2200 miles, over 30 hours of driving, 6 states, and 6 tanks of premium.
07-14-2008, 06:51 PM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Eastern Long Island, NY
Posts: 56
2200 miles, over 30 hours of driving, 6 states, and 6 tanks of premium.
What's up all,
I went on a road trip this past week from Albany, NY to Louieville, Kentucky for the 8th annual Lebowski Fest (The Big Lebowski movie) and wanted to share my experience with my max to others. a total of 2200 miles about.
It took about 14-16 hours each way this year with a couple of bathroom/food/gas stops. ( I did it last year 1 way in 11 1/2 hours with only 2-3 stops.)
There and back took almost 6 tanks of premium gas (I also switched from 89 to 93 octane and will continue the 93 for now the cars response is a lot better with it) and achieved the following results for a couple of the tanks of gas. Avg fill up was around 15/16 gallons when the car got below 1/4 tank but before the low fuel light warning.
Not in any sort of order
410 miles
365 some traffic
427
400
388
240 top 1/2 of the tank
These include a couple of full throttle pulls as well.
Final results avg out to around 25.5-28.5 MPG
My 98 GXE has 125,000 on it as well.
Avg speeds ranging from 65-85 but mostly cruised at 80-85 when i could with the A/C on. and one SAFE pull to 115mph with a full trunk and 3 people on a slight incline in OHIO.
I think that my results are "dead on" "textbook" for a well maintained Maxima and can be used as an good figure/example in relation to your opinions/observations of your max. The only thing i could think of that would help me would be a throttle body cleaning and IACV (car idles at like 550rpm), maybe a Seafoam treatment and some new spark plugs (2 years old) and a y-pipe.
Your opinions/comments are greatly appreciated.
-Joe Paz
I went on a road trip this past week from Albany, NY to Louieville, Kentucky for the 8th annual Lebowski Fest (The Big Lebowski movie) and wanted to share my experience with my max to others. a total of 2200 miles about.
It took about 14-16 hours each way this year with a couple of bathroom/food/gas stops. ( I did it last year 1 way in 11 1/2 hours with only 2-3 stops.)
There and back took almost 6 tanks of premium gas (I also switched from 89 to 93 octane and will continue the 93 for now the cars response is a lot better with it) and achieved the following results for a couple of the tanks of gas. Avg fill up was around 15/16 gallons when the car got below 1/4 tank but before the low fuel light warning.
Not in any sort of order
410 miles
365 some traffic
427
400
388
240 top 1/2 of the tank
These include a couple of full throttle pulls as well.
Final results avg out to around 25.5-28.5 MPG
My 98 GXE has 125,000 on it as well.
Avg speeds ranging from 65-85 but mostly cruised at 80-85 when i could with the A/C on. and one SAFE pull to 115mph with a full trunk and 3 people on a slight incline in OHIO.
I think that my results are "dead on" "textbook" for a well maintained Maxima and can be used as an good figure/example in relation to your opinions/observations of your max. The only thing i could think of that would help me would be a throttle body cleaning and IACV (car idles at like 550rpm), maybe a Seafoam treatment and some new spark plugs (2 years old) and a y-pipe.
Your opinions/comments are greatly appreciated.
-Joe Paz
Last edited by Paz1986; 07-14-2008 at 08:27 PM.
07-14-2008, 07:26 PM
#2
6 tanks of premium!!! mannn, thats like 3 weeks of work for me LOL (min. wage FTL)
great results though. i want to go on a long road trip someday, maybe halfway across the country through the north then back to jersey through the south. that would be awesome. i should probably start saving up for all that premium gas now... :X
great results though. i want to go on a long road trip someday, maybe halfway across the country through the north then back to jersey through the south. that would be awesome. i should probably start saving up for all that premium gas now... :X
07-14-2008, 08:14 PM
#4
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Eastern Long Island, NY
Posts: 56
Gas was like $60-$70 bucks a shot. shes a thirsty pig for the premium fuel. gas is ridiculous all over the country. i racked up the credit card with no intentions of paying for it as i am still in college with currently no job = lame.
the max is a champ on the highway!
the max is a champ on the highway!
