the question is...does 3.0L gives more MPG than 3.5L? I know the power diffrence but wondering if having 02 max 3.5L engine gives less MPG than 01 3.0L? any suggestions?

 

It depends, since 3.5 Maximas has a 6-speed manual may outperform 3.0 5-speed or auto on highway. If you are comparing both auto, 3.0 is certainly has advantage.

 

3.0L
EPA Mileage Estimates: (City/Highway)
Manual: 22 mpg / 27 mpg
Automatic: : 19 mpg / 26 mpg

3.5L
EPA Mileage Estimates: (City/Highway)
Manual: 21 mpg / 28 mpg
Automatic: : 20 mpg / 26 mpg

 

Where are your numbers coming from?? Below are the real EPA data:

---------------------------------------------------
2000 Nissan Maxima
6 cyl, 3 L, Man(5), city/hwy 21/27

6 cyl, 3 L, Auto(4), city/hwy 20/28
---------------------------------------------------
2002 Nissan Maxima
6 cyl, 3.5 L, Man(6), city/hwy 21/28

Nissan Maxima
6 cyl, 3.5 L, Auto(4), city/hwy 20/26

 

According to www.fueleconomy.gov
3.0L
EPA city 20 mpg
Hwy 28 mpg

3.5L
EPA city 20 mpg
Hwy 26 mpg

but yet they state both engines run on Regular gas but at least is comparitive

 

The EPA figures on the 01 auto were lower then on the 00 auto

 

Different agencies may run their own tests to obtain numbers. Just like Consumer Reports run their own tests, and are usually more realistic than government tests. I would check Consumer Reports.

 

Anyone know how accurate the MPG is that the car itself shows?


ANyway, according to the gauges, dailey driving in NYC i'm getting 17.3 MPG. Even if i reset it, it eventually gets back down to 17.3. However, if i reset and am on a long road trip or just nice big open highways my MPG CLIMBS and stays at around 32 -33 MPG.

2003 3.5L Auto with 104K miles.

Would like to see what the numbers are from some others including 3.0L Max"s.

 

I have a 3.5 auto + 3.0 5spd and the gas mileage difference is substantial, about 415 MPT in the 3.0 and 320MPT in the 3.5.
looking into doing 5 to 6 spd swap sometime in the next year in the 3.0 5spd.

 

Oh, I see my bad. But it was funny showing different numbers on two virtually identical cars.

 

Ture, but EPA number is still valid for comparison purpose.

 

It is. I would suspect most of us, being enthusiasts, dont get anywhere near the epa or even consumer reports numbers. As for myself, doing about 60% highway driving, I get about 23 mpg.

 

it all depends on the "weight" of your foot. There are people in 4 cyl. cars that fill up more often that I do getting less miles to the gallon. It all depends on high high your RPMs are.. most importanly, off the line starts. When you ask for too much, the car only uses what it needs, everything else, "pours" right out of your tail pipe.
I averaged 18-20mpg in my car (My calcs not on board computer) and now, i get 350 miles on a tank (15 gals +/-) Even the on board computer says 24mpg... easing off the accelerator does wonders. you want to know your true gas milage? let your wife/gf drive your car for a month. Studies show that they get better gas milage.

 

If you are worried about MPG, then I wouldn't go out and buy a 3.5 VQ if you already have a 2001

 

i wouldn't do that even if you weren't concerned with the mileage

The 6-speeds obviously get better highway mileage than any other maxima but even with two autos, the difference between fuel consumption in the 3.5 and the 3.0 would be negligible.

 

The vq35 is lighter, has more technology, and is more efficient than the vq30. In those regards its hard to justifiy much gas savings

 

Its lighter because it gets rid of some of its oil

 

I get better mileage in closed loop.

 

Vs my old 97 SE my 03 drinks more gas, but the smile it puts on our faces is worth a few extra dollars at the pump.

 

I'm getting about the same MPG i used to get on my 98 Accord from my 01 Max.

Of course in order to get some power from the accord I had to be at very high rpm's. So that has to do with it.

 

Ya really, who here drives like the EPA does... 's.

