Bad Fuel Consumption

[Dropz]

ok so lately (bout 2-3weeks) i have been driving my car a bit harder (no I haven't been drifting in the wet or been an idiot). basically, i live in the adelaide hills, and the rolla takes them with ease in 3rd.... at 40 -.- the roads are all limited to 60 so ive been pushing it a bit harder so i can achieve the limit of 60. sits on maybe 3500rpm.

 

anyway my fuel usage has gone from ~200km to half tank to about 130-140km to half tank. I have a stock 4kc.

 

anyway ive been thinking maybe because I'm revving out the gears a bit more obviously its using more fuel but would it actually make THAT much of a difference?

 

also, i recently put in a thermo fan so my temp gauge is now sitting below the 1/4 mark by about 1mm. may the drop in average temp have much to do with the fuel usage?

 

any ideas relating to my problem are accepted, just don't try to label me as a hoon because I'm not.

 

thanks for any responses :(

[Bamboo]

IMO

 

after 80 ks an hour every 10 ks adds 10%. so giving it the berries up a hill will def affect fuel consumption.

 

I know your not a hoon, try adjusting the nut behind the wheel.

 

What grade of fuel are you running?

[KENut]

I thrash the absolute bajebus out of mine, still get 450km out of a tank easy.

Last week it used a crapload more fuel, reason: fuel pump dying slowly. Fuel everywhere :(

Might be worth a check

PS mine sits on more than 3500rpm most of the time (highway)

[Dropz]

ive been giving it 91 for about 3 months now, before that it was 95.

 

its been above 80ks for about 20mins in the past like 2 months. that was the freeway tonight and last week lol.

[Evan G]

put 98 octane in, adjust dwell, bump the timing up to 15 degrees and go for a "test" drive,

 

i was getting 200km outta a tank when my secondaries wernt opening on my carby

Edited April 10, 2010 by Evan G

[Dropz]

havent noticed a fuel smell but it may be worth a look.

[Bamboo]

havent noticed a fuel smell but it may be worth a look.

 

Bingo. Perhaps its not all going into the engine.

 

Evan, with 98, it's a very heavy fuel and tends to "sit" in the bowl. The engines like 95 with a handful of timing. But they are jap engines and will run on 91. But fuel consumption will suffer. If the fuel companies wouldn't profit so much on hi octane all would be well.

 

I imagine most of us use 91 cause of the price thang

Edited April 10, 2010 by Bamboo

[Dropz]

ive been meaning to check my dwell. havent checked it in months, and ive been to melb and back mid january.. lol

 

not going to stuff around with the timing that much. its my daily, it just needs to putt around happily at 60, and on the occasion 80 or 90.

 

i hate seeing places that have pulp (95) cheaper than 91, cos its always just after ive filled up and decided to go on a cruise. then again none of them are close to me so its not like id goto that much effort for it.

Edited April 10, 2010 by Dropz

[KENut]

I imagine most of us use 91 cause of the price thang

 

Nope, I always use 98. Economy and performance make up for the price in my opinion. Ethanol is the worst! Car went so shit with that

[Evan G]

Nope, I always use 98. Economy and performance make up for the price in my opinion. Ethanol is the worst! Car went so shit with that

 

+1^^^^ my car was pinging its head off/running like a pig on 91, 98 allways or 95 if I'm tight on cash

[Bamboo]

Nope, I always use 98. Economy and performance make up for the price in my opinion. Ethanol is the worst! Car went so shit with that

 

Ethanol eats rubber. So all the lines will be f@$ked.

[chappo12]

yea that 10% ethanol fuel is so bad and now there stopping ron 91 from being sold its pulp for me

[KENut]

Good thing it wasnt my current car then! Yeah I knew that, anyway I have since sold that car and havent been game to try ethanol blend again

[corolla_nut]

Ethanol is hydroscopic (it absorbs water) so don't leave it sitting in a metal tank for too long, it will cause rust. To top this off, it seems to pick up any crap you have in the tank and distribute it throughout the fuel system, AND it eats some types of rubber and gaskets...

 

Oh, and the amount of energy required to make ethanol is greater than the energy that you receive from using the ethanol as a fuel...... so its a real "green" renewable fuel...... to think people are going to grow crops specifically for this shit! I can understand the making and using of ethanol if you have shite loads of crop waste lying around, but to GROW crops SPECIFICALLY for this......

 

Anyway, to the fuel consumption issue:

 

check your air filter is clean, if in doubt replace it. Make sure it looks clean and not discoloured as well as cleaning it with compressed air until there is no more dust and stuff coming out of it. Check your tyre pressures. Check/replace your fuel filter. Check condition of points, that the gap is correct and they are not burnt horribly (a little is normal) check your distributor cap and rotor are in good condition, the leads are in good condition, and the spark plugs are clean and the gap is adjusted correctly (.8 from memory). Set your timing to 8-10 degrees initial on a stock curve, and if your car is not modified, I'd run 91 octane NON ETHANOL fuel.

 

We use around 10-12 litres per 100km in a heavily modifed ke55 with a 4k engine, depending upon how hard we flog it lol, (it gets raced with a car club as well as driven on the road) and it sits at 4000rpm on the highway.....

 

Robert.

[Dropz]

thanks for that robert, havent actually thought of fuel filter lol. the air cleaner is clean, i checked it last week. and all my sparkies, leads, points, rotor button and dizzy cap are new approx 8000km ago. ill check the sparkies still are ok though.