Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

[Stevo Member Find all posts View Profile Close Stevo]

Re: Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

With the risk of sounding like a non believer,has this car ever hit the speed limits?
I would die for that sort of economy....
cheers Stevo

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

Re: Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

mine gets that sort of number while cruising at 100kph on the flat, even better if going a bit slower. If there's any starting/stopping then it rises. I have averaged 15.67L/100K over 93,346kms which has included almost 30K of towing our wind-up camper. Most of the rest is suburban 'rush hour'.

[samo Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close samo]

Re: Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

you fuel economy will be like having the rack back on when you get your extractors and exhaust because the foot will be down harder because it will go better and you will like the sound, you will be getting 20l/100km plus around town because you will be dragging people of at the light. cheers samo :lol: :wink:

[teztinkv6Prado Member Find all posts View Profile Close teztinkv6Prado]

Fuel Economy - V6

G'day all,

Thought I'd mention that over the last few months my fuel economy in the VX under normal driving conditions with no a/c on (winter) and running Caltex Vortex 98 as I always do saw the fuel figures go from bout 15L/100 to about 22L/100.
I recently had tyres and it underwent a major service with plugs changed, etc. (80K) so all shouldve been good.
It demonstrated to me that the tyre fitters tell you the pressures that make it comfy and probably maximise the wear on the tyres. The tyre shop told me to inflate my BFG's to 38PSI on rear on 36PSI on front. (Great for a Falcon/Commodore) and thinking that they should know their product.
One night recently after getting really shitty with the car at not getting 1000k to a full 180L load, I checked the tyre pressures and blew them up to the side walls spec's to see what would occur (80PSI max) I blew them up to 60PSI all round ( the servo line couldnt go any higher.)
Well, the fuel figures plummeted to 14L/100 and the car felt more surer on the road too albeit a bit firmer which I prefer. This made me happier but I also thought I'd rip out the MAF and see what cleaning it would do (as per another tread on here) and the VX is down to just under 12L/100.
It's taught me a valuable lesson to read the side wall on the tyres and ignore what the tyre jocks tell me. I will probably leave the tyres at 60PSI as they still have a bit of give as the vehicle isnt loaded up often. Prob. nothing new to you guys but I guess when the previous rubber has the max. tyre pressures of what was quoted, i didnt think of it as being wrong.

Now being back to being a happy Prado owner.
My 3c worth...
PS: has anyone put a set of extractors and exhaust on and seen any noticable diff in power and fuel suckage?

Terry

[tassie tiger Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close tassie tiger]

Re: Fuel Economy - V6

sounds good except the fact that the tyres will wear chronically down the middle rendering them unroadworthy in about half the service life.

There is a lot more to tyre pressures than fuel economy. Handling, deformation and puncture resistance, comfort and tyre life are worth considering.

The correct pressure according to toyota is 190kpa which equals 27.55psi. (1 kPa = 0.145038 psi).

You are effectively increasing the recommended pressure by 300% :shock:

[stevensr34 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevensr34]

Re: Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

Equal mixture of city and highway driving, just resulted in 12.9 l/100km on filling up this week.
Standard 120 V6 manual. No mods. No extra weight. Tyres on 36psi.

[Stevo Member Find all posts View Profile Close Stevo]

Re: Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

Lucky Boy...great figures indeed
cheers Stevo

[teztinkv6Prado Member Find all posts View Profile Close teztinkv6Prado]

Re: Fuel Economy - V6

sounds good except the fact that the tyres will wear chronically down the middle rendering them unroadworthy in about half the service life.

There is a lot more to tyre pressures than fuel economy. Handling, deformation and puncture resistance, comfort and tyre life are worth considering.

The correct pressure according to toyota is 190kpa which equals 27.55psi. (1 kPa = 0.145038 psi).

You are effectively increasing the recommended pressure by 300% :shock:

I'm still playing around with the tyre pressures and am monitoring the tyres for any undesirable wear as I believe you have a valid issue to raise. Years ago I was told by a driver for the RAC that the tyre pressures given by the car manufacturers are for optimum comfort while maintaining economy with the tyres often being slightly underinflated and to go with the pressures set by the tyre manufacturer.
I used this principal on the previous Falcons I owned and never had an issue with tyre life. I am not disagreeing with you with your statement rather observing that if I run 28PSI in my BFG's they would be seriously underinflated by the tyre spec's. Given I moved away from this idea when my first Prado was around I didnt particularly care cos the LPG cost me $35 a week. Now I am on Premium Petrol, I am investigating this notion and it seems to be proving its point.

Will play with it and see what happens. Ultimately, if I loose 5000km of the tyre life but save $20.00 per tank I am willing to accept that compromise.

Anyways, we'll see how it goes.

