Fuel Consumption Question For Ls400?

[Gazza]

Hi,

I am looking at buying a '96 LS400SE, but the only thing that is stopping me is the possible fuel consumption. Obviously 4 litres is a big engine, but what sort of fuel consumption are people genuinely getting out of theirs?

Thanks in advance.

[champ]

I get 23mpg from my 92 LS, and that's driving "swiftly". Push it hard though and you will see the fuel needle drop.

Go on . . . you will be dead for long enough so you might as well own one of the finer pleasures in life!

[Gazza]

You're so right about the finer things in life, I just want to make sure that I'm not going to be spending most of my life in a petrol station. 23mpg sounds pretty good though, so thanks for that!

[JMRussell]

I run a 1998 LS400 and reset my consumption every month. Some months my average is over 26 and the worst is about 23. Round town is the killer. On a run I can get close to 30.

[Eddie]

I'd have to agree, I'm a new owner myself, and if you haven't driven or owned one....... do it, best thing I ever spent my money, ah, apart from when I fill her up!!! I filled up from empty cost me about £53 absolute joy, as I previously owned a 7 series BMW and oh my *** £96 I paid to fill her up once. Did about the same mileage on a tank full too. Still won't be doing that again eh!!! LExus.. definitiely the way to go!!!!!!

[Loz]

Think I might also have to join the fold of the LS brigade too!! my GS is GORGEOUS!!

but the LS is just so damn sexy!! it has well..... EVERYTHING!!

LOOKS

PACE

STYLE

COMFORT

LEATHER

ALL THE TOYS

JUST GOTTA GET ONE WITH SAT NAV.

My GS does 22-27 mpg combo mainly motorway but on the weekend charging around it gets down. put it like this 340 to a tank motorway vs 270 weekend farting around!

LS here we come!

Loz

[A97LS]

3yrs of conservative city driving. I consistantly get ~16mpg. Highway trips I get upto 20mpg.

[ricky_is200]

A97LS, Where are you from? (and welcome to the club BTW).

Be carefull guys comparing imperial MPG (US) with metric MPG (UK) as they aren't the same!

[calvinlex]

Does anyone have any experience in using those fuelsavers- Powermax or Fuelsaver device which cramps on the fuel supply line and uses magnetic field to reduce fuel consumption ? Are they of any use and is it easy to install by amateur- where is the fuel line ? I'd appreciate any help please.

[egolex]

:D I GET ABOUT 110 MILES FOR £20, ABOUT 26 LITRES,AND MOST OF THIS IS CONVEYOR BELT DRIVING[iN TRAFFICK],AND USE ORDINARY UNLEADED,A LOT OF THE TIME.

I USE SHELL OPTIMAX AS WELL,AND ,I RECKON THE POWER A LITTLE BIT MORE RESPONSIVE,ALSO ITS BETTER FOR THE ENGINE.

IF I WERE YOU, I WOULD GO FOR IT.

[hammo400]

Hi,

I am a newly regitered Club Member. In response to Gazza's question on fuel consumption, I have a 1991 LS400 and I get 450 miles to a tank ! That's over 20 mpg. I use premium gas and an engine additive for higher mileage cars. I also cruise to /from work at a speed I won't disclose. It is true that when you press hard on the accelerator with the ECT POWER engaged that you will use a good gulp of fuel, but that's the price of a 4.0 L 32 V V8. The neck snap, I think, is well worth it ! Live a little, if you want great mileage, get a HYBRID. :)

[Ed Toner]

I have a 1996 Lexus LS 400 with 60,000 miles. I drive it hard. I like to blow the doors off kids with Pontiacs (I'm 71)

I get 18 mpg in NJ around town, with AC on, and 23 on the highway.

Not to worry about MPG. Check the cost of insurance. Thar went up for me.

[maneesh]

I have a 92 LS with 162k, and it has always given me 15-20 in town, and 25-30 on a long trip.

Where the LS beats Beemers and Mercs is on the motorway where the superior aerodynamics really make it easy on petrol compared to it's rivals.

[Ed Toner]

That ECT Power is just the thing for entering the NJ Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway.

[Micelis]

Hi!

I just bought a '92 LS400, and I've been keeping an eye on fuel consumption to see whether I'll be able to mak a saving on it. turns out I won't be!

When driving fast I'm doing around 16 mpg (UK) and now i'm trying to use the cruise control as much as possible and driving 85 mph I get around 20.7 mpg.

I'm sure I can bring it down even further if I drive 70mph on the motorway, but I dont think I can control my right foot that much!! :winky:

[Ed Toner]

A mistake at the gas pumps caused me to take 20 gal. of 87 Oct. instead of the 93. I just checked my mileage on that tank and it was 18 MPG, stop and go NJ traffic driving, A/C on.

