paime Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 (edited) We're due to be moving into the sticks soon which will see my daily commute go from 5 miles to 35 miles each way and all of it dual carriageway driving. I had looked at getting a cheap runaround but don't really fancy adding another vehicle + tax, insurance and maintenance costs to the fleet. I have a 90 TD5 at the minute, what could I do to make her more fuel efficient/reduce fuel costs apart from inflating the tyres correctly and not driving like a loon? Running it on veg oil? V8 + LPG? Convert it to battery power? Edited July 18, 2021 by paime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 Sell it, buy a mg ev. Seriously, any investment will be eaten up as soon as one thing fails. Blocked filter and a tow home, savings gone. Etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 Nice narrow road bias tyres will save a bit, and lose the roof rack etc, will help. Investing£1,000 on LPG. How many miles will it pay back on? Add it all up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paime Posted July 18, 2021 Author Share Posted July 18, 2021 6 minutes ago, Gazzar said: Sell it, buy a mg ev. Seriously, any investment will be eaten up as soon as one thing fails. Blocked filter and a tow home, savings gone. Etc I could never sell my beloved Daisy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 Seriously worth working out how long any mods will actually take to pay for themselves. If your commute is all dual carriageway then seriously think about a sensible daily - takes a lot of stress off to have a vehicle you can get into on a Monday morning and just drive in peace & quiet and 50+mpg, plus taking a load of mileage (& therefore maintenance) off the 90. I did a thing to compare running costs / fuel savings between two vehicles, might find it of some help here? https://fuddymuckers.co.uk/tools/running_cost.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 All the usual stuff. Remove unnecessary weight, road tyres properly inflated, driving style etc... But at the end of the day it is a heavy thing with the aerodynamics of a brick. Something smaller just for the commute is probably the way to go. I used to have a little Renault clio 1.5 dci. It cost £30 a year to tax, naff all to insure and easily returned 60mpg. Only got rid of it when we had kids and needed a bigger car for all their clobber. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 Embrace it - 70 miles a day on a dual carriageway will do the 90 the world of good. Alternatively it will hard to beat the economics of a £500 diesel hatchback as above. But the downside is you’ll have to drive a diesel hatchback. When I was doing high miles in my 90 the all-in running cost was less than 25p/mile. Okay I used it for work which offset some of the personally mileage costs but it meant I got to drive a car I liked. A Td5 shouldn’t be too bad on fuel though? Okay it’s not going to be as good as a Tdi but should still give 25mpg or over I’d have thought, unless you’ve got big mud tyres or something. What economy are you currently getting? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 17 minutes ago, Retroanaconda said: Embrace it - 70 miles a day on a dual carriageway will do the 90 the world of good. Alternatively it will hard to beat the economics of a £500 diesel hatchback as above. But the downside is you’ll have to drive a diesel hatchback. When I was doing high miles in my 90 the all-in running cost was less than 25p/mile. Okay I used it for work which offset some of the personally mileage costs but it meant I got to drive a car I liked. A Td5 shouldn’t be too bad on fuel though? Okay it’s not going to be as good as a Tdi but should still give 25mpg or over I’d have thought, unless you’ve got big mud tyres or something. What economy are you currently getting? I agree. The TD5 could get up to 30mpg shouldn't it if driven and setup for economy (so road tyres, no roof rack etc) The other thing with having a Eurobox is just the cost to purchase, fuel, tax, insurance - that adds up to a lot of diseasel to offset the extra mileage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 25 minutes ago, Retroanaconda said: But the downside is you’ll have to drive a diesel hatchback. I loved that diesel Clio! The other thing is reliability for the commute on Monday morning. We've all had Land rovers still in bits at 17:00 on Sunday for a "30 minute" job started on Saturday. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 1 hour ago, monkie said: I loved that diesel Clio! The other thing is reliability for the commute on Monday morning. We've all had Land rovers still in bits at 17:00 on Sunday for a "30 minute" job started on Saturday. The other half had the same model Clio. Surprisingly good car. Very nippy with the the 1.5 and a pretty good drive for a small car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 My Td5 mpg increased when I had it mapped. I got 30mpg with BFG mud terrains. I run a 1.2 transfer too. I do drive like a granny and on longer journeys had 30psi in. These are old as I’ve stopped keeping track - but it give you the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cackshifter Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 1.2 transfer box? Elec fan? Didn't someone find closing the gap between bumper and wing helped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paime Posted July 18, 2021 Author Share Posted July 18, 2021 A lot of good ideas in here! I don't think I could live with a euro diesel-box. What if people saw me driving it?? I've got a 1.2 transfer box in the garage so that'll be going in. Does the electric fan make a big difference? Any thoughts on bio fuels? