Improving Stagea Fuel Economy/consumption

[910trx]

reading the m35 gas thread

$5000 initial outlay for a liquid gas injection system is a bit steep (using the thread as reference) but so is nistune, intercooler, and anyother tricks to lower consumption down to a level which is considered the stageas besf but far from viable.

anyone had experience with gas installations on stageas/r34s? yes i will loose a bit of boot space, but our dog is small

[KiwiRS4T]

I think there's two or three around. Here's one:

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/226938-lpg-stagea-rs4-series-2/page__hl__lpg+stagea

[910trx]

i guess (with searching) if anyone knows a gas place in adelaide with half a brain who can do a LiLPG or a dam good gas conversion otherwise, feel free to PM me.

nth to central to east suburbs, but willing to travel for good workmanship.

[zoomzoom]

Is gas really worth it?

Ive known a few people that have had conversions done, and none of them said it was worth it in the end. They were all average car users, nothing excessive like taxis.

Maybe it would be worth it to buy a factory fitted LPG system, like on a commodore, but otherwise I dont think its a good economical idea.

At least with E85 you can retain most of your standard fuel injection system.

Edited January 19, 2011 by zoomzoom

[ironpaw]

or go m35 axis - it is starting to look like a realistic option now...

Hmmm...don't expect any fuel savings there. I get 14-15 L/100 KM with City driving...

on the Freeway its 10L/100KM...but I don't use the freeway enough...

[910trx]

I guess i must make this clear, i am not after a performance upgrade although retaining its current performance is highly sought

i'm up for making the stagea into a more viable option for daily duties when compared to selling.

the appeal of the stagea in terms of its functionality holds significant weight already

the good ol search function had some great info and i have been recommended some people to have a chat with.

I am happy for more opinions but its about time i speak to some experts about making it happen

it is a avenue i am willing to explore further.

Edited January 19, 2011 by 910trx

[wolverine]

Do the front pipe - get a Nistune and a good tuner and tell him that economy is a priority. You shouldn't need two boost settings you have a controller called your right foot!!

I couldn't agree more.

I reckon you are right there....I have done everything to mine in various stages and never got better than 350 to a tank regularly (about 17l). I do use it in heavy traffic and I have a heavy foot.

I might swap cars with one of you guys that gets 10 or 12 for a couple of weeks and see if it is me or the car

On the bright side.....its a bloody brilliant car

Ms Wolv generally gets around 14L/100km with a >260rwkw car driving in Sydney traffic. She doesn't drive it that hard but likes to give it a squirt off the line to irritate Falcodores with stripes on the side. On the highway we got it down to 11.5L/100km with Bells Line of Rd - Bathurst pussyfooting around.

I have no idea how to get the fuel usage down to 10L/100km without driving like Miss Daisy and even then it looks unlikely.

I guess i must make this clear, i am not after a performance upgrade although retaining its current performance is highly sought

i'm up for making the stagea into a more viable option for daily duties when compared to selling.

the appeal of the stagea in terms of its functionality holds significant weight already

the good ol search function had some great info and i have been recommended some people to have a chat with.

I am happy for more opinions but its about time i speak to some experts about making it happen

it is a avenue i am willing to explore further.

I think KiwiRS4T has called it spot on. This would be your best option to trim some fuel and keep the enjoyment up.

[XRATED]

I have a very stock (k&n pannel filter) s2 c34 auto. I averaged 8.6l/100km over 2200km @100km/h and we get 12-13lt/100km around town.

I have a couple of mates with fordterries the NA version runs around 18-21lt/100km and the turbo version runs upwards of 27lt/100km!!!

.........and you think stags are bad.

Cheers

Justin

[pipster11]

I have a very stock (k&n pannel filter) s2 c34 auto. I averaged 8.6l/100km over 2200km @100km/h and we get 12-13lt/100km around town.

I have a couple of mates with fordterries the NA version runs around 18-21lt/100km and the turbo version runs upwards of 27lt/100km!!!

.........and you think stags are bad.

Cheers

Justin

how did you manage to get it that low on the highway? i get about 10-11 in a manual s2

ouch to the terrys, but they do weigh about 2 tonnes

my gf's dad said that his n/a terry got about 9/100 on the highway tho

Edited January 19, 2011 by pipster11

[XRATED]

how did you manage to get it that low on the highway? i get about 10-11 in a manual s2

ouch to the terrys, but they do weigh about 2 tonnes

my gf's dad said that his n/a terry got about 9/100 on the highway tho

It's a long straight road from Brisbane to Tassie... Conservative driving, 45psi in the tires, driving mostly at night... I've found if you can minimise the stop start accelerate driving, the fuel use is cut in half.

Terry 9lt/ ... maybe at 60km/h. Ha ha ha.

Justin.

[wolverine]

It's a long straight road from Brisbane to Tassie... Conservative driving, 45psi in the tires, driving mostly at night... I've found if you can minimise the stop start accelerate driving, the fuel use is cut in half.

