distance to empty. It’s a useful feature when in
remote areas, with large distances between fuel
stops. We actually found this to be surprisingly
accurate most of the time.
The last method we used was to calculate the fuel
economy manually at each fill of the tank. This is
by far the most accurate way of assessing fuel
economy. However, there is one point I need to
make here: Fitting the larger tyres affected the
accuracy of our odometer by a factor of five per
cent. We were actually travelling longer distances
than indicated by the odometer. We just had to
remember to include this in our calculations.
On a good day, Marty's Cruiser
will use 17L/100km of diesel.
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The other issue with this method is the variety
of fuel, fuel pumps, as well as a number of other
factors that mean you never really get a consistent
measure at each refill. ‘Hi-flow’ diesel pumps can
create a lot of foam in the fuel, meaning you don’t
quite fill up as much as you might at a low-flow
pump. Truck diesel also foams a lot more than the
higher quality premium diesel.
Higher temperatures can also affect the amount
of fuel you can squeeze into the tank. All together,
the difference could be anywhere between five
and seven litres per fill.