Thread: I need a bigger engine....

Hi JC,

I think you are doing well there. That is a lot of weight plus vehicle weight AND huge wind resistance. Have you had a go at a nose cone setup on the van? I think a bigger engine like a 6.6 duramax + allison would give you better fuel consumption and maybe a little faster but you will have to find a larger vehicle to fit one in .

You would know if your engine is suffering at all by doing the basic compression tests and stuff to tell how tired she is. 17l/100 is a good figure for the rig you are carrying. If you are constantly doing this kind of thing travelling with this type of setup my 2 cents is to convert to a Coaster bus motorhome with a yankee pickup truck engine g/box of your choice including the 4x4. Or get a truck with a larger engine for carrying around the 5-6 tonne weight.

I don't mean any harm by anything here just have pondered the same riddle myself. How do I carry weight and get reasonable fuel consumption? If the Isuzu is literally out of its ball park as far as what it was made for than its time to get aerodynamic or leave some gear at home

My 2 cents mate,

Brian.

Best I can get outta a 1hd-fte ute is 11.9L/100 that's no load and you know how they go performance wise....I'm not 100% sure as to my Isuzu all I know is with stupid settings 90L is gone before the odometer hits 400km's but mines used for different things to yours...you did have a considerable amount of weight though

1hz+T with fuel pump mods and 15psi loaded up was 20L/100 couldn't get over 90km/h for comparison

simple, get rid of the van!

Heres some comparisons

I usually sit on 90-95

My Old Jayco Penguin OB Van (1.6T van packs flat) towed with 80series 1HDT averaged 18l/100km
Same Van with 105 1HZ 15l/100km (but back to 4th or 3rd up hills)
brothers GU Patrol (petrol /gas) same Van 32l/100km

My Td5 110 with Trakmaster PopTop (1.8T) 13.5 l/100km , (performance wise about the same as the 1HDT and that was towing smaller van)

a bloke in the caravan park here with a Ford Territory 2.7 & Similar sized Van to me 18l/100km and 22l/100km into a headwind

I dont think a windbreaker will help that much

once you get onto the dirt the Isuzu should come into its own, but dont wait too long the roads up here are getting sealed faster than you can say Jack Robinson

Sealed Roads suck, you either have trucks pushing you along or Grey Nomads slowing you down, on the dirt you can go at your own pace and can slow down / stop any time you want.

I should be able to tell you how the 4.7 goes in 3 or 4 years

JC.
Forgive me as I am fairly ignorant concerning the Isuzu powered Landy's. But from the figures you have given, it would seem you are doing ok. Any sort of head wind slows me down significantly as I always drive in 4th. Towing on windy days is never fun. Stability is uncertain, EGT's are up and as a consequence so is fuel consumption. On the two BIG trips we have with our van in tow (23ft Retreat Daydream 2581 kg ATM) our combined fuel consumption was 13.5l/100km and 12.7l/100km respectively. Slowing down in these conditions means a lot more of a relaxing drive for both car and driver. What is a 1HDT-FTE? What sort of power/torque does it produce?
Regards
Robbo

yes I am now thinking it isn't really all that bad when comparing to other vehicles etc

I guess after a rebuild and restored compression it may pick up a little, but really the performance is quite good all things considered.

Thanks for your comments all (Except Vern of course....)

JC