97 SE gas mileage
06-16-2002, 07:49 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 354
97 SE gas mileage
I recently filled my tank up full and proceeded to drive until the gas light came on to try and see how many miles I could get on a tank. I only got 290 miles, and from others that I've seen, thats pretty low. Now my question is that if I use a lower octane gas than 91 (yes I know its not good but I can't really afford to fill up with premium every time), will that be a reason my mileage is pretty low? I try to fill up with premium from time to time but I can't always afford to put it in. Thanks for any responses.
06-16-2002, 08:00 PM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 590
Re: 97 SE gas mileage
Originally posted by ReichMax97
I recently filled my tank up full and proceeded to drive until the gas light came on to try and see how many miles I could get on a tank. I only got 290 miles, and from others that I've seen, thats pretty low. Now my question is that if I use a lower octane gas than 91 (yes I know its not good but I can't really afford to fill up with premium every time), will that be a reason my mileage is pretty low? I try to fill up with premium from time to time but I can't always afford to put it in. Thanks for any responses.
I recently filled my tank up full and proceeded to drive until the gas light came on to try and see how many miles I could get on a tank. I only got 290 miles, and from others that I've seen, thats pretty low. Now my question is that if I use a lower octane gas than 91 (yes I know its not good but I can't really afford to fill up with premium every time), will that be a reason my mileage is pretty low? I try to fill up with premium from time to time but I can't always afford to put it in. Thanks for any responses.
MILES-PER-TANK doesn't mean squat unless you're running it down 18 gallons until it dies...
Octane has nothing to do with your MPG.
Drive an entire 15 gallons shifting very carefully below 2500rpm and not going over 70mph. It's hard to do, but I'll get at least 26-30mpg in 50/50 city/highway.
-RMB
06-16-2002, 09:07 PM
#7
i have charted my mileage since i bought the car. i do take mine up into higher rpm's a bit and usually fill my tank with 1/8 left. i get 24 mpg and 340 to a tank. i always run 93 octane.
--Paul
--Paul
06-17-2002, 05:21 AM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 134
Re: Re: 97 SE gas mileage
Originally posted by SCMan
I have a 96 SE 5 spd which gets about 400 miles per tank, which translates to 25 - 26 mpg combined driving.
I have a 96 SE 5 spd which gets about 400 miles per tank, which translates to 25 - 26 mpg combined driving.
F5
06-17-2002, 07:02 AM
#12
Your car will get it's best mileage with premium. It's a high compression motor built to take advantage of the higher octane. It can run on lower octane, but performance degrades, as you have observed.
Mileage depends on so many factors, you can't just dismiss it as a problem with your car. Mileage depends on how you drive, and, more importantly, where you drive. In city driving, your mileage will be lower. Also, how short are your drives? If you take lots of 10 minute short trips, and you allow your car to cool down in-between, your mileage will be the worst. That's because your car never gets to fully warm up, so it runs in warm up mode. warm up mode has your car running rich, once operating temp is reached, your car settles into run mode. It relies on your O2 sensors to figure how much feul it will need. It works its best and is at its most feul efficient state once warmed up.
If you want good mileage, drive your car for at least an hour each time, and try to spend most of your time in top gear, 4th for the auto, and 5th for the manual. The longer time you spend in those gears, the higher your mileage becomes.
Having said that, my car gest around 21-22 in the city, 25-26 on the highway with my bahn running high crusing speeds, and I once got 30 mpg when I really cruised nice and slow for a very long time. I only put 91 or higher in my car. So, I know my car can deliver hi mpgs if I really really need it to.
DW
Mileage depends on so many factors, you can't just dismiss it as a problem with your car. Mileage depends on how you drive, and, more importantly, where you drive. In city driving, your mileage will be lower. Also, how short are your drives? If you take lots of 10 minute short trips, and you allow your car to cool down in-between, your mileage will be the worst. That's because your car never gets to fully warm up, so it runs in warm up mode. warm up mode has your car running rich, once operating temp is reached, your car settles into run mode. It relies on your O2 sensors to figure how much feul it will need. It works its best and is at its most feul efficient state once warmed up.
If you want good mileage, drive your car for at least an hour each time, and try to spend most of your time in top gear, 4th for the auto, and 5th for the manual. The longer time you spend in those gears, the higher your mileage becomes.
Having said that, my car gest around 21-22 in the city, 25-26 on the highway with my bahn running high crusing speeds, and I once got 30 mpg when I really cruised nice and slow for a very long time. I only put 91 or higher in my car. So, I know my car can deliver hi mpgs if I really really need it to.
