TD5 Mpg over 1300 miles

I've now had my 2001 Disco TD5 ES (Manual) for about 3 months and seeing as prospective disco owners on the forum are allways asking what sort of mpg they could expect (I asked myself before buying) - i thought i would just add my twopence worth.

Almost 2 full tanks of diesel - £170 worth @ 95p/L = 179L = 39.5 Gallons

1300 miles travelled roughly broken down as

400 miles of long journeys (motorway cruising)
750 miles short journeys (to work & back daily, local journeys etc.)
150 miles towing caravan (dual carriageway & local roads)

Average over 1300 miles = 32.9 mpg

To be honest this is better than I expected to get so i'm pretty happy with it overall

I reckon on the short journeys i'm getting about 28/29 mpg and on the long journeys about 38/39

( i drove 150 miles up the M1 in constant 5th at about 70/75 and the needle on the fuel tank hardly moved - but towing caravan around Wales with 3 adults, 2 kids & 2 dogs on board up & down hills I swear I could see the needle move every time I changed gear & it must have gone down to around 19/20 mpg )

I'm sure that on a really good long motorway run it would go upto about 40-42mpg - not bad for 2.5 tons of metal with the aerodynmics of a tank!

Hope this is of some use to any prospective disco owners

Have also included some links to similar threads to save you all searching

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/disco-td5-fuel-consumption-42896.html?highlight=consumption


http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/wh...-landy-disco-34317.html?highlight=consumption

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/m-p-g-30647.html?highlight=consumption

I am now on my second TD5 Disco-2 Auto and over the last 7 years they have returned an average of between 25 to 30 mpg, so your mpg on a manual gearbox seems good. I have read on other Landy forums of TD5 Discos only managing 19 to 20 mpg average, without towing!

I have run up 1,000 miles in my Td5 auto in the last two weeks and calculated that it is doing 27mpg.

Mostly motorway heavily laden with quite a bit of high speed stuff.

I am very pleased

Avoid the high speed stuff and you should get that over 30 easily.

966miles, 122 litres diesel, 36 mpg ... Disco2 TD5 manual on cruise control.

Not bad!

CharlesY

Ive had my 2004 TD5 auto Landmark for around 6 weeks ..
In that time, I have averaged 20mpg, doing mainly short journeys.

Its only done 16000 miles, so do you think it will loosen up some more?

Smokebelch said:

Ive had my 2004 TD5 auto Landmark for around 6 weeks ..
In that time, I have averaged 20mpg, doing mainly short journeys.

Its only done 16000 miles, so do you think it will loosen up some more?

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That is awful even on short journeys.

Block the EGR as soon as possible, and check it out again. Just blocking the EGR (fit the plate at the exhaust manifold end) will IMPROVE your fuel consumption by about 20%, so 20 mpg would become an instant 24 - 25.

My TD5 manual (42k miles now) can break FORTY miles per gallon on motorway cruising if I set the cruise control to about 55/56 and let her run along.

Just did 500+ miles with a big car-transporter trailer taking a rolling Def-90 chassis back here, and even then we were getting over THIRTY miles per gallon. Once again, cruise control all the way, at 55 - 56 mph.

And perhaps therein lies a secret ... really smooth throttle control, steady running speed, looking well ahead, minimum braking, and no hard pushes on the gas pedal. Basically, take it easy and drive smoooooothly!

CharlesY

Hi Smokebelch, by 18,000 miles your TD5A engine will have been well run-in.

Even with a very gentle right foot my 2003 TD5 Disco Auto will only scrape a cruising best of 30 mpg.

It sounds as if CharlesY EGR plate suggestion is a good one, and once I have sorted out my diesel fuel to engine oil contamination problem, I will be sorting out the dreaded EGR as well.

As the MOT diesel exhaust test only measures opacity, I guess fitting the EGR plate won't give any MOT pass problems. Have I got that right ?

