Cost of running a V8 sportscar
Discussion
The Nur said:
On topic, I too believe it is possible to run a car like that for reasonable money. Kudos to the OP for putting theory into practice.
Among my other cars is an old BMW E39 528i estate car - again owned from new - now on 162,500 miles at 14.5 years old. Abviously there's been significant maintenance over that lifespan. If anyone wants to know the £££ bottom line on that one I'll be equally happy to oblige!!Also an E46 convertible - yet again owned from new - which has been shatteringly inexpensive over 9 years ownership, albeit at low miles (30,000).
IMO buying good cars brand new and keeping them a long time can make sense. It'll never be dirt cheap but can be highly cost-effective compared with changing lesser vehicles every 2 or 3 years.
5 USA said:
Among my other cars is an old BMW E39 528i estate car - again owned from new - now on 162,500 miles at 14.5 years old. Abviously there's been significant maintenance over that lifespan. If anyone wants to know the £££ bottom line on that one I'll be equally happy to oblige!!
Would be interested.jbi said:
indeed... one of the biggest obstacles to fuel economy is weight, which is why a 7.0 litre engine can achieve similar fuel economy to a 2.0 litre
I have a 2001 Commodore SS ute. LS 5.7 6 speed manual.I have absolutely no idea what I get out of it other than enjoyment. When it is empty - I fill it up, I know I fill it up more than the Porsche and less than the Lotus. Probably about the same as the TVR but that gets driven less. Definately more then a fiesta which does more miles being the work commuter.My work car is a Swift or an Isuzu Workmate depending on the day and they definately are more economical.
Does that clear it up?
V88Dicky said:
IIRC it's a legal requirement for nearly all vehicles in Australia to have the wheel on the correct side.
Consequently there's a whole industry based around doing conversions. Stamping out new dashboards, fabricating RHD steering racks, headers, pedal boxes, wiring looms, you name it.
Some conversions are better than others of course!
Some states you must have RHD, others dictate that when a car hits 25 years old it must be RHD. You can get some LHD bargains from those areas that are nearly 25 years old and they need to be converted. other states just don't care and you can have whatever you want. Consequently there's a whole industry based around doing conversions. Stamping out new dashboards, fabricating RHD steering racks, headers, pedal boxes, wiring looms, you name it.
Some conversions are better than others of course!
Some conversions look factory standard - others ...... not so much, again you get what you pay for.
Devil2575 said:
I'll post it again for those that struggle to read...
Average price of a litre in the UK over the last 13 years is about 97.6p according to this data:
http://www.speedlimit.org.uk/petrolprices.html
This works out as £4.44 per gallon. 20p/mile = 22.2 mpg.
Ever think you are wasting your time, Devil? Average price of a litre in the UK over the last 13 years is about 97.6p according to this data:
http://www.speedlimit.org.uk/petrolprices.html
This works out as £4.44 per gallon. 20p/mile = 22.2 mpg.
Yep running a V8 powered car (especially an American one) isn’t all that bad in all honesty.
I use my 2006 Mustang as a daily driver (circa 10k miles per year) day to day I get around the 20mpg mark (mixed driving) and even fully laden at motorway speeds 29-31mpg. I don’t hoon on the roads mind, I just cruise around saving my high speed driving for the drag strip.
Example of a Journey if I am going to York raceway
Hull to York Raceway (via Beverly) five passes on the drag strip and home again (via Beverly) and it still averaged 19-20 mpg.
Insurance, is not that far off hot hatch levels for a driver in his/her late 20’s and my Focus ST-2 drank nearly as much fuel on the daily commute as the Mustang does, road tax is cheap on imports for the engine size (goes on the old system) servicing is what you would pay for an average car in the UK.
These cars are brilliant bang for buck
I use my 2006 Mustang as a daily driver (circa 10k miles per year) day to day I get around the 20mpg mark (mixed driving) and even fully laden at motorway speeds 29-31mpg. I don’t hoon on the roads mind, I just cruise around saving my high speed driving for the drag strip.
Example of a Journey if I am going to York raceway
Hull to York Raceway (via Beverly) five passes on the drag strip and home again (via Beverly) and it still averaged 19-20 mpg.
