Fuel consumption on 2001 Mitsubishi Challenger

[Jamesjamesjames]

Hi guys I'm wondering if any of you know what fuel consumption you were getting while taking your 2001 Mitsubushi Challenger offroading?

We're a convoy of 6/7 4x4's going from Cairns through the red centre, down to Adelaide and eventually to Perth. We'll mostly be hitting the offroad tracks on our journey avoiding the main roads when possible so it would be good to know the fuel consumption on terrain such as mud, the red centre and sand.

I love my challenger. Being smaller I think it handles rough roads nicely and you're able to throw it about abit more than the clunkier bigger 4x4's. But unfortunately it only has a fuel tank of 74l so it would be nice to know how many fuel cans I'm going to have to carry with me. Cheers

 

[Lost1?]

Bit more info needed James. Is it the V6 petrol or a jap import diesel. Are you crossing the Simpson desert or just driving dirt roads to Perth. A rough route would help. You could need 2 or 5 jerries.

 

[Colly18]

Welcome James. You are probably better off asking the dedicated Australian Pajero forum or Mitsubishi Challenger Owners facebook group. But I'm sure a few here may chime in with a response. I'm asuming it is the 3 litre petrol V6(?) It will be issues like what you carry on your roof rack, how heavily loaded the vehicle is, how fast you travel, etc. that will also greatly impact your fuel consumption. My understanding is that from Cairns to Perth along the Plenty Highway and Great Central Road you will have reasonable dirt and gravel road conditions that shouldn't impact fuel consumption greatly (unless you strike rain/flooded roads, in which case you probably shouldn't be driving on these roads anyway).

 

[Triton14]

If you look up the specs on your vehicle you should get how many ltrs per 100klm it can get as a max, add your weight & all the other things like how many times you will be off road & driving in actual 4x4 as this consumes a lot more fuel.

Also what tyres you use can contribute as well, even driving on the freeway/tar with full muds & you will go through way more fuel than with normal road tyres, and thats with no weight.

For memory my Triton was 8ltrs per 100km, that is highway use, no added weight & the road tyres it came with, since then I have added probably 300kg of weight that include, steel bar, winch, 140Ah dual battery system, AT's.
Then add all the camping gear, 80ltr fridge etc, recovery gear...........................it all adds up!!

The question is a hard one to answer, but all I will say is try to pre work out your route, look at how far between each fuel stop, go frm there.

 

[Jamesjamesjames]

Sorry mate I didn't realise how vague I was being. We're going from Cairns across to Normanton. Then a few muddy offroad tracks (route 84 and 76 past Lawn Hill) which will likely be at the end of wet season so I expect mud.

Then it's the easy life on route 66 to Tennants Creek. Then some time after we're jumping on a offroad track east of the A87 which I presume to be dirt.

Then through Alice Springs and around Uluru/Kings Canyon (Finke River Gorge Track) we've been told to expect sand.

Then just before Coober Pedy we go East to a heap of SA offroad tracks. Mostly dirt again I think.

Then it's recharge in Adelaide before hitting the Nullabor and that sand track that runs along south WA.

So yeah a mix of dirt, mud, sand, red rock and whatever else the centre throws at us.

Yeah it's a V6 petrol. It will be me and 1 passenger. 2 backpacks, camping gear, tool box, recovery gear, 2 spare tyres, fuel cans, food and water. I have a 2nd battery and a 36l fridge. Just trying to give you an idea of weight.

 

[mikehzz]

On most of the dirt roads out in the centre you use around the same as on the tar. Some of those sand tracks near Alice aren't that long. If you're on main roads, there's fuel every 200kms, except for roads like the Tanami, Plenty, Great Central or any of the Desert tracks where the fuel stops can be from 300 to 1000kms apart. The tracks in the centre get closed if it rains and it's big fines for being on them. Mud isn't fun out there, it's a torture test. Sand is the surface you use more fuel on, and you have to know your car. You'll use a lot more if your tyre pressure is too high because you'll need more accelerator to plough through the ruts hard tyres make. The trick is to get down to pressures where the tyres float on top of the sand. Lower pressures mean lower speed. Personally, I'd be starting with 2 x 20 litre jerries in the back and play it by ear from there. Never go past a fuel stop without filling up in remote areas because you never know if the next one will have fuel.

 

[Triton14]

Well that's all I have for you.
At the end.of the day it's about knowing your vehicle & knowing your range through previous trips.

Even working this out for my car would be educated guess work from past fully laden mixed condition trips & looking at the map.to get the distance between fuel stops.

Still your in a large group which is a plus & presume you will all carry spare fuel which one could give to the other if needed, unless they are all diesels

 

[mikehzz]

I forgot to mention, if you're doing an epic trans Australia trek on a lot of back roads, then the odds are high you'll destroy some tyres. The dirt roads can be brutal and you need to hope the cars have common tyre sizes so you can pick up spares in woop woop.

 

[Lost1?]

James with that load in your vehicle I would guess you will burn 14 l/100km cruising at 110. With the little bit of off road you are doing 2-3 jerries will cover it. Like mikehzz said don't drive past a fuel stop when on more remote roads. Make sure you have LT rated tyres and adjust your tyre pressures to suit conditions. Have fun.