What economy are people getting from their MN's

[destorman]

Your right destorman it is a lot of money to a lot of people, but at just under $10 per week the numbers are hard to compare, weather, road surface, road incline, accessories and driving style play a much bigger role than the consumption numbers give credit to.

Mate, 100% agree that ALL those factors you mention have an impact. That's why I'm comparing very similar vehicles (both GLX manuals with same rubber) and same driver, same roads - as similar use as practically possible.

Like I wrote, the wider tyres, then alloy rims added to the fuel economy, but so too the radiator recall fix (running more pressure, hence higher temp and software patch associated). The first two due to our decision and the last out of our control. In hindsight, looking at the historical use, we'd have been better off staying with the cheese cutter 2015's on the steel rims - the D697's on the alloy rims do look much nicer though.

Also, FWIW, I was reminded today I would need to 'adjust' all my fuel consumption figures for the fact the 205/65r/16 rubber has a different diameter to the wider 225 and 245 tyres subsequently fitted, with perhaps the impact not as much as calculated due to the change in rolling distance. I'll do some calculations and see what the impact really is ...

[thatguydrivesatriton]

After getting back from the tip, and keeping a keen eye on my fuel economy, I noticed this:

On the highways going up to Cairns, sitting on the speed limit with air con on, K&N Filter, awning, fully loaded, 265/75R16 AT tyres at 42psi and a 2" lift I got ~10.3L/100. Down from the 11 that I was getting pre- K&N. However, on the dirt doing 80k/h max with tyres at 25psi and a snorkel sock I was getting an average of 10.8l/100. On the tele track it blew out to about 16L/100, but that's to be expected - lots of idling and low range. I planned on an average of 15L/100 at $1.35/L, so my fuel budget didn't run out on the way back - Bramwell Roadhouse was $2.10/L!

Putting on the awning added .2L/100. From new, driving from Mackay (where I bought it) to Brisbane I got ~8l/100 and it's slowly worsened in economy to where it is now, with 27,000km on it. I didn't put the EGR blank in until 7000km, and still haven't put a catch can in, so it could be carbon in the intake manifold. Usually engines get more efficient as they wear in, not the other way around. Catch can is the next thing I do.

Anyway, when my savings recover I'll be getting an exhaust, ECU tune, and intake manifold clean so I'll see what affect that has! From what I've read the ECU tune increases by about 10%, so that should take me under 10l/100.

I see these numbers, and sometimes miss my old Barina and it's 4.5l/100.

[shaman42au]

Here are my fuel consumption figures for a 2011 GLX-R automatic.
Accessories include tow bar, dual battery and a canopy. Wheels as supplied by MMAL.
95k-100k 11.4l/100km
100k-105k 12.2l/100km
105k-110k 12.7l/100km.
15k average is 12.2l/100km

Always serviced within 1k of a service interval.
Mainly city driving with occasional freeway driving.
Seldom tow a trailer.
Always fill tank to top (stats include 30 tanks of fuel)
Only ever got below 10l/100km on one of 30 tanks.
Odometer is pretty accurate, speedo is about 8% out.

I have had this car from new, and these figures reflect the fuel consumption right from the get go. At the beginning you tend not to tell the stealer because the car needs to settle in, then you mumble at your service and they tell you the replace filter blah blah blah. Then you have to measure and follow up, and you lose the car for a day and who knows what they do.

The onboard computer mileage report (manual or auto reading) very seldom correlated with the consumption as measured by odometer and bowser readings. Actual consumption is always more than onboard computer.
I have tried chipping the car, but this had little effect, and I gave up because every time I went to stealer, would have to remove chip, and this meant removing the dual battery to get to the common rail access point.

Turbo replaced at 110k service, 2 months out of warranty at own expense. Don't know whether thi swill make a difference, so I will persist with keeping stats.

So all that's left is my driving style. I try to read the lay of the land ahead to minimise stop start, but I do put the boot in on occasion.

I think the moral of the story is one could not expect to get any better that 11l/100km out of an automatic.

[leonbee]

Here are my fuel consumption figures for a 2011 GLX-R automatic.
Accessories include tow bar, dual battery and a canopy. Wheels as supplied by MMAL.
95k-100k 11.4l/100km
100k-105k 12.2l/100km
105k-110k 12.7l/100km.
15k average is 12.2l/100km

I think the moral of the story is one could not expect to get any better that 11l/100km out of an automatic.

