Fuel Thirsty 94 VR Wagon

[Shaz77]

Ok so before I start I'll state I'm not the most mechanically minded person around ;P

When I got my VR wagon the guy said he had big plans for it and had done some work on it but lost interest but didn't tell me what work he'd done. In the 12 months I've owned it we're slowly getting rid of wires & other #### ups they'd done.

However she still guzzles fuel like there's no tomorrow. Hubby thinks they might of changed the diff or had it chipped (is that the memcal?) or possibly put bigger fuel injectors in it. For it's model she has a fair bit of grunt on take off compared to other VR's and I understand if performance mods are made it will affect fuel economy. Apart from fuel she runs like a brand new car.

If I take it to a holden dealer and they put it over their computer would they be able to tell me what's wrong or is it a case of going through and systematically replacing things?

[noddycommodore]

There is lots of things that it could be, it's the worst thing when someone has modified a car and not done it properly. The memcal is the most likely option, if it has bigger injectors that does not change a lot. With a stock memcal the O2 sensor will drop the injector pulse times leaning The fuel back to the STD ratio. Checking the O2 sensor is also a good thing if it's had it you will use more fuel also. Memcals can be picked up from the wreckers for like $30. Then they just plug in

[hsv91ss]

How many KM is it getting to a full tank of fuel and what fuel do you use E10, U95 or 98?

[deanos70]

hi shaz

just out of interest how many klms are you getting out of a tank of fuel

i have a stock vr v6 wagon and im only getting around the 350 klm mark out of a tank running around, not on a long trip

ive replaced , plugs leads, air filter etc made no difference to the mileage

[aussiebluVR]

350km is ok I get roughly 400km to a full tank in my 94 vr sedan

[Jacko84]

450-480km VS Sedan with ULP 95

[Shaz77]

I wouldn't even be able to tell you exactly what I'm getting to a full tank of fuel simply because when it comes to going on a decent trip we never take my car because it costs too much to run so we always take hubby's car so the figures below are purely estimates. My dad has a VR sedan so I'll give some comparison's:

We go to ballarat which is 65kms away Dad's VR uses less then quarter of a tank to get there AND back. Mine uses quarter of a tank just to get there so for the 130km round trip mine uses half a tank so I'd guess-timate around 260kms to a tank of fuel give or take a little.

As for type of fuel, being in a small country town alot of our servo's have been here since before we were even born (ancient) The most recent servo built was safeway petrol about 10 years ago so hubby told me to get our petrol there no where else as they wouldn't have the rubbish in their tanks like the rest of the servo's.
I just get the unleaded (octane reading of 91) and probably once a month fill her up with premium (octane reading of 95) according to their website.

When I got it I changed all the filters and replaced the spark plugs However I didn't do leads. Every now and then (not very often) it will miss a little but that's very rare.

[GothicKidd]

Cleaning the air filter with a air compressor would help once in a while.. I pick up alot dust from where I am.. does make it run different..
Ive heard O2 sensors can make your car use more petrol?
Also you should check your tyre pressures to make sure they are correct
and I do believe getting it serviced regularly will keep the engine running smoother... which equals less fuel?

[Shaz77]

It gets serviced every 5,000k's and the filters were all replaced not too long ago either. Will rip the air filter out again give it a clean. It was heavier on fuel before I replaced filters, spark plugs and changed oil etc. and I did notice it was "cheaper" for want of a better word to run after it but those figures I gave are after the service and change of plugs and filters was a lot worse before I did them.

Haven't checked or touched the O2 sensors so that will definitely be worth looking at.