Having done only 300kms I am noting that my fuel consumption is down at 6.2 although my av speed has been only 35km/hr. The writeups reckon on av of 13.6 so I'm interested what the experience is out there and whether there is a marked change once the motor loosens up?

 

FWIW I did notice an improvement over time. IIRC you have the auto and an auto generally won't get the same economy as a manual. Dragging GTRs probably isn't helping either

 

Are you really worried about the fuel economy?

I mean it's a sports car and they tend to drink as much as a v8...i'm only noticing a slight improvement over the SS Commodore v8 i used to drive.

could be my lead foot though

 

I've got 4000km on the odometer now and have been monitoring the fuel usage allong the way.
I have averaged about 8.5km/l for the first 3700 km and that was about 80% city driving. Also, I don't often drive the Z hard - only when I'm running late or enjoying a quick fang around some twisty bits.
Last Mon I drove up to the central coast and back. On the return trip, I reset the fuel consumption meter while on the freeway. By the end of the F3, it registered 11.1km/l or 9L/100km - not great but not bad either. BTW, I mostly kept to the speed limit, ok maybe slightly over as a Torana descided to ride me most of the way, but my average speed was 100km/hr and I went through several 40km/hr zones on the freeway, where night roadworks were being carried out.
When I hit the Pacific Hwy at Hornsby, I again reset the meter for the drive across town to the south. By the time I got home, I was amazed to find the meter reading 12.9km/L!!!!! That's amazing for city driving, but I did have a great run through town with few stop lights. Managed an average speed of 65km/hr. That will never happen in peak hour though.
Conclusion: the Z is much more economical when driven at 80km/hr in 6th compared to 120km/hr, where the engine starts to get thirsty at about 2800 revs.

 

I checked this morning. I'm getting 8.8km/l city driving and while I'm not flooring it I'm far from crawling either. Last hwy trip was to Wakefield Park and saw 13.1km/l on the return trip. Remeber that AC will also effect economy and I rarely use mine.

 

mine's showing 6.4km/l, prolly becoz i floored it all the time...

 

Ray:

Not really necessary that you floor it all the time though... because mine shows around 6.8 or sometimes 7.0 if I don't stop in the traffic at all..... if I happen to stop in the traffic... it will go all the way to 6.2 from 7.5 sometimes..... so that means the Z consumes quite a lot while it is idling though... but cannot really complain about that because it has a 3.5 L engine.... need to drink a bit more than other cars... But I guess we are all at the average fuel consumption region...

cheers,

richie

 

On a related note what fuel are people using? I'm using BP Ultimate98

 

10,000k's I average around 8.6 - 8.8 city driving (normal driving) and when driving hard, who cares!

I'm use BP Ultimate 98 or Mobil Syneryg 8000 & lastly Shell Optimax in that order.

David

 

yeah, i use BP ultimate98 as well. the best there is!

 

How do you guys know BP and Mobil are better than Shell optimax????? I am just wondering to know.... and can you be able to feel the differences at all by using different fuel???? I got used to use Shell.... but am thinking about trying to switch to Mobil.... but Mobil stations are harder to find though.... compare to BP and Shell....

cheers,

richie

 

Personally I've heard of more bad experiences (bad/dirty) fuel with Optimax than with BP so that's why I use it. I'd use Mobil but the only one along my route sold me bad fuel once and I'll never go back there.

I haven't tried different fuels in the Z yet but in my previous car I could feel a difference between PULP and the 98 fuels which surprised me given I had an aftermarket ECU which would not have adjusted to the higher octane.

 

I'm sitting on about 9.3k/l, and that's mostly city cycle with a bit of 'wellie' thrown in when the urge gets me. I'm actually surprised by the economy, I can get probably easily get 700km on a tank if I run it dry. With my Maxima, same size tank and a 3.0 V6 (older version of the Z engine) I could only squeeze 600km out of a tank. Admittedly it was an auto and most likely heavier in body weight.

As for fuel, I'm on Optimax, damn leasing company fuel card gives me no option but to go Shell. I've never had a problem with it and I also drove my 200SX on it for 3 years.

Jim

 

I use Shell Optimax or BP Ulimate... i won't touch the other brands.

I recall geeting 7.5km/l and i drive agressively.

I'm amazed at sundog getting 9.3km/l in the city. Thats bloody good! Are you MT or AT?

 

Stats for me

7.0km/L
Average 32 km/h
Manual
Shell Optimax
7000 Kms

No wonder it has a 80 litre tank

PS: Bit worried about Oil pressure though. Sometimes it sorta gets close to 0

 

Judging by other peoples figures I'm doing pretty well to get 8.8

Mr Rizk, how low on the oil pressure? Mine gets down to a needle width under half way between 0 and what ever the first mark is at idle.

 

From memory it would be a little lower than what you have described. Goes to about middle during normal acceleration.

Will confirm and re-post.

PS: Will check oil level also as the first service was done by nissan.

 

Well, you learn something new every day. I did not know that the Z had an 80 litre tank! The Maxima (auto) only had a 72 litre tank so that would explain the extra 100km. Oh well, not any better than the Maxima but still acceptable for a manual that does a bit of go-to-whoa-to-go at quite a fast clip.

To be honest as long as the economy wasn't abhorent (3-4Km/l) then I don't really care. I didn't buy the car for its economy...

My oil pressure varies greatly as the car warms up. Beginning at 4-6 when cold and right down to just below 2 when idling warm.

Jim

 

Get an exhaust on your car and wait and see what happens to the fuel !!!

The ECU turns the economy to ****!

I need to pull my finger out and sort the ECU out.

Mike

 

I've allways fed the Z Shell Optimax. Never touch the 95 RON stuff. However, going by your confidence in BP Ultimate, I might now try a few tanks full if I canfind a BP, and see if I can notice any difference.
Mike - please let us know what you need to do ECU wise to get reasonable fuel economy following the exhaust upgrade.