The Fuel Economy thread

[The Monty]

I see a lot of figures being thrown around here when people get asked about fuel economy, so thought I might start a thread up to show how to work out and properly record fuel economy. I will also add a template for people to follow.

Combo (engine type, gearbox):
KM driven (how many Km you drove before you added fuel to the car):
L to fill (how many L the car took to fill):
Price per L (just for giggles):
Location (temp and conditions have an effect on fuel consumption):
Fuel type (also have an effect on consumption):
Average KM (if you have a Fairmont or climate control):
L/100km conversion (L divided by KM x 100):
Average L/100km (if you record here every week, you can work out your average):
Things to keep in mind.
Reset trip meter when filling up.
If you have diff gears, work out all your conversions before posting up figures that arent correct.
Try and use the same bowser and filling technique each time.
Dont count the DTE figure when posting up your figures, use only the trip meter count, as DTE will only give you an estimate on how much you MIGHT get from the rest of the tank if you keep driving the exact same way your driving at that time.

Ill go first, then post up the copy and pasteable table for people to use.


Combo: 4L i6, 4 speed auto
KM driven: 477.4
L to fill: 54.0
Price per Litre: 138.9c/L
Location: Brisbane
Fuel Type: V-Power
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 11.31
Average L/100km: 11.31

[The Monty]

Combo:
KM driven:
L to fill:
Price per Litre:
Location:
Fuel Type:
Average KM:
L/100km conversion:
Average L/100km:

[Beer Baron]

Combo: 4L I6 Autogomagic
KM driven: 640km
L to fill: 57
Price per Litre: $1.31
Location: Beaudesert.
Fuel Type: Vortex 95RON
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 8.9
Average L/100km: 8.9
Modifications: Extractors, High flow cat and 2.5 inch exhaust.

Beaudesert to Wishart everyday sitting on 100kph 60% of the distance.

[GS608]

Combo: 4L I6 Auto
KM driven: 454km
L to fill: 56
Price per Litre: $1.20
Location: Gold Coast
Fuel Type: Caltex 91RON
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 12.3
Average L/100km:
Mods: 2.5" exhaust, k&n filter

[Mr Hardware]

Combo: 4L I6 Auto
KM driven: 464km
L to fill: 56.3
Price per Litre: 62.7c
Location: United Strathpine
Fuel Type: Unigas LPG
Average KM: Probably around 70
L/100km conversion: 12.13L
Average L/100km: 14.1L (usually do more city)
Mods: Sheepskin Seat covers, dashmat, weathershield. Oh and i think i have some chewie in the glovebox

[ronwest]

Combo: 4L I6 Auto
KM driven: 1553
L to fill: 165.54
Price per Litre: 117.9 - 133.9
Location: Bris - Kempsey - Texas - Bris
Fuel Type: Caltex Unleaded
Average KM: N/A Didn't reset before trip
L/100km conversion: 10.66
Average L/100km: N/A
Comments: Carrying 3 adults + 1 baby + 3500kgs of stuff for baby. Baby + double demerit = within cooee of the speed limit the whole way :(

[The Monty]

Combo: 4L i6, 4 speed auto
KM driven: 510.6
L to fill: 57.86L
Price per Litre: 146.9
Location: Brisbane
Fuel Type: V-Power
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 11.33
Average L/100km:

Average:

Combo: 4L i6, 4 speed auto
KM driven: 494
L to fill: 55.93
Price per Litre: 142.9
Location: Brisbane
Fuel Type: V-Power
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion:
Average L/100km: 11.32
Mods: See below


Im getting fairly consistent fuel usage, which Im fairly happy with. Im doing a trip this afternoon, which I will fill up again after, and see hw it goes over s steady highway drive.
Another good reason to keep track of our fuel consumption is its a usefull tool for finding problems with your car. Suddenly your fuel consumption goes up, you check your variables and they are all the same, you know theres a problem with the car, and not the way that you are driving.
Problems like OXY sensors, cats, and thermostats can all be a contributing factor to fuel consumption issues.

[Bushbasher]

Originally Posted by The Monty

[B]
Another good reason to keep track of our fuel consumption is its a usefull tool for finding problems with your car. Suddenly your fuel consumption goes up, you check your variables and they are all the same, you know theres a problem with the car, and not the way that you are driving.
Problems like OXY sensors, cats, and thermostats can all be a contributing factor to fuel consumption issues.

Sorry to slide off topic a bit but funny you should mention that, both our vehicles had consumption issues in the last month where they both dropped about 50km to the tank for no good reason. I did all the usual checks apart from oxy sensor and all seemed as normal then suddenly this last 2 tanks things have gone back to normal on both vehicles so I'm putting it down to fuel quality. Oh, that's LPG BTW.

Oh, you forgot to mention dirty filters, (air, fuel) can also kill your economy as well.

Bushbasher

[The Monty]

The reason I put in the Fuel type was to see if there were any compareable figures on different types of fuel. Nex fill up Ill try a 98 ethanol blend, and see what it does to my economy. In the Monty I would see 100km extra a tank, but with this car, it seems to loose nearly 80km a tank, so Ill do a tank to show people the difference.