07-15-2008, 09:15 AM
#11
Guest
Posts: n/a
Doing 115mph with a full load and having other people (and their lives) in the car is not safe. That is an extremely contradictive statement. I love how you say "SAFE" as if it makes everything ok. Ever have a front tire blow out at highway speeds? (65mph) Ever have a front tire blow out at almost twice that speed? I bet not. What gives you the right to put other people's lives in danger like that? If your respect for human life and responsibility was on par with your ability to record gas mileage, I might think you are a decent human being.... To top it off, you get a slew of positive replies. Wow... Sheep.
Last edited by Jamaha80; 07-15-2008 at 09:17 AM.
07-15-2008, 11:10 AM
#13
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 23
There was a stretch in PA where I didn't touch a pedal for about 2 hours. Siiiiiiick.
So averaged about 29 mpg with a pretty heavy load and a/c. Felt a little
by the end of the day. Didn't matter tho, max got me there.
07-15-2008, 02:09 PM
#14
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Eastern Long Island, NY
Posts: 56
Doing 115mph with a full load and having other people (and their lives) in the car is not safe. That is an extremely contradictive statement. I love how you say "SAFE" as if it makes everything ok. Ever have a front tire blow out at highway speeds? (65mph) Ever have a front tire blow out at almost twice that speed? I bet not. What gives you the right to put other people's lives in danger like that? If your respect for human life and responsibility was on par with your ability to record gas mileage, I might think you are a decent human being.... To top it off, you get a slew of positive replies. Wow... Sheep.
ive had a blow out before at like 75mph before and have handled it safely. yes driving at 115 is dangerous but there are "safe" ways to drive fast instead of like all the other meatheads that are on the road and swerving and whatnot. i just got new tires as well. but yes u are right getting a blowout at 115 would be devastating and can happen with new tires anyway. i did 115 for like 1 minute not the whole car ride. i was on a straitaway in ohio with no one in sight for as far as i could see maybe like a couple miles.
i play strong defense on the road and safety is of most importance, but i can have my fun a lil too.
-joe paz
07-15-2008, 09:43 PM
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 655
I am happy to see a post on a long trip as I put on 1250 miles last weekend over three days to Oregon and back from San Jose.
This is the first time I put on that many miles in my I30. Here is the car:
Standard 1998 I30, 98K on ODO
Standard 3.0L no mods
KYB GR-2 (last year)
16 inch stock wheels (2 years ago, 15s before)
Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires (2 years old)
Factory Hitachi brake pads (last year, was factory Akebonos before)
New A/C compressor (last year, factory new)
New alternator (last month, factory reman)
The roads and weather conditions:
Gravel, on Mt. Lassen, CA
Mountain roads, Crater Lake, OR, OR138, CA89 in Lassen
Freeways, I5, I505, I80, I680
Conditions: Concrete, rough asphalt, smooth asphalt
Temperature: 90+-100+ in Central Valley, 80+ everywhere else, 40+ at Crater Lake (at night).
On the way out, a section of concrete roadway on I80 near Fairfield, CA was clearly too rough for the very stiff KYBs. It felt like the car had no shocks, just welded to the frame and jumping up and down wildly.
On asphalt with gravel added, the steering wheel shimmered a little bit like the guy at Costco didn’t balance the tires right. But on smooth asphalt, the car was silky smooth.
The tires worked very well on mountain roads and seldom did I need to go for the brakes. Just hang back on the gas, steer into the curve and the tires would hold. The stiff KYB shocks worked well in the mountains.
I5 north towards Redding, CA was hot, in the low 100s and high 90s. The A/C held up and we had to push the AMB button to see what it was outside. The compressor replacement job last year was posted in many A/C threads. The new alternator (Nissan Reman, $70 off eBay) put on last month didn’t give us a bit of trouble.
At the last gas station before heading into the mountains towards Crater Lake at Ft. Klamath, OR, they only have 87 octane. The car ran on this gas at up to 7000 ft without a hint of knocking. I wish I had the 3.5L at times but no problem with power at all.
Overnight the temperature dropped quite a bit into the 40s. The car didn’t start immediately the next morning like it always had. But it did start after a few tries. My buddy in OR told me later that I need to turn the ignition on for 30 seconds, then go to crank it. This allows the ECU to adjust to the big change in temperature and pressure.
Driving out of the mountains west on OR138 the car behaves as it should, approach the bend in the road, back off the gas, power thru the curve and repeat again and again. Only needed to go for the brakes for the car in front.
Home ward trip from Eugene, OR on I5 showed off the car’s capability as it time and again leaving much more expensive cars behind as it climb hills, get around trucks, going around sweeping curves.
