Hi one and all

While I am sure that this has been done to death , seeing as how I am new here....

Does anyone have any "REAL" tips or advice on how to improve fuel economy on a 2001 3.3 V6 Grand Voyager LX ?

Love the car , but with our local economy going for a ball of s..t , it is getting stupidly expensive to drive anywhere.

I am going to remove the catalytic converter soon , I suspect that it is blocked , but any other advice will be greatly appreciated .

Regards

Andrew

 

Uncomfortable facts:--
The GV weighs 2 tonnes metric, 2.2 tonsUK, 2.4 tonsUS..
A petrol one is never going to average more than about 15mpgUK: I.e. maybe 18mpgUK on the highway/motorway, and 13mpgUK in town.

The only way to reduce fuel cost would be to have it converted to LPG: In UK, LPG costs half that of petrol. Conversion will cost around a grandUK.

Don't rely on the computed readout for your checks, the only true way is the "brim-brim" method.

Daunting eh? That's why there are so many diesel ones about in UK.
Leedsman.

 

The problem is , locally anyway (South Africa), the CRD has a ****ty interior !

I have yet to find one with the front and rear climate control like my LX , with the CD shuttle like my LX , with radio controls...like my LX .

I haven't even been able to find one with bloody fog lights !!

When I contacted Chrysler South Africa to find out if they ever had a LX version of the diesel , I got no reply.

So I have no problem buying a diesel , I simply cannot find a decent one and cannot afford a new model !

 

Taking note of your requirements as far as I can not knowing what your asterisks mean, mine (diesel) has an all-leather luxury interior, and if SA is driving on the left as I've seen in films, maybe a diesel import from the UK would suit you?
I don't know what petrol prices are in SA, but if they are much less than £1:35/litre (or the equivalent in local currency) I should stick with what you have. Any vehicle that can do the same as the GV and be as big as it is will be thirsty. It's really a matter of the vehicle's dead-weight, this being the major determinant in fuel consumption. Interestingly, just an hour ago I filled up with "Shell" plain diesel in Halifax, and when I got back to Leeds, the computer readout said just over 36mpgUK this one not being too bad for accuracy. Smirk-smirk. Diesel is the second major determinant in fuel consumption after dead-weight. Motorway vs. local driving is the third, but they are all close together.

I wouldn't waste money trying mods. in the respect of improving the fuel consumption -- that would be better spent on petrol.

Chrysler's lack of interest in your inquiry is why websites like this one are so very popular -- where else do you turn when you have a problem?

Leedsman.

 

small things can make a small difference. Reduce weight by not carrying loads of crap around (something I'm guilty off), if you are not using them then remove the back seats - I reckon that must weigh at least 50Kg. A full tank of fuel is about 60Kg, so don't fill right up unless you have too.
Driving style will help too, gentle acceleration, no excess speed, anticipating and coasting as much as possible - however if you drive in heavy traffic you're a bit buggered!

Is running on ethanol an option in SA? it's not a viable option over here as HMRC treat it the same way as drinking alcohol and slap tax on it.

Regards
Richard

 

Thanks for the help guys.

The asterisks were placed there by the forum moderator I assume...it was s h i t t y.

I cannot import a Voyager as our local law only allows a person to import a collectable, which the Voyager is not considered to be.

Fuel is around R13 per litre and is going up a lot .... soon.

As for the weight factor , I have 4 kids and my mother in law always seems to be attached to the trips. So other than throwing my Mother in law out of the car , I am screwed for weight !

I was tempted to buy a CRD and transfer all of the luxuries from my LX and then sell the Lx cheap, but people want almost double the price of the petrol model for diesel , because they know what they are worth !

Ethanol and LPG are not options here. It is petrol , diesel or public transport.

Thanks for the help guys....maybe I should install pedals and make everyone fit !

 

Hmm...the mother in law may be an option

Regards
Richard

 

According to "The money converter", 13 rand per litre is 76 pence per litre.

What are you complaining about? In UK petrol is around 134 pence per litre.

I'll resist makig the obvious comment about having your cake...

Leedsman.

 

Doing the conversion means nothing , so your cake is stale !

You cannot do the conversion from our crappy money to pounds and then assume that our petrol is cheap. In realistic terms , it the equivalent of you paying 13 pounds per litre.