D40 Fuel Economy

[longy509]

I'm not 100% sure if the old adage of more revs equals more consumed juice is valid anymore with these new type diesels, I could be wrong, probably am.

Maybe you could trade the 40 in on something else while it's still newish, just a thought.

I'm fairly sure I get better economy when I drive faster, I like sitting on around 90-95, but I reckon if I sit on 100+ my economy is better.

Here's an idea, whenever you see a hill coming up, give her a kick in the guts and get up to 100+, you may find the momentum helps in getting up hills easier.

Mines a 6 speed manual and I seem to get better fuel economy if i drop a gear and keep the revs around 2500rpm rather then 2000rpm

 

[Sundowner2]

Tony, I'm gunna get a Hilux Ute...you can drop them off a cliff into the ocean and they will still start, first go, and that too must be true 'cos I saw it on TV.
Ok...my disappointment with my Navara goes way beyond fuel consumption....the vehicle is marketed as a 4x4 vehicle, some of the ads depict it as a capable off road machine. Get under yours and have a look, have a look at the plastic fuel tank and then look under your mates Dmax..note that he has a steel cover over his plastic tank, while you are under there have a look at the rear springs, check first that you have nothing in the ute and then note that those springs are flat, actually beyond flat with just 49mm space between the bumpstop you may understand why many people have to upgrade their suspension...but wait, this vehicle is rated for 300kg on the ball isn't it? oh, did I mention that my Navara has just 18000 km on the clock?...before you get out check where the diff breathers terminate..on your mates Dmax they finish up high up under the hood. Watch you don't bump your head under there, it does have the lowest ground clearance of any of the mainstream utes around. Yep, if I could afford it I'd probably buy a real 4x4...that Hi-lux is looking good...salt water or not..

 

[nathand22]

Tony, I'm gunna get a Hilux Ute...you can drop them off a cliff into the ocean and they will still start, first go, and that too must be true 'cos I saw it on TV.
Ok...my disappointment with my Navara goes way beyond fuel consumption....the vehicle is marketed as a 4x4 vehicle, some of the ads depict it as a capable off road machine. Get under yours and have a look, have a look at the plastic fuel tank and then look under your mates Dmax..note that he has a steel cover over his plastic tank, while you are under there have a look at the rear springs, check first that you have nothing in the ute and then note that those springs are flat, actually beyond flat with just 49mm space between the bumpstop you may understand why many people have to upgrade their suspension...but wait, this vehicle is rated for 300kg on the ball isn't it? oh, did I mention that my Navara has just 18000 km on the clock?...before you get out check where the diff breathers terminate..on your mates Dmax they finish up high up under the hood. Watch you don't bump your head under there, it does have the lowest ground clearance of any of the mainstream utes around. Yep, if I could afford it I'd probably buy a real 4x4...that Hi-lux is looking good...salt water or not..

mmmmmmm i wonder why you would put a plastic flexible fuel tank on a 4x4 instead of "protecting it" with a tin cover plate mmmmmmm thats a hard one.
and the other comments are just as funny, sounds like you need to buy the brilliant D-MAX to me.

Question, why didnt you research the car better if all those things are so obvious and clearly very important to you? also 100% of any 4x4 owner that i have seen that is serious about 4wding or touring, no matter what vehicle model or brand upgrades at the very least the suspension and tyres

 

[Old.Tony]

I think a metal fuel tank vs plastic fuel tank argument will find positives and negatives for both sides. A sharp rock will do just as much damage to either. And at the moment, I have both - the original plastic 80L tank and a 70L metal Long Ranger. Do I have the best of both worlds or the worst of everything?

We've done a little off-roading. Up at Lithgow we were actively avoiding some of the more serious stuff and ended up on Angel Place Track with half-metre drops in the middle of the track that we couldn't avoid, so while we don't go looking for the really hard stuff, we found it and dealt with it.

Your leaves are like that because flat leaves are softer. Hiluxes ship with "properly" curved leaves and they're quite stiff in the tail. We've already come to the conclusion that Nissan are aiming the Navara at the sedan market, they want it to drive more like a car, feel soft in the rear so that shopping centre speed humps don't cause grief, and bring the shopping home with ease. That will NOT cut it for the tradie or the towing fraternity. It doesn't make it a bad ute - it does make it a canvas, for you to paint your needs on.

It's not perfect - and the fuel economy of the Navara (take mine, for instance - 10LPHK highway, 12LPHK city, 17LPHK towing) might not be the greatest, but she's now a 5 year old car, drives smoothly and still feels powerful enough for me. The car fits my tastes and style. I'm not unhappy with the economy and as I've calculated elsewhere, the annual cost difference in fuel isn't enough to justify a change.

 

[siringo]

Tony, I'm gunna get a Hilux Ute...you can drop them off a cliff into the ocean and they will still start, first go, and that too must be true 'cos I saw it on TV.
Ok...my disappointment with my Navara goes way beyond fuel consumption....the vehicle is marketed as a 4x4 vehicle, some of the ads depict it as a capable off road machine. Get under yours and have a look, have a look at the plastic fuel tank and then look under your mates Dmax..note that he has a steel cover over his plastic tank, while you are under there have a look at the rear springs, check first that you have nothing in the ute and then note that those springs are flat, actually beyond flat with just 49mm space between the bumpstop you may understand why many people have to upgrade their suspension...but wait, this vehicle is rated for 300kg on the ball isn't it? oh, did I mention that my Navara has just 18000 km on the clock?...before you get out check where the diff breathers terminate..on your mates Dmax they finish up high up under the hood. Watch you don't bump your head under there, it does have the lowest ground clearance of any of the mainstream utes around. Yep, if I could afford it I'd probably buy a real 4x4...that Hi-lux is looking good...salt water or not..