I have seen some good fuel economy from mine when towing a small trailer so having to keep the speed down, normally i get around 26-30 mpg but i didnt buy it for fuel economy, i bought it for fun and carting the family and dogs around. I dont cruise at 55 mph cos personally i would be a hazard on the road at that speed, i would be asleep very quickly!!!!!!! I think the point i am trying to make is if you like the car drive it the way you want to and enjoy it, if you cant do that and accept the economy that it does/doesnt return then get another car!!!!

Long distance driving is an attitude of mind.
I was a professional logistics man for long enough, and a truck driver.

The idea is this - if it is exciting or fun, you are probably going too fast.

Fast means lousy fuel economy.

Stopping is a BAD IDEA. Prepare (means have a pee) and go a LONG WAY before you stop. Don't stop for long - 10 - 15 minutes at most is plenty.
Cruise JUST slower than everyone else, and in the left lane among the trucks. Learn to flash your headlights when the arse end of a truck is safely past you so he knows (a) you know the game and (b) he can safely pull in.

On Friday heading south on M74 / M6 for about 250 miles, doing 55 - 56 mph on cruise, we were passed FIVE TIMES by a big black RangeRover go-faster V8 with the blacked-out windows and 28 inch alloys. The last time we saw him was just when we left M6 more than 240 miles after we started off. Each time he passed us he was doing 75 - 80 mph, and I bet he thought he was a BIG EXPERT passing everyone and bullying all the cars out of the way.

Actually, the guy is an asshole - a complete cretin.

He took the same time as us to do 240 miles, we had stopped at Killington Lake for coffee, he used twice the fuel we did, and we were pulling a bloody big trailer! But he was driving FAST ...... and that gave him his kicks, and that's when it all gets dangerous.

But he's an expert ... no-one could tell him otherwise.

CharlesY

discoed up said:

I think the point i am trying to make is if you like the car drive it the way you want to and enjoy it, if you cant do that and accept the economy that it does/doesnt return then get another car!!!!

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Yeah, keep your shirt on mate!
I dont see anyone in this thread complaining in the way you are suggesting!

It was an informative thread started by someone sharing their experience in a very definitive, un-biased way, so that others can pick up information and has been added to by others, (including me) in the same manner/vein ... It seems to me its what a forum is for!
FYI ... My last car was a Subaru that did 13mpg around town, so 20mpg I dont care about!
Lasty ... be careful where you are pointing your exclamation marks!!!!

As to MPG, in our petrol Half-Tonners (aka Lightweights) in the 1970s and 80s, with two ten gallon tanks, we reckoned not to risk more than 300 miles on the 20 gallons.

Desperate stuff .... but I suppose we were always off road or pulling a Sankey or both.

Our record for pulling Sankeys was SIXTEEN!
A medical unit with heaps of Landrovers each with a Sankey went up the wrong forest track and came to a dead end. Turning space was NIL.

We sent a Half-Tonner and three or four soldiers to sort out the mess. After a look-see, they drove to the end backwards, and then drove out picking up all the trailers one after the other. It was a low range first gear job after about ten!

Some asshole medic (not one of my drivers) reckoned he could reverse that lot.

My Sergeant Major bet him a fiver he couldn't reverse TWO Sankeys. He bought me a beer on his winnings.

CharlesY

whoa there,
I can assure you i still have my shirt on, i was merely making an observation that its a bit pointless worrying about fuel economy when we have all made a decision to buy a car that just isnt economical and for that very reason i use another car for commuting to and from work. I drive the way i enjoy driving and that is not a very economic way, but then i dont drive like a loon either.

Just got back from nearly 3000 miles across France and Spain.

I logged about 2000 miles for fuel...

387litres of fuel for 1940miles = 22.7 mpg
(correct me if i am wrong?)
Manual TD5

This trip involved motorways, A roads, B roads, dirt tracks and many off road miles using low box getting in and out of our camp spots. we also had the seats folded down to accomodate heavy tool boxes, jacks, recovery, spares, loads of camping kit and food, 2 full 25litre jerry cans of fuel and 1 30litre water and in the last leg of the journey through spain... 10 cases of wine... and of course the sheila's bag of shoes!!!

given the amount of stuff we had weighing down the back end, the roads over the Pyrenees where we were in second gear for hours on end... I think this is a good average MPG.

