Improving Stagea Fuel Economy/consumption

[910trx]

amber (mrs) and i are looking for a new car for her, i have a project car already whitch is nothing much, but its mine. There is a bit of jelousy as she drives the stagea which i chose to buy, i drive and abuse her old laser and we are looking to giver her own car. we have narrowed her choice down to a swift - $13k done, but it means i have to say bye to the $40 per week bomb i curently dive and have to drive the stagea to work.

i travel 50kms city in 1 day and at the stageas current fuel economy (city 350k per 68 litre tank consistently w highflow cat, 3 inch zorst, new o2 sensor) i cant see this being a good idea (she drives the stagea about 10kms per day and sometimes for work - this will change with the new car) as its going to cost us a fortune!

i know there have been plenty of statements that a nistune gives better power and through the better power delivery the side benefit of better fuel economy under harder driving compared to factory tunes, but its the less fuel i'm after is at low boost low rev siuations and its this i am a little unsure the nistunecan deliver - i dont want to upgrade fuel pumps, injectors an put in a front mount and put down 300kw, so is the nistune going to give better fuel economy for just general driving?

fit a dump to the 3 inch exhaust to assist in efficiency, dont know if this would have a great deal of effect on the current consumption but willing to consider if there is enough support or opinion.

is it worth going from 98 ron to 95 ron to save a bit more $$$?

can you fit a fun switch to cut boost and let it drive a bit more sedate or return to factory boost when needed, and will this even have an effect on fuel consumption? i have noticed that driving it so it is constantly under vacume and not boost it kinda saves a bit more fuel, this is hard to do in peakhour traffic though.

what else could i do to better the economy?

so absolute performance is not key. the stagea does everything including emptying my pocket but it eats road on long hauls, feels safe, fits everything in it and tows anything! If i cant make it better i'll have to sell it and get a stupid commodore, magna or falcon wagon - i'd rather not though... i want to keep it but if it is going to be a drain on $$$ through fuel i have to downgrade.

help me save the stagea

Edited January 17, 2011 by 910trx

[chuckie]

Hi Daniel,

Well mine is stockish ,

Bellmouth Dump full cat back,

Front mount return flow R34 GTT Blitz,stock boost,

K&N panel filter,

i get 450 a tank, & thats not like i drive like many,she gets workout bigtime,

i still have same O2 in,i run coppers change oil 20,000,

NISTUNE will help you across the range,fuel pump upgrade should be done with nistune (well i would & will as iam about to nistune )

so Good luck

Cheer`s Chuckie

[Blizzerd]

mines ecu, stock intercooler, blitz pod filter, hks ssqv

around 500km per tank...... dont know what you guys are all talking about with your fuel economy.....

[Zorro]

I use about 16L per 100km of 98º, driving up & down the freeway everyday! I might be able to get below 14L if i grandma'd it, or over 20L if i didnt! (series 1, full zorst, fmic, pod, afr, evc, 12psi) Just accept it as part of owning a cool car, meh its only money, gotta spend it on something, might as well enjoy it!

Oh i save about a litre or two per hundred on 6psi (only a couple of bucks, so i just wind it up & smile)!

Edited January 17, 2011 by Zorro

[66yostagea]

Give up sex, drugs and rock & roll. You will save enough to pay for the petrol.

But seriously 15/100 is what I get, but its all real short trip to work, 3k, or up and own the mountain.Got pod,fmic, front plenum, 3" bellmouth, X Force cat and 3" cat back, and run 10psi.

My next fit up is a DFA. I run all Nulon oils with addatives.

My son's 25G, RB25DE, is not that much better on fuel as it is up and down the mountain ten times a week..Up is always with Power switch on.

Luv our Stags. :rolleyes:

[SMOKEYV35]

yeh - i return similar figures. i drive city/freeway combination of about 40km's a day - i get about 450km's per tank of 98.

GReddy FMIC, 3" Fujitsubo, Pod filter, EBC set to 12psi. mine is manual too though, which helps fuel economy.

i'm going to get my eManage ultimate thrown back in, but only because i see it pour fuel out on full boost (R&R over 10psi). it might lean it out a touch and tidy up the fuel a bit, but i doubt you'd see a significant improvement in economy.

if i were you i'd just spend the money on things like 02 sensor, clean your AFM, do your plugs and coil packs etc. that way you know the car is running as cleanly as possible - and that stuff is all general maintenance which your car will appreciate. you look after it, and it will look after you! thats my motto!

[KiwiRS4T]

Do the front pipe - get a Nistune and a good tuner and tell him that economy is a priority. You shouldn't need two boost settings you have a controller called your right foot!!

