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2003-2009 Nissan 350Z

poor gas milage on new Z?

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Old Jun 16, 2004 | 09:19 PM
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Default poor gas milage on new Z?

Window sticker says like 17 city 27 highway. I drive my new Z (1,100 miles) to and from work at about 65mph, 25 miles each way. I have not seen that little meter go above 19mpg ever. It mostly hangs around 18.5, even in traffic. What gives? Where does this 27 mpg come from? It's not like im hamering the throttle or anything. Im just crusing slow.

Any ideas?
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Old Jun 16, 2004 | 10:33 PM
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Thats about average. The best I have seen was over 19.
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Old Jun 16, 2004 | 10:48 PM
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manually figure it out...the meter isn't accurate in my opinion...from my experience i was supposedly getting 15.5 mpg according to my little tach. I decided to fill up exactly 13 gallons when my tank when to the letter "E" and reset my odometer...walah!....i was actually averaged 19-20 mpg..."DRIVING HARD-metal to the pedal" and I my needle was still a little above "E"....just manually calculate it...you can figure out an estimate....
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Old Jun 16, 2004 | 10:50 PM
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Default Re: poor gas milage on new Z?

Originally posted by rockinar
Window sticker says like 17 city 27 highway. I drive my new Z (1,100 miles) to and from work at about 65mph, 25 miles each way. I have not seen that little meter go above 19mpg ever. It mostly hangs around 18.5, even in traffic. What gives? Where does this 27 mpg come from? It's not like im hamering the throttle or anything. Im just crusing slow.

Any ideas?
I typically average around 22 to 23 MPG in my roadster, driving the way I normally drive. But as an experiment I set the cruise control on 65 MPH, reset the MPG meter, and crawled down the highway at that excruciatingly slow speed for 15 minutes. The meter went to 28.6 MPG. So if you can tolerate driving the Z slowly and steadily, it will get the mileage they claim. Problem is, nobody who owns a Z can drive like that.
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Old Jun 17, 2004 | 03:27 AM
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I usually get 21-23 MPG (10 liters per 100 km) with a couple of redlines a day thrown in.

IMO, that's pretty damn good for the power this car has (and more importantly the weight).

I'll bet high 20s are possible on road trips at 120kph (72mph) with the cruise on and windows closed.
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Old Jun 17, 2004 | 03:50 AM
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In the city I mostly get 20.4 + and I do punch it sometimes....
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Old Jun 17, 2004 | 03:52 AM
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I have not reset my meter in 4000 miles, I do city and highway driving, I am averging 20.2 miles right now. Once you engine gets a few miles on it your mileage will go up.
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Old Jun 17, 2004 | 04:39 AM
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So far (after 1,000 miles) I am getting around 20 in town and on a trip this past weekend I got 28.
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Old Jun 17, 2004 | 06:32 AM
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My experience after 3000 miles (converting using US gallons)...

Average driving (100% City) = 19.0mpg
Cruise set at 70mph on highway = 28.4mpg
Cruise set at 45mph on highway = 31.8mpg
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Old Jun 17, 2004 | 08:44 AM
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More accurate way to calculate you fuel consumtion is very easy. Fill up you tank all the way and reset you trip odometer. Next time when you're getting the gas, fill up all the way again and write down the exact number of gallons that went in from the pump. Then take odometer reading and devide by the amount of gas that you put in the second time.
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Old Jun 17, 2004 | 09:11 AM
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My average is about 22-23 driving pretty aggressively, and on a trip from Austin to Dallas, it was 28.4
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Old Jun 17, 2004 | 09:20 AM
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It does better after breakin;most of mine is highway and the best with cruise set at 73 mph was 29.6.City depends how aggressive you are (15/17).
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Old Jun 17, 2004 | 09:21 AM
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on highways i see upper 20 (27-29) in the city it can be anywhere between 17-22 depending on traffic.
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Old Jun 17, 2004 | 09:23 AM
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Originally posted by MadMax76
More accurate way to calculate you fuel consumtion is very easy. Fill up you tank all the way and reset you trip odometer. Next time when you're getting the gas, fill up all the way again and write down the exact number of gallons that went in from the pump. Then take odometer reading and devide by the amount of gas that you put in the second time.
That is exacly how you do it.

BTW, If you want an accurate reading you must reset your computer first by holding down "that button".
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Old Jun 17, 2004 | 09:43 AM
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I get decent mileage; 23.5 on average between city and highway; however, being retired I do not have to drive into a major city for work.
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Old Jun 18, 2004 | 05:34 AM
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Default Re: poor gas milage on new Z?

Originally posted by rockinar
Where does this 27 mpg come from?
Todays current gas consumption tests, which are standard throughout the US, are WAY OUT OF DATE. The tests have not been updated for extra commute time due to traffic and the tests are hardly realistic to the real world. I just expect to see 2/3 of the stated fuel consumption. Ask the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius people what they think about it, they're very bitter. None of them will ever see that 50mpg. 40 maybe but never 50.
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Old Jun 18, 2004 | 09:38 AM
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Originally posted by MadMax76
More accurate way to calculate you fuel consumtion is very easy. Fill up you tank all the way and reset you trip odometer. Next time when you're getting the gas, fill up all the way again and write down the exact number of gallons that went in from the pump. Then take odometer reading and devide by the amount of gas that you put in the second time.
Ditto.

I don't believe the trip computer will give you an accurate read. The best way to determine your true MPG is the way shown above. I have a little notebook, record every fill-up, and figure my MPG manually. I don't pay attention to the trip computer...

(I'm old-school )
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Old Jun 18, 2004 | 10:00 AM
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I have 13K miles on my 2003 Z coupe and I have found that in the long run the trip computer is pretty accurate for keeping an overall average MPG. I drive my Z hard and I average right at 20 MPG overall city and highway. From manual readings I find that I get about 14 MPG in all city driving and about 24 MPG on the highway. The max I have ever gotten was 29 MPG on a 150 mile stretch but that was following a semi.
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Old Jun 18, 2004 | 08:11 PM
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lots of people on here have reported 30mpg hwy.
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Old Jun 19, 2004 | 02:44 AM
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I have really bad mpgs cuz where I live, its hilly everywhere and I usually have to go up/down hill for about 2 miles to get to the more of a city place. And I also drive pretty hard so I get around 14/15 mpg.
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