hey there peoples

im in a dillema, i have finally got my dream car (VR commodore) have wanted this car since i was just a wee lil tacker.... and now im forced to sell it as it is just not economical enough for me to be driving, with the amount of k's i do its just getting ridiculous

so i am looking at getting a smaller car that i can still keep my dignity in so to speak haha i dont want a small hatch back or any girly looking car no matter what mileage i will be getting

i was looking at getting a silvia no turbo or anything like that just a straight run of the mill type silvia, but was wondering what sort of fuel economy im going to be looking at as if it isnt good enough then its not worth it so if any one has info on that give us a yell and also if anyone can think of other cars looking roughly the same with good mileage or if i should be looking at something else

well.... let me know ya thoughts?

I used to think the same thing till I actually bought a small hatchback, I love the things now, I mean I would still love an XR6 turbo etc but as an everyday car nah no thanks I'll stick to the hatch. Plus you have to consider what are you gonna have more fun in a non turbo silvia or a small hatch/hot hatch I guarantee the hot hatch, because I've driven a few non turbo silvias and they aint exactly powerhouses or fun to drive down right boring comes to mind.

If it is really your dream car, there are ways to cut down your fuel usage.

Firstly your tires should be inflated 40psi at all times not the 32psi that manufacturers prefer (since it makes your ride more comfortable at the expense of fuel economy).

Cars are most fuel efficient between 60km/h and 100km/h, so don't exceed the speed limit on freeways. Try and cut weight out of your car too. Always drive smoothly and don't stop/start.

However, if you're set on dumping your dream car because of the price at the pump, I guess there's nothing for it!

insurance for a Silvia would offset the difference in petrol price

also, a non-turbo Silvia is going to be 10-15 years old (S13).

for the same sort of money, you could probably get a 5 year old Pulsar, Mirage, Lancer etc. in MUCH better condition

- Stooge007 out

these are all good points you have put across, and i have been trying to use less fuel with the VR atm and its just not working, like you said a higher psi in the tyres, not flooring it at all etc etc but its still just too much

thanks for the info but if i do go for the silvia still can anyone tell me what there fuel economy is like?? thats what i really want to know so if anyone can shed some light on that would be greatly appreciated

$HIT FUEL ECCONOMY

how much do you want to spend would be the first question.


have a look at the new Polo's (esp the GTi if you got the $$) there cheep as now and use next to nothing in fuel and as a bonus there fun to drive!!

ifnot have a look at something from the late 90's early 00's in the hot hatch area, some fun and economical cars there at some good prices!

afaik, the early model Silvia J's had the CA18DE engine, while later model Silvia Q's had the SR20DE engine.

check out here:

http://www.nissansilvia.com/forums/index.p...howtopic=146622

and

http://www.nissansilvia.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21840

or on http://www.pulsar.org.au

- Stooge007 out

know the dilema well. I had a straight 6 4WD and changed because fuel just kept getting more $$. BMW 318 has been amazing the saving! If you look on the web at different articles they recon they run at 8.8 per 100 or 9 per 100 or something. They might be a little hopefull there but. 10L per 100ks was a welcome drop from the 16-17 i was chewing through. Tyre press also an advantage in distance your tyre will get. get atleast 150% on distance out of a tyre at 40psi as oposed to 32-33. Also feels more responsive on the road and lighter in the steering.
But i'd suggest a 2L motor pal, at $1+ per litre the price soon adds up. If your seriously want cheap my gf has a suzuki swift, 900cc motor, 30L tank, even piss's me off how cheap that damn thing is!
Have fun finding a replacement

integra's would have good fuel economy, pretty quick too
the corolla sportivos sound like a nice drive
depends what you're looking for
are power figures an issue? or are you just looking for economy?

i see fuel as pretty small amount compared to the overall cost of owning a car.

for instance if u buy a new $35,000 car then u spend about 8k (give or take depending on vehicle) for the dealership to hand over the keys. when a newer model comes out u spend another 6k or so. so u own this car for 18months - 2yrs and it costs u wat 14k?? and u haven't even driven it yet.

the best thing to do is buy a second hanbd older car. (yay for u, u have already decided that)

so suppose u do 20,000l's a yr (bit less than average from the top of my head)

that means probably 2 services (for the local garage that for a service of an old toyota ute about $200 each service)

then because its an old car u r probably lookin @ replacing something major (be it suspension, brakes timing belts etc) so u can probably add another 1k on ur service just to be on the safe side.

then atop of all that u have rego and insurance.

