suzuki, like a LWB Sierra or a Vitara Wagon. Good for 30mpg just about anywhere. My Sierras always did a steady 30mpg town or highway & around 25mpg in the bush.

 

If you want a fourby and fuel economy there is only one choice.......Disco.200/300tdi Steady drive on a long haul can give 33mpg........that is good!

Alex

a umm, thats assuming you get to the end of your long haul - a Disco is not the most reliable of vehicles, and the 200/300 tdis, and you thought Nissan had problems with low capacity diesel engines !! In the UK, they are in the group of the "Chelsea Tractor" brigade. Most never go off road, they are just used to take the kids to school and to go to Tescos !!!!!!

 

Discovery......EEEYYYYUUUUK... ...each to his own I guess ...

And Esses......My daughter just sold a 2 litre Vitara and that thing amazed me with it's capabilities...not a BIG 4WD I know...but economical and great power to weight...I used to borrow it now and then when I didn't need the space of the Patrol

 

a umm, thats assuming you get to the end of your long haul - a Disco is not the most reliable of vehicles, and the 200/300 tdis, and you thought Nissan had problems with low capacity diesel engines !! In the UK, they are in the group of the "Chelsea Tractor" brigade. Most never go off road, they are just used to take the kids to school and to go to Tescos !!!!!!

95 per cent of Landcruisers and Patrols in uk are used for the same purpose
If the amount of Discos sold in Uk were to go offroad there would be a Jam in the fields and country.lol . Before the advent of double cabs and Nivara etc Discovery sold more units in UK than all the JAP trucks imported together.........

Disco aint my choice of vehicle. but it is still the most economical diesel out of all the older type twin axled fourbys.

Alex

 

Discovery......EEEYYYYUUUUK... ...each to his own I guess ...

And Esses......My daughter just sold a 2 litre Vitara and that thing amazed me with it's capabilities...not a BIG 4WD I know...but economical and great power to weight...I used to borrow it now and then when I didn't need the space of the Patrol

If I could get away with a Grand Vitara I would, but 4 kids need space!