Thread: Amazing Puma economy

I have had 3 TD5 D2's from new & none of them got good fuel economy untill they had done at least 10K.

The mechanic down the road has had his own business for over 45 yrs & specialises in Nissan 4wd's.He won't chip them until they have done at least 40k as he recons they are not run in enough until then.(thats probably half the life of a 3l patrol engine gone)

My son's Puma easily does 10l/100 k on a run,with nothing on the roof & lightly loaded.

I have done 1100k's in my current D2 on a run not loaded at all,on 96l,which is the max i have dribbled into the stock tank.

On the last Fraser trip the Puma used less than half the fuel that a mates petrol 80 series used.

Originally Posted by dullbird

well dave I'm just going on my experience with this car, as were many other puma drivers, if things don't loosen up at 40 how come many of us experienced even better fuel economy after passing this mile stone?

Umm thats when one service update or another changed the fuel mapping on the vehicle?

not saying its the case but there may also be a programed self change in the ECU that does it, sort of like the early cat electronic control systems that limit max power and the power curve during the first XX engine hours (I think it was 100 hrs from memory)

OK Dave

Interesting observations... must say over the past 30 yrs with several vehicles from new most seemed to really 'loosen up' around the 30,000 km mark with a corresponding improvement (10-15%) in fuel consumption. I kept a meticulous log book from 1981 -2009 on every petrol purchase (even included a HiAce!!) ... odo, litres, cost etc Was particularly noticeable in the LS1 V8 where similar return trips BNE-SYD the l/100km dropped from 11.5 average when new to 9.1 @ around 35,oookm. Wife's AH Astra (5yrs, 34,000km ) also showing improved performance of late and better economy... (hasn't been near the dealer for 3 yrs ...)

FWIW: an old uni mate who has been an oils chemist with one of the majors for 32 years reckons it's because of the improvement in lube quality and the consistently finer CNC machining tolerances on the assembly line...where almost every engine is essentially a "blue print" version ...

Has 2 results: the engines are safer to rev earlier in life (tolerances), but they take a lot longer to properly loosen up (less wear due to better oil) ...