DW
06-17-2002, 07:17 AM
#13
I can count on 24-25 in mixed driving and almost 30 mpg on highway trips. 8-10 mpg when on the track. The fuel gauges are so inaccurate that tyring to compare how your mileage with other people isn't going to work. You divide the mileage traveled by how many gallons you needed to top off the tank to get your fuel mileage.
Yes, using lower octane gas in these cars can lower your overall mileage. The knock sensor will retard the ignition timing to prevent detonation, which results in a lower power output for a given throttle setting. After running on 87 for a while, the ECU will take a little while to "learn" that there is now 91 or greater being fed to the engine and will allow the timing to be more advanced. It's not as rapid a process to advance the timing as it is to retard the timing. This is probably one of the reasons you don't see as much of a difference.
Yes, using lower octane gas in these cars can lower your overall mileage. The knock sensor will retard the ignition timing to prevent detonation, which results in a lower power output for a given throttle setting. After running on 87 for a while, the ECU will take a little while to "learn" that there is now 91 or greater being fed to the engine and will allow the timing to be more advanced. It's not as rapid a process to advance the timing as it is to retard the timing. This is probably one of the reasons you don't see as much of a difference.
06-17-2002, 09:14 AM
#14
Member
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 69
Im pullin 450 per tank. I usually run it to E. When I fill up I usually put in like 15 gallons and I only run 93. So its right around 29-30 mpg. I do alot of highway miles so it all makes sense. I recommend looking into getting your B-Pipe fixed. Warpspeed has a good article on it. The B-Pipe from the factory has a crushed part in it. They say that it will jump 2.5mpg just fixing that alone.
I noticed a big difference in milage right after I put my Apexi on. Look into it. I know you may not want to spend the $$ for the exhaust but you will save it in the gas bill.
http://www.warpspeedperformance.com/bpipefix.htm
I noticed a big difference in milage right after I put my Apexi on. Look into it. I know you may not want to spend the $$ for the exhaust but you will save it in the gas bill.
http://www.warpspeedperformance.com/bpipefix.htm
06-17-2002, 10:06 AM
#15
Really? Well, can't wait then. I'm getting the complete B from warp. S bends, crimp, restrictions be gone!
DW
DW
Originally posted by MaxSE99
Im pullin 450 per tank. I usually run it to E. When I fill up I usually put in like 15 gallons and I only run 93. So its right around 29-30 mpg. I do alot of highway miles so it all makes sense. I recommend looking into getting your B-Pipe fixed. Warpspeed has a good article on it. The B-Pipe from the factory has a crushed part in it. They say that it will jump 2.5mpg just fixing that alone.
I noticed a big difference in milage right after I put my Apexi on. Look into it. I know you may not want to spend the $$ for the exhaust but you will save it in the gas bill.
http://www.warpspeedperformance.com/bpipefix.htm
Im pullin 450 per tank. I usually run it to E. When I fill up I usually put in like 15 gallons and I only run 93. So its right around 29-30 mpg. I do alot of highway miles so it all makes sense. I recommend looking into getting your B-Pipe fixed. Warpspeed has a good article on it. The B-Pipe from the factory has a crushed part in it. They say that it will jump 2.5mpg just fixing that alone.
I noticed a big difference in milage right after I put my Apexi on. Look into it. I know you may not want to spend the $$ for the exhaust but you will save it in the gas bill.
http://www.warpspeedperformance.com/bpipefix.htm
06-17-2002, 11:36 AM
#16
Member
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 69
I bought my car in MD and I live in PA. So I had to get it inspected once the paper work went thru. I took it to my local garage and I seen the pipe was crimped like that. I thought the previous owner ran over something, but once I took a close look at it I realized it was a factory bend....only question I have is WHY???
06-17-2002, 01:47 PM
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 216
I just drove from Goldsboro, NC to Knoxville, TN yesterday. I filled up with premium before I left. The trip odo says 425 miles and I still have 1/8 tank left. I was totally blown away by the range. I'll figure out mpg once I fill up.
06-17-2002, 02:07 PM
#20
Isn't it cool when that happens Whenever I take a road trip, I never realize that my mileage has improved untill around then, too. If you really wanted to, you could make it get over 30 mpg, but that would mean cruising at 40-50 mph in 5th ALL the time. I did it once. Never again. 
DW
Whenever I take a road trip, I never realize that my mileage has improved untill around then, too. If you really wanted to, you could make it get over 30 mpg, but that would mean cruising at 40-50 mph in 5th ALL the time. I did it once. Never again. DW
Originally posted by Freedog
I just drove from Goldsboro, NC to Knoxville, TN yesterday. I filled up with premium before I left. The trip odo says 425 miles and I still have 1/8 tank left. I was totally blown away by the range. I'll figure out mpg once I fill up.