I get 10's. Just wondering if carbon build up is the problem. Do you have the egr blocked or a catch can

[Stoneman]

I had gotten 560-580 a tank regularly since new
With the new engine I was down to 530-540 running in
After the first service I seen 600klm give or take a few

Son reset the bloody thing doing his Learners log book so keen to see what the next tank does

I fill up when the light comes on and I think it's around 65ltr to fill...roughly

Pretty stoked if it keeps them figures out of a tank

[MilkmanDan]

Last few tanks 800-840klms.

[SLIMaxPower]

I have been getting between 16-18L per 100 since new on my MN14 manual. Been towing a 2.5T trailer since dot. Had towbar, xrox bar, sidesteps, snorkel, lift kit, 265/65/17 & Raptor m8 rims since new. Chipit, dawes valve, Electronic EGR mod, Air filter, 3" scotts exhaust & resonator, Hi Spec fuel vavle, secondary fuel filter, aftermarket charge induction and intercooler pipes, 285/70/17's. Chipit is running tune 10 now - fuel economy hasn't really changed. That's what happens when. you put a petrol head in an oil burner right Tony!

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[shaman42au]

Hi Leonbee,
Short answer not for these measurements.
I have Tony's SPV module, but took it out a while back towards end of warranty.
My turbo blew up 1 month after warranty, and there was oil throughout high pressure inlet components.
When mechanic took it all apart to clean up oil, yes there is carbon build up in the inlet manifold..
My mechanic cleaned it up, so I will now put SPV module back and run mileage stats for the next $10k.

However, I have never had good consumption like 10's you mention in this car, so I don't think I would attribute the consumption to carbon build up, unless it arrived from Thailand with carbon installed!

Keith

[leonbee]

Hi Leonbee,
Short answer not for these measurements.
I have Tony's SPV module, but took it out a while back towards end of warranty.
My turbo blew up 1 month after warranty, and there was oil throughout high pressure inlet components.
When mechanic took it all apart to clean up oil, yes there is carbon build up in the inlet manifold..
My mechanic cleaned it up, so I will now put SPV module back and run mileage stats for the next $10k.

However, I have never had good consumption like 10's you mention in this car, so I don't think I would attribute the consumption to carbon build up, unless it arrived from Thailand with carbon installed!

Keith

It appears to be Just luck of the draw with these engines in regards to fuel consumption

[gspy4u]

Only have a canopy, tow bar and crap in the back but always seems to average in the 10's and if mainly highway will get 9.3 - 9.6 consistently. Not bad for an auto.

[Bullwinkle]

Hi all,

Just thought I'd share some figures with you. Currently on the tail end of trip up to the centre. Been towing a hired Kimberley Kamper trailer, which I'm told weighs 1400 kg loaded, plus 2 full Gerry cans, plus maybe another 100 kgs of luggage including a bit of firewood. Itinerary has been from Ballarat to Renmark, then to Wilpena Pound for a couple of nights, Port Augusta, up the Stuart highway to Marla, 3 nights at Uluru, a night at Kings Canyon (do the rim walk - it's amazing) 2 nights at Alice Springs, a night at Coober Pedy and currently on the second night in Kapunda, heading to Naracoorte tomorrow, then home to Ballarat the next day. So far we have done 5,052 Kms (according to my odometer, on standard highway tyres) and used 544.44 litres of diesel, as measured at the pump. Average 11.57 litres/100km. Mostly travelling at indicated 95 ish km/hr which seems to be the sweet spot. We had planned to do Arkaroola and the Oodnadatta track on the way up, but the rain put a stop to that. Best fuel consumption was from Wilpena Pound to Port Augusta, all down hill, with a tail wind and given we had a bit of time did this at 90kmh. 182 km, 18.37 litres = 10.09. Average price paid for diesel was $1.256 with a high of $1.97 at Kings Canyon (just a top up of 24 litres and used one of the Gerry cans here)

Overall, very happy with the ute and its fuel consumption. Only drama was a bolt coming loose and dropping out on one of my driving lights on the Meerenie Loop from Kings Canyon to Alice, so I'm heading home with a driving light duct taped to my nudge bar.

By comparison, most of my driving is urban, not much highway, and usually get around 9.1 to 9.3. Ute is pretty much bog standard, 2013 manual GLX-R with factory tyre size, nudge bar and factory canopy.

[paulmp]

Hi All,

I bought a 2nd hand 2009 MN GLX-R Manual 3 weeks ago, it had only done 44,000kms (legit from a dealer with log books and service history). It is using 15L/100 on the open road with cruise control set to 110kph.. no extensive mods, just the standard nudge bar, a canopy and roof racks. The tyres are bigger than factory too at 265/70R17, I'll look at reducing those down to factory size when they're worn out.