Going up to Mt. Lassen was a last minute decision. Off I5 south of Mt. Shasta we took CA89 towards Lassen. This is a two lane black top with more vertical curves than horizontal ones. I had about half a tank at that point and there were simply no gas on the CA89 so we pressed on. By the time we got to the top we had only a little more than a quarter left. The last section was under construction so the car was on gravel for a good 10 miles. The car behaved nice enough on gravel that it left most other cars behind. I didn’t push it much since a mistake may mean dropping a few hundred feet.
Red Bluff, CA was 50 miles away and I was starting to worry. There was no choice but to press on. Fortunately it was all down hill from 8500 ft to about 300 ft. At Red Bluff I logged 370 miles on the trip ODO and the car only took 12.8 gallon. That’s almost 29 MPG.
From Red Bluff I mostly followed faster cars on I5, I505, I80, I680 and made it home in little over 3 hours and covered a distance of 222 miles in Sunday afternoon traffic.
This ten year old car behaved as it should.
Other:
The Monster Cable iCruze iPod interface kit was well worth it on the trip. It replaced the CD changer in the trunk and uses the Clarion/Bose HU to control the iPod.
The Nokia CK-1A Bluetooth handsfree box put in a few years ago worked well and now it is a requirement in California to use a cell while driving.
A Garmin Streetpilot 2610 guided us everywhere. This model is a few years old. It may lack some of the latest features but it is available now at very low price used. It is so clunky looking compared to today’s new models that it is pretty safe even on the dash.
This is the first time I put on that many miles in my I30. Here is the car:
Standard 1998 I30, 98K on ODO
Standard 3.0L no mods
KYB GR-2 (last year)
16 inch stock wheels (2 years ago, 15s before)
Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires (2 years old)
Factory Hitachi brake pads (last year, was factory Akebonos before)
New A/C compressor (last year, factory new)
New alternator (last month, factory reman)
The roads and weather conditions:
Gravel, on Mt. Lassen, CA
Mountain roads, Crater Lake, OR, OR138, CA89 in Lassen
Freeways, I5, I505, I80, I680
Conditions: Concrete, rough asphalt, smooth asphalt
Temperature: 90+-100+ in Central Valley, 80+ everywhere else, 40+ at Crater Lake (at night).
On the way out, a section of concrete roadway on I80 near Fairfield, CA was clearly too rough for the very stiff KYBs. It felt like the car had no shocks, just welded to the frame and jumping up and down wildly.
On asphalt with gravel added, the steering wheel shimmered a little bit like the guy at Costco didn’t balance the tires right. But on smooth asphalt, the car was silky smooth.
The tires worked very well on mountain roads and seldom did I need to go for the brakes. Just hang back on the gas, steer into the curve and the tires would hold. The stiff KYB shocks worked well in the mountains.
I5 north towards Redding, CA was hot, in the low 100s and high 90s. The A/C held up and we had to push the AMB button to see what it was outside. The compressor replacement job last year was posted in many A/C threads. The new alternator (Nissan Reman, $70 off eBay) put on last month didn’t give us a bit of trouble.
At the last gas station before heading into the mountains towards Crater Lake at Ft. Klamath, OR, they only have 87 octane. The car ran on this gas at up to 7000 ft without a hint of knocking. I wish I had the 3.5L at times but no problem with power at all.
Overnight the temperature dropped quite a bit into the 40s. The car didn’t start immediately the next morning like it always had. But it did start after a few tries. My buddy in OR told me later that I need to turn the ignition on for 30 seconds, then go to crank it. This allows the ECU to adjust to the big change in temperature and pressure.
Driving out of the mountains west on OR138 the car behaves as it should, approach the bend in the road, back off the gas, power thru the curve and repeat again and again. Only needed to go for the brakes for the car in front.
Home ward trip from Eugene, OR on I5 showed off the car’s capability as it time and again leaving much more expensive cars behind as it climb hills, get around trucks, going around sweeping curves.
Going up to Mt. Lassen was a last minute decision. Off I5 south of Mt. Shasta we took CA89 towards Lassen. This is a two lane black top with more vertical curves than horizontal ones. I had about half a tank at that point and there were simply no gas on the CA89 so we pressed on. By the time we got to the top we had only a little more than a quarter left. The last section was under construction so the car was on gravel for a good 10 miles. The car behaved nice enough on gravel that it left most other cars behind. I didn’t push it much since a mistake may mean dropping a few hundred feet.
