Noob Owner minor issues....

ashbash2403 · Sep 16, 2011

Hi All..... new to the RR forum and been looking around for some guidance and not got anything concrete so here goes, probably common as muck...

I have a Jan 91 Beluga 3.9 Vogue SE. MPG at the moment is about 10 !!! but expect this due to very low local mileage so far.

If there are any basic ways to get the MPG up a bit in to the 12-15 bracket would welcome the wisdom.

I have a good guy local who can do mechanics and electrics and rebuilds them for fun so he would be able to action anything I can't.

Have a list of minors so take your pick on any of them :-

1. Temp Gauge on the (to left of Fuel Gauge) never moves at all as if cold.
2. Fuel Gauge never gets past 1/4 tank even when full to brim.
3. Heater not blowing hot air via cabin facing vents & only get warm air from the round top of dash vents.

Apart from that its fine even the little bonnet courtesy light work, interior lights, clocks electric seats. No fuses gone and have check all I can find.

Can afford to spend a few hundred quid at most if it needs it but for the 3K a year it moves I would welcome the odd nice simple cheap fix

Saint.V8 · Sep 16, 2011

If memory serves me right from my previous 1988 and 1993 Classics...the centre vents are fresh air only....i.e. Not heated air.

The best way to increase the MPG is to ease up the right foot, although the sound of a throaty V8 is soooo alluring it is difficult to not blip the throttle when pulling away, or to give it the beans next to some teenage tw*t in their tiny euro tin box mummy and daddy paid for, just to prove who is the real king of the road. Treat the accelrator as if some delicate part of you anatomy is under it..!!!

A good service, replace plugs for a decent set, along with leads and a new coil, check the timing and the advance/retard is working, all hoses, pipes and etc are in the right place and not split.

You could go the whole hog and replace the Camshaft as the lobes wear out if regular oil changes have been missed, and this can give a performance boost, so you won't have to press the loud pedal too hard.

Tyre pressures and condition, check the alignment of the wheels as even a tiny amount out can cause excessive drag, ensure the brakes aren't binding a little causing friction drag, take off any roof racks or un-necessary external accessories (yes that bull-bar looks da bomb, but it also weighs quite a bit - any excessive weights needs to be accellerated and then decellerated again), maybe a touch of injector cleaner wouldn't hurt either.

But the single most important rule in ensuring the maximum MPG is to moderate your right foot...sorry to say.

My Classics averaged between 12-14 on motorways and only once did I ever record a value of 15.7 MPG on a long run, cruise control set and mostly down hills.

But you will never tire of owning, driving and living with a Range Rover - it is just a pity Vauxhall nicked this very apt tagline - 'Once driven, forever smitten'

West Slope Rover · Sep 16, 2011

Saint is correct. The center vents are fresh air and won't blow warm. The mileage thing is hopefully the result of minor issues - the servicing explained by the Saint.

My 4.2 got over 17mpg on my commute yesterday and I can't drive delicately on that raceway on which I compete daily. I've gotten over 18+mpg on highway road trips with stuff on the roof rack, so I'm hoping yours can improve some. Good luck.

:welcome2:

Daniel · Sep 16, 2011

As saint says, cam lobes will be almost round.

New cam kit should give you much improved performance and better economy.

MikeV8SE · Sep 16, 2011

West Slope Rover - is that UK gallons or US??

MPG has been covered well so I'll deal with the other three points:

1. Could be a dodgy thermostat meanign the engine is not heating up qucik enough - which in turn leads to poor MPG. Change the thermostat (easy enough job) and you should see the engine getting hotter quicker and your MPG improve. As a very quick fix, you could dry blocking off the radiator BUT beware - V8's can overheat very quickly, so I wouldn't do it a lot.

2. The fuel pump operates on a float in the tank, quite often the float doesn't float or the metal slide it registers on corrodes and doesn't read. With a (nearly) empty tank and the battery disconnected, pull up the boot carpet and the two semi circles in the sound deadening. Under here is your fuel pump - can be removed from the tank and either clean up the metal contacts on the float or replace with a new/refurbished pump.

3. Centre/face vents only blow cold (fresh) air as suggested.

West Slope Rover · Sep 17, 2011

Mike-
It's U.S gallons and driving between 55-75 miles per hour most of the drive.

ashbash2403 · Sep 19, 2011

Thanks Guys.... cold air via the cabin facing vents only is a new one to me so fleece's and a flask will be in order I guess. I may find an owners manual if I can which will explain these basics better.

I do love the V8 sound. It doesn't have any heavyweight extras on it & have attached a pic I took when I bought it.

My new best friend has put a 3" lift kit on it, rear flaps and brackets, lifted the exhaust to sit right under properly as its a disco V8 exhaust + full engine bay and waxoyl so its looking tidy.

I will talk to him about wear and tear on it and things we can do, a service will be in order I think first then we can talk about camshaft and fuel levels.....

Cheers

Ash

wammers · Sep 19, 2011

3" lift kit? Watch out for the roundabouts, they turn over real easy even without the raised C of G.

MikeV8SE · Sep 19, 2011

Looks nice in the pic! I'm with wammers though, a 3" lift is pretty high and the car looks too clean for serious offroading - each to their own, of course! But do beware of body roll, although yours will have anti-roll bars which will help - but dont expect miracles!

