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trizo
Forum Moderator
3091 Posts
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 Posted - 23 Jun 2008 : 2:33:56 PM
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I dragged this out of the achives, it was written up by one of our mods mouce, there is every thing you need to know about fuel consumtion and how to save a bit whilst driving c if it helps at all .....
[ quoted from mouce ]
I can't speak for EVERYONE with a VN out there, but I know my manual (V6) does fairly well on fuel (depending on how I drive it)...
Around town I get an average of about 11L/100km, I can get it much lower (9.8L/100km), but it's not as much fun ;)
Out on the open road I can regularly hit 7.5L/100km.
It's quite safe to assume that an auto will use upto 1L/100km more than the manual.
Keep in mind that I run a 98RON fuel at all times, and have found that it's actually cheaper to do so than use standard ULP. If possible stay away from fuels containing Ethanol.
As for how to get better fuel figures from your car there's quite a few things you can do:
1) Clean your throttle body, a clean t/b will give a smoother idle, which will mean that the engine uses less fuel at idle, and if you're anything like me you spend a lot of time stuck at lights: http://www.vncommodore.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=394
2) Tyre pressures. Holden recommend 28psi, this gives a really nice ride and makes it damn hard to spin the wheels. I recommend 32-36psi. The ride is not a lot firmer, but you will use less fuel, the tyres will last longer, but be careful in the wet, the harder the tyre is the less traction you have. Mine are at 34 at the moment and it's all good.
3) Lights. Unless you are required BY LAW to run your low-beam lights during the day, don't. The extra strain on the electrical system uses a noticable amount of fuel. If you're really obsessed with having DLR's for some reason, get yourself a good quality set of forward facing WHITE LED lamps and use them.
4) The air-conditioner. Useful for defogging windows, and when cruising on the open road. Around town there's nothing that will use more fuel than the a/c. When the a/c is being used the engine needs a fair bit more fuel to keep it all happy, especially at idle. When you're cruising at 100kph, or even a steady 80kph by all means have it going, but when you're stuck at lights...nuh.
5) Oils ain't oils. Use a good quality oil in the engine...sounds stupid I know, but the quality of the engine oil can affect your fuel consumption. I (and a few other people on the forum) use either Penrite HPR15 or Penrite HPR30, there's a few who use the Castrol GTX range. I will say though...unless you've had your engine rebuilt recently, stay away from magnatec, I don't know anyone who gets good results when using it in their VN.
6) Air-filter. A paper panel filter does filter the air, that's true. However a good quality washable panel filter (such as K&N or unifilter) will help. And for the sake of $50 at your local holden parts department you can get a VS V6 supercharged CAI (cold air intake), hook that into the airbox and you're onto a winner. For the best of the best, go for the CAI running into a custom made box which houses a pod filter, it's a bit of stuffing around, but well worth it.
7) Weight. No...I'm not having a go at you here...I'm talking about any extra crap you carry in your car. Most people keep their car clutter free, but every now and then there's someone who just collects 'junk' in their boot. If you don't really need it, don't carry it.
8) Sound system. This is a bit more of a difficult one, because it's not like you're going to take out your subs/amps just to save fuel (god knows I wouldn't). But there's no point having your subs bouncing away if you're listening to the footy or the cricket. A simple switch can be used to cut the power to the amp which drives the subs (place the switch in the 'remote' lead for the amp, not the power lead). This is the same idea as the lights, don't run them if you don't need them.
9) Windows. There's nothing that screws up the aerodynamics of a vehicle like opening a window. At any speed below 60kph (ie, stuck in traffic or tootling through suburban streets) it's not so much of a big issue, but anything above 60kph and you're best off with the windows closed.
10) Vacuum. Nope...not the hoover type the gauge type. http://www.vncommodore.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=481 Learn how to use a vac gauge while you're driving and you'll be amazed at how much fuel you can save. If I drive by the vac gauge (and the tacho) I can regularly see 10L/100km around town.
11) O2 sensor. The oxygen sensor is located in the top of the passenger side exhaust manifold (have a look down past the big black air pipe and you'll see something that looks kinda like the top of a spark plug in the exhaust). This should be replaced every few years. It's responsible for telling the engine how much more fuel it needs to inject. As they die they cause the engine to run rich, not only is this not great for fuel consumption, it also causes your exhaust do die early. They normally cost about $70 from places like repco.
12) Fuel filter. If the fuel filter gets blocked enough, it can cause problems. In extreme cases it can even cause fuel leaks (as one member found out). It's located on the driver side chassis rail down near the fuel tank. Most people forget to change them regularly because, out-of-sight, out-of-mind.
I'm sure there's more stuff that I could come up with, but that should be enough to get you started.
BTW: Welcome to the club.
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