Blasphemous post. 80-series lovers keep away!!

[crooozer]

Hiya'!

I love my 80 and it's the most reliable thing I've ever owned.
It's a 97 40th anniversary model 4.5l petrol with 190,000km on the clock.

Problem is, it eats fuel like it's going out of fashion!! (like you didn't know)
Mine eats $30 per 100km or 23 litres no matter how I drive or if the aircon is on or not.
So, I'm moving a further 20kms out of town so the drive to and from work will equal 80km per day, or $25 per day just in fuel.. And yes, the truck is also on LPG, but its just as expensive to run at 95 cents per litre so no difference now. I am considering selling the 80 to buy something cheaper on fuel..!! (theres your blasphemy) Yes, I have considered a Yaris..

Thing is, I am going to be really strapped if I keep the truck as is because it would cost me $7000 per year JUST FOR PETROL to and from work, let alone anywhere else I might venture. With a new mortgage on a large rural block I will be a little short for cash with things as are.

Just wondering if theres anything I can do to drop the consumption back some, I really love it and want to keep the truck so have also been considering buying a cheap carolla or something just for work, that would cost me $2000 per annum or so, 3-4 times cheaper than the cruiser..

Maybe someone has a suggestion?
Thank you.

 

[94SRUNNER]

Part of the cost of ownership with an 80

 

[80seriesnut]

Buy something that gets good mileage to drive to work. Keep the 80. I drive a chevy cavalier to work. There is no way I would drive the 80 to work. I drive 50 miles round trip to work. But there is no way I would drive the cavalier out to the river to go fishing. Just my .02

 

[js93cruiser]

the 80 os a 5000 ish pound shoe box, the only things the only things you can do at this point is maybe do a tune up and switch to syn. fluids, maybe change the air filter or something, is it lifted?

 

[ybhc]

Unless you're swimming in cash or don't do much driving, as far as I'm concerned 80's are an awful and impractical DD.

Buy up some cheap fuel-efficient thing, put the 80 away for special days and offroading.

 

[mickeyt]

Buy the corolla and park LC for weekends

 

[SFSig]

In my opinion, this is the greatest flaw you can point to regarding the 80. That being said, I'm able to accept it for what it is given it excels in so many other aspects.

My advice, (and what I eventually plan to do) is to get a fuel efficient commuter car... (It doesn't help that my other vehicle is a v8 pickup and my motorcycle gets 12 mpg around town).

 

[crooozer]

Yea mate it's lifted 2" with standard tyres, has a wheel carrier and LPG tank in place of the spare. But that shouldn't do much. Air filter is 15,000kms old, I can take the spare battery out. . ? I don't use it for anything but I don't think it will make much difference but anything will help, is it o.k to remove this? just powering 12v internal outputs for fridge etc?

 

[george_tlc]

There's a reason most folk in oz buy a diesel 4wd + manual tranmission.... A heavy/brick/tractor + petrol engine = expensive animal to feed.

For commuting 80 k's per day as you've figured out, buy a corolla etc. Or instead of moving 20 k's further out of town, move 20 k's closer in - then you should be able to walk to work

cheers,
george.

 

[arndog123]

x(whatever) on keeping the Cruiser and buying a fuel efficient car.

 

[timer00]

Pretty much 2 courses of action.

Sell 80 and get something blahish
Keep 80 and get a beater eco car.

I got the semi beater car $1600 220k miles (Volvo 850 wagon great for family) and get 25mpg combined. Drive the 80 for vacations or when Volvo is down.

Purchasing an 80 as a only vehicle / commuter is not the greatest idea.
Not trying to offend just saying of course

 

[justbecause]

Unless you're swimming in cash or don't do much driving, as far as I'm concerned 80's are an awful and impractical DD.

Buy up some cheap fuel-efficient thing, put the 80 away for special days and offroading.

I just went from an 04 jetta tdi rocking 45+ MPG
to a 94 lifted 80

88 bucks a month to 258 a month

and i am a college student making minimum wage

i got sick and tired of the limitations of a small car, I got stuck in IL because of a few inches of snow. That really pushed me over the edge as far as my patience of having a vehicle not worth a damn when it comes to do anything other than driving on man-made highways. I want my 80 to be DD for those 1 in a 100 times that I NEED HER.

 

[Pin_Head]

X4
Get a Yaris beater to commute with and keep the cruiser for what it is made for. You don't want to be a yob.

