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Fuel Consumption under Various Driving Conditions |
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Sunday, 01 February 2004 |
Fuel Consumption under Various Driving Conditions
by Michael Brinsden
During a recent trip from Perth to Sydney I decided to analyse the fuel
consumption on my 318cu 1977 Chrysler Regal SE under the various
driving conditions encountered along the way. The vehicle had a
reasonably heavy load with two adults, the boot full of luggage, the
spare wheel tucked behind the front passenger seat and a Roo Bar
mounted on the front chassis. The car was equipped with the original,
but recently reconditioned, 318cu engine and it sported a reconditioned
two Barrel Carter Carburetor and a single 2¾ inch exhaust connected to
the original cast iron exhaust manifold. In all general respects the
car was factory standard, except that hardened valves and seats had
been inserted in the head. On leaving Perth the reconditioned engine
had completed about 7,500Km of mainly highway driving, so it could be
considered to be run in. All fuel poured into the car during the trip
was the Premium Unleaded grade available at each fuel stop. The car is
equipped with factory Air Conditioning and factory Automatic
Transmission.
The following data was derived from the amount of fuel used,
the odometer reading at each fuel stop and the driving conditions
experienced at each stage of the journey.
Stage 1 Perth to Kalgoorlie
Odometer readings Perth 7,475Km
Kalgoorlie 8,087Km
Distance 612Km
Fuel used 105.84 Litres
Fuel Economy 17.3 Litres per 100Km
Driving Conditions Open highway, good road, light traffic, hot day.
Air conditioner on, slight tail wind, average speed 110 Km/hour for first half, above this speed for second half.
Stage 2 Kalgoorlie to Border Village
Odometer readings Kalgoorlie 8,087Km
Border Village 8,984Km
Distance 897Km
Fuel Used 166.31 Litres
Fuel Economy 18.5 Litres per 100Km
Driving Conditions Open Highway, excellent smooth wide road, no
traffic, cool day. Air conditioner off, strong head wind from 2 o’clock. Average speed well above speed limit.
Stage 3 Border Village to Port Augusta
Odometer readings Border Village 8,984Km
Port Augusta 9,929Km
Distance 945Km
Fuel Used 162.73 Litres
Fuel Economy 17.2 Litres per 100Km
Driving conditions Open Highway, excellent road, little traffic,
cool day. Air conditioner off, slight head wind.
Average speed above speed limit.
Stage 4 Port Augusta to Mildura
Odometer readings Port Augusta 9,929Km
Mildura 10,517Km
Distance 588Km
Fuel Used 90.04 Litres
Fuel Economy 15.3 Litres per 100Km
Driving conditions Mostly open highway, bumpy road, heavier
traffic, cool day. Air conditioner off, head wind.
Average speed about speed limit.
Stage 5 Mildura to Sydney
Odometer readings Mildura 10,517Km
Sydney 11,528Km
Distance 1,011Km
Fuel Used 146.54 Litres
Fuel Economy 14.5 Litres per 100Km
Driving conditions Mostly open highway (bumpy) and Freeway,
Heavy traffic, cool day. Air conditioner off, mild tail wind into Sydney. Average speed below speed limit.
All Stages Perth to Sydney
Odometer readings Perth 7,475Km
Sydney 11,528Km
Distance 4,053Km
Fuel used 671.46 Litres
Overall Fuel Economy 16.6 Litres per 100Km
As can be seen from the above figures the greatest influence on
Fuel Economy is the average speed of the car. Driving at high speed
pushed the fuel consumption up by 4 Litres per 100Km in stage 2 over
the figure obtained on the slow last stage, although the wind direction
may have had some influence on the figures obtained. Operating the Air
conditioner also affected fuel consumption as can be seen from the
stage 1 figure versus the stage 4 figure. In general, as you would
expect, the lower the speed the lower the fuel consumption.
It is interesting to note that the overall fuel economy
obtained on this trip was better than that obtained in my 1997 CL
Charger on the last trip. This car also has a 318cu engine, Air
conditioning and Auto Transmission. Maybe the overall speed was lower
for this trip!
Readers may also be interested to know that the highest price
paid for Premium Unleaded Fuel on the run was $1.34 per litre at Border
Village, which is on the WA/SA border.
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Editors Report 
