Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Delicanagan wrote:I've seen plenty of misinformation regarding the fuel consumption...as high as 40mph...and not just from sellers' ads either...

Makes me wonder now how many folks have bought in on those figures (like myself) only to find the disappointment floating at the bottom of an empty tank (like myself).

I/we am/are overall very happy with the Delica. We wouldn't go back to the 4WD Aerostar for "keepsies", but I must admit: Once we started to chart our fuel consumption, we were very disappointed in our findings.

I have since justified it all by use of this valuable resource (Delica.ca), and can see where I should have been skeptical, but all honesty and in defense of my expectations....I really DID just figure that Japanese market was just so far ahead of us that nothing was unreasonable to assume as far as performance goes. *heavy sigh*

My legal guardian/care giver/wife crunched it last night to a finding so far of 24.6 MPG - 11.5L/100Km. As stated by others in this forum...not bad for a near two ton vehicle with a small engine and the shape of a toaster.

When we used to drive the old VW Campmobile, people wondered why we got the mileage we did compared to the Bug...I always explained it like this:
There is a reason a football is sharp on the ends. It cuts through the air much better than a loaf of bread.

marsgal42 wrote:

BTW: I'm doing some tire pressure testing, using an IR thermometer like the F1 teams do. My first results are that 32 PSI on the front tires (235/75R15) looks soft, and is. I'll pump them up to 35 for the next test.

...laura

delicat wrote:If GPS are accurate then for those running 30" tires when at 100km/h on the speedo I get 103km/h on the GPS...

FalcoColumbarius wrote:

loki wrote: for WVO consider going to the elsbett system that replaces the injection pump and injectors with a pump that is stronger to handle the thicker oil and the injectors are optimized to have a better spray pattern, still works with diesel too. the lines and injectors are heated to help the flow as well.

FYI rapeseed oil = canola oil. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola

also I hope people aren't going to SVO or biodiesel that comes from "virgin" oil thinking that they are helping the planet, I personally think that this is not helping in the slightest, the additional land needed to grow all the oils that is needed means more wild habitat (rainforests in the amazon and habitats here in north america) is destroyed often with slash and burn. but that is just my opinion.

If you filter you oil properly you should be able to get the fats and such out. I plan to use a centrifuge to filter and dewater my oil, I have located a design that has been throughly tested and is much faster than most of the other methods that I have seen. I should also be able make the unit portable and maybe even built into the van for filtering on the road.

I hope to be able to produce enough to sell to others at a very reasonable price.

Hi Loki,

I knew it as rapeseed oil from the 70's & 80's until all those people in Spain died from it (I think from all the DDT they use on it), then I heard of a new oil called "canola" ~ I sussed it out and I don't use it for cooking no matter what they call it because I think they still use the DDT on it. Regarding the Bio-fuels, I read an interesting article in the National Geographic magazine on this issue. What I was particularly interested in was this algae refinery in the desert, outside Phoenix, Arizona. Because the algae grows so fast they can harvest something like 5,000 gallons (I presume American) per acre, per day, unlike the corn farms that produce 5,000 gallons per acre, per year. So the only concern with making bio-fuel from algae in the desert is the water.... but talk about going green, eh... literally. Then there are the Brazilians who are now self sufficient on sugar cane fuel... I don't know just what the ramifications of that are but they appear to be thriving because of it. I like the idea putting the Mitsubishi Van Club to work and getting club houses with garages and our own cheap for members refinery.... dreaming?

I met these Japanese people at Japanoid who were refining WVO from the back of their truck, they took a golden colour oil and refined it to clear, I will ask more on that before to long. Frisch was refining his own WVO, starting the engine on Diesel then switching tanks. It is an impressive system that he has going, but there still remains the smell of the BBQ from the exhaust. In the city I don't think that really matters, likely improve business for the restaurants, but in the wilderness I think it could be a potential serious problem as I think it would attract bears.

Getting back to JMK: This fuel additive that I am currently using is made by "Power Service" and it is called "Diesel Fuel Supplement" with "Cetane Boost". Also with "SlickDiesel", "for Maximum Fuel Lubrication"(I should try this [j/k]). I found it at Canadian Tire and it is the better part of ten bucks. I want to know if I can mix it with the Hows, unfortunately the associates at Cdn. Tire don't know....

Windsnob, I like your thinking. I was running my tyres at 42 PSI, I am now at 41 PSI. I found when I was at 45 PSI I tended to bounce around corners which made me feel a little nervous. I think I have found the sweet spot between 41/42 PSI, I think if you go higher you will wear the middle of your tyre tread pattern down sooner.

Falco.

loki wrote: I love the Algae for oil, been thinking about starting something here but to do it right you have to spend a fair bit of money to set it up. the algae in the desert is a cool idea but that is still habitat for animals, I moved to Saudi Arabia when I was 4 and lived there for 10 years, the desert isn't barren, especially the ones in the US, there is tons more wildlife in the US deserts. But it is way better for the big picture imo than burning rainforests that convert carbon dioxide to oxygen for us so much better than the crops replacing them.

Anyways, sorry for the threadjacking, I'll shutup now :)

FalcoColumbarius wrote:60 Into 800 equals 13.333 kilometres per litre (37.919 MPG Imp.).

Erebus wrote:Sorry, I read the kilometres per litre as litres per 100 km. Oops. Not sure why anyone ever puts out km/L since that isn't the way any organization ever reports fuel consumption. My bad.