You should be able to get it down to 12L per 100km. Then there are the usual things - don't increase weight by carrying unnecessary junk around in your car, keep tyre pressures up - anticipate the traffic ahead and don't brake unnecessarily etc. Tune it on 95 but not less.

[910trx]

all the small tricks have been done like platnum plugs, regular servicing o2 sensor, cleaned this and that...

but in adelaide crossing the nth suburbs to the eastern, you hardly get a free run of traffic to reduce consumption, it is very stop start and after fitting the boost guage i noticed that alot of the time it is giving boost even under light throttle, hence finding that throttle control to keep it out of boost greatly assists.

it is also an auto and manual is not an option, the mrs doesn't drive manual (and tears me up inside)

i'm just wanting to know what the next step is to improve economy and is it worth it - i'll do it to keep the car but if the gains are small for the cost, i'm better off selling it

thanks for the replies so far

[KiwiRS4T]

all the small tricks have been done like platnum plugs, regular servicing o2 sensor, cleaned this and that...

but in adelaide crossing the nth suburbs to the eastern, you hardly get a free run of traffic to reduce consumption, it is very stop start and after fitting the boost guage i noticed that alot of the time it is giving boost even under light throttle, hence finding that throttle control to keep it out of boost greatly assists.

it is also an auto and manual is not an option, the mrs doesn't drive manual (and tears me up inside)

i'm just wanting to know what the next step is to improve economy and is it worth it - i'll do it to keep the car but if the gains are small for the cost, i'm better off selling it

thanks for the replies so far

If you are going to keep it get a Nistune but I'll speak the sad truth - Stageas are gas guzzlers - all you can do is mitigate it - you can't make them do 8km/100!!

[910trx]

If you are going to keep it get a Nistune but I'll speak the sad truth - Stageas are gas guzzlers - all you can do is mitigate it - you can't make them do 8km/100!!

I totally agree and that has been apparent since the day i got it. Has been the chink in the stageas armour for us.

gets 9's and 10's on long trips but the stop start kills it.

just bizarre that a 2.5 (yes it is pulling some weight i know) can consume so much fuel, its almost mythical!

I sometimes think I must have a hole in my tank

Edited January 18, 2011 by 910trx

[Stinky Rooster]

dump the RB and awd, drop in a SR20

[vic stagea mick]

nistune does help with fuel but its going to cost up to $1000.00 to get it done.$850.00 in in vic.is it worth spending that money to try and save fuel i have one and wanted better power and it gave me what i wanted

[SMOKEYV35]

could always try a shift kit to try and stop the auto being so flarey on the torque converter?

another cheap option is CAI? turbo engines love cold air - but i guess its not going to help a great deal in stop start.

but i guess the others are right. unless you're chasing power, you mayswell just spread that 1000 dollars across the life of the car and subsidise your petrol with it.

[bentwagon]

If your talking shift kits and you live in Adelaide best go to MV Automatics - must do so myself, living just round the corner from them

[910trx]

ive always realised the stagea was thirsty, unfortunately i am realising that it will always be thirsty

might just do a dump pipe with a new panel filter upon cam belt and water pump service, bung in the nistune and a 440 fuel pump, r34 fmic and front and rear kings and live with it for a few more years .

or go m35 axis - it is starting to look like a realistic option now...

[Dunc]

or go m35 axis - it is starting to look like a realistic option now...

Im routinely burning through petrol at 15-20L/100km in my M35 when Im only doing short trips. Give me a long highway and I can hit 10L/100, but the stop starts KILL me.

[iamhe77]

Daniel, the M35 Axis will win over your Mrs as it is a more refined, comfortable car... but it will hurt your wallet just as much as your C34. Difference is that the M35 has a larger fuel tank lol

[_Ryan_]

Sell it.

[Duncan]

ive always realised the stagea was thirsty, unfortunately i am realising that it will always be thirsty

I reckon you are right there....I have done everything to mine in various stages and never got better than 350 to a tank regularly (about 17l). I do use it in heavy traffic and I have a heavy foot.

I might swap cars with one of you guys that gets 10 or 12 for a couple of weeks and see if it is me or the car

On the bright side.....its a bloody brilliant car

[dmonic1]

When i had my stagea (s2) the best improvement in fuel economy was when i put the GT3071 on it. The bigger exhaust turbine meant that i was never on boost just driving around the city. The stock turbo is so small that it starts to spool up way to easily and down way to low. No fuel improvement when thrashing it of course.

that said, a new one will cost you around $2500 and if you include your dump pipe and nistune it will end up a fair bit.

the only boost controller you need is your right foot. you can have a car that makes 300KW and still be good on fuel if you just drive it sensibly. unless you go to the extremes (anything over 350+KW) a car that makes more power is generally running better so it will always use less fuel until you start driving it all the way through the rev range every gear.