Fuel Economy?

[Twister]

I am expecting to get far better fuel economy than I am. Somewhere I read 32 mpg can be expected. On the hwy, at it's top cruising speed of 120 kmh, I see less than 400 km to tank.
What are your experiences?

[konadog]

120kph = $$$$. Start by slowing down to Max. 100km., or even 90 and you will use considerably less fuel. There are a number of posts and threads on the mileage topic and I believe you'll find low to mid-20's miles/gal pretty standard. Delicas are heavy, 4x4, and not esp. aerodynamic. Keeping your bus in good tune and employing frugal driving habits will give you the best mileage it can do though

[Jester]

there has been extensive discussions about that.
Search the forum, and you shall find.
I get between 11-12.5L/100km these days in city.

I don't know where you dug up 32mpg for a Delica, but I'd LOVE to see that contraption.

The absolute BEST economy I ever squeezed out of my Deli was around 8.5L/100 on pure highway driving. That's still nowhere close to 32mpg.
It's hard to expect a vehicle with curb weight close to 2T to do better than that.

Oh, and at 120km/h you'll be burning 10-20$ more than you have to.
Slow it down to 90 or so - most economical speed. Good for the car too.


*edit*
Come to think of it, I think my '95 Golf TD was getting somewhere in the neighborhood of 7L/100 in city, so that's about 33.5mpg?
And that car was 1/2 the weight, with better aerodynamics, and with manual transmission.

[EricN]

I ran to seattle and back (from Coquitlam) at around 120kph and I am sure that was over 400+k AND if I rember right I only burned about 50 litres.
My guess is you think the E on the fuel guage actually means empty. How much fuel do you put in during a fill?

[MardyDelica]

Hi, Usually for delica either low orhigh roof, you will only get at least 8.5 to 11kms per liter max. its like 24-26 mpgl max on it.
if you got info that i can go for 32 i dont think so. as i own a delica with proper tune for the past 41/2 yrs now. i been driving this delica since then but cannot get 32., only 24-26 max mpgl.
never i get 32, i dont know where you got the info. but maybe a mistake. this delica is heavy & for a 4 cyl to get that mileage for 32.
it need to be lighter not a 4x4 van.
you need to keep your delica in proper tune to get better mileage, also depends where you live if more hills & flat highway.
hope this help, cheers;

[mararmeisto]

As said in some of the other posts - SLOW DOWN. 120km/h is the TOP speed of these vehicles, not necessarily the cruising speed.

The greatest confusion I've found regarding the fuel economy seems to be between the Imperial and US gallon of fuel. If one reads on the UK Delica site, they are indicating 25mpg (but that is a larger gallon) while over here we are getting about 20mpg (because it's a smaller gallon).

Never seen the 32mpg amount, but I would suggest it MIGHT be for the gasoline cargo version (non-4WD, empty rear area).

[JMK]

I'm presently getting no so great mileage, things didn't change after doing the Timing Belt much in that regard. ALthough I don't see it mentioned much in this forum, John Hamilton insists that the *most important* thing I need to do at this juncture is address possible problems with the ECM which he says has a significant influence on your fuel consumption. He says the capacitors and resistors burn out due to their old age and being exposed to moisture and vibration for 15 years. So I plan to find either find someone that can do it, or get a tester, and get the circuit board's resistors and capacitors tested and replaced as necessary. I think in another thread it was felt that this ECM only controls the glow plugs, however John disagrees with that and says it plays a bigger role than just glow plugs, and says I will probably see a significant improvement if I address this issue before playing around with the injectors, etc.

[torchard]

Certainly the confusion comes in part from sellers. I have seen misleading fuel economy stats posted on both commercial and private sellers (not that anyone would intentiionally mislead ...).

No examples to show, but I've seen fuel economy used as a selling point. Parse through the many threads on this topic and I think you'll find economy around 20-25 mpg (CDN Imp.).

And driving style makes a huge difference. I find the van kinda tells me what's best i.e. when it's labouring and when it's in its happy place.

[MardyDelica]

Hi, as in regards to ECM for delica i dont think so, as i am driving delica for 41/2 yrs now. this delica & pajero ECM board is only for glow plug system, its does not have electronic injection Pump or injector as toyota landcruiser, hil-lux surf & other who do contribute the electronic feedback toward the ecm or ecu whatever you like to call.
Delica & pajero share some spec & engine. both of this vehicle is a non electronic injection pump or injector. its a direct injection pump & injector. basically its all basic thats why its easy to fix if we have problem. you just need to do fine tuning on your delica or pajero & your fine.
so this is just thru my experience since i was doing this job back home in the Phils. we got tons of delica & pajero engine from 4D56 to newer 4m40 engine.
so dont carried away with ecm & ecu, connection it doesnot contribute to the fuel system. as this is not electronic like toyota. its a manual direct injection pump & injector.
all you need is just do fine tuning as we got 15 yrs old car that is not been used more often in japan. just need another attention to your delica to make it work pretty good.
hope this help everybody
cheer;

[FalcoColumbarius]

I get 25 miles to the gallon in the city (Canadian Imperial, not American) but I am driving on hills a lot. I think one thing that has occurred over the last twenty years is the changing of the diesel content. As the sulphur content has steadily decreased, so has the mileage and the lubricity. Good places to research this more are the RV sites, they have a heightened interest in this subject.