Red Bluff, CA was 50 miles away and I was starting to worry. There was no choice but to press on. Fortunately it was all down hill from 8500 ft to about 300 ft. At Red Bluff I logged 370 miles on the trip ODO and the car only took 12.8 gallon. That’s almost 29 MPG.
From Red Bluff I mostly followed faster cars on I5, I505, I80, I680 and made it home in little over 3 hours and covered a distance of 222 miles in Sunday afternoon traffic.
This ten year old car behaved as it should.
Other:
The Monster Cable iCruze iPod interface kit was well worth it on the trip. It replaced the CD changer in the trunk and uses the Clarion/Bose HU to control the iPod.
The Nokia CK-1A Bluetooth handsfree box put in a few years ago worked well and now it is a requirement in California to use a cell while driving.
A Garmin Streetpilot 2610 guided us everywhere. This model is a few years old. It may lack some of the latest features but it is available now at very low price used. It is so clunky looking compared to today’s new models that it is pretty safe even on the dash.
Last edited by SVI30; 07-15-2008 at 09:51 PM.
07-16-2008, 05:55 AM
#17
Ouch
I just took a trip from the Twin Cities to Chicago with 3 others in the car... did 570 miles on the first tank before I had to fill ~36mpg. On the trip back did 512 miles just under a full tank ~32mpg. Just finished a bunch of work on the max (oil, tanny fluid, coolant, etc.) and used mid grade 89 the whole trip.
Gotta love the max, still can't beat my g/f's saturn (like ~45mpg the last time we took the trip), but my car has the vq and isn't made of plastic.
Gotta love the max, still can't beat my g/f's saturn (like ~45mpg the last time we took the trip), but my car has the vq and isn't made of plastic.
07-16-2008, 01:47 PM
#20
Doing 115mph with a full load and having other people (and their lives) in the car is not safe. That is an extremely contradictive statement. I love how you say "SAFE" as if it makes everything ok. Ever have a front tire blow out at highway speeds? (65mph) Ever have a front tire blow out at almost twice that speed? I bet not. What gives you the right to put other people's lives in danger like that? If your respect for human life and responsibility was on par with your ability to record gas mileage, I might think you are a decent human being.... To top it off, you get a slew of positive replies. Wow... Sheep.
07-16-2008, 02:38 PM
#22
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Eastern Long Island, NY
Posts: 56
I am happy to see a post on a long trip as I put on 1250 miles last weekend over three days to Oregon and back from San Jose.
This is the first time I put on that many miles in my I30. Here is the car:
Standard 1998 I30, 98K on ODO
Standard 3.0L no mods
KYB GR-2 (last year)
16 inch stock wheels (2 years ago, 15s before)
Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires (2 years old)
Factory Hitachi brake pads (last year, was factory Akebonos before)
New A/C compressor (last year, factory new)
New alternator (last month, factory reman)
The roads and weather conditions:
Gravel, on Mt. Lassen, CA
Mountain roads, Crater Lake, OR, OR138, CA89 in Lassen
Freeways, I5, I505, I80, I680
Conditions: Concrete, rough asphalt, smooth asphalt
Temperature: 90+-100+ in Central Valley, 80+ everywhere else, 40+ at Crater Lake (at night).
On the way out, a section of concrete roadway on I80 near Fairfield, CA was clearly too rough for the very stiff KYBs. It felt like the car had no shocks, just welded to the frame and jumping up and down wildly.
On asphalt with gravel added, the steering wheel shimmered a little bit like the guy at Costco didn’t balance the tires right. But on smooth asphalt, the car was silky smooth.
The tires worked very well on mountain roads and seldom did I need to go for the brakes. Just hang back on the gas, steer into the curve and the tires would hold. The stiff KYB shocks worked well in the mountains.
I5 north towards Redding, CA was hot, in the low 100s and high 90s. The A/C held up and we had to push the AMB button to see what it was outside. The compressor replacement job last year was posted in many A/C threads. The new alternator (Nissan Reman, $70 off eBay) put on last month didn’t give us a bit of trouble.
At the last gas station before heading into the mountains towards Crater Lake at Ft. Klamath, OR, they only have 87 octane. The car ran on this gas at up to 7000 ft without a hint of knocking. I wish I had the 3.5L at times but no problem with power at all.
