Jump to content

Fuel economy


A.Sans
 Share

Recommended Posts

I've been averaging about 14-15. It's a 60/40 split of freeway and surface streets (respectively) and pretty level terrain. Seems like it should be a little better, even though the engine is at around 175k and it runs fantastic. I once was getting about 17-18, BUT.... that was under a stock setup. Also, my speedo was reading about 3mph fast, that impacts the odometer as well.

 

So, I've upgraded the suspension to MD OME springs, and went up a size on the replacement tires. According to my GPS my speedometer is just about spot on, definitely no more off than 1/2mph. So maybe I've only been getting 14 or 15mpg all along. Still seems like a substantial difference though. I live in Cali but where I'm at it's not at all high altitude, so that shouldn't really have much negative impact on my fuel economy.

 

I was just sharing my fuel mileage concerns/ideas with a friend very recently, so naturally, I'm very, very interested in what what others have to share on this regarding their own R50's. Great topic.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Stpickens said:

15.5 mixed with traffic. And 18.75 freeway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mine is also about the same considering the speedometer is 3mph slower because of the larger tires

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just got 16.0 on my last tank of gas. I think ive over inflated my tires though and im going to try to fix that today. What tire tread type MT AT HT are you guys running? and also what tire size? 

 

Ive got 31x10.5x15 All Terrain Tread running at 35psi. 1/4 of the tank was running the A/C and the other 3/4 was windows down. 1/2 surface roads and 1/2 highway.

 

So how do we calculate the mph difference from having larger tires? I know my speed is actually a bit slower than what’s shown so the miles traveled have to actually be less than what is shown.

 

Edit: Yep i had my cold tire pressure at 39psi... I took it down to 32 and we'll see what this tank does.

 

Edited by onespiritbrain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the way, if you’re running larger tires, your speedometer reads slower than actual, which means your odometer reports lower than actual. Therefore, your true MPG is better than what you get by computing odometer trip distance divided by gallons filled since last fill up.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, XPLORx4 said:

To restore your odometer accuracy, get a speedometer recalibrator. I have mine set to within 0.5mph with 285-75-16 tires. A Dakota Digital SGI-5 is a good choice. I think the Yellowbox is the easiest to install. http://yellr.com/yb_home.htm

Thanks for recommending those. It would be nice to have an accurate odo reading for those long trips. Instant mph isn't necessary but for me having an average trip distance helps me see if there seems to be an issue with car.

 

Edit: On the other hand, a slower speedometer reading will yield lower miles than actually traveled on odometer. Good for resale value?

Edited by Astrorami
Link to comment
Share on other sites


 
Edit: On the other hand, a slower speedometer reading will yield lower miles than actually traveled on odometer. Good for resale value?


At this point, I’m guessing your R50 is worth only about $2500-$4000. The 5-6% error in the odometer won’t really have much effect on mileage for resale.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

14.78 MPG  60% in town and 40% mountain highways.  Manual transmission.

 

I always feel it should do better than that and occasionally it does when I'm on the highway more.

 

 So I'm glad to see that in this forum thread, at least, my mileage is fairly typical.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually get 17-18 mpg with about 70/30 highway/city.  That's accounting for the 265/75/16 tires which adds about 8-9% additional miles per revolution over stock size.  Without factoring that in it would be around 16

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15-16mpg mixed hwy/city. sometimes 17 if I do alot of hwy. theses numbers were on standard size tires. recently just put on A/T not sure if it will affect mpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After replacing all four o2 sensors, spark plugs and coils, advancing timing two degrees, new maf, cleaned throttle body, cleaned and adjusted tps, cleaned iacv, new pcv valve and hoses, replaced several cracked vacuum lines, replaced air intake elbow with custom elbow, new filters all around, tires at 39 psi I get about 19-20 freeway and 17 or so around town. 

Edited by Sjackson2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Afternoon replacing all four o2 sensors, spark plugs and coils, advancing timing two degrees, new maf, cleaned throttle body, cleaned and adjusted tps, cleaned iacv, new pcv valve and hoses, replaced several cracked vacuum lines, replaced air intake elbow with custom elbow, new filters all around, tires at 39 psi I get about 19-20 freeway and 17 or so around town. 

I wonder if your higher gas mileage has anything to do with your car being 2WD??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, Astrorami said:


I wonder if your higher gas mileage has anything to do with your car being 2WD??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m sure it does in part. But if you had manual hubs that were unlocked it should be close 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Astrorami said:


I wonder if your higher gas mileage has anything to do with your car being 2WD??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No front diff, no cv axles, no front driveshaft. That’s some real weight reduction 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not the exact same truck but I was able to bring my 2002 Xterra Supercharged from 14mpg mixed to 17city 22 highway just by replacing the o2 sensors. They were the originals but not throwing codes. They do get "lazy" over time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not the exact same truck but I was able to bring my 2002 Xterra Supercharged from 14mpg mixed to 17city 22 highway just by replacing the o2 sensors. They were the originals but not throwing codes. They do get "lazy" over time.

My 04 frontier 4x gets around that


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

No front diff, no cv axles, no front driveshaft. That’s some real weight reduction 

You forgot the transfer case!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...