Originally Posted by
PhilipA
Well Pedro, I am aware that the V8 locks up lower than a D5, or should I say I thought I remembered but didn't want to complicate things further.
But the principle is the same- stay in lockup.
In any of the variants, if you have your foot to the floor it will unlock, and if fast enough will not kick down.
A 4.6 will not have as much torque as a tuned TD5 at les than 2000RPM so will probably drop out of lockup more readily.
I know my highly tuned RRC 3.9 even with Thor manifold Unichip etc (and it had as much torque up to 2500 as a 4.6 ) was nowhere near as good on hills as the TD5 while towing my camper trailer.
With regard to fuel economy, the 4.6 may be better in third where it may be able to maintain closed loop ( to about 1/2 throttle) , than with high throttle openings at low revs which will take it to open loop. Windage is a major cause of the requirement for power so the faster you go the more fuel you will use. IMHO about 80-85 is the go . With regard to fuel economy, all RV8s are renowned for poor economy while towing but are better than say a Patrol petrol or LC petrol. That's why 90% of tow vehicles you see on the road are diesel. LOL . I think 20-25 L per 100 Km is about right Vs say I guess 14-17 in a diesel in the same circumstances.
So experiment a bit but remember lockup is your friend.
BTW Castrol Transmax is about $90-95 for 4 litres at Repco. I recently did a filter and double change on mine which cost $200, but cheap compared to the alternative. That is DIY .
Regards Philip A