4WD’s have a reputation for being “fuel guzzling”, having poor economy, heavy, poor handling, and even being compared to old farm tractors, however we can quite honestly confirm this may have once been considered –

When considering the latest band of diesel powered dual cab 4WD Ute gets fuel economy figures less than 7L/100Km when compared to one of the most recent updates of six cylinder family sedans that is quite astonishing.

One other comparison is with hybrid electric family sedans are getting city driving fuel consumption figures that exceed some of the most popular modern turbo diesel dual cab 4WD’s, and with highway driving the diesel will generally overtake the hybrid!

But even with the staggering and impressive figures boasted by modern dual cab utes, there are things that you can do to maintain these figures when it counts the most!

Tip #1 – SMOOTH IS FAST!

You may have heard this before, but driving smoothly is definitely beneficial to not only your drivetrain but your hip pocket too, there are a handful of scientific laws at play, with the most important being Newton’s first law (the law of inertia) which states that an object will remain either moving or stationary until force is enacted on it.

In the case of our vehicles, these forces include wind resistance, friction, gravity (uphill) etc. whilst it may feel good to accelerate your vehicle quickly, this will use more effort and therefore more fuel, by taking off smoothly and not in a hurry, you reduce excessive fuel burning and will also reduce un-necessary wear and tear on your vehicle.

Tip #2 – Minimize excessive braking

As mentioned above, your conservation of momentum is critical to burning less fuel both on the tracks and on the express way – whether you have an automatic vehicle or a manual it is typical of people used to driving in built up areas to accelerate quickly and then apply a bit of brakes to slow back down to the speed limit. Whilst this will prevent you from getting fined, it is important to remember every time you apply brakes whilst driving, you are converting some of your inertia into heat, resulting in wasted fuel.

We aren’t saying don’t brake, but minimize excessive braking when it is safe to do so, by allowing your vehicle to coast on flat sections and down-hill sections allowing your vehicle you use much less fuel than if you were to constantly adjust your speed with the red light pedal.

One way to give yourself this advantage is to increase the gap between your 4WD and the vehicle in front of you, by giving yourself more time to react, you can buffer out the erratic behaviors of the driver in front of you, allowing you more time to bleed off speed if they are slowing down, and giving your vehicle more of a break from the start stopping encountered in common traffic.

Tip #3 – Tyre Pressures

We mentioned resistance before, as a general term resistance covers anything from friction in the gearboxes and motor, to the wind resistance experienced by our large 4WD’s in the same way you can put your hand into the air stream outside your window and moved it like a wing.

Whilst some people put wind deflectors on their vehicles, and others try to streamline their 4WD’s to reduce air resistance, one of the most overlooked forms of resistance is ROLLING RESISTANCE – this is the tendency for pneumatic tyres to resist rolling when they are deformed to a surface, this rolling resistance is a balance between enhanced grip or enhanced fuel efficiency, and in many situations grip wins out.
 
However, ensuring you have the appropriate tyre pressures for driving is critical to not just fuel efficiency, but also for your vehicles handling and braking at high speeds. Every manufacturer recommends a pressure for their vehicles tyres.

By hooking yourself up with a Thumper MKII or a Thumper MAX air Compressor you can make sure not only your 4WD tyres are running at optimal pressures, but your trailer tyre pressures are good too!

Tip #4 – Maintenance

Making sure you have your vehicle up to date with maintenance is another important tip, to ensuring you have the best possible performance. This means making sure your vehicle has the best oils and everything is torqued to specifications.

We’ve heard many people complain about their fuel economy and range after recently purchasing their vehicle only to perform a simple total service to discover their oils were old and worn out.

An additional factor you may find with a second hand vehicle, or even a vehicle you have been driving with poor fuel economic efforts is that the vehicles ECU and fuel management system will have learned the poor habits which can dramatically effect the response times of your accelerator and make your vehicle appear more thirsty than it really needs to be. There are a number of different ways to effectively reset your vehicles ECU so it can relearn your smarter habits and help you to maintain your fuel economy figures!


To find out more about what upgrade you can make to your 4WD to get better fuel economy, don’t hesitate to visit www.4WDSupacentre.com.au or call us on 1800 88 39 64 to speak to our experts about the next upgrades for your vehicle!