ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: Chris_B on December 03, 2008, 07:25:04 PM
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Alright, I havent bought a Samurai yet but I'm just trying to get some info about them before i make the leap. I'm looking for a super fuel efficient offroad capable vehicle, super utilitarian, as long as its got heat I'm happy, but anyways. I was wondering what the best mileage anybody has gotten with the stock engine, with the sidekick engine, or with the 1.6NA vw diesel. seems most will tell you mid 20's with the suzuki motors or around 40 with the diesel. I won't be doing anything to crazy, 31-32" tires, as narrow as I can get them, 3 or so inch lift and maybe a bit lower gearing depending on the motor.
I'm kind of leaning toward the vw so I could burn vegetable oil, but the cost is a bit more initially compared to the sidekick motor.
So anyways, What kind of mileage do you guys get out of your samurai's with the 16v FI sidekick engine?
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just go wheelin. who cares about mileage when your having fun
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I have a 87 sammy w/1.3 33 stock gears and i get 25mpg if i keep it at 55mph or less
i would like a web site for diesel swap
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the diesels are neat, but... diesel costs more than premium gas, and most of the vw motors (like the 1.6 and early 1.9) make less power than the 1.6 8 valve motor (I think the 1.6 diesel makes 48 hp =miserable slow on freeway) The TDI motors are better for power, but are very expensive and somewhat hard to find.
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SJ-410, I can go trail wheeling for 24 hours straight on close to a tank of gas with 33" tires. We put 6 gallons in just in case, but I don't think I needed it.
Diesel would be fun. Less HP, but torque for days. It would be hard to give up my skinny pedal though...
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ACME adapters sells a diesel conversion. You can buy a lot of gas for what it will cost you though.
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48hp is lots for me, the speed limit is 100km/h here, i usually will only do 90 on there, most the roads I travel are limited to 80, i usually do 65-70. I figure it would cost me around 2000 to swap in a diesel, less whatever i can get for the stocker. I'd rather give my money to acme and junk yards than oil companies, and it seems it'd cost about the same to put in a 1.6 FI, but then you get worse mileage. So I'm not to concerned about power, would rather have great fuel economy. Diesel costs about the same as regular here, and I could set up a two tank system and run it on vegetable oil.
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48hp is lots for me, the speed limit is 100km/h here, i usually will only do 90 on there, most the roads I travel are limited to 80, i usually do 65-70. I figure it would cost me around 2000 to swap in a diesel, less whatever i can get for the stocker. I'd rather give my money to acme and junk yards than oil companies, and it seems it'd cost about the same to put in a 1.6 FI, but then you get worse mileage. So I'm not to concerned about power, would rather have great fuel economy. Diesel costs about the same as regular here, and I could set up a two tank system and run it on vegetable oil.
ive toyed with that idea too
do a google search
eventually it will turn up a tutorial
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Mines a 1.3 stock suspenision 215\75r15 on 15x8 I get around 25 to 32 depending on speed at 70mph=25 55mph=32
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34x10.5 LTB's, 4.10 R&p, 6.5:1 T-case, with a stock 1.3...... I get about 15 to 16 mpg!
I think some wires and vac lines fell off...
Amilla
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91 Geo. 8 valve 1.6 liter. 5 Speed trans. 30" All Terrains....
I get about 20mpg no matter how I drive it. Wish I was getting more though....the track even has fresh oil and new spark plugs/wires. :-\
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87 sammy 1.6 16v 6-1 t case and 30's. I get around 22-25 if I drive nice, witch I never do because the power is so fun. I paid 1000.00 for my motor and it still cost me a lot less than 2 grand to put it in. I looked at the diesel swap for a long time but, it was going to be too much time and trouble to find a good donor. It may be different where you live though.
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Stock 96 tracker - 16v 1.6 - currently getting between 28 and 32 mpg.
I'm adding 2" coil spacers, and 2" body lift, and 31" tires. Hoping it doesn't change my mileage too drastically.
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96 tracker - 16v 1.6
8-9 inch lift with 32-11.5MTR's. 5.83 R&P = 22 mpg
I love it. We'll go out wheeling with big V8 Jeeps, go everywhere they do and still have 3/4 a tank of gas compaired to their empty ones.