Also, yes, dirty filters will show a vast difference in fuel economy when they dirty up.

[The Monty]

As promised:

Combo: 4L i6, 4 speed auto
KM driven: 279.05
L to fill: 26.1L
Price per Litre: 145.9
Location: Brisbane
Fuel Type: V-Power
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 9.35L/100km
Average L/100km:
Other info: Was raining half the way. went Brisbane to Cunninghams gap, (up the range) and down again, through Boonah, Beaudesert and to Bennleigh, so not exactly a flat drive (very hilly)
FINALLY under 10L/100km, first time ever in this car.

Average:

Combo: 4L i6, 4 speed auto
KM driven: 422.35
L to fill: 45.99
Price per Litre: 143.9
Location: Brisbane
Fuel Type: V-Power
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion:
Average L/100km: 10.89
Mods: See below

Considering my mods, I can say Im EXTREMELY happy.

[GS608]

Combo: 4L I6 Auto
KM driven: 429km
L to fill: 60
Price per Litre: $1.25
Location: Gold Coast
Fuel Type: Caltex 91RON
Average KM: 40km/h
L/100km conversion: 13.9
Average L/100km: 13.2
Mods: 2.5" exhaust, k&n filter

[AUbigfoot]

Combo: 4L I6 Auto
KM driven: 400
L to fill: 59
Price per Litre: $0.569
Location: Adelaide
Fuel Type: LPG
Average KM: 42
L/100km conversion: 14.7
Average L/100km: 13.8
Mods: 2.5" exhaust

[ayeyew]

Combo: 4L I6 Auto
KM driven: 561km
L to fill: 57.4
Price per Litre: $1.38
Location: Liverpool, NSW
Fuel Type: BP Ultimate 98RON
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 10.23
Average L/100km: 10.23
Modifications: Pacie 4480's, 2.5" Catback, HiFlow Cat, Cam, Custom Tune (151rwkw)
Comments:This was with aircon on quite often!

[Dave_Obsession]

Combo: 4L I6 Auto
KM driven: 477.7km
L to fill: 55.86
Price per Litre: $1.329
Location: Melboune (Brandon Park Shell)
Fuel Type: V-Power 98RON
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 11.69
Average L/100km: N/A (first post)
Mods: see signature

Comments: About 80% 'city', 20% 'highway' driving....aircon also used for around 50% of the time...

EDIT - I vote this be made a sticky, it will encourage others to post their figures if they can see the link to this thread all the time...

[AUbigfoot]

I've just had my fun driving to Melbourne and back:

Combo: 4L I6 Auto
KM driven: 725
L to fill: 60
Price per Litre: $1.19
Location: Adelaide
Fuel Type: ULP
Average KM: 94
L/100km conversion: 8.3
Average L/100km: 8.27
Mods: 2.5" exhaust
Comments: 4 people including me as the driver, each person had a weeks worth of luggage in the boot also.

[Dave_Obsession]

Combo: 4L I6 Auto
KM driven: 503.9
L to fill: 54.99
Price per Litre: $1.319
Location: Melboune (Tally Ho BP)
Fuel Type: BP Ultimate
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 10.91
Average L/100km: 11.3
Mods: see signature

About 40% freeway km's this time....the other 60% pretty hard city driving

[Beer Baron]

Combo: 4L I6 Autogomagic
KM driven: 500km
L to fill: 48
Price per Litre: $1.38
Location: Moorooka
Fuel Type: Vortex 98RON
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 9.6
Average L/100km:
Modifications: Extractors, High flow cat and 2.5 inch exhaust.

[The Monty]

Combo: 4L i6, 4 speed auto
KM driven: 506.6
L to fill: 56.76
Price per Litre: 133.9
Location: Brisbane
Fuel Type: V-Power
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 11.2L/100km
Average L/100km:
Other info: This was the tank I went to go break the record with, even doing burnouts, and driving extrememly spiritedly, leaving it to idle for long periods, and a few stress tests on my new cooling system, so pretty happy again.

Total/average:

Combo: 4L i6, 4 speed auto
KM driven: 1773.65
L to fill: 194.72
Price per Litre: N/A
Location: Brisbane
Fuel Type: V-Power
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion:
Average L/100km: 10.98
Mods: See below

[smoo]

Combo: 4.0 auto
KM driven: 1399
L to fill: 110
Price per Litre: 1.72
Location: NZ
Fuel Type: 91
Average KM: ?
L/100km conversion: 7.86
Average L/100km: 7.86

[scrivens]

One quick Q - how accurate is the odo? Is it off 5-6% like the speedo or true? Anyone done a GPS check recently?