I just drove from Goldsboro, NC to Knoxville, TN yesterday. I filled up with premium before I left. The trip odo says 425 miles and I still have 1/8 tank left. I was totally blown away by the range. I'll figure out mpg once I fill up.
06-17-2002, 03:42 PM
#21
Originally posted by MaxSE99
Im curious if a y-pipe will increase or hinder gas mileage? Anyone know??
Im curious if a y-pipe will increase or hinder gas mileage? Anyone know??
06-17-2002, 04:05 PM
#22
Donating Maxima.org Member
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 161
I've noticed the Max shows a huge difference in city gas mileage because of the way you drive. I have had 19 MPG to 26 MPG. I got
26 because I wanted to take it easy on a tank and see how good the
gas mileage would be while driving the car normally. I used to own
a Ford Probe (LX)
and no matter how hard you drove it it would
get between 26-29 MPG(4 banger).
By the way I usually get 19-20 MPG
but I haven't had a chance
to test full freeway gas mileage.
boo
26 because I wanted to take it easy on a tank and see how good the
gas mileage would be while driving the car normally. I used to own
a Ford Probe (LX)
and no matter how hard you drove it it wouldget between 26-29 MPG(4 banger).
By the way I usually get 19-20 MPG
but I haven't had a chanceto test full freeway gas mileage.
boo
06-17-2002, 04:08 PM
#23
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 792
23mpg in mixed driving with 85% highway is the norm for me. I'll get 22mpg in mixed driving with about 60% city...
I pretty much stay around 75mph on the freeway... if I do around 65-70, I've gotten 27/28mpg once... this is on my 97 5sp...
On my 96 GXE auto, I've gotten slightly higher, around 28/30 mpg freeway doing around 70-73mph..
I've hit 500 miles once on a tank... talk about down to the last drop... when the tank gets low, the car is really sensitive to incline. It feels like the fuel pickup is in the front of the tank because when I'm going up hill, the car will start choking, and when I go downhill, the car will run fine...
-V
I pretty much stay around 75mph on the freeway... if I do around 65-70, I've gotten 27/28mpg once... this is on my 97 5sp...
On my 96 GXE auto, I've gotten slightly higher, around 28/30 mpg freeway doing around 70-73mph..
I've hit 500 miles once on a tank... talk about down to the last drop... when the tank gets low, the car is really sensitive to incline. It feels like the fuel pickup is in the front of the tank because when I'm going up hill, the car will start choking, and when I go downhill, the car will run fine...
-V
06-17-2002, 05:21 PM
#24
That may be not related to the hill. When going uphill, your car needs power, hence more feul, hence more feul pressure from the feul pump. Coasting downhill, there's less demand for feul, so the feul pump does not have to work as hard. So, the uphill sketchyness may simply be due to the feul pump not being able to deliver adequete pressure b/c the feul is low, not necessarily with the gas on one side of the tank.
DW
DW
Originally posted by vmok
. . . It feels like the fuel pickup is in the front of the tank because when I'm going up hill, the car will start choking, and when I go downhill, the car will run fine...
-V
. . . It feels like the fuel pickup is in the front of the tank because when I'm going up hill, the car will start choking, and when I go downhill, the car will run fine...
-V
06-19-2002, 01:16 AM
#26
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 792
Originally posted by dwapenyi
That may be not related to the hill. When going uphill, your car needs power, hence more feul, hence more feul pressure from the feul pump. Coasting downhill, there's less demand for feul, so the feul pump does not have to work as hard. So, the uphill sketchyness may simply be due to the feul pump not being able to deliver adequete pressure b/c the feul is low, not necessarily with the gas on one side of the tank.
That may be not related to the hill. When going uphill, your car needs power, hence more feul, hence more feul pressure from the feul pump. Coasting downhill, there's less demand for feul, so the feul pump does not have to work as hard. So, the uphill sketchyness may simply be due to the feul pump not being able to deliver adequete pressure b/c the feul is low, not necessarily with the gas on one side of the tank.
The other thing I remember is that when I was at the Sac Speedway, I had over 1/8 under 1/4 tank remaining going down the 1/4 mile, and ran outta gas with my 96 GXE auto... car just died going down the track, and as it slowed back down, the car restarted itself. And this was an auto!
Also in Sac, I was accelerating up an on-ramp. Car start jerking, so I exited on the same offramp... as I was going down the offramp, the car ran smooth again. Don't know though.
-V
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