fuel consumption 120 prado TD

[msdriver Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close msdriver]

Hi every one!

am looking for some advise on how to improve fuel consumption......we recently got back from QLD towing a jayco expanda fully loaded 1600kg from my calculations on average we were getting 22.2L per 100kms, i would of expected this to be a lot lower! we did 4860kms and used 1080 litres of fuel at a cost of $1205! any ideas on how i can lower fuel consumption for the next trip?? secondly i was very dissapointed with the amount of power when towing the slightest hill and i would be dropping back to 60 and in 2nd or 3rd gear!

i dont really know much about cars as you can probaly tell....4

thanks in advance for any suggestions/comments.


cheers

marc

[matt150 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close matt150]

Service. Fresh filters. Injector cleaner thru the fuel tank. Correct tyre pressures... Places to start with.

Hope this helps.

[Sav_prado Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Sav_prado]

Hi every one!

am looking for some advise on how to improve fuel consumption......we recently got back from QLD towing a jayco expanda fully loaded 1600kg from my calculations on average we were getting 22.2L per 100kms, i would of expected this to be a lot lower! we did 4860kms and used 1080 litres of fuel at a cost of $1205! any ideas on how i can lower fuel consumption for the next trip?? secondly i was very dissapointed with the amount of power when towing the slightest hill and i would be dropping back to 60 and in 2nd or 3rd gear!

i dont really know much about cars as you can probaly tell....4

thanks in advance for any suggestions/comments.


cheers

marc

You may want to get it looked at, I did a trip to mansfield afew weeks ago, and I also have a 16 foot expanda, I did a rough estimate on the km's and I worked it out at 16lts per 100.. Still rekon I could do alittle better.
The best way to save fuel, and I have tryed it plenty of times, is to sit on 85 to 95Kmph, you can save heaps of fuel this way, Also if its a auto, and if the motor is under load, put it back into 4th and just use 5th gear for down hills and flat roads..

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

You need to put in your profile the model/year of prado as the 120 come with two diesel engines, the 1KZ in 02 upto I think it was late 06 when the D4D was then inserted. Two very different power horses the D4D will leave the 1KZ for towing power and the 1KZ will drink fuel alot more then the D4D, going by the sounds of it you have the 1KZ ?? 343nm compared to the D4D's 410nm. 22.2L per 100 does sound high either way BUT if your got your foot buried to the floor trying to maintain 110k plus headwinds, hilly terrain, plus fully loaded I would still be expecting 18's. My 1kz was not real good on fuel and was just as thirsty as my 90 V6 was on the sand, absolutely drank it on the sand. Maybe there was some thing wrong with mine ?? Im not sure as around town the usual was around the 14 and 11.2L per 100 on open road but not towing. Push it to 110/120 and it jumped to 15 easily and if it was a hot shitty muggy day running aircon at 110k I would see 17.2L per 100 MORE then my 90 V6 or my current 120 V6. As suggested maybe get the injectors checked out and or pump timing as well although normally you would see plumes of black smoke out the arse end especially while pulling a heavy load and your foot buried to the floor. Any black sooty shit on the front of the van ?? Excessive ?? Cheers Steve

[uk_vette Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close uk_vette]

Hi every one!

towing a jayco expanda fully loaded 1600kg from my calculations on average we were getting 22.2L per 100kms,

marc

.
Blerry 'ell that's heavy on fuel.

Mine is a D4-d, (1KD-FTV) and towing a 1700kg 4 wheel caravan, I get 21 miles per gallon, = 13,45 liters per 100km.

Some thing seriously wrong, if your getting 22,6 liter per 100 km, that's just 12,8 miles per gallon.
Are you sure about them figures?

Your sums have to be wrong.

vette

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Ive done the sums that he has put up and if his figures are correct then it works out to 22.2L per 100.........Cheers Steve

[Whitey1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey1]

Our D4D 08 gets around 16l per 100km towing a 1500kg camper trailer at about 95kmh. 22 sounds very high

[Sunshine Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sunshine]

That sounds like a lot. We have a 120 but it is the old motor, the 1KZ and we pull a 1100kg loaded Jayco Eagle and we get between 13.4 to 13.8 depending on the terrain but we do travel at only 90kph all the time. Over the last three years we have travelled more than 12,000km and it doesn't seem to change so there is something wrong and needs to be checked out.

