bobsreturn wrote:HAS ANY ONE COME UP WITH A WAY TO MAKE THE V6 MORE ECONOMICAL? love the car but fuel is a worry on long trips . thanks Bob
Bob, unladen the Triton weighs in at close to 1800kg and, with all the fruit, mine would probably be nearer 2200kg. Lights, bullbars and various other appendages hardly add to the aerodynamics. So, you're not going to get economy car fuel consumption.
That said, driven with a little care, the V6 is capable of quite reasonable economy, especially on a trip. Obvious things are clean air filter and making sure the various sensors are working properly. Keep unnecessary weight to a minimum and ensure that tyres are at optimum pressures 32-34psi. The right oil does make a difference too; nothing heavier than 10W-40. Spark plugs degrade after about 60,000km, so if you've done more than that then a change will make a difference. Over 100km/h fuel use goes up exponentially as drag increases, so stay at or below 100km/h. Doing this I've achieved around 10l/100km - which is not bad for a vehicle of this type. Around town the usual things apply. Gentle acceleration, right gear, anticipating traffic etc. I have very short runs to and from work but still average around 14.5l/100km.
Off road the petrol engines use a lot more fuel than a diesel, especially in heavy going like sand and low range work. Not much you can do about that.
The diesels are more economical but they usually pay more for each litre of fuel and have to service twice as often. I did some comparison numbers a couple of years ago which I posted up here (somewhere
) - at the end of the day there wasn't a huge difference.
I put this theory to the test recently driving out to Warwick QLD from Yamba NSW, which is approx 300kms away and not exceeding 90km/hr!! I made it there with still a touch over half a tank of petrol!!!!! 
I've never come anywhere close to getting that amount of k's from just half a tank in the years I've owned the Triton. normally it would be sitting around the 3/4 empty at this stage.
