Thread: Fuel economy not too bad for a Learner

My son is on his L plates and has so far clocked up over 100 hours behind the wheel of our "normal" cars. In NSW, Learners need to log at least 120 hours of driving under instruction before they can sit their driving test for P plates.

Until yesterday I had never let him drive the Rangie, believing that inexperienced drivers should not be allowed behind the wheel of a 2.5 tonne V8 for their own safety and that of other road users. So I decided to let him have a go on some quiet local roads and then some mild off-road tracks, and then a bit of motorway driving to see how he fared. He was fine and it was a new experience for me to be a passenger in the Rangie.

I had to go to Goulburn today to collect my daughter so I let my son drive the 200Km round trip. Most of the trip was on the motorway and on cruise control at 80Kph.

The difference in fuel economy was quite remarkable... an indicated 12.5L/100Km.. more like 11.5-12 when taking in to account the oversized tyres. Normally I am used to 14-15L/100Km (13-14 corrected) on the motorway while cruising at 110-ish.

Just goes to show what a difference in speed makes.

BTW: after being a passenger in the car for 3 hours I'm definately going to get something done about my shocks and steering damper. Funny how you don't notice the bumps and wandering as much when you are the driver.

cheers
Paul.

Originally Posted by andrew e

billsteins are fully rebuilbable, so cant you just have new seals and valves.

Andy

Thanks Andy - I didn't know that but it makes sense... and I've just found a mob in Queanbeyan who Bilstien recommend for the job. Will contact them tomorrow for a quote.

Cheers, Paul