98ChilkootTrail Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 It's probably been asked before. My 98's gas mileage cuts in half once it starts to get cold. anything below 40F, it goes from 650KM to a tank to 250-300KM I have tried almost everything I can think of to make it better on gas. any ideas. things I have done and tried temp sensor thermostat manual hubs electric fan k&n air filter E3 spark pugs Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02silverpathy Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 temp sensorthermostat manual hubs electric fan k&n air filter E3 spark pugs Dude,you've ran the gammet! The only other thing that I can think of that affects MPG in this way is warm air intake...cold air makes more power and less gas mileage. If you have an intake I would try to route it towards warmer air if you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Mine takes a pretty good hit in the winter too... goes from about 420km/tank in the summer to 320kms every winter. That said, it doesn't typically get to -40 here... an average of -10 to -20C... I didn't know Ontario goes right to the North Pole... you must be up there!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vengeful Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 40F Pezzy...not -40. LOL. There are two reasons. 1). Winter Gas - They treat the gas with anti-freeze, and oxygenate it so it doesn't freeze in your lines in the extreme cold of the northern climes. 2). Winter driving - You're typically sitting in more traffic, and driving slower, and letting your vehicle idle a bit longer before you take off when you start it up. Don't forget to adjust your tire pressures for the colder ambient temperatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laxman0324 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 40F Pezzy...not -40. LOL. There are two reasons. 1). Winter Gas - They treat the gas with anti-freeze, and oxygenate it so it doesn't freeze in your lines in the extreme cold of the northern climes. 2). Winter driving - You're typically sitting in more traffic, and driving slower, and letting your vehicle idle a bit longer before you take off when you start it up. Don't forget to adjust your tire pressures for the colder ambient temperatures. x2...when i corrected for all of this last winter, just the gas and cold air being sucked in caused me to lose about 1-2 mpg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 40F Pezzy...not -40. LOL. LOL, whoops. Have 'freezing my ass off' on the brain, and assumed the minus I guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 It's probably been asked before. My 98's gas mileage cuts in half once it starts to get cold. anything below 40F, it goes from 650KM... 650km/tank?! That's bananas! I'm happy to get 450km/tank in summer. Then again, I haven't got manual hubs (yet) and I should invest in an electric fan. In any case, your summer mileage is pretty impressive. Back to cold weather mileage, don't ever expect it to be good with a SUV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 At least the gas prices are cheaper.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 At least the gas prices are cheaper.... Good point bro! That's always some relief... Paying $1.50/L was just nasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin517 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 yeah I was getting close to 500km/tank (I even converted for you northerners!) now I'm getting MAYBE 400 km/tank. I do need to change all the lubes and flush the tranny and I need to do spark plugs. and I'm runnin 31" tires. I'll be getting manual hubs in jan, so hopefully all that will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98ChilkootTrail Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 Ok so it's not just me then. Actually after all the upgrades I have not noticed much change if any in the mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 (edited) Agreed with the winter gas crap. I think that is a ruse personally, I have never had fuel freeze unless it had water in it. Maybe I am just a conspiracy theorist. Agreed with the sitting in traffic / moving slower too. I will add to that more wheel spin on snowy days. In that sense, using 4x4 helps with fuel economy. things I have done and tried temp sensor thermostat manual hubs electric fan k&n air filter E3 spark pugs What temp stat? I suggest a 190 or 200 for the winter. I also run a cold air front on my one truck (grille cover) but you need to be cautious with these. You should be proud of the 650km acheivement. I think that dropping by half or more is an exceptional loss for winter though. I assume no CEL? With that level of economy loss, I have to wonder if you are not running in open loop mode during cold weather. The usual signs of that are stuck open stat or failed temp sender, which I see you have listed. I don't know if there is a separate temp sender for the gauge and for the computer (is the case with some vehicles)? If so, you may simply need to change the other one. Does your pathy have an Intake Air Temp sensor? Another possibility is the heating circuit on one of the O2 sensors is malfunctioning, but that should in theory trip a CEL. Edited December 10, 2008 by BowTied Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 IME I seem to get better MPG if I let the motor warm up b4 driving it. I know it sounds wierd burning gass to save gas but it takes very little to idle a motor and it uses allot more to drive it @ low opperating temps. I wait till temp needle has moved about an 1/8 of an inch before I drive it in the cold and I still get about 13.5-14MPG on my 3-4 mile drive home versus when I used to just jump in and drive(12mpg or worse) and the needle barely moved by the time I get home from work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunAway Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 It's about -17deg C here every morning on the overhead display. I'm getting around 270kms on a 60L fill. I compensated for my tire size and converted to us gallons and I've done 11mpg, 10.5mpg and 11.5mpg. This upcoming fill I'm expecting to be my worst. I plug my truck in every night, runs on a timer to come on about 1hr before I leave. I have a remote start and let it run for under 10 minutes every morning before I leave. My daily commute is only 10 minutes each way however, lots of short trips. Truck is all stock with fresh platnium plugs, new thermostat, new air filter, synthetic rear diff fluid and synthetic motor oil. I also upgraded/added a few