UPDATE on my 95 SE's MPG situation
 

Well, I took the advice of what you guys said. I filled up my tank (just about) this past Easter Sunday..came out to be 15 gallons..today I have about a quarter tank left...and Ive traveled 185 miles. This is HORRIBLE. Makes me sick to my stomach! Am I looking at an injector problem? I need any help you guys can give me, I cant afford to be traveling only 200+ miles on a full tank. :bawling: This was a big part of the reason why I sold my 1986 GT 5.0 V8 Mustang. :confused:

uhh what advice did u take?:confused:

At first I tested my MPG with only 5 gallons of gas. They told me it was better to test on a full tank. 5 gallons would have given me non accurate answers.

ooh ok.... well did u check ur tire pressure? also where does ur car usualy shift.... i.e. how hard are u gassing everytime u accellerate?

I havent checked tire pressure, I have low profile tires for my 18's. Ill go and check that in the morning. Also, I dont really gun it a lot. Usually shifrt around 3000 RPM, sometimes even less. I dont liek to accelerate a lot because since my car isnt responding liek it should, it shifts harder, feels like its holding back actually.

First start with the basic tune up like new plugs ,fuel filter, oil even change your trans oil if its old. Put some good fuel injecter cleaner in the tank too. Also it could be your knock sensor as it is known for poor gas milage. Check the codes in the ecu 0304 also you can test it with an ohmeter.

Come on now -- figure out what your actual MPG is first
 

:o No offense, but your numbers are totally meaningless unless you do a real test of gas mileage.

1. Fill your tank ALL THE WAY UP using premium gas. Not, ALMOST full, but ALL THE WAY UP. Reset your trip odometer.
2. Drive for as long as you want, but use up at least 1/2 tank.
3. Go back to the same gas station and fill up using premium gas again. (This is because different gas pumps may have different shutoff points).
4. See how many gallons you took, and divide that number into the number on your trip odomter. USE A CALCULATOR.
5. Write down the number. This is your MPG. Come back here with that number. For example "16.5" or "18.6" or "20.1". Not "186 on most of a tank" or whatever.

Sorry forgot to mention:

All of these were changed recently
*oil
*spark plugs (NGK plats)
*knock sensor
*fuel filter
*air filter (somewhat)
*put in Fuel system cleaner about 2 weeks ago


Im just posting on what Ive seen so far, I can understand what you guys are saying about it being meaningless, just wanted to post on my situation as of yet, regardless fo whathappens, the MPG still seems horrible to me, something is wrong.

I mean you actually need to fill it up full -- to where the pump shuts off, anyway -- and test from there... "almost full" could mean anything. Remember that the gas gauge is not 100% accurate on the Maxima, or any other car. Like most vehicles, it stays up at the "FULL" area for a long time, and then falls more quickly past the 1/2 tank level.

So when you fill it up to "almost full", the gas gauge might show near full -- but you might have only 14-15 gallons in your 18.5 gallon tank. Then you get to "almost empty" and you actually still have 4-5 gallons left. In this case, you think you used nearly a whole tank, but you actually only burned 10 gallons -- which on 185 miles is giving you 18.5 MPG, which is not that unusual.

Do you see what I mean?

Houston, we've found the problem!

HEAVY 18" WHEELS! They will suck your tank dry, especially if you do a lot of city driving.

Throw your stock wheels back on for a tank and see what MPG you get.

I understand completely, thanks for the explanation.
Hmmm I didnt think my 18's could be THAT huge of a problem, yes I do a lot of city driving, basically the longest distances I go on a regular basis is to School, 10 miles to get there, 10 miles to get back. Everything else is close by.

well try it and see thats the only way to find out for sure

IF you do city driving, don't be surprised to average 16-17mpg, especially if you use your A/C.

OK, somebody correct me on this if I'm wrong but...
Isn't the odometer calibrated on 15" wheels?
When you put 18" wheels on doesn't this effectively reduce the number of miles you rack up on the odometer by about 15-20%?????
So, if you throw the stock rims back on you'll get what looks like better mileage. Then it will suck again when you put the 18" rims back on.

The first thing I would do is check to see if your ECU has stored any codes. You code have a faulty cam position sensor and your check engine light would not light. Could be anything else. And you will stillhave to do all of the fundamental sensor tests even after you swap your rims off and back again.....

My ecu is throwing NO CODES, just 05 05..which is no error detected. I didnt know 18's made that much of a difference, now I do though, and I live in Miami, very hot, just got A/C fixed so I use it a lot, if not all the time. Oh well :mad:

Is your speedo off from changing tires size from stock?