Hi Lukeatuke
Difficult question to answer, kind of like how long is a piece of string?
Should be what factors influence fuel consumption: -
The factors that influence fuel consumption are: -
1. What type of fuel do you use? I use Super Grade 97+ octane fuel in my X8, or E5 fuel as it is known here in UK. Mainly because E10 or 95 octane fuel in UK is 10% Ethanol based and will impact fuel economy. E5 will improve economy, give better combustion efficiency, a better burn, reduce emissions and improve overall driveability. Stale fuel especially high Octane 98 RON if left for a while in the tank will go off an degrade. After 6 months or more it will degrade and will have an impact the quads driveability, flat spots, throttle hesitation, poor idle and economy. Remove the fuel, use it in your garden tools, 4 stroke and 2 stroke. Fill the quad tank back up with fresh fuel and keep it fresh.
2. What spark plugs do you use? Stock NGK plugs are in short crap and provide a poor burn reducing driveability and economy. Fit a set of NGK Iridium plugs, they will be expensive about £20 each or 25 dollars each but they will be worth every penny or cent. NGK have comparison charts that will provide you with a direct exchange for your plug type. Iridium plugs will vastly improve economy, driveability, idle RPMs and kill overrun backfires because the burn is more complete.
3. What sate are injectors in, do they both delivery perfect atomisation spray patterns and both deliver the exact same quantity of fuel. Worth getting them checked out at local fuel injection service shop. Your CFMOTO dealer will not have the knowledge, skill or equipment to do this. Better even still stock Delphi injectors will be very basic, consider investing in a bespoke set of injectors that will improve economy. If economy is your goal, injectors can be purchased to match your goals, from specialist’s fuel injection shops, Bosch injectors are by far superior to Delphi stock injectors.
4. A K&N high flow air filter will improve economy and overall driveability, the stock CFMOTO filter is a very poor example of a filter, it restricts air flow and is not good for economy.
5. We could start to talk about exhaust systems, the snag here is we start now to enter the realms of performance, as we do this fuel economy falls. Modifications to exhaust systems will have a serious impact on driveability and Engine ECU O2 sensors. Modification to the exhaust system, tweaking with the injection ECU software or hardware should never be considered unless one has access to a rolling road dyno tester.
6. Then we have many other factors to consider as follows: -
• Do you drive like a bat out of hell?
• Do you pull excessive loads?
• Are you carrying a passenger?
• Do you carry loads of kit?
• Have you changed the tyre size and what type of tyres are using off road or road tyres?
• Have tweaked the CVT primary and secondary pulleys?
• What type of surface are driving on, snow, mud and loose surfaces will severely impact fuel economy.
• Are constantly driving in high/two-wheel drive or low/4-wheel drive?
• What altitude are driving at?
• What is the average ambient temperature you are driving in?
Whatever be the answer to factors stated under para 6 they will all impact fuel economy. We all have different drive styles, different machines and drive them in different parts of the world under different conditions. Hence, we will all have differing levels of fuel economy or if you like efficiency.
Take care, have fun and be safe…..Grandmaster Splash & His Furious Ride