That makes a whole lot more sense to me now.

[910trx]

i admit the times it went under 10/L was 100km ph, 12`c ambient temp, 4am, hay plains no wind, cruise control

but was carrying stuff on roof, 3 very tired Moto GP fans, a full boot of tents, pots and err other things, and no one to follow to break up the air a little

3 1/2 tanks round trip too and from phillip island in total - melbourne destroyed our figures and thats the problem

[pipster11]

i do gold coast -> tassie at least twice a year

i never thought about going at night tho, less traffic and cooler temps

maybe i should also put some cheese cutter wheels on too

[Family Wagon]

Hmmm...don't expect any fuel savings there. I get 14-15 L/100 KM with City driving...

on the Freeway its 10L/100KM...but I don't use the freeway enough...

These figures seem about standard from ALL the reading ive been doing.

In saying that... they are quite impressive when you consider the car is awd and weighs in over 1600kg

I have just purchased my 99 S2 stag, stock. Still on first tank and its looking like i'll get 250km out of this tank.

Having read the various thread regarding fuel economy im guessing a tune exhaust and o2 sensor could be my problem......it does smell a little rich

[pixel8r]

hmmm, realistically, although this sounds negative, I've yet to hear of any modification you can do that will save you more in fuel costs than the modification itself costs...at least not within 2 years.

EDIT: that is, unless your car has a problem which is causing the poor fuel economy. eg. replacing a stuffed O2 sensor will easily pay for itself...

Even if you dropped your consumption by 2L/100km, which is a lot, you'd only save say 4-8L/week which still works out to less than $12 a week in savings...and I doubt you'll be able to drop your consumption by anywhere near 2L/100km for less than $600 or so.

Having owned a s2 stagea for 2 years and a M35 for 2.3 years, I eventually gave up trying to do anything about the fuel usage, other than just adjusting your driving style or just plain driving less.

A bigger turbo and exhaust will save on fuel (the turbo - due to being off-boost more) but the cost outweighs any financial benefit and the laggier turbo has its own share of frustration to go with it.

Sorry I couldn't offer you a brighter perspective...but them's the facts. Work out where your priorities lie. If you want to keep the stagea, then cut down in other areas...but if you would prefer not to cut back on other luxuries (eating out etc) then maybe that's telling you the stagea has to go. Just trying to help Been through that decision so many times until eventually I gave in and sold the stagea. The mortgage always wins.

Edited January 20, 2011 by pixel8r

[pipster11]

don't put fuel in it is my current fuel saving regime at the moment

i've only used about 5 litres in the last week (and there is probably only 5 litres left in the tank)

[zoomzoom]

hmmm, realistically, although this sounds negative, I've yet to hear of any modification you can do that will save you more in fuel costs than the modification itself costs...at least not within 2 years.

EDIT: that is, unless your car has a problem which is causing the poor fuel economy. eg. replacing a stuffed O2 sensor will easily pay for itself...

Even if you dropped your consumption by 2L/100km, which is a lot, you'd only save say 4-8L/week which still works out to less than $12 a week in savings...and I doubt you'll be able to drop your consumption by anywhere near 2L/100km for less than $600 or so.

Having owned a s2 stagea for 2 years and a M35 for 2.3 years, I eventually gave up trying to do anything about the fuel usage, other than just adjusting your driving style or just plain driving less.

A bigger turbo and exhaust will save on fuel (the turbo - due to being off-boost more) but the cost outweighs any financial benefit and the laggier turbo has its own share of frustration to go with it.

Sorry I couldn't offer you a brighter perspective...but them's the facts. Work out where your priorities lie. If you want to keep the stagea, then cut down in other areas...but if you would prefer not to cut back on other luxuries (eating out etc) then maybe that's telling you the stagea has to go. Just trying to help Been through that decision so many times until eventually I gave in and sold the stagea. The mortgage always wins.

You got it 100% right buddy.

The cheapest things Ive done to help fuel economy: (cant be scientific about what did what)

New O2 sensor - the original one lasted 110k kms so definitely needed replacing

Clean out of the induction system, the plenum, and auxiliary air valve on the plenum, which got the idle timing back to where it should be

Injector cleaner - skeptical this stuff does anything

This all yielded about a 1.5L/100 km improvement.

My series 1 now uses 12-13L/100km around town

Edited January 20, 2011 by zoomzoom

[XRATED]

Lets all run out and get HHO generators, fuel line magnets and other fuel saving gizzmoos.... Ba ha ha.

I honestly think a 3lt conversion on low boost with a good tune will improve my fuel useage. Not enough to justify the cost of the conversion, but it's a contributing factor for it.

Cheers

Justin.

[Daleo]

I just don't see it as an "economy" car.

Enjoy it for what it is, a brilliant tourer, with a hell of a turn of speed, when you want it. Economy is for lasers and 323's

Hell, you could be driving a Magna...

[Sage222]

see this thread

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/339067-m35-stagea-dimensions-for-lpg/