towing vehicles

miffy · Member

towing vehicles

gst · Senior Member

I tow with a Nissan patrol diesel I some times get 6 to 7 Kim to the litre towing I get 9 to 12 not towing and that's on the main tank but most diesels will give more k to the litre I do have a chip in my veh but that's just my veh others people with other makes of vehs have difference things that they can pass on to you as they say horses for courses

justcruisin01 · Guru

If your tow vehicle is doing the job ok, appart from the fuel & is in good mechanical condition then look at it from a different prospective.

You will spend many thousands of dollars just to gain another couple of kls to the ltr.

The money to change over just for that reason will pay for the little extra fuel for many years, & still have change left over at the end of the tugs life.

JC.

dazren · Guru

JC WROTE

If your tow vehicle is doing the job ok, appart from the fuel & is in good mechanical condition then look at it from a different prospective.

You will spend many thousands of dollars just to gain another couple of kls to the ltr.

The money to change over just for that reason will pay for the little extra fuel for many years, & still have change left over at the end of the tugs life.

JC.

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Truer words were never spoke ?? Well said JC.== Fuel consumption alone, would not justify the extra $$$$

tonyd · Guru

Miffy, if you are using 25 to 33 litres of fuel to go 100kms, I hope you only go on short trips!

Cheers, Tony

gst · Senior Member

My patrol is 2005 I had a dp chip put plus they say when I put the 3" exhaust on it will help even more but I believe that if you do this to most turbo diesel veh's it will improve the fuel and towing power but that if you do't have a heavy foot. But when I have to change motors one day I'll put in a 6.5 Chevy .

-- Edited by gst on Sunday 5th of August 2012 12:36:16 PM

bill12 · Guru

GST, what model patrol have you got, and what chip did you put in.I am interested as I am looking at a new vehicle. Thanks, Bill

miffy · Member

thanks gst, can you tell me what year and model you have. we are thinking that it might be better to have something that you can improve rather than the jackaroo that many mechanics have told us that there is no way of improving the economy in .. cheers miffy

Kiwi-as · Guru

GST,I have a 6.5 in my 100 series, best I have got is 13.4 per 100kls, when towing a near 3 ton van ranges between 17 and 21.

spida · Guru

2006 nissan navara dcab turbo manual - get 14 - 17 litres per 100km towing 18ft van - better when a tail wind!

fridaydog · Member

Hi All
I put a Chip Express unit in our 2008 Pathfinder (about $600). Made about 30% improvement in consumption. Now we get about 10km/100l without van, and about 14km/100l with a 2.5t loaded van. By my calculations we will be showing profit on next trip. If you get a chip it is CRUCIAL to get one which is developed for your engine. There have been a couple of posts elsewhere from unhappy consumers and I can't help wonder if they got the right one for their configuration.

Graham

Cruising Granny · Guru

spida wrote:
2006 nissan navara dcab turbo manual - get 14 - 17 litres per 100km towing 18ft van - better when a tail wind!

Imagine the improved consumption if you towed a little slower. Why are you towing anything at 100 KPH?

Just because it's the maximum speed limit, doesn't mean it's compulsory. Please take all due care on our roads at all times and reduce your towing speed. Give yourself time to take evasion action should the need arise. So much traffic, so many opportunites for things to go wrong, and involve you.

Safe and happy travels.

JRH · Guru

Cruising Granny wrote:
spida wrote:
2006 nissan navara dcab turbo manual - get 14 - 17 litres per 100km towing 18ft van - better when a tail wind!
Imagine the improved consumption if you towed a little slower. Why are you towing anything at 100 KPH?
Just because it's the maximum speed limit, doesn't mean it's compulsory. Please take all due care on our roads at all times and reduce your towing speed. Give yourself time to take evasion action should the need arise. So much traffic, so many opportunites for things to go wrong, and involve you.
Safe and happy travels.