grounds. Anyone ever looked into putting Xterra auto locking hubs on a pathfinder? Not sure if the axle spline count is the same but if it is, looks to me like it would bolt on. Would provide the mileage benefit of manual locking hubs without the hassle of getting out to lock them. This would be a plus in winter especially, I think I'd rather take the mileage hit than have to get out all the time to engage 4WD since I'm in and out of 4HI so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 It's about -17deg C here every morning on the overhead display. I'm getting around 270kms on a 60L fill. I compensated for my tire size and converted to us gallons and I've done 11mpg, 10.5mpg and 11.5mpg. This upcoming fill I'm expecting to be my worst. I plug my truck in every night, runs on a timer to come on about 1hr before I leave. I have a remote start and let it run for under 10 minutes every morning before I leave. My daily commute is only 10 minutes each way however, lots of short trips. Truck is all stock with fresh platnium plugs, new thermostat, new air filter, synthetic rear diff fluid and synthetic motor oil. I also upgraded/added a few grounds. I'd suggest doubling the block heater time and halving the warm-up time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 IME I seem to get better MPG if I let the motor warm up b4 driving it. I know it sounds wierd burning gass to save gas but it takes very little to idle a motor and it uses allot more to drive it @ low opperating temps. I wait till temp needle has moved about an 1/8 of an inch before I drive it in the cold and I still get about 13.5-14MPG on my 3-4 mile drive home versus when I used to just jump in and drive(12mpg or worse) and the needle barely moved by the time I get home from work. That's weird. Typically idling a cold vehicle will burn more gas than driving, because it's sitting in open loop, basically dumping fuel in to keep it running. Getting the truck into closed loop as quickly as possible is the key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 I plug my '98 in on a timer, starting up around 5 am (I leave the house for work just after 9), and I remote start 5 mins. before I leave. When I get in my truck I put it in N and E-brake, let it sit for a few minutes, then go. I've been able to get just over 300km/tank so far since the cold has hit. My manual locking hubs just got in so that'll be a fun Saturday project. I've also been driving with O/D off since reading it on here a few weeks back. It's actually more efficient for city driving under 60km/h and appears to work quite well in my case (4.6's, automatic, HKS Super Hybrid filter, Bosch Platinum plugs, 2" lift on 32" Toyo A/T's). I'll do anything to stretch a tank of gas (I'm running 91 octane with Lucas Octane Boost) and so far so good! Wondering what other efficiency modifications are available...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 That's weird. Typically idling a cold vehicle will burn more gas than driving, because it's sitting in open loop, basically dumping fuel in to keep it running. Getting the truck into closed loop as quickly as possible is the key. could it have someting to do with the TBI Fast Idle cam? In pos 2(fast idle 1) it runs @ 900rpm and in fast idle 3(no mark) it runs @ 1100rpm. Or the fact that TBI motors have a "stove pipe" coming up from my header directy into the intake that shuts of outside air untill the intake reaches a certain temperature.? Both those factors speed warm-ups. I don't know what devices the MPFI engines have to aid warming up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trainman Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Yup, lower winter mpg is a fact of life in cold climes. Winter gas, sloppy road conditions, winter tires all contribute. My current vehicle is at about 9.4l/100 km, up from 8.8 in September. The Pathy mpg would drop around 10% or so in the winter, sometimes more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin517 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 That's weird. Typically idling a cold vehicle will burn more gas than driving, because it's sitting in open loop, basically dumping fuel in to keep it running. Getting the truck into closed loop as quickly as possible is the key. But the coolant is still cold, the coolant sensor sees this so youre running a richer fuel map until you are warmed up. I dont think throttle input changes that, if that were the case you'd run really lean before you warmed up. Idleing with a richer fuel map is better than driving (accelerating) with one. atleast thats my take on it... thats how it worked on my old VW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Idleing with a richer fuel map is better than driving (accelerating) with one. atleast thats my take on it... thats how it worked on my old VW. makes sense to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I thought the point was the driving would create heat and get you out of open ad into closed loop mode sooner. Maybe someone with a scangaugeII can do an experiment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98ChilkootTrail Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 I agree it does idle more and lots of slipping and sliding, and playing. But I've seen the difference on 1 highway trip got 375km on the first tank, temp outside was 30-F to 50-F second tank i got 625km, temp was 50 - 75 F. at 75 MPH ( was going south) I have 180 stat, and i set my fan to come on at 205 and off at 190 i used a snap-on scanner to check it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I do notice that if I start up below 40 it does not want to run 3rd @ 20mph(it groans) and will not accelerate but as soon as the needle starts to move I can shift into 3rd @ 20mph (speedlimit on my street) and it does fine and even accelerates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin517 Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I thought the point was the driving would create heat and get you out of open ad into closed loop mode sooner. Maybe someone with a scangaugeII can do an experiment? it does get you warmed up quicker, but the percentage of extra fuel used while accelerating with a richer fuel map I am sure is more than idleing for a minute or so. Plus the added benefits of the oil being a bit warmer and more circulated, seems well worth it to me. I'm not saying sit and idle until you are at operating temp... but a minute or so cant hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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