 

[slowsuki]

dual sport motorcycle. 50+mpg in the states one can be had for less than 2000.00 if you look around,+ they are loads of fun.

 

[joseywales]

The one option nobody else has suggested is sell the 80, and buy a BJ74 or HZJ73 or similar diesel TLC. Heck, even a Bundera is a great little rig. They are all still Landcruisers, and judging by what I see regularly on Carpoint or in the Trading Post, you should be able to find something better on fuel. It won't be quite as big or refined as your 80, but it is an option. If I could find an affordable HZJ73, I would NOT be driving the fuel pig 80 every day...

 

[shermantank55]

Corolla

Buy a commuter version of the most popular car in the world to save gas and keep the LC.

2000 TOYOTA COROLLA ASCENT AE112R Cars For Sale in NT - carsales.com.au - carsales.com.au

 

[george_tlc]

The one option nobody else has suggested is sell the 80, and buy a BJ74 or HZJ73 or similar diesel TLC. Heck, even a Bundera is a great little rig. They are all still Landcruisers, and judging by what I see regularly on Carpoint or in the Trading Post, you should be able to find something better on fuel. It won't be quite as big or refined as your 80, but it is an option. If I could find an affordable HZJ73, I would NOT be driving the fuel pig 80 every day...

I said that in post #9. You can get diesel and t/d 80's in oz, cost more than petrol - initially.... So, he can still have an 80 and with 2x the fuel economy, especially when worked hard. Still not going to be cheaper than a 4cyl commute vehicle - especially if you factor a few years of commuting & wear/tear/tyres etc on an 80.

Anyhow, OP lives in oz - should be obvious to him that diesel 4wd's, cruisers, patrols etc etc are a lot more common than their petrol variants. Heck, the 7x series is now only available in diesel over there.

It's not just fuel economy, but the obvious issue of range. In oz, if you head bush, you aren't going to find fuel stations at every corner. Having a vehicle that can do 1200km+ with a main+sub tank is essential, not a luxury. My patrol back there has a 160L tank and I typically take another 100L in jerry cans when heading into remote areas. That 260L gives me a safe 1800km range with the vehicle fully loaded up. That range can still be marginal in some areas...

cheers,
george.

 

[BrotherRob]

x whatever, for a 80k commute you need something economical and disposable. The 80 is neither. Buy a commuter car and keep the 80 for it's proper purpose.

 

[crooozer]

Thanks guys.
O.k, lets do some math: Even if I keep the cruiser and buy a little fuel saver, I still have to pay $600 a year rego on it, plus insurance which is also $600, plus another rego and insurance but that one would be a bit less, so a further lets say $600 all up.

So if I bought a little beater I might be up for $2500 petrol, plus $1500 repairs, rego and insurance in a year, plus the cost of the cruiser which might be $1200 rego and insurance, plus $1000 fuel or so which equals all up = $6000 odd.
Almost as much as driving the cruiser exclusively.. Good! I might just keep it as my sole ride then!

The only two options that would make sense in entirety would be to keep the cruiser in the shed and not rego it, but then it wouldn't get used so why have it? Or sell it to buy a Yaris and feel like I've lost a mate and turned metro-sexual, knowing I can never go off road or take my wife away for an adventurous weekend, but have a little bit more cash in my pocket. Which isn't everything is it? I have other investments which I rely on to work for me, I only use my cash-flow to service investment debt shortfall and general costs of living. Plus the cruiser is a bit of a tax write off for me because it's used for work, but only when I'm actually AT work, which is better than no deduction at all. So in a typical tax year I might see $2000 back for the cruiser, which brings the total down.

 

[rove_mcanus]

23l/100k is about right for a vapouriser type lpg setup. Only way you can lower that is to go gas injection.

Soemthing bout your math don't ad up either. 23litres per 100k, and 80km's a day at 95 cents per litre works out at $17.50

If you bought a diesel, turbo or otherwise it will use about 12litres per 100k. not sure what diesel is worth up there, but at say 1.60 a litre that's $15.36. A minor saving and probably not woth the hassle of selling and buying another.

Your mileage should go down if your drive is mostly highway. Personally I can do 14l/100 on petrol on the highway, and about 17-18l around town. that's driving pretty slow (and it's an auto).

Actual mileage is more like 20 around town because i lead foot it everywhere.