[scrivens]

Combo: 4L i6, 4 speed auto
KM driven: 648
L to fill: 54.7
Price per Litre: 118.2
Location: Adelaide
Fuel Type: Caltex 95
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion:8.44
Average L/100km:
Mods: 94000km on clock, Pacemaker 4499, Paccy freeflow cat, new coilpack, plugs, O2 sensor in last 1000km. Trip was mainly highway at 115kmh indicated. Usually get around 8-9L/100km country, 13-14L/100km city.

[sd1800]

Combo: 5L V8 Auto
KM driven: 371
L to fill: 60.5L
Price per Litre: 142.9
Location: BP Blacktown
Fuel Type: BP Ultimate
Average KM: 32kmph
L/100km conversion: 16.1l / 100km
Average L/100km: 16.1l / 100km
Mods: All in sig.

Had climate control on for 80% of the time. Includes giving it several good squirts when circumstances permit.

[Mr Hardware]

Originally Posted by scrivens

One quick Q - how accurate is the odo? Is it off 5-6% like the speedo or true? Anyone done a GPS check recently?

Depends on your wheels. Std wheels with std tyres it varies from 3% too fast to 5% too fast depending on your level of tread.

Ie brand spankin new tyres i sit on 103 to get a GPS100 and rly worn tyres i sit on 105 to get a true GPS100.

[Beer Baron]

Originally Posted by Beer Baron

Combo: 4L I6 Autogomagic
KM driven: 500km
L to fill: 48
Price per Litre: $1.38
Location: Moorooka
Fuel Type: Vortex 98RON
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 9.6
Average L/100km:
Modifications: Extractors, High flow cat and 2.5 inch exhaust.

Combo: 4L I6 Autogomagic
KM driven: 550km
L to fill: 49
Price per Litre: $1.38 i think
Location: jimboomba
Fuel Type: Vortex 98RON
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 8.9
Average L/100km:
Modifications: Extractors, High flow cat and 2.5 inch exhaust.

[HLC]

Originally Posted by sd1800

Combo: 5L V8 Auto
KM driven: 371
L to fill: 60.5L
Price per Litre: 142.9
Location: BP Blacktown
Fuel Type: BP Ultimate
Average KM: 32kmph
L/100km conversion: 16.1l / 100km
Average L/100km: 16.1l / 100km
Mods: All in sig.

Had climate control on for 80% of the time. Includes giving it several good squirts when circumstances permit.

this is closer to my economy..... but i have a 6 HAHAHAHAHAH

[sd1800]

hahaha nice. Yeh my EB2 6cyl used about the same in the same conditions as what the 5ltr does. Albeit it did have 2.5x the k's on it (260,000km vs 108,000km). My consumption might seem very high to everyone else but bare in mind nearly all of my driving is city driving and alot of that city driving is peak hour(i work in CBD and have to drive there being in sales).

Here are my new stats(nearly identical to last time):
Combo: 5L V8 Auto
KM driven: 320
L to fill: 52L
Price per Litre: 132.9c/L
Location: BP Bexley
Fuel Type: Unleaded 95RON
Average KM: 32kmph~~~?
L/100km conversion: 16.2l / 100km
Average L/100km: 16.15l / 100km
Mods: All in sig.


BTW: "Average L/100km" is worked out by the information i have posted in this thread. Not the trip meter.

[The Monty]

Bit of a change this week, I went to a 98 Ethanol for a comparison. As everyone always says that a 10% blend chews a lot more fuel, I thought Id put it to the test. I even thought it would chew more in this car, in the Monty, I always got better economy with a 95 10% ethanol blend.
The price of the ethanol blend was around 1.1cpl cheaper than the servo I go to for the V-power.
I think youll find the results pretty amusing.

Combo: 4L i6, 4 speed auto
KM driven: 577.96
L to fill: 63.48L
Price per Litre: 129.9cpl
Location: Brisbane
Fuel Type: Ethanol E10 98ron
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion:10.98
Average L/100km: 10.98
I didnt butter this up at all, this is the exact figures.

No loss in performance, and it is EXACTLY the same as what I normally average to 2 decimal points.

The Ethanol didnt even cause a flat tyre, no gearbox problems, and the windscreen didnt even crack (old joke if you dont get it, from when the conspiracy theorists were telling everyone how bad it was for your car).

Average figures:
Combo: 4L i6, 4 speed auto
KM driven: 2351.61km
L to fill: 258.2L
Price per Litre: N/A
Location: Brisbane
Fuel Type: V-Power/E 10 Ethnol 98ron
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion:
Average L/100km: 10.98L/100km
Mods: See below


Interesting stuff, my point has been proven, and this week, Ive gone back to V-power.

[Uncle_Ken]

Maybe one week on one week off?

UK

[The Monty]

Maybe, I dont know.

[BuckTooth]

Combo: 5L V8, 4 speed auto
KM driven: 685.3
L to fill: 60
Price per Litre: 142.9
Location: NSW - Vic
Fuel Type: Caltex 95RON
Average KM: N/A
L/100km conversion: 8.75L/100km

All done on the open highway from start to finish, very little town driving. Air-con used constantly due to the heat. Speed generally 110km/h