No idea why it is using so much fuel, I'm pretty light on the pedal and I've tested it over 3000kms so far, it is pretty consistent.. around town (mostly 70kph zones) it is averaging between 6.5L/100 and 7.5L/100 depending on the stopping and starting. I've seen it as low as 5.7L/100 on the computer with a tail wind.

I've had the vehicle serviced, changed fuel and air filters, run injector cleaner through it and cleaned the MAF. I've just run an EGR / Intake cleaner now, will be driving it up to Perth (300kms mostly 110kph highway) so I'll see if that has made a difference.

The odometer and speedo are accurate according to my GPS and the way I've been testing it is filling up to the first click, driving on the highway for 200-300kms, filling up again at exactly the same pump using both the trip computer and the GPS logger to work out the average, there is usually only 0.05-0.1L/100kms difference between the 2 calculations.

Would love to get this down to at least 10L/100 on the open road. My dad has the GLR, same mods and gets 8.5-9L/100 on the open road while fully loaded with tools and building materials. He is also a bit of a lead foot.

- paul

[MilkmanDan]

Back it off to 105ish and will claw some economy back, 110 seems to chew

[Sabre]

Hi All,

I bought a 2nd hand 2009 MN GLX-R Manual 3 weeks ago, it had only done 44,000kms (legit from a dealer with log books and service history). It is using 15L/100 on the open road with cruise control set to 110kph.. no extensive mods, just the standard nudge bar, a canopy and roof racks. The tyres are bigger than factory too at 265/70R17, I'll look at reducing those down to factory size when they're worn out.

No idea why it is using so much fuel, I'm pretty light on the pedal and I've tested it over 3000kms so far, it is pretty consistent.. around town (mostly 70kph zones) it is averaging between 6.5L/100 and 7.5L/100 depending on the stopping and starting. I've seen it as low as 5.7L/100 on the computer with a tail wind.

I've had the vehicle serviced, changed fuel and air filters, run injector cleaner through it and cleaned the MAF. I've just run an EGR / Intake cleaner now, will be driving it up to Perth (300kms mostly 110kph highway) so I'll see if that has made a difference.

The odometer and speedo are accurate according to my GPS and the way I've been testing it is filling up to the first click, driving on the highway for 200-300kms, filling up again at exactly the same pump using both the trip computer and the GPS logger to work out the average, there is usually only 0.05-0.1L/100kms difference between the 2 calculations.

Would love to get this down to at least 10L/100 on the open road. My dad has the GLR, same mods and gets 8.5-9L/100 on the open road while fully loaded with tools and building materials. He is also a bit of a lead foot.

- paul

Hi Paul,

110kph makes a huge difference as opposed to 98-100 kph, give a try and see the difference at around 2000 rpm as opposed to 2200rpm.

Cheers

[RHKTriton]

Sounds high for a manual.

My 3.2ml manual would do around 10.5 to 12 with 265 75 16s at 110kph.

Questions:

What tyre pressures, have you checked vacuum hoses on turbo, MAP sensor hose & port, cleaned MAF etc?

Also, my son has same model and kit you describe in auto with standard tyre spec and gets around 10s at 110kph.

[Ragnarok]

9.5 regularly.

Auto 2014 mainly suburban driving

[Bullwinkle]

I agree with Sabre, in my ute the difference between 110 and 100 km/h is huge. Even on a 110 freeway, I will only do 100. If in no hurry, will back that off to around 96, which seems to be the sweet spot for my ute.

[paulmp]

I live in Western Australia.. it is possible to drive for 2000kms and not see any police.. or even much of a town for that matter

Running the Diesel Engine Intake Decarb by Liqui-Moly through it seems to have settled it down a fair bit, I averaged 12.8 on the return trip to Perth (about 550kms). Around town it is even better too.

Tyre pressures: 40psi on the front 47 on the rear, the guys who did the wheel alignment and balance put them up to that. I usually run them at a more comfortable 38psi all around, but I've not changed these ones since I got it.

I'll check the vacuum hoses on the turbo, I couldn't see anything out of place, loose or hear any air sucking where it shouldn't be. MAP sensor is a new one to me RHKTriton, I'll google where to check that out MAF is clean, I cleaned when I replaced the air filter.

Is anyone running a K&N Air Filter? I used to run one on my Navara, just made it easier to be able to clean and keep going when servicing on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Will be putting on a snorkel in the next few weeks too.