Cheers
Terry

[johnsy79 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnsy79]

Re: Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

I can only dream of some of the figures in this thread :? :? Best I have had was 15.6L/100km, generally averaging around 16.9L/100km. Thinking of getting an exhaust upgrade which will hopefully improve things a bit. Currently running stock tyres,snorkel, dual batteries and roof rack. Never loaded around town driving. Keeping in mind have only done 25 000km since new, a few more kays may help?? May have to play around with tyre pressures also (nothing too drastic). Any thoughts people?? I would be ecstatic if I could get it down to 14's as fuel (ULP 91 RON) is 156.9c/L :!:
Johnsy

[two+four Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close two+four]

Re: Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

I can only dream of some of the figures in this thread :? :? Best I have had was 15.6L/100km, generally averaging around 16.9L/100km. Thinking of getting an exhaust upgrade which will hopefully improve things a bit. Currently running stock tyres,snorkel, dual batteries and roof rack. Never loaded around town driving. Keeping in mind have only done 25 000km since new, a few more kays may help?? May have to play around with tyre pressures also (nothing too drastic). Any thoughts people?? I would be ecstatic if I could get it down to 14's as fuel (ULP 91 RON) is 156.9c/L :!:
Johnsy

What sort of Roof rack Johnsy? Chippy was saying when he had his rack off for a while so he could get into parking buildings he was saving around 20% on petrol. I keep mine on all the time as I am forever chucking odds and ends up there to get from a to b so I just have to expect the higher cost.

[Guest Close max_rocktansky]

Re: Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

Johnsy,

Try these idea's (they seem to work for people)...

1. Loose the roof rack (at least 4 litres extra per 100 km in a petrol V6 prado). Swap it for a alloy one, you can fit when you are going away, then throw it in the shed for day to day type driving.
2. Smash a bottle (500ml spread across to refills) of Nulon Fuel injector cleaner into it.
3. Ensure your air filter is spotless and empty the particle drain at the bottom of the housing weekly.
4. Run tyres at 38 psi minimum all around.
5. Make sure you clean your MAF sensor every month.
6. Use cruise control whenever practical.
7. Save up for some Pacemaker headers and open up the second pipe off the tri-intersection and add a free flowing muffler.
8. Try to only run 95RON if you can get it.

Hope this helps abit.

[johnsy79 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnsy79]

Re: Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

What sort of Roof rack Johnsy? Chippy was saying when he had his rack off for a while so he could get into parking buildings he was saving around 20% on petrol. I keep mine on all the time as I am forever chucking odds and ends up there to get from a to b so I just have to expect the higher cost.[/quote]
two+four - Rack is a Rhino Alloy Luggage type tray. (lightweight) I would love to take the rack off but I just dont have the room to store it at the moment.
max_rocktansky - thanks for the tips, will try a few of them although I'm reluctant to use any additives at least until the warranty expires ( Oct 2011). Those MAF sensors get pretty dirty huh? I'll have to check it out. I also run a snorkel precleaner which I clean regularly and air filter is always cleaned/replaced. Headers sound like the go! although this may not have the desired effect on consumption due to more right boot movement??!!
Cheers, Johnsy

[Guest Close max_rocktansky]

Re: Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

If your truck is auto, do what I said and you WILL see mid 14's, every fill.. every month...

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

Re: Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

I can only dream of some of the figures in this thread :? :? Best I have had was 15.6L/100km, generally averaging around 16.9L/100km. Thinking of getting an exhaust upgrade which will hopefully improve things a bit. Currently running stock tyres,snorkel, dual batteries and roof rack. Never loaded around town driving. Keeping in mind have only done 25 000km since new, a few more kays may help?? May have to play around with tyre pressures also (nothing too drastic). Any thoughts people?? I would be ecstatic if I could get it down to 14's as fuel (ULP 91 RON) is 156.9c/L :!:
Johnsy

Looking at where you're based, I'm guessing you don't sit looking at too many traffic lights which is the real killer for a petrol. My V6 (dual batteries, Soverign bar, NO roof rack, D694 tyres at about 36psi) has now done 90K+ and is averaging 15.6L/100. That includes towing a heavy wind-up camper for approx 30K and the majority of the rest is suburban Melb (lots of traffic lights, starting/stopping, etc). On trips into the country (both our parents live out of Melb) it will do 11-12L/100 @ 100kph (depending on road) but increasing the speed to 110-115kph increases the consumption to 14L/100 even on a flat road (my wife is usually asleep so I watch my Scangauge for entertainment!). So, if you're ripping up and down the highway at 115-120 then maybe try slowing down (difficult if travelling longer distances!) and go easy on the loud pedal when taking off.

However, is it worth worring about? Say you take your roof rack off, drive like a granny and save 2L/100. That's $3/ 100kms travelled. Say you do 500k per week, that's $15 for the inconvienence...

[johnsy79 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnsy79]

Re: Fuel Consumption V6 Engine

Hmmmm, might have to get me one of those Scanguage thingamebobs. Would be good to see real time results without having to wait for a whole tank of juice to go through while experimenting with the suggestions above.
Johnsy