Overnight the temperature dropped quite a bit into the 40s. The car didn’t start immediately the next morning like it always had. But it did start after a few tries. My buddy in OR told me later that I need to turn the ignition on for 30 seconds, then go to crank it. This allows the ECU to adjust to the big change in temperature and pressure.
Driving out of the mountains west on OR138 the car behaves as it should, approach the bend in the road, back off the gas, power thru the curve and repeat again and again. Only needed to go for the brakes for the car in front.
Home ward trip from Eugene, OR on I5 showed off the car’s capability as it time and again leaving much more expensive cars behind as it climb hills, get around trucks, going around sweeping curves.
Going up to Mt. Lassen was a last minute decision. Off I5 south of Mt. Shasta we took CA89 towards Lassen. This is a two lane black top with more vertical curves than horizontal ones. I had about half a tank at that point and there were simply no gas on the CA89 so we pressed on. By the time we got to the top we had only a little more than a quarter left. The last section was under construction so the car was on gravel for a good 10 miles. The car behaved nice enough on gravel that it left most other cars behind. I didn’t push it much since a mistake may mean dropping a few hundred feet.
Red Bluff, CA was 50 miles away and I was starting to worry. There was no choice but to press on. Fortunately it was all down hill from 8500 ft to about 300 ft. At Red Bluff I logged 370 miles on the trip ODO and the car only took 12.8 gallon. That’s almost 29 MPG.
From Red Bluff I mostly followed faster cars on I5, I505, I80, I680 and made it home in little over 3 hours and covered a distance of 222 miles in Sunday afternoon traffic.
This ten year old car behaved as it should.
Other:
The Monster Cable iCruze iPod interface kit was well worth it on the trip. It replaced the CD changer in the trunk and uses the Clarion/Bose HU to control the iPod.
The Nokia CK-1A Bluetooth handsfree box put in a few years ago worked well and now it is a requirement in California to use a cell while driving.
A Garmin Streetpilot 2610 guided us everywhere. This model is a few years old. It may lack some of the latest features but it is available now at very low price used. It is so clunky looking compared to today’s new models that it is pretty safe even on the dash.
This is the first time I put on that many miles in my I30. Here is the car:
Standard 1998 I30, 98K on ODO
Standard 3.0L no mods
KYB GR-2 (last year)
16 inch stock wheels (2 years ago, 15s before)
Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires (2 years old)
Factory Hitachi brake pads (last year, was factory Akebonos before)
New A/C compressor (last year, factory new)
New alternator (last month, factory reman)
The roads and weather conditions:
Gravel, on Mt. Lassen, CA
Mountain roads, Crater Lake, OR, OR138, CA89 in Lassen
Freeways, I5, I505, I80, I680
Conditions: Concrete, rough asphalt, smooth asphalt
Temperature: 90+-100+ in Central Valley, 80+ everywhere else, 40+ at Crater Lake (at night).
On the way out, a section of concrete roadway on I80 near Fairfield, CA was clearly too rough for the very stiff KYBs. It felt like the car had no shocks, just welded to the frame and jumping up and down wildly.
On asphalt with gravel added, the steering wheel shimmered a little bit like the guy at Costco didn’t balance the tires right. But on smooth asphalt, the car was silky smooth.
The tires worked very well on mountain roads and seldom did I need to go for the brakes. Just hang back on the gas, steer into the curve and the tires would hold. The stiff KYB shocks worked well in the mountains.
I5 north towards Redding, CA was hot, in the low 100s and high 90s. The A/C held up and we had to push the AMB button to see what it was outside. The compressor replacement job last year was posted in many A/C threads. The new alternator (Nissan Reman, $70 off eBay) put on last month didn’t give us a bit of trouble.
At the last gas station before heading into the mountains towards Crater Lake at Ft. Klamath, OR, they only have 87 octane. The car ran on this gas at up to 7000 ft without a hint of knocking. I wish I had the 3.5L at times but no problem with power at all.
Overnight the temperature dropped quite a bit into the 40s. The car didn’t start immediately the next morning like it always had. But it did start after a few tries. My buddy in OR told me later that I need to turn the ignition on for 30 seconds, then go to crank it. This allows the ECU to adjust to the big change in temperature and pressure.
Driving out of the mountains west on OR138 the car behaves as it should, approach the bend in the road, back off the gas, power thru the curve and repeat again and again. Only needed to go for the brakes for the car in front.