[Heath74 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heath74]

Yep sounds high. What sort of accessories are you carrying? For example, once you add roof racks, bulbar and sliders, fuel consumption goes bad. Not to mention mud tyres or the like.

I'd agree with above that something is not running right.

A couple of things that I have found improve fuel use are, high flow muffler, and air filter, plus the simple stuff like tyre pressures.

When towing my camper 1100kg loaded, plus all of the accessories above, I get anywhere from 14-15 l per hundred. Now I sit on 110 and overtake at will, so don't make any great effort to conserve fuel, I'd rather get there and open a can!

[msdriver Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close msdriver]

Hi everyone,

thanks for the replys, mines an 03 1KZ,with a soverign bull bar, side steps, roof racks but other that that its pretty stock standard. this is my 1st diesel car i have ever owned and was told by many people that ya cant go wrong they are much better for towing and for travelling! we had it serviced and all the filters replaced before we left, tyres are brand new road tyres michelin (i think) will have to get some injector cleaner and put that through, as for speed during the trip i would of liked to sit on 100kms/h but was lucky if i could get to 90-95 that was with foot almost flat to the floor and forget about over taking anything there was just no grunt /power however didnt see much black smoke or black stuff on the front of the caravan there is a little bit but not much. the figures are correct as ive just re calculated all the reciepts from the trip and it still works out the same, im just puzzelled as to why its so high!

cheers for your suggestions!!

[uk_vette Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close uk_vette]

Hi everyone,

thanks for the replys, mines an 03 1KZ,

.
Sorry I just read your post again.
You don't have the. ( 1KD-FTV (D4-d) so really you can't compare my fuel consumption with yours.

Also, as Brian posted above, about the 90km/h

I never go over 90km/h, generally I am towing at about 87km/h on cruise
To be honest, I used to think that my 21 mpg ( = 13,45 liters per 100km.) was very bad, but now I am not so sure..

Last summer we towed from middle England, France, Germany, Alps, Italy, Naples, back to France, then south of Barcelona in Spain.

Certainly a good few thousand km's under the belt.
The 'cruiser was faultless.

I wish I could offer some pointers of your poor fuel consumption, but on a brighter note, the injectors for your 1KZ will be fraction of the price than injectors for your 1KD.

If it were me, I would head over and have 4 reconditioned injectors fitted, and have the pump pressures checked.
Just for starters.

vette

[iantz Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close iantz]

Ok. How exactly did you work this out? The 1kz has a shocking fuel gauge. The reserve holds a good 20 litres of fuel after the light goes on. You need to account for this if you are doing calculation based on when the light goes on. Also, the first 90 appears to burn very slow according to the fuel gauge, whilst the second 90 flies through. So, you can't really do calcs based on when you switch from one tank to the other, as the liters are variable. I've also noticed previously that i've had a fuel light on, stopped at the shops, started the car again, and then no fuel light for a while. This has to do with fuel cycling between the tanks. So first things first: How exactly did you calculate figures?

As others have suggested, sitting around 95 produces good fuel savings in the 1kz. If you're trying to keep up at 110km etc, expect to burn a lot of fuel. Over-taking in the 1kz at 100+km is usually fine, so if you're having power issues then something is wrong.

For the GTG, my very rough calculations put me at @17L per 100km. This includes all towing and offroad driving. On the way up to Orroroo (start of the GTG), I was pushing the 1kz hard, the wind was blowing hard, and I had @1100kg on the camper trailer. I also have a roof platform that catches a lot of wind, a shovel, and awning, and a set of maxtrax on the roof. This all adds up to resistance. I was around the 17.5L mark.

You should have a downturn in you exhaust pipe. This will prevent any soot from building up on the bumper and also the caravan, especially if you're running at speed. I wouldn't take the absence of this soot as meaning anything. How many KMs on the car, and do you know whether you've had injectors replaced before etc?

Ian.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

the only possible way of correct calculations is by starting with both tanks full speedometer set at zerothen refill to top again then note the klms travelled and litres used then do the sums.......cheers steve