Thanks for the help and suggestions! I'm heading off to Esperance in a few hours, it is a 1500+ km return trip so I'm sure I'll be able to tell if the fuel economy has gotten better.

- paul

[Maxiy]

SOOOOO my ailing fuel economy is not getting any better.

Started at 8.5/100 when i got the ute brand new (bulk standard).

I now get 12/100

This is how my truck stands at the moment.
2014 2.5 MN Manual
Weight 2.35 tonnes (unloaded)
ARB deluxe Bar
16 inch steel sunnies
30 inch A/Ts (run at 40psi)
Rock sliders
80 series steel roof cage
3mm stainless bash plates
warn winch (with cable not rope)
secondary fuel filter
Tonys EGR mod
K&N air filter
Safari Snorkel (cheap knock off)
Factory tow bar.

Based on the above, does 12/100 sounds like a reasonable fuel usage to you all ??? or am i missing something and i should be checking up on a few things to help the economy out ??

Thanks for the input

[braydenc]

My MN 53,000ks on it now with Tonys mod gets 7.9 on the highway and 9.0 around town now how I do this you wonder,

Well, the setup is 265/75R16 tyres AT stock suspension no bull-bar manual and a few extras maybe 100kg over stock.

On the highway I sit on 100ks 4th gear the car cruises on 7.0-9.9 depending on road, the wind, inclines now I know this is slower than the 110 rated speed but in 5th gear with the bigger tires 5th gear lags its always trying to boost up and it always feels like its struggling up hills etc.

So 4th on the highway bit slower than normal and cruise I always slow down for people to overtake btw.

Around town is always slow speed build I am lucky as my drive is a 90kph road to a 60kph road to work so it sits in 4th and chugs along but traffic lights etc always sloooooow speed build up these things on boost will blow your fuel figures away very quickly.

I recently bought a camper trailer and I am curious to know the impact that will have I also run fuel doctor in every 3rd tank.
I bought the camper filled up and done the trek from Perth to Geraldton, then the misses went to IKEA so we loaded another 200kg in so I was pulling roughly a tonne of weight.

I returned a result of 11.4 liters per 100k now it was purely 4th gear on the hills and a tad of 5th in the very straight sections about 40ks of the whole trip I sat on 97KPH and it was a great drive, in essence, I use generally just under 3 quarters of a tank of fuel so normally between half and 3 quarters now on this trip with the camper plus extra weight I used 3 quarters of fuel going by the gauge.

Personally, I thought I was going to use more but it wasn't too bad the car was just serviced before we went so everything was fresh and new.

Not bad for the rig but it was a gutless boat on the way home pulling that load.

[murwullambah]

I used to get a consistent 11.5 from my PB challenger, sold private and bought a MQ GLS Auto now get 8.5 l/100

[Naff]

SOOOOO my ailing fuel economy is not getting any better.

Started at 8.5/100 when i got the ute brand new (bulk standard).

I now get 12/100

This is how my truck stands at the moment.
2014 2.5 MN Manual
Weight 2.35 tonnes (unloaded)
ARB deluxe Bar
16 inch steel sunnies
30 inch A/Ts (run at 40psi)
Rock sliders
80 series steel roof cage
3mm stainless bash plates
warn winch (with cable not rope)
secondary fuel filter
Tonys EGR mod
K&N air filter
Safari Snorkel (cheap knock off)
Factory tow bar.

Based on the above, does 12/100 sounds like a reasonable fuel usage to you all ??? or am i missing something and i should be checking up on a few things to help the economy out ??

Thanks for the input

Sounds reasonable to me. Is the 12L/200 calculated or off the dodgey in cab display? You've added a lot of weight and running significantly different tyres. I dream of 12s.

[explorer.dave]

Sounds reasonable to me. Is the 12L/200 calculated or off the dodgey in cab display? You've added a lot of weight and running significantly different tyres. I dream of 12s.

I would love 6L/100
As Naff said, sounds about right to me also, I'm getting roughly the same but with an auto, the steel roof cage wouldn't be helping, all the add-ons contribute to weight / drag.

[Maxiy]

Sounds reasonable to me. Is the 12L/200 calculated or off the dodgey in cab display? You've added a lot of weight and running significantly different tyres. I dream of 12s.

calculated per tank, dont have the dodgy dash display. i have not factored in the percentage variance due to increase tyre size, but dont think that would change it all that much.

cheers guys, figured it was normal justed wanted some reassurance

[snakesoup]

yep sounds about spot on mate and is around what I use with similar setup