Home ward trip from Eugene, OR on I5 showed off the car’s capability as it time and again leaving much more expensive cars behind as it climb hills, get around trucks, going around sweeping curves.
Going up to Mt. Lassen was a last minute decision. Off I5 south of Mt. Shasta we took CA89 towards Lassen. This is a two lane black top with more vertical curves than horizontal ones. I had about half a tank at that point and there were simply no gas on the CA89 so we pressed on. By the time we got to the top we had only a little more than a quarter left. The last section was under construction so the car was on gravel for a good 10 miles. The car behaved nice enough on gravel that it left most other cars behind. I didn’t push it much since a mistake may mean dropping a few hundred feet.
Red Bluff, CA was 50 miles away and I was starting to worry. There was no choice but to press on. Fortunately it was all down hill from 8500 ft to about 300 ft. At Red Bluff I logged 370 miles on the trip ODO and the car only took 12.8 gallon. That’s almost 29 MPG.
From Red Bluff I mostly followed faster cars on I5, I505, I80, I680 and made it home in little over 3 hours and covered a distance of 222 miles in Sunday afternoon traffic.
This ten year old car behaved as it should.
Other:
The Monster Cable iCruze iPod interface kit was well worth it on the trip. It replaced the CD changer in the trunk and uses the Clarion/Bose HU to control the iPod.
The Nokia CK-1A Bluetooth handsfree box put in a few years ago worked well and now it is a requirement in California to use a cell while driving.
A Garmin Streetpilot 2610 guided us everywhere. This model is a few years old. It may lack some of the latest features but it is available now at very low price used. It is so clunky looking compared to today’s new models that it is pretty safe even on the dash.
your write up crushes mine, lol!
nice detailed info!
07-16-2008, 07:56 PM
#23
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 655
I was going to make a new post and your post beat me to it. We don't talk enough about enjoying our cars. So I really appreciate you posting your trip.
I did a few 100+ also but not recently. My Suburban has a governor at about 87. This I30 had gone to 95 or so. I never spare expense on tires and brakes.
I did a few 100+ also but not recently. My Suburban has a governor at about 87. This I30 had gone to 95 or so. I never spare expense on tires and brakes.
07-16-2008, 08:09 PM
#24
Guest
Posts: n/a
I am happy to see a post on a long trip as I put on 1250 miles last weekend over three days to Oregon and back from San Jose.
This is the first time I put on that many miles in my I30. Here is the car:
Standard 1998 I30, 98K on ODO
Standard 3.0L no mods
KYB GR-2 (last year)
16 inch stock wheels (2 years ago, 15s before)
Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires (2 years old)
Factory Hitachi brake pads (last year, was factory Akebonos before)
New A/C compressor (last year, factory new)
New alternator (last month, factory reman)
The roads and weather conditions:
Gravel, on Mt. Lassen, CA
Mountain roads, Crater Lake, OR, OR138, CA89 in Lassen
Freeways, I5, I505, I80, bit is pretty safe blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah .
This is the first time I put on that many miles in my I30. Here is the car:
Standard 1998 I30, 98K on ODO
Standard 3.0L no mods
KYB GR-2 (last year)
16 inch stock wheels (2 years ago, 15s before)
Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires (2 years old)
Factory Hitachi brake pads (last year, was factory Akebonos before)
New A/C compressor (last year, factory new)
New alternator (last month, factory reman)
The roads and weather conditions:
Gravel, on Mt. Lassen, CA
Mountain roads, Crater Lake, OR, OR138, CA89 in Lassen
Freeways, I5, I505, I80, bit is pretty safe blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah .
07-16-2008, 08:14 PM
#25
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 655
07-17-2008, 01:16 AM
#27
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Eastern Long Island, NY
Posts: 56
07-17-2008, 05:51 AM
#28
What's up all,
I went on a road trip this past week from Albany, NY to Louieville, Kentucky for the 8th annual Lebowski Fest (The Big Lebowski movie) and wanted to share my experience with my max to others. a total of 2200 miles about.
It took about 14-16 hours each way this year with a couple of bathroom/food/gas stops. ( I did it last year 1 way in 11 1/2 hours with only 2-3 stops.)
There and back took almost 6 tanks of premium gas (I also switched from 89 to 93 octane and will continue the 93 for now the cars response is a lot better with it) and achieved the following results for a couple of the tanks of gas. Avg fill up was around 15/16 gallons when the car got below 1/4 tank but before the low fuel light warning.