As for the fresh air vents, you can switch them off in the heater/vent controls for the winter, they're not permanently on - I think it is the vertical slider on the far left from memory!

StuckAgainSteve · Sep 19, 2011

I never bettered 14.5 mpg out of my 89 3.9 Vogue SE, I get a brim to brim average of 20.2 out of my 2000 4.6!! (Trip Computer says surprisingly accurate 20.7) 95% of my driving is motorway and I take it easy. How can the 4.6 be that much better? Is the Bosch FI that much better than GEMS or was my 3.9 knackered? Still it's far better on fuel than I expected - quite chuffed really.

Saint.V8 · Sep 19, 2011

Due to the increased power and torque from the 4.6 compared to the 3.9, you don't need to use the loud pedal as much to haul the bus along.

Also the design of the P38's is (surprisingly considering it is a bigger brick than the RRCL) more aerodynamic and as such has a lower Co-Efficent of drag.

If we take the formula for drag as Cd=1/2RhoV2S (that is Half Rho V-Squared S) we can see that Drag is the Square of velocity, so the small difference of Drag reduction in the P38 at a given speed as it is the Inverse square the Co-Efficent is greatly reduced.

The P38 also sits 1 inch lower during crusing, and this has the effect of reducing under body eddy currents which would increase drag so this lowering creates a more laminar flow.

The Lucas or Bosch Jet-Tronic (I think it was in a Classic whichever one it is...can't remember now...) would fire all injectors (or maybe just an opposing V4 of them) and let the induction system suck the fuel and air into the required cylinder for burning, the GEMS system is sequential and only fires the required Injector during that cylinders induction stroke, also when you boot the Classic, the Jet-Tronic system would give all 8 injectors an extra squirt of fuel wether those particular cylinders needed it or not...and this would be rather wasteful.

The driveline system, although essentially the same, had minor differences and a better Gearbox/Transfer case setup which eliminated quite a bit of Driveline drag.

These are just a few examples of the reason the P38 is more economical despite a larger engine displacement.

fett · Sep 20, 2011

you wont do much better round town with a 3.9 despite what some optimistic people say about there mpg.

the heater design and controls are the most ridiculous and pointless in history on these cars, I think its a hang over from the much earliers 2 door cars without aircon. hard to belive they didn sort in out in 20 odd years though :doh:

ashbash2403 · Sep 23, 2011

I have not accepted the heater 'design' I am getting the Fuel pumps looked at and also changing the temp senders and thermostats just becuase they are not major jobs.

I will then see how the fuel gauge looks and the temp gauge....

Not too worried about corners with the lift as it does not go fast enough to even trouble a spirit level round corners ! I will put some new pics up.

Also wondered if anyone can recommend decent mainly road tyres 80/20 on/off road to make use of the bigger space I have on the arches now ?

MikeV8SE · Sep 23, 2011

ashbash2403 said:
Also wondered if anyone can recommend decent mainly road tyres 80/20 on/off road to make use of the bigger space I have on the arches now ?

Tyres it all depends how much you want to spend, and what sort of offroad use you are planning. If you're looking to spend your time in deep mud at pay & play sites, then a set of mud-terrain (M/T) tyres would be a good bet. If it's more green laning, tracks, etc, then I would recommend all-terrain (A/T) tyres.

At the top end you have BF Goodrich tyres - their A/T and M/T tyres are legendary but pricey - figure on £120-£180 a corner, depending on tyre size.

At the cheaper end, Insa Turbo remoulds seem to have a good reputation - I am having 4x Insa Turbo Traction Tracks (tread patten based on the BF Goodrich Trac Edge A/T tyre) and they're costing £75 a corner in 235/70/16 size.

Try this tyre selector, it's quite good: 4x4 Tyre Selection

Hope that helps!

ashbash2403 · Sep 23, 2011

Mike.

As I only do about 3K a year in it I might look at some of those Insa but the Ranger ones as I don't do heavy duty just golf course areas and track.... I have found them in 235/70 16 for £61 each...

MikeV8SE · Sep 26, 2011

ashbash2403 said:
Mike.

As I only do about 3K a year in it I might look at some of those Insa but the Ranger ones as I don't do heavy duty just golf course areas and track.... I have found them in 235/70 16 for £61 each...

That's a good price, although that would be + fitting I assume?

I just paid £75 each (fitted) for 235/70/16 Traction Tracks, so far so good!

ashbash2403 · Sep 27, 2011

Tossed up between the Dakar and Ranger ones... and going for the Dakar.
Delivered £62 each + £8 fitting local per tyre so £70 each all done not too bad....

My friend has some Freestyle alloys he is trying to get me to have but I like the standard ones I have...

I have added a couple of pics here showing a bit of the current look after lift. hopefully the NEW tyres will fill the gaps a bit.

Going in tomorrow for new rear anti roll bar, fuel and oil gauge attention oil and coolant change and NEW plugs and filters.

oil dripper · Sep 27, 2011

Dakars look nice on Freestyles

MikeV8SE · Sep 30, 2011

I would say the Dakar's are probably a bit OTT if all you're driving is golf course tracks! They are an aggressive Mud Terrain tyre, second only to the Special Track's in Insa's range!

I reckon the Ranger's would do you fine, or the Traction Tracks which are more aggressive than the Ranger but still an All Terrain tyre.

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