I have been considering various strategies for improving the mileage, right now I am using additives, products that contain cetane and lubricants. I have thought about WVO. The problem with WVO is it is taken from oil that has cooked chicken, fish &c. When something is cooked in oil much of the fat in the meat is transferred with the oil it is cooking in. This means that there are animal fats in the WVO. Two issues come to mind with this:
[*]1/ The fat is going to congeal when the engine cools down, ergo Delica is going to experience a form of rigor mortis every night the engine is turned off.
[*]2/ The idea of going deep into the toolies smelling like a BBQ doesn't strike me as being a good idea.

I am currently looking at SVO (Straight Veggie Oil). There is a chap in England running his Deli on a 50/50 mixture of Dino Diesel and Rapeseed Oil and he swears by it. I have yet to find a price on rapeseed oil that would justify this move just yet.

For the time being I think that adding the things that were lost with the advent of LSD & ULSD* and keeping everthing running well & clean is the way to go.... for the time being.

Falco.

(*Low Sulphur Diesel & Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel)[/color]

[JMK]

Falco,

Which additives do you recommend using/do you use?

[Delicanagan]

I found the same misleading ratings when searching out a vehicle...I saw posted findings of 32mpg and even up to 40mpg...when we bought our (wife's) delica, we were mildly dissappointed with the mileage we were getting, and I looked into it further. I was mistaken to expect such outrageous mileage, but I had chalked it up to "those crazy Japanese are so far ahead of us it's insane..." and went along blissfully buried in ignorance.

Long story short, we figure we get between 20 and 25mpg now with our best reading yet at 28...I think the best advice has already been issued...slow down...go easy on your ride (the Deli you sicko) and keep it running properly...

Just as a correction...in Canada we use Imperial Gallons...not Standard as in the USA...USA gallons are smaller than our measure...so if you've been calculating with US Gallons, you're not getting as high of a reading as you will if you adjust to UK gallons...This is something to consider when comparing to other vehicles and relying on online ratings for MPG...always consider the source.

[JMK]

this delica & pajero ECM board is only for glow plug system

I got this reply from John:

The ECM does have some control over the EGR and other functions relating to engine running. I just put one in a van and glow plugs and it was night and day on starting and fuel economy.

Originally my plan was to bypass the ECM* and install a manual 12v glow plug system with a push button switch. Then I realized that would not work very well with a remote start. Then there's the question of what else the ECM may in fact do. So I figured I may as well keep the stock system after all.

So it seems like the question is still up for discussion, anyone else wish to weigh in on this with an opinion?

* By ECM here of course I'm referring to the Electronic Control Module that is located in the 'B' Pillar.

[loki]

I get 25 miles to the gallon in the city (Canadian Imperial, not American) but I am driving on hills a lot. I think one thing that has occurred over the last twenty years is the changing of the diesel content. As the sulphur content has steadily decreased, so has the mileage and the lubricity. Good places to research this more are the RV sites, they have a heightened interest in this subject.

I have been considering various strategies for improving the mileage, right now I am using additives, products that contain cetane and lubricants. I have thought about WVO. The problem with WVO is it is taken from oil that has cooked chicken, fish &c. When something is cooked in oil much of the fat in the meat is transferred with the oil it is cooking in. This means that there are animal fats in the WVO. Two issues come to mind with this:
[*]1/ The fat is going to congeal when the engine cools down, ergo Delica is going to experience a form of rigor mortis every night the engine is turned off.
[*]2/ The idea of going deep into the toolies smelling like a BBQ doesn't strike me as being a good idea.

I am currently looking at SVO (Straight Veggie Oil). There is a chap in England running his Deli on a 50/50 mixture of Dino Diesel and Rapeseed Oil and he swears by it. I have yet to find a price on rapeseed oil that would justify this move just yet.

For the time being I think that adding the things that were lost with the advent of LSD & ULSD* and keeping everthing running well & clean is the way to go.... for the time being.

Falco.

(*Low Sulphur Diesel & Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel)[/color]

for WVO consider going to the elsbett system that replaces the injection pump and injectors with a pump that is stronger to handle the thicker oil and the injectors are optimized to have a better spray pattern, still works with diesel too. the lines and injectors are heated to help the flow as well.

FYI rapeseed oil = canola oil. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola

also I hope people aren't going to SVO or biodiesel that comes from "virgin" oil thinking that they are helping the planet, I personally think that this is not helping in the slightest, the additional land needed to grow all the oils that is needed means more wild habitat (rainforests in the amazon and habitats here in north america) is destroyed often with slash and burn. but that is just my opinion.

If you filter you oil properly you should be able to get the fats and such out. I plan to use a centrifuge to filter and dewater my oil, I have located a design that has been throughly tested and is much faster than most of the other methods that I have seen. I should also be able make the unit portable and maybe even built into the van for filtering on the road.

I hope to be able to produce enough to sell to others at a very reasonable price.

[FalcoColumbarius]

Falco,

Which additives do you recommend using/do you use?

I am using Hows, which is a cleaner and I am using PS, which is a cetane enhancer. I still have much to learn about this, JMK ~ but that is where I am at right now. Both of these improve my mileage. PS is the recent one, will let you know how that transpires.

Falco.