Not in any sort of order
410 miles
365 some traffic
427
400
388
240 top 1/2 of the tank
These include a couple of full throttle pulls as well.
Final results avg out to around 25.5-28.5 MPG
My 98 GXE has 125,000 on it as well.
Avg speeds ranging from 65-85 but mostly cruised at 80-85 when i could with the A/C on. and one SAFE pull to 115mph with a full trunk and 3 people on a slight incline in OHIO.
I think that my results are "dead on" "textbook" for a well maintained Maxima and can be used as an good figure/example in relation to your opinions/observations of your max. The only thing i could think of that would help me would be a throttle body cleaning and IACV (car idles at like 550rpm), maybe a Seafoam treatment and some new spark plugs (2 years old) and a y-pipe.
Your opinions/comments are greatly appreciated.
-Joe Paz
I went on a road trip this past week from Albany, NY to Louieville, Kentucky for the 8th annual Lebowski Fest (The Big Lebowski movie) and wanted to share my experience with my max to others. a total of 2200 miles about.
It took about 14-16 hours each way this year with a couple of bathroom/food/gas stops. ( I did it last year 1 way in 11 1/2 hours with only 2-3 stops.)
There and back took almost 6 tanks of premium gas (I also switched from 89 to 93 octane and will continue the 93 for now the cars response is a lot better with it) and achieved the following results for a couple of the tanks of gas. Avg fill up was around 15/16 gallons when the car got below 1/4 tank but before the low fuel light warning.
Not in any sort of order
410 miles
365 some traffic
427
400
388
240 top 1/2 of the tank
These include a couple of full throttle pulls as well.
Final results avg out to around 25.5-28.5 MPG
My 98 GXE has 125,000 on it as well.
Avg speeds ranging from 65-85 but mostly cruised at 80-85 when i could with the A/C on. and one SAFE pull to 115mph with a full trunk and 3 people on a slight incline in OHIO.
I think that my results are "dead on" "textbook" for a well maintained Maxima and can be used as an good figure/example in relation to your opinions/observations of your max. The only thing i could think of that would help me would be a throttle body cleaning and IACV (car idles at like 550rpm), maybe a Seafoam treatment and some new spark plugs (2 years old) and a y-pipe.
Your opinions/comments are greatly appreciated.
-Joe Paz
I am trying to figure your math,are you sure the speedo works correctly?
Roughly that trip is 1600-1700 miles maybe the mileage isn't as great as you thought?
I'm not knocking or doubt it can be done but just trying to figure out where the extra 500-600 miles came from.
07-17-2008, 06:14 AM
#29
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Eastern Long Island, NY
Posts: 56
I am trying to figure your math,are you sure the speedo works correctly?
Roughly that trip is 1600-1700 miles maybe the mileage isn't as great as you thought?
I'm not knocking or doubt it can be done but just trying to figure out where the extra 500-600 miles came from.
Roughly that trip is 1600-1700 miles maybe the mileage isn't as great as you thought?
I'm not knocking or doubt it can be done but just trying to figure out where the extra 500-600 miles came from.
my speedo is fine. i didnt put all the mileage up b/c i forgot. its a very good rough estimate. LOL
i drove around 80mph most of the trip and got somewhere between 26-28 mpgs.
in my book thats pretty great for a 10 year old car.
07-17-2008, 09:06 AM
#32
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Location: Eastern Long Island, NY
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07-17-2008, 11:56 AM
#36
07-17-2008, 01:44 PM
#37
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 655
I do have a hybrid, but not a Nissan. It's a 2001 Prius. That can get 45-50 mpg in town. Actually less on the highway since it will be always in gas mode.
07-17-2008, 04:35 PM
#38
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07-22-2008, 06:13 PM
#40
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Posts: 3,883
I've been using regular for 161k. Since my other car requires premium (min in the owner's manual is 89, not 87), I'm not going to use it in both cars. It's really not necessary, who knows, maybe the Maxima does 0-60 in 7.1 with premium, and 7.2 with regular. Not noticeable.
My mileage has gone down with age. Used to get 28 mpg easy at 72 mph cruise, now only about 25. But it's an 11 y.o. car.....never failed to start once in its entire life!
My mileage has gone down with age. Used to get 28 mpg easy at 72 mph cruise, now only about 25. But it's an 11 y.o. car.....never failed to start once in its entire life!