Fuel economy... Is mine good or bad?

[rich]

Hello,

Can I semi-hijack this thread. I have tried all of the different ECT and O/D methods to improve my fuel economy with little success - I always get about 22MPG and on a long run 24 if I am lucky.

I don't have an a-bar but I do have a tow-bar but the weight I put in it makes little difference. I service it every 5000miles and all of the filters have been changed and I have Activ8 friction reducer in the engine. It does have LSD but i can't see this making any difference

It runs very well with no smoke so what things would I be looking at to improve the fuel economy (Other than buggering with the EGR). I haven't tried the Redex boot it down the motorway as I have given it some sh.t on long journeys fully loaded which I thought would have done the same thing.

I would be very interested in the responses.

Rich.

[Ems and Jim]

Hello,

Can I semi-hijack this thread. I have tried all of the different ECT and O/D methods to improve my fuel economy with little success - I always get about 22MPG and on a long run 24 if I am lucky.

I don't have an a-bar but I do have a tow-bar but the weight I put in it makes little difference. I service it every 5000miles and all of the filters have been changed and I have Activ8 friction reducer in the engine. It does have LSD but i can't see this making any difference

It runs very well with no smoke so what things would I be looking at to improve the fuel economy (Other than buggering with the EGR). I haven't tried the Redex boot it down the motorway as I have given it some sh.t on long journeys fully loaded which I thought would have done the same thing.

I would be very interested in the responses.

Rich.

Rich,

Mines a K plate 2.4 and probably spends its life hauling the same sort of stuff as you. I did do the EGR mod, as its made a hell of an improvement in the pulling out 'lag' department. I leave the ECT OFF and the O/D ON and get the same sort of figures as you do.
I did do the Redex trick when we first got it but coulnd't see much difference and I have an A-bar & towbar - nothing to be gained by removing them I reckon. The strangest change in the car was when I took off all the wind deflectors.......top end and motorway pull has improved dramatically !!

I don't think that theres much to be done with a 2 ton auto truck full of stuff hurtling around at 80mph....... appart from be smug coz ITS ALL ROUND BETTER THAN THE OTHERS !!!

[birdy]

Hi. Just checked my mpg after the new thermostat 21 mpg (better) . Also today ive just dropped it off to have an intercooler fitted they said i should have it back tomorow, this might help mpg and power and may help stop the head from cracking.

[birdy]

I checked my miles with a G P S and it's spot on and i only get 19 MPG. So far changed air temp sensour which was faulty,air and fule filter, checked brakes and tyres and have just changed thermostat (88/100 standard) and it gets up to temp quick and stays there (normaly takes a long time to get up to temp and cools back down when going slow). Hope this might change things but im not holding my breath.

just checked mpg after fitting new thermostat and it's up to 21 mpg

[da SLUG man]

Hi. Just checked my mpg after the new thermostat 21 mpg (better) . Also today ive just dropped it off to have an intercooler fitted they said i should have it back tomorow, this might help mpg and power and may help stop the head from cracking.

whose fitting the inercooler?
how much does it cost?
what chip are they using?

[robnw67]

That good?

Well I just returned from Portsmouth (to Preston) which is about 310 miles. I managed to keep my speed down to between 65mph to 70mph ie non-turbo all the way. It cost me £30.81 which means a return of just over 32 miles per gallon.

Although not in the same league as a car (my dad gets about 65mpg from his Peugeot), I guess that's not bad!!

[Ems and Jim]

Well I just returned from Portsmouth (to Preston) which is about 310 miles. I managed to keep my speed down to between 65mph to 70mph ie non-turbo all the way. It cost me £30.81 which means a return of just over 32 miles per gallon.

Although not in the same league as a car (my dad gets about 65mpg from his Peugeot), I guess that's not bad!!

Which model you got ? 2.4 or 3.0?? Coz thats a scarily good return !!

[Koi]

Which model you got ? 2.4 or 3.0?? Coz thats a scarily good return !!

he got a 2.4

[robnw67]

Light Foot

Yep - the 2.4td with a new head. I also have a very light right foot. I'm getting nearly 30 to the gallon around town too.

Liberal use of Redex also seems to help.

Rob

[da SLUG man]

in my 3.0 i got 770 miles for £115 but that's the price of motoring today!
the tax is extortionate and i grudge paying insurance too!

[robnw67]

Overall Trip

Just as an addendum - the whole Christmas motoring cost me approx £85 for 725 miles - an average of 28.96mpg including some town pottering about in hilly Redditch.

So it seems fairly consistent.

Rob

[Woodie]

Is that right folks? I thought the thermostat was supposed to keep a fairly even temp?
Birdy - are you saying your temp gauge goes up and down according to the speed you are driving?

I make Rob right, the thermostat is meant to open at say 80.c and keep the temperature there, ie it will close in varying degrees at any less to let the engine heat stay at the optimum running temperature. (boffin mode, sorry)

[ruprecht]

I know this is pretty sad, but I've kept track of every fill since I've bought my Surf a year ago - spreadsheet attached

22.7012863 mpg, £0.1588/mile!

[birdy]

now i replaced the thermostat i get 21 mpg . the old stat was stuck open

[birdy]

ive just had an intercooler fitted (coustom made for the surf). there was no mods to ecu just a slight increase in boost to the turbo. the main reason i have had thi done was to reduce the heat going into the head and hopfully reducing the chance of the head cracking and of course there is the extra power and hopfully better mpg. the down side was the £ 580 bill .