Insurance, is not that far off hot hatch levels for a driver in his/her late 20’s and my Focus ST-2 drank nearly as much fuel on the daily commute as the Mustang does, road tax is cheap on imports for the engine size (goes on the old system) servicing is what you would pay for an average car in the UK.
These cars are brilliant bang for buck
The Nur said:
Monkeylegend said:
Well you might be a miserable old git,but don't assume we are all like that.
I'm only 25! Wasn't assuming we are all like that, just seems that negativity is spreading across ph a bit these days. I do realise the irony in perpetuating this now, I didn't this morning. I'm not really a morning person, I do try not to post in the AM but sometimes I forget.On topic, I too believe it is possible to run a car like that for reasonable money. Kudos to the OP for putting theory into practice.
rovermorris999 said:
Devil2575 said:
I'll post it again for those that struggle to read...
Average price of a litre in the UK over the last 13 years is about 97.6p according to this data:
http://www.speedlimit.org.uk/petrolprices.html
This works out as £4.44 per gallon. 20p/mile = 22.2 mpg.
Ever think you are wasting your time, Devil? Average price of a litre in the UK over the last 13 years is about 97.6p according to this data:
http://www.speedlimit.org.uk/petrolprices.html
This works out as £4.44 per gallon. 20p/mile = 22.2 mpg.
The fact that this whole discussion is based on a flawed calculation in the second post seems to have passed most people by.
I guess if you've already decided that a V8 Corvette is a genuine 30mpg car than you are going to ignore any evidence to the contrary, no matter how fundamental it is.
I'm going to take a guess and say that I reckon a V8 vette will be able to achieve 30+ mpg on a motorway driving at a constant 70 mph but as soon as you enter and urban environment the economy will drop to low 20s. After all the OP, by my calculations, has got 22 mpg over his ownership
james280779 said:
5 USA said:
About 50p, which shows how low the other costs have been.
buy one second hand and you'll have a bargain - The LS engine is pretty indestructible. I dont know about the other parts on the vette. Obviously body isnt an issue. Does the chassis rust? The museum is well worth the visit, but is several hundred miles from anything else worth seeing. Unless I missed something amazing when I was there, in which case please don't let me know.
Devil2575 said:
jbi said:
indeed... one of the biggest obstacles to fuel economy is weight, which is why a 7.0 litre engine can achieve similar fuel economy to a 2.0 litre
I'd be prepared to bet a large sum of money that a 7 litre vette cannot achieve similar economy to a 2 litre engine.Captain Muppet said:
Devil2575 said:
jbi said:
indeed... one of the biggest obstacles to fuel economy is weight, which is why a 7.0 litre engine can achieve similar fuel economy to a 2.0 litre
I'd be prepared to bet a large sum of money that a 7 litre vette cannot achieve similar economy to a 2 litre engine.I've owned several that could get 30 mpg all day long and 40 on a run without too much effort.
frosted said:
This happens a lot on here. I rather not drive than watch my mpg
Depends on the circumstances, I'm far from a slave to MPG but take my old Galant VR-4 for example. It had enough fuel to do around 160-240 miles depending how you drove it (anywhere from 10 - 21 mpg). Considering I was doing a Leeds/London run weekly of 220 miles each way, mpg was just as important as nailing the throttle to make sure I got there as fast as possible. Just hammering the right foot would mean I'd run out of fuel and have to dive into Wooley Edge for a splash and dash or risk running out on the motorway, losing all the time gained by thundering up the road on full throttle.I tend to look at mpg nowadays after I arrive somewhere, more as indication of how I've been driving than anything else...late for work = ~38mpg, on time for once = 45mpg+
Captain Muppet said:
Later cars have an aluminium/aluminum chassis - there was one in the Corvette museum at the factory which was set up with a very dodgy choice of pivot point to make it seem rediculously light.
The museum is well worth the visit, but is several hundred miles from anything else worth seeing. Unless I missed something amazing when I was there, in which case please don't let me know.
It's only the Z06 that has the aluminium chassis rails, others have hydro formed steel rails (that's why the Z06 has a fixed roof)The museum is well worth the visit, but is several hundred miles from anything else worth seeing. Unless I missed something amazing when I was there, in which case please don't let me know.
Btw I've been to the museum and factory tour a few times. There is other things to do around the area
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