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Mooch, your only getting 20mpg? I feel grateful and lucky even when I average 20/21 with the turbo, which naturally uses more fuel than a normally asperated. Hegemon, be prepared to loose some fuel mileage with what your planning. Big rubber just adds drag and weight to the rotating mass, making it harder for the engine to acclerate it. Which means your going to use more throttle to get it going, albeit, even slower than normal. Raising your Trackick just makes it more of a "sail" in the wind, creating more drag, and even less milage. If anyone's figured out how to do our most common mods ( lifts and big rubber, etc,) and still get close to stock mileage, PLEASE clue me in. And yes, I'm geared.
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Tracker is your best bet for fuel mileage - upper 20's, samurai will be lower 20's. The cost of any engine swap will be way more than you'll see in fuel savings. It'll take many years to get the $$$ back from the swap. Diesel swaps are great - IF you're a rock crawler... and that's what you're doing the swap for. The days of cheap VW diesel swaps are long long gone.
And, for what it's worth - diesel doesn't have much HP, but HP doesn't mean squat in off-road. It's all about torque, and diesel has loads of it all across the RPM range.
Also consider the box style Isuzu Trooper if you want a cheap SUV with good gas mileage. I see a lot of Grand Cherokees for cheap now, but if memory serves, the MPG is bad.
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Tracker is your best bet for fuel mileage - upper 20's, samurai will be lower 20's. The cost of any engine swap will be way more than you'll see in fuel savings. It'll take many years to get the $$$ back from the swap. Diesel swaps are great - IF you're a rock crawler... and that's what you're doing the swap for. The days of cheap VW diesel swaps are long long gone.
And, for what it's worth - diesel doesn't have much HP, but HP doesn't mean squat in off-road. It's all about torque, and diesel has loads of it all across the RPM range.
Also consider the box style Isuzu Trooper if you want a cheap SUV with good gas mileage. I see a lot of Grand Cherokees for cheap now, but if memory serves, the MPG is bad.
I thought about buying an isuzu trooper once, but I found that the 4 cylinder (2.6 liter) has a head gasket and cracked head problem, and they only get somewhere around 17 mpg.
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Seems the adapter kit is a little more for the diesel compared to the sidekick kit, the 1.6na diesel seems to go for a reasonable cost, about the same as a 16v sidekick engine. And I figure the diesel should get at least 50% better mileage. Not to mention diesels are simpler and last longer than gas engines. I figure i drive about 10000km per year, 23mpg is about 1 liter every 10km, so thats 1000 liters a year, at a dollar a liter I'd be saving at least 3-400 a year. And then I could run it on vegetable oil and save a little more on long trips. So I figure I should be able to make the extra money back in two or three years, after that its all gravy.
Judgeing by the sounds of things, it isn't much more difficult to swap in the diesel compared to swapping in a sidekick engine, I've even read its easier to swap the diesel into the samurai, than it is to swap the sidekick engine into it.
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Chris B, your profile doesn't say where you're from, but since you're using the metric system I'll assume you're not in the US. If that's true, then diesel MIGHT be a better deal for you. I love diesel, but it's VERY expensive in the US, because diesel motors are rare here.
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Ah yes, I live in Canada. I have always wondered why that is, why you guys don't like the diesel cars, it seems like a better engine in every way, a little louder but other than that.. The smart car is a perfect example, its been for sale here for a few years with a diesel, getting 65mpg, and its just now available in the US but with a gas engine that only get 45mpg or something like that. I just dont get it.
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Probably for the same reason we won't adapt the metric system ::)
Diesel is BY FAR a better choice for off-road. More low end torque, better MPG, more reliable...
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We don't either.I like desiel but can't afford the swap
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Alright maybe you guys can asnwer me this. Would you expect to see an increase in mileage swaping the 1.3 for a 16v FI from a sidekick? Or is this just done for power? Just quickly looking on the internet it seems the sidekick is rated for around 22mpg, while the samurai is rated for 28 or so.
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Diesels weren't very common here because Americans want the quicker throttle response of gas and then there is the emissions crap. If you are going to bother doing the diesel swap, try looking for the 1.6 turbo or 1.9 turbo. They shouldn't be much more than the non turbo versions and tons more power and mileage.
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Alright maybe you guys can asnwer me this. Would you expect to see an increase in mileage swaping the 1.3 for a 16v FI from a sidekick? Or is this just done for power? Just quickly looking on the internet it seems the sidekick is rated for around 22mpg, while the samurai is rated for 28 or so.
Tough call. I would think you would see a slight improvement in mileage due to the engine not having to work as hard and the fuel injection. But you usually put larger tires on an such at the same time, and that reduces it. :)