Performance did suffer with the 87 octane.

The best mileage I ever got was 23 mpg using the GSP for most of a tank, doing 70 mph, cruise control.

[Loz]

Anyone got any info on an LPG converted LS 400/430??

I wondered about it for my GS. not sure yet. have to see what I'm doing work wise first.. it would be a good investment if I could get a great job donew on it for a grand.

Any thoughts?

Loz

[Micelis]

I'm sure there's plenty of companies that'll do it, it's only worth it if you're doing high miles though, I though pimpin' was more about cruising town B) :winky:

have ya tried contacting this company?

[justin.cockett]

After several tests I began using Optimax all of the time in my GS-300. Optimax returns about 10% better fuel consumption, but costs about 7% more than standard unleaded.

Now the best way to improve fuel consumption it to turn off that A/C button. It adds at least 10% to consumption in my car.

I read once in The Daily Torygraph (Honest John's page) that Optimax is the only sulphur free petrol sold in the UK and the only UK fuel that the Mercedes CGI engine can run on. This is why this engine is not sold in the UK (CLK200 CGI in Germany and other European countries, Mercedes answer to the Audi A3 FSI and Mitsubishi (part owned by Daimler-Chrysler) GDI engines). Strangely Shell only claim Optimax to be "Low Sulphur" not even Ultra Low Sulphur, any of you have any more detail on this subject or do I feel an e-mail to Shell coming on?

Zero Sulphur = Good for engine and Cat in my book....!

However... It may be worth trying Texaco Clean system 3, Texaco make some grand claims and were (perhaps still are?) offering a free engine warranty for exclusive use. Again Honest John rates this fuel.

While we are on this subject, what is the general opinion on oils? I have always used Mobil 1, but is there a better alternative that I should try?

Justin.

[MartinShorthose]

I am a newly registered owner of a 1993 (L) LS400 and was a little wary about the fuel consumption thing too.

I moved up in the world from a Citroen Xantia 1.9 Turbo Diesel and was expecting to empty my wallet every day.

In reality, to make any sort of progress in a lesser car, you need to drive it with foot to the floor at all times and honestly, I have noticed an increase in spend - but not hugely significant.

I have been driving carefully though - just to see what mileage I can do on a tank.

I was once the owner of a Toyota Celica GT4 import and like the Lexus, I found I drove it more sensibly than the 'ordinary' cars I have owned - I have nothing to prove; I know I CAN go quicker than the hatchback boys so I don't even bother trying.

That racks them off more than beating them off the lights I feel!

So there is not a huge difference (fuel-wise) between a Xantia driven hard and a Lexus driven gently.

When its 6:00pm, freezing outside and everyone around is battling with their neighbour on the M6 in the rush hour to get home, it is really pleasant to relax in heated leather comfort, something soothing on the autochanger, cruise set at 70 (if you're lucky) feeling smug.

Go for it - enjoy!

[flotsam]

Hi,

I am looking at buying a '96 LS400SE, but the only thing that is stopping me is the possible fuel consumption. Obviously 4 litres is a big engine, but what sort of fuel consumption are people genuinely getting out of theirs?

Thanks in advance.

Didn't know there was such a thing as an LS400SE.

I get about 20mpg out of my MkIV.

[Buddz]

I am getting 15MPG at the moment on a 98 S LS400 with 66,000 on it.

I am talking London Traffic though here.

Need to get it on the Motorway to do a good run I think.

Is that too low. If so does that mean something wrong with the car ?

Pls advise.

Thanx

Sal.

[GreyBeard]

Anyone got any info on an LPG converted LS 400/430??

I wondered about it for my GS. not sure yet. have to see what I'm doing work wise first.. it would be a good investment if I could get a great job donew on it for a grand.

Any thoughts?

Loz

hi - i've got a 1990 LS400 and was also thinking about gas. did you get any responses from the others to your enquiry about their experiences? have you gone any further with it? i've filled in a questionaire on a firm's web site for a quotation, but they've not come back to me.

i'd appreciate your thoughts.

[WhiteUCF20RedAE102]

My mum drives our 1996 LS400 to and from work. It's only 6 miles and she drives with a very light foot, but she only seems to manage 17-19 mpg (UK mpg, 14-16 US mpg). However, get the car on a long trip like the one I took this weekend, and it'll happily get 30 mpg (25 US mpg) with 4 people in the car and the cruise control set at 80 mph.

By the way, the conversion factor for converting imperial gallons to U.S. gallons is 1.201.

[pops]

I'm sure it's advisable to use the right fuel, however, realistically like most people, I end up just grabbing whatever unleaded is available. In my book, a good car should cope with anything short of diesel. will the LS 400 ? If not, what can happen?