THEN WE GET TO THE COST OF FUEL.

so by now we have spent lots and lots of money on the car. say u have an economy of about 12l per 100km's. so thats wat about 2.8k @ $1.20 a litre.

so if u get say 8liters per 100km's then u would spend nearly 2k on fuel. so u save $800 on fuel. so now u have a question, in the overall scheme of things is it worth giving up ur dream car for $800 when the owning of the car is gonna cost u well and above that cost in fuel???

good point but also your saying that with buying this car because it is a later model car i am going to have to re-do something big like timing belts etc... but this could happen to my car also at any time....

realistically i could keep this car and keep driving it chewing the fuel that it does but i just dont want to, im in the need to save money as i want to go on holidays and things like that and this big car atm just isnt putting me in the best position for me to do so

good point about the integra's i didnt even think about them...

actually.......reading through these forum posts from stooge007 it seems as though unless i get a small hatch or something im not going to really be getting any benefits at all, as all these cars do about the same k's as me or less :{

also if anyone knows what would a honda prelude be like on fuel?? only heard good things about preludes.. i would be after the older model though, the more square ones... will try and find out rough year model to give more info

I love my Mirage. 650km's/42L rocks (with 100kgs of install in the boot)! I used to have a VS Calais. It was my dream car, but I'd hate to think how much it would be costing me in fuel if I still had it. It depends on what you like driving and what you're willing to put up with.

If you want to keep your dream car get a gas conversion. The Falcodores never seem to have any trouble being converted. A conversion is going to cost you about 2G so if you're going to save that much in petrol then its worth it. If you trade cars then you are most likely to to be a couple of thousand worse off so you might be best to do nothing.

I Have a BMW 320i slant 6.

Its a 2.0 l ( Really 2.2 but BM rounds it down ) and it has 6 cyl, it is a small 6 they call it! I can easily doo 400km on a full tank everytime with the occasional hit hehe but im on my red p's what can i say i probably drive lik ea nut too some of you guys!

Anyhow i picked it up for 13,5k with white leather, sunroof and alloys all the goods. It is the 94 model so not soo new but it is heavy. Slow of the mark but once get mooving RUN FOREST RUN!

Just bite the bullet and buy a small hatch you will have fun in one trust me so damn chuckable and easy to drive , big grin factor. I went from a 6cyl EF fairmont to a 3cyl 1litre Charade and I can tell you now that Charade was so damn fun even if it was gutless it just handled so well because it weighed bugger all, IRS as well in a car designed in the late 80's plus charades have more international class rally wins then any other car bet you didnt know that. Not saying you buy a charade but you really should have a drive in a decent small hatch that doesnt include automatic ones. Motor magazine has used both a Renault sport clio cup and a Honda integra type S as chase cars during road tests and this is when they are testing HSV's, Porsches, EVO's, WRX's, etc and in most cases on a twisty road they find it very difficult to pull any great distance on the Renault and Honda, now if that doesnt prove there handling/ fun factor I dont know what does.

As most say, it depends on what you are willing to put up with. I've got a hyundai excel with a fair bit of suspension work now. This thing handles like a train on railroad tracks.

Very good fun to toy with commodores when it's a long road with lots of roundabouts and chicanes

It's also very economical i can usually get about 800k's out of a tank highway driving and 600 k's if i do very light driving (450 if i'm redlining it constantly). Car is cheap to service and insurance will cost you next to nothing.

Not only that... small performance mods make huge differences on these cars as they are sooo restricted and also very light.

Hatches = ftw!