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 (edited) 26 minutes ago, paime said: A lot of good ideas in here! I don't think I could live with a euro diesel-box. What if people saw me driving it?? I've got a 1.2 transfer box in the garage so that'll be going in. Does the electric fan make a big difference? Any thoughts on bio fuels? I dont think a leccy fan will make a lot of difference to MPG personally, especially if the viscous unit is working ok. The TD5 wont last long on veg oil - the fuel system wont cope like the older Tdi's so you will be in for more grief and expense than you save with that one. I dont know if the refined biofuels will be better as these are closer to diesel but I wouldnt risk it. I run the 110 on SVO most of the time when diesel prices are high and temperatures are warm, but I would never try it on the D2. Edited July 18, 2021 by reb78 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurbie Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 heard a lot of complaints in the netherlands about HVO (it's called "bleu diesel" , it increased fuel consumption by 10% and more expensive as normal diesel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason110 Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 Personally, you’ll be a heap better of buying something cheap to runabout in and then use the 90. You’ll be using going through around £80 of diesel a week for your commute alone. A diesel hatch back will be half that. Look for a car that’s £30 a year tax. I had a focus diesel for 8 years and a realistic 55 mpg mixed driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 Okay, so you don't want a little diesel that would fit economy criteria spot on in terms of mpg, insurance and tax. I have another suggestion... A modern classic like a Mercedes 190D with the OM602 engine. One of the most well built and reliable engines ever made, economical to run, should be able to get cheap insurance. Plus it should increase in value whilst you own it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paime Posted July 18, 2021 Author Share Posted July 18, 2021 It would technically be cheaper after a couple of years if I was to spend £4k on a wee runaround but I know I would end up hating it then selling it after 6 months at a loss. I'd rather put a bit of effort into making my current wagon a bit more comfortable and seeing if I could squeeze a bit more out of its performance. Sounds like a remap, 1.2 transfer box and some sound deadening to keep me sane is what's needed. 3 minutes ago, monkie said: A modern classic like a Mercedes 190D with the OM602 engine. Now we're talking! I can get a side-gig as an 80s henchman from a Beverly Hills Cop movie as well 😁 Good looking cars in my opinion but maybe not the wife's cup of tea. Long, long, long term I'll be doing an electric conversion but it's just not economical right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Another vote for the £500 diesel hatchback - people think it's the boring option but it'll be faster and better handling than a 90, and a car you don't care too much about is always more fun to drive I'm running round in a £2k supercharged Mini and it's definitely not boring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Air suspension so you can lower your brick on the motorway, 2WD kit in the LT230, horrible eco tyres, draft lorries. Or just don't worry about it and enjoy your vehicle as it is? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paime Posted July 19, 2021 Author Share Posted July 19, 2021 A mini had crossed my mind (my wife used to have one) and i find it funny when men stare in the window hoping to see a pretty young thing driving it only to see me - a hairy bloke instead! @FridgeFreezer - what sort of consumption do you get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 27 minutes ago, paime said: A mini had crossed my mind (my wife used to have one) and i find it funny when men stare in the window hoping to see a pretty young thing driving it only to see me - a hairy bloke instead! @FridgeFreezer - what sort of consumption do you get? From the Mini? No idea - my commute has dropped to <5 miles so it's hardly worth measuring what with all the cold starts and the like... and the fact I don't drive it in a Christian manner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 My commute has just doubled for similar reasons. I too thought about economy box but can't bring myself to do it. At the moment I'm just stomaching the £200+ a month fuel bill, but I have a workmate who lives near so we have been car sharing but given his mrs is about to drop we thought it wise to go in seperately for a while. I have a contingency plan of a mini based silly little plastic car... the only catch is I have to build it first. So I say either live with it or car share/buy a euro box but I doubt you'll make much impact on your current fuel economy. Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 1 hour ago, paime said: A mini had crossed my mind (my wife used to have one) and i find it funny when men stare in the window hoping to see a pretty young thing driving it only to see me - a hairy bloke instead! @FridgeFreezer - what sort of consumption do you get? Different to Fridge's as he's got an R56 from memory, but by F56 JCW will do anything from 8mpg on a 'fun' afternoon to ~50mpg drive to work. That's a 2L turbo petrol JCW too. I think Fridge's will be the 1.6 turbo at that age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 9 minutes ago, miketomcat said: My commute has just doubled for similar reasons. I too thought about economy box but can't bring myself to do it. At the moment I'm just stomaching the £200+ a month fuel bill, but I have a workmate who lives near so we have been car sharing but given his mrs is about to drop we thought it wise to go in seperately for a while. I have a contingency plan of a mini based silly little plastic car... the only catch is I have to build it first. So I say either live with it or car share/buy a euro box but I doubt you'll make much impact on your current fuel economy. Mike You're not allowed to do one of the Mini based kits unless there's a build thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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