Why tell us all this? If you're dissappointed with the Navara get rid of it while it's still 'newish' and get something that you will be happy with, however maybe spend a bit more time doing some research into what you might buy before you buy it.

Diff breathers mounted up high and tin covered fuel tanks do not a 4WD make.

I have scrape marks on my fuel tank, but I've decided not to cover my fuel tank as if it gets puntured and you have a cover over it (or under it) there's a good cahnce you're going to have to remove the cover before you can plug the leak. If you don't have a cover, you can get to the hole much quicker.

If you dent the cover and it ends up rubbing against the tank, it may eventually end up rubbing through the tank.

Plastic fuel tanks have been in cars for decades. I took a look at a brand new 79 series Landcruiser. They have 2 tanks. You know where the second one is, under the spare wheel, right where it will get whacked by rocks etc when you come down off a set of rock steps or down off a fallen tree etc. Plus it was made of plastic.

The best 4WD is one you have that you have adapted to what you want to do with it.

As to the Navara's 4WD abilities, I guess it depends on what you want to do. I've been up the outback with mine, been in LOTS of muddy slushy crap, been over the High Country and it has not once failed me, so I'm happy with it.

Good luck with yours and your plans.

 

[Sundowner2]

Yep' well I guess I stand alone in thinking that a vehicle portrayed and advertised as suitable for off-road' shouldn't need thousands of dollars spent on it to make it suitable for umm, off -road use.
Spoilt I was with a proper off-roader off the shelf, a Jeep Cherokee, fool am I.

 

[Bobtee]

Odometer

Dont forget that D40 speedo's read 9km's fast.

So 1090km's covered on the odometre is actually 1000km's covered.

Dave.

Yes Dave, the speedo does read about 8a% high but if you check the odometer against either the 5km measured markers seen on highways or against a good sat nav unit you might find that the odometer is correct.

 

[nathand22]

Yes Dave, the speedo does read about 8a% high but if you check the odometer against either the 5km measured markers seen on highways or against a good sat nav unit you might find that the odometer is correct.

The odometer is always altered when changing rolling diameter of the tyres, with all my navara's i found by going up in tyre size corrected my speedo but through out my ODOMETER by 8 - 10% depending on the model and how big i went on the rubber, and its the same with the new Ranger.

 

[boostin_7]

Ok guys, since ive put my arb bash plates on & installed a 2inch lift my fuel consumption has gone up by 1ltr/100km.
Is this normal, or coincidental & I should be looking for other reasons?

 

[happy john]

I would say the wind flow factor your a tad higher so the 2.5tonne brick is pushing harder to maintain speed, if anything the bash plates are a smoother area than before that shouldn't matter. In saying that I had no change to my consumption with the lift.
John

 

[boostin_7]

Yeah I guess ill keep an eye on it & see

 

[Old.Tony]

You could try running some injector cleaner through just to be sure it's not a bit of muck causing it. I just used some of this stuff in my car with fantastic results.

 

[boostin_7]

ok i think it was a couple of tanks of average fuel, just filled at bp on Monday and the trip meter is back in the low 8's

 

[Old.Tony]

Rumour has it that BP in major centres now sell a "premium diesel" which has a slightly higher cetane rating than most fuels.

Turns out the minimum cetane allowed in Australia is 46. Shell are supposed to be slightly higher, Caltex are at 49 (and have a small amount of detergent) and BP from 52 to 55 in the major centres, including an anti-foaming agent.

The higher cetane rating may improve fuel economy/performance by a small degree, but it's supposed to ignite a little sooner and faster, so it quiets the diesel down and lets it run smoother. I can't say for sure - I haven't tried it. I will when I can get to Sydney on a near-empty tank one day, but until then I've just gotta put up with the crappy dinosaur-juice we get up in Newy.

 

[ifishcq2]

first post and I already feel sorry for sundowner or anyone else who wishes they bought a dmax, unless they are built like a jockey (certainly don't fit mens shoulders)
cost, style and comfortability are by far in the navara's favour
see where their backs are after a few thousand kms
I have only just reached 2000kms and haven't bothered with fuel consumption yet, however
it needs fuel in the next day or so

 

[happy john]

Tony what does Caltex hope to achieve by adding detergent?, I never heard of it.

 

[Old.Tony]

Cleans the injectors. Supposedly. I've put quite a few tanks of Caltex through and still needed LiquiMoly injector cleaner.

 

[user 10312]

Cleans the injectors. Supposedly. I've put quite a few tanks of Caltex through and still needed LiquiMoly injector cleaner.

I tried that Liquid Molly gear and it's very good.

Engine was hunting at idle when cold (probably dirty suction control valve) anyway didn't have high hopes it would sort it but it did. At least for now. In fact economy is back and engine runs smoother overall.

Thanks for the tip on that gear Tony.

 

[ifishcq2]

Hi Guys, just filled up I am getting 11.7ltr/100km
will this improve as the car has only done 2060km
thanks in advance

 

[silvernavman]

Hi Guys, just filled up I am getting 11.7ltr/100km
will this improve as the car has only done 2060km
thanks in advance

That's what I'm getting now with 16000km, BFG at tyres, egr block, snorkel and other bits and pieces