Hi all, another question about my ute if you dont mind. I have been monitering fuel use for a few tanks now and it seems pretty bad. I do a 14km run into work and the same home, and some as long or longer runs in the weekends. I am consistantly getting 420kms to a tank, which is 64 litres. I would hope to get at least 600kms. Its a V6 3.8. I do sometimes load it up with stuff but not all that often so mostly its no load commuting. Is there anything I can try to make the economy better! I read on here now and then about cleaning the throttle body when talking poor economy. Is that something I should do! If so, is anyone able to give instruction how! How much influence can plugs and leads have on economy! Cheers all.
bubbles244,
May 9, 10:25pm
It's got nothing to do with aftermarket chips. any 3.8 buick fitted to a commodore ute or otherwise should be get minmum 550 kms on that much gas, ours is a 5.7 V8 and its sitting on 9.1 litres per hundred kms.
I suggest a full service of engine and trans before buyinga aftermarket chip.It will be more beneficial to do that and put new bearings on the axles to reduce rolling friction then buy a chip for the ecu
donz01,
May 9, 10:54pm
Fuel use seems high. My VS 3.8 auto towed a tandem car transporter 270km from Ashburton to Omarama cruising around 100kmph most of the way and used 27 litres to get there. We returned with a nissan bluebird on the trailer sitting around 90kmph and used about the same amount again however i did not fill it up to see what we actually used. I almost always get at least 10km per litre when out of town. No chips but do have a cold air intake anda simota high flow air filter. Nearly 580,000 km on the clock as well so it is well used.
sr2,
May 9, 11:07pm
I agree that a good tune is the place to start, but replacing the wheel bearings! For a wheel bearing to be that worn that it??
berg,
May 10, 12:31am
Only 14kms each way might be your problem. Running cold for the first 5kms or so will not be helping the fuel usage. I get 9.2ltrs per 100kms on good runs but short runs can soon knock that figure especially if there are a few stop starts on the way. Try it on a good run without the short runs and see what you get
msigg,
May 10, 1:50am
yea berg your correct, stop start cold engine , what do you expect. Even if you get it running better you will only save maybe $10 a week anyway. Two latte.
a.woodrow,
May 10, 1:57am
Well firstly, what speed is your commute! if its open road then fuel consumption is high, if its 14km of round town driving then it's not too far off what I would expect
40wav,
May 10, 1:59am
Almost all open road at off peak times.
a.woodrow,
May 10, 2:05am
Wow way too heavy then. After a tune up and maf sensor clean, if you have no improvement I would perhaps look at the 02 sensors, one might be getting a bit lazy. Also the chips are a pretty good option, had one in my vt calais, 11L per 100km round town and only 7L on the open road
escort72,
May 10, 2:15am
Don't bother with a chip, factory fueling is surely skewed on the ECU towards economy than power so no need.
a.woodrow,
May 10, 2:17am
No actually factory setting is biased to overfuelling, there is both performance and economy to be gained from fitting a chip
gmphil,
May 10, 2:47am
+1 on the bearings and change ur air filter
magicmat,
May 10, 3:43am
Crikey how the hell do you manage 9.1 litres per hundred kms with a 5.7! I am lucky to get 15 litres per 100km and I have mine regularly serviced and its mafless etc. No matter how I drive it seems to guzzle the gas. I love the thing but the gas consumption is a pain in the butt. I get around 10litres on the open road but around town it can be as high as 20litres per 100km (LS1 engine).
treachug,
May 10, 4:18am
Get the oxy sensor(s) & the coolant temp sensor checked. Both have a reputation for failing on Commodores. Coolant termp sensor is cheap from your Holden dealer, easy to locate on engine & install (p/n 92017805)
NZTools,
May 10, 4:46am
A 14 km trip on the open road is barely enough time to get the engine fully up to operating temp, let alone the transmission and diff etc. All of these take a lot more effort to turn when cold, which uses a lot more fuel. Fill the tank up, hit the trip meter, and go for a decent drive. Then work it out. Cold running all week will do your wallet no favours.
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