Ditto!

justcruisin01 · Guru

Cruising Granny wrote:
spida wrote:
2006 nissan navara dcab turbo manual - get 14 - 17 litres per 100km towing 18ft van - better when a tail wind!
Imagine the improved consumption if you towed a little slower. Why are you towing anything at 100 KPH?
Just because it's the maximum speed limit, doesn't mean it's compulsory. Please take all due care on our roads at all times and reduce your towing speed. Give yourself time to take evasion action should the need arise. So much traffic, so many opportunites for things to go wrong, and involve you.
Safe and happy travels.

That reads 14-17 ltrs PER 100kls, not 14-17 AT 100kls. disbelief

JC

Kiwi-as · Guru

Yes Jim, that's as I read it too. Per 100kls, NOT at 100kls.

KISS · Veteran Member

Updated from a 2.5 Turbo diesel Pathfinder pulling our 21ft6 van weighing all up around 2.7 tonne to a Mazda BT 50 3.2 Turbo. Pathfinder 18L per 100 kms at best at 80 kms per hr with a tail wind and flat road. Worst 24l per 100 kms at barely 80 kms an hr into head winds and hills. Averaged over all 20l per 100 kms. Mazda, still new, (also Ford Ranger) 14L per 100 kms in cruise control at 85 kms an hr. Goes over the hills with ease without changing back. Also Mazda 8.5l per 100 kms without van - Pathfinder 12l per 100 kms. For the money best around unless you have a Landcruiser at double the price.

Hope this helps as it's only my experience but I cannot speak highly enough of the Mazda for the price.

Happy Travelling

Cruising Granny · Guru

It's confusing. I count kilometres per litre when doing my mileage, and I've never worked it out any other way.
Not to worry. Safety first no matter what.

miffy · Member

hi graham,is your pathfinder a deisel or petrol.? and where did you get the chip to suit the engine.? thank you for your help.

Paul and Pam on Tour · Veteran Member

Miffy, we have a 2004 Rodeo 4x4 crewcab with the same motor as yours, 3 years ago we had it converted to dual fuel, Autogas and petrol....we had an vapour injection system installed, it cost $2200 under the Fed Govt conversion program. The system paid for itself in a little over 11 months. We could not be happier, we can detect absolutly no performance difference when running on LPG compared to petrol.
This system should not be compared to the systems as used in yesterdays taxi's, it automatically starts on petrol, it continues on petrol until the engine has warmed up and the engine revs exceed 1400 RPM so eliminating issues such as manifold icing and backfiring, gas is injected directly into the cylinders via a seperate engine management computer which mimics the original system.....this 'warm up' procedure takes only around 5 minutes or maybe 3 km, this is the only time we ever use petrol.
As for consumption, firstly, prior to conversion we were recording figures of towing on petrol of around 17-20 L/100km (we have a 16'Poptop of around 1.2 tonne all up), on autogas we average 23L/100km, or a low of 16.5 to a high of 27l/100km.
Two years ago we had a second tank installed to increase our range, this was an additional cost of $1200, we now have the ability to travel between most major centres where autogas is usually cheaper, to date the price range for gas has been .49 cents per litre to $1.18 per litre, but generally it has been around half that of diesel, the availabilty of Autogas has increased dramatically in the past 12 months, on main highways most towns have it, travelling further afield requires some research on websites such as LPG Australia which lists all locations.

Interesting to note that prior to converting our Rodeo to LPG I did extensive research, I was amazed at how many people advised against it, most of these opinion were ill informed and based upon experience of old (ie Kingswood Taxis), a comment from a technician of the RACQ summed it up.."Mechanics love cars on gas....its good for BBQ's too"!
Our Rodeo has now travelled 76'000 km on Autogas.

*Note here that, like it or not, L/100km is standard method of stating fuel consumption in Australia.
Paul.
Brisbane.

Paul and Pam on Tour · Veteran Member

As a side issue, anyone considering fitting a 'performance chip' is advised to do research beforehand....some of the claims made I am aware of are quite suspect...two things to remember; ....decrease fuel comsumption and increase performance by up to 20%. zero percent is in there!!...and; if the fitting of a performance chip makes such a difference why it is that the manufacturer didnt fit one in the first place.

I understand that there might be many out there who will swear by their chips...and I know there are many who wish they hadnt wasted their money.