cwerdna

No prob. As for 20+ mpg, well, assuming you have an 07 Z 6MT, it's EPA rated 20/27 per the old procedure and 18/25 per the new procedure that goes into effect w/the 08 MY. See http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calcu...umn=1&id=23917.

The EPA numbers are almost always way too high the combined and city mileage. See http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml and http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml for some high level details of the old and new tests. If you look at the tables, you'll notice the city tests has an avg. speed of 20 mph and top speed of 56. The highway test has an avg. speed of 48 and max of 60. In the old tests, the acceleration was very slow and they never used AC.

chriskabobbers

iTrader: (13)

i dont know what i did to my car, but like i was trying to play around with the wires under my stock seats cuz i was changing my seats to bucket seats, and like for some reason, the electronic thing reads ... 4/28 ... how the hell would i get 4mpg? i dont actually get 4, it just reads as 4. if i only got 4 mpg then i would be down there with like ... hummer and bugatti. hahah. anyone know how to fix this problem though? electrical problems suck ***.

Black Duck

Bill I understand and agree with you. But my question is why does the orange light come on so early if I have roughly 80 miles left? Also the comp is suggesting around 30 - 40 miles before empty.

bailey bill

Because the orange light is an early warning device, not an "uh-oh, you screwed up" indicator.

All modern cars that I am familiar with build in 50-60 miles of safety with the indicator light. And thge Z is even more conservative. There is no risk in warning sooner rather than later. Since you re not always withiong 25-30 miles of a gas station, a warning is only useful if it actually gives you time (miles) to take care of the problem.

As I stated, I have tracked the mileage, the computer, and warning light to determine when I really need to get gas. (about every 400 miles), but not all car owners take the time to really learn their vehicles.

bill

chriskabobbers

iTrader: (13)

lol i heard that when the light turns on, it should mean you only have 25 miles left .. i dunno ? o.O

Black Duck

If, to get to know my car, I need to run it on the orange until I run out then I would rather fill up shortly after the light comes on. I cannot imagine for one moment I would get 80 miles out of it. Even the DTE suggests 30 - 35.

All my experience of vehicles in the past has been about 20 - 40 miles max. And I have run out of gas a few times in company vehicles in England.

PerfZ

iTrader: (3)

Jeesh , ain't that the truth as this thread proves. I have never heard such a simple subject made so complicated as in all the various thread about fuel mileage, and not just here, it's on all of the forums. Miles driven after filling up divided by gallons put in at next fill-up = MPG. Who freaking cares what the DTE and MPG gauges even say? Maybe the mods could create a sticky - How to Figure Your Gas Mileage.

dvo

iTrader: (26)

for some reason, i can only fill 15 gallons when everyone else seems to be filling to 20

Black Duck

Yeah tell Nissan to drop the DTE coz it's not worth looking at. Infact why even have it if it is that far out?

bailey bill

I have never had to run out to learn my vehicle. Like perfz said above this is relly a very simple subject.

1) Fill Do a fillup when the light comes on. If it takes 16 gallons, then you still have 4 galllons left. No you know how much is left when the light comes on, and you never took any risk of running out of gas.


2) Next time, wait util the DTE indicator is blinking dashes, then fill up. If it takes 17.5 gallons, you still have 2.5 gallons left. And still no risk of running out of gas.

Now without taking any risks, you have learned 1) how many gallons are left when the light comes on and 2) how many gallons are left when the DTE blinks dashes. And you still have not ran out of gas.

And if you just calculate your MPG, then you can convert those gallons figures to miles. These are all simple calculations; addition, subtraction, and long division (from the 3rd grade)

BTW, I always filled my Miata based on the odometer reading (every 300 miles). I didn't even have a warning light,, and certainly no fuel usage/DTE computer. I never ran out of gas in the Miata, either. It seems the more info people have, the more difficult they make it.

bill

bailey bill

Yup, that's all there is too it.

bill

bailey bill

Well, wouldn't you like to know?

If you fill-up when the light comes on, how many gallons does it take?

Multiply that by about 20 (MPG), and thats approx how many miles you have left.

cwerdna

Because it's better to be conservative than have people run out of gas.

Side but related story:
You know what's funny/ironic? Quite a few Prius owners on priuschat.com run out of gas. Threads on this subject pop up quite a bit there. My salesman cited the running out of gas reason for Toyota ditching roadside assistance on starting w/06 models and was very explicit in warning me to get gas soon at 2 pips and immediately at 1.

The Prius has no DTE indication anywhere and the gas gauge (guess gauge to some) is digital (basically a bar graph w/pips) and very non-linear. So, some people will drive down to the 1 flashing pip and will do some math in their head like (45 mpg [on the trip computer] x 11.9 gallons) and let's say they've traveled 480 miles thinking "oh, I can still go further", but then suddenly BOOM, they run out of gas and might be able to limp to station on electric only. Basically, it's almost impossible to predict how far you can go on that last pip and to top it off, the gas tank has a bladder system which makes the capacity quite variable (manual says it can vary by 1.2 gal). After they've run out, they might only be able to get say 10.x-11 gals into the tank.

bailey bill

That's because you're filling up when you still have 5 gallons left.

bill

PerfZ

iTrader: (3)

Black Duck

Ok fair comments, Bill.

dvo

iTrader: (26)

I've actually filled on pretty much empty before. With about 15 miles to empty. I know this is a problem that other owners have had.

PerfZ

iTrader: (3)

Does your gas gauge go all the way to "full" when you fill up? I too have the problem of not always being able to fill all the way, even after splashing gas out the filler tube, and the gauge stays just below the full mark. I don't worry about it - not like I am crossing the desert with no gas stations for 400 miles. Usually fill up once a week when my local Sunoco discounts their premium by $.10 a gallon whether I need it nor not.

bailey bill

If that's really true, there is factory TSB to correct it.

Why don't you get it fixed?



http://www.nissanhelp.com/Ownership/.../NTB05-048.htm

bill

dvo

iTrader: (26)

it's not that big a deal to me. same as PerfZ, I'm not driving across the Gobi Desert.To be optimistic, I'm saving weight by having less gas in the tank.