No mechanical complaints or overheating whatsoever, although on my decent into Spain off the mountains at Larrau, I did stop to let the brakes cool down as they were fading to the point of feel and smell.

For those thinking about it; get your TD5 a cruise control and stage1 tuned... the difference is simply outstanding!! The torque available under your toe is awsome allowing you to pull away on those long French motorway inclines and allow the cruise to hold its speed for hours on end even on the steep ones.

I mostly was driving about 60MPH on the cruise with the occasional rush of blood!

387litres of fuel = 85¼ gallons for 1940miles = 22.7 mpg
(correct me if i am wrong?)
Manual TD5

The maths is good; the consumption would be TERRIBLE if you were cruising motorways all the time. But in the Pyrenees mountains it might be a different matter entirely. It's a lot of weight to lift up all those hills.

My TD5 is proving to be a good economic cruiser.
Pretty amazing for a big brick well over two tons, and a two ton trailer on the back.

It's all a matter of applying just a little patience and forethought.

Technique they call it. At my age one should be able to do it!

CharlesY

Smokebelch said:

It was an informative thread started by someone sharing their experience in a very definitive, un-biased way, so that others can pick up information and has been added to by others, (including me) in the same manner/vein ... It seems to me its what a forum is for!

Click to expand...

Exactly - I just wanted to give any prospective buyers a positive reason to buy a TD5 disco as oppose to a lot of the negative feedback we are always hearing . Fuel consumption was never really a major consideration for me when I decided to buy the disco - but if I were to read of someone with similar experiences to mine it would have been a very good plus point.

All the figures in my original post were obtained without the EGR blanked off (finally got round to that last week & fitted new air filter) & without cruise control (the only thing I really miss on my disco - it's the next job to fit ) .

As I said in the original post - I was pleasantly suprised by these figures & will be even happier if they improve after doing the EGR & filter.

yeah BB get the cruise control fitted... an easy job yourself for about £50. LR will charge you £400

CharlesY said:

387litres of fuel = 85¼ gallons for 1940miles = 22.7 mpg
(correct me if i am wrong?)
Manual TD5

The maths is good; the consumption would be TERRIBLE if you were cruising motorways all the time. But in the Pyrenees mountains it might be a different matter entirely. It's a lot of weight to lift up all those hills.

My TD5 is proving to be a good economic cruiser.

Click to expand...

Agreed - If I had worked out the mpg for while I was towing caravan around Welsh mountains with a fully laden disco I would have been horrified (It must have gone down below 20mpg) - But it certainly performed great - didn't even notice the caravan was there most of the time. Also did a fair few miles off road around the Welsh forests in low range.

I think the overall combination of driving conditions (ie motorway cruising, towing, off-road etc) reflects what I would expect to do in a year so if I can get around 35+ mpg I will be a very happy bunny

It's definately at its best cruising along at 55 - 65mph (did 140 miles round trip up the A38/A5 yesterday - 90% dual carriageway & the fuel needle harley moved.

battenberg said:

yeah BB get the cruise control fitted... an easy job yourself for about £50. LR will charge you £400

Click to expand...

yeah - I posted on here about 6 weeks ago that Rimmer Bros. were doing all the bits for about £38 but never got round to ordering them myself - must check if they've still got em & get them ordered !

I got the steering wheel switch off ebay for £15 and the binnacle from LR for £8.

just a note on the cruise control...

We passed over the Milau Viaduct on our trip and this was the only time the engine ever gave me cause to stop, listen and question what was going on...

the cruise on the TD5 seems crude in comparison to my other cars... the rhythmic pulsating on long decents as it tries to engine brake to maintain speed I felt on the ascent over the viaduct. Although it allows you to use the throttle pedal for acceleration, if you hold the throttle just over it's programmed speed it seems to get confused and starts it's pulsating... alarming until I sussed it and killed the cruise at the binnacle switch and went over to manual control.