I've seen mine read as high as 81.5 mpg.. so.. riiiight.

 

Haha. Yes they do indeed do. Until your girlfriend comes home with a smile on her face saying she was racing V-8 trucks on the way home from work. Trust me, that has happened and I let her off the hook because she beat 'em everytime. Generally women do, more so in a smaller city than a larger metro area.

 

I have an 02 3.5 6-speed and I get 27 MPG with mostly highway driving when I try not to get on it. I believe I have hit 28 MPG before. I was wondering what you 3.5L auto guys are getting on all or mostly highway driving?

Buy the way, I have got up to 29 MPG in my 4th gen auto. This was on an all highway trip.

Gears

 

 

Heh, not my gf! She drives like it's the Indy 500... I had to tell her to go easy on my Max one day... Honestly, around town, I'm pretty easy on the gas (AT) and my car shifts just above 2k 90% of the time. I get 16-19 city and 23-24 on the interstate (actually got 29 once.... 70 miles roundtrip to the airport from the gas pump, then filled up on the way back). My dad's I35 gets 27 on the interstate routinely.

 

I will say this... Woman do tend to drive EPA style. I drove our Sienna for the first two years of ownership. I never got over 20mpg all highway.

She is driving it and never gets under 23mpg combined 50/50.

 

Depends on the woman...But again, it all goes back to driving style whether you're a dude, chick etc.

I don't think the majority of people who bought Maximas were really that interested in its gas mileage.

 

Does it matter any more? Gas prices are dropping people...

 

Mostly psychologic effect for some simple-minded people. No offence here. How about raise the price to $8/gal, then drop it to $4/gal. Then some ppl like, WOW! that was 50% lower, gas is so cheap now!! I doubt you may too young to remember the $1 gas days 5 years ago.

 

I like how they're dropping just before election time too. Oh so the economies of India and china arent growing anymore?

I laughed when i heard that as a reason for higher gas prices. Yet the oil companies still make wicked amounts of money.

 

Heh, I remember $1 for a gallon of gas... I started driving when prices were around $1.20 or so. Of course, accounting for inflation over the past 6 years, $2/gallon is about where I think we should be (if inflation = 10%/year)... And gas here is about $2.25/gallon (regular)...

 

Also notice, in the past, how gas prices shot up quickly and drop slowly. They're taking us on the front and the back that way. Prices are dropping pretty quickly right now however.?

 

I'm older than you, sonny. I remember when gas was $.60 a gallon for 87 (14 years ago I was buying gas for my first car). Gas is expected to drop down to early 90's levels, ie. $1.20 a gallon for 87. Psycological? no. Reality based. It doesn't matter in the short run at this point.

BTW: gas $'s have dipped below $2.00 per gallon for regular at Costco by me. Premium is $2.20ish.

 

Are you really that stupid? Read up on economics and get back to us. I'll give you a hint: look at the oil speculators. They're the real culprits.

 

I guess we're getting raped by gas prices still. It's still $2.85 here for 87oct.



Bike is in the shop (48 mpg), so the $40/week for Max only is killing me.

 

if $40 a week is killing you, maybe you should look into another car? Just a reality check here, not to be offensive.

 

Did I say anything that beyond your ability of comprehension? Read my post again with a necessary degree of comprehension. Don't try to justify your faulty theories by attacking everyone who disagree. Maybe you can predict economy better than Alan Greenspan, I just wonder why you bother stay here and typing all those nonsense instead of spending your valuable time and economy genius somewhere else? To earn some money? Driving some exotic Bugattis instead of Maxima? And the last one, If you really try to pretend older than someone, you'd better stop posting your age there unless you sure you are old enough to say so. Now! stop dreaming and go back to work!

 

OPEC is at least partly to blame.. They're looking to keep oil prcies around the $60 mark by adjusting production levels.. greedy countries..

Anyway, I can't imagine .5 litres of extra displacement would cause too much different in mileage.

 

Dude, you really, really haven't been around very long, have you...

OK, I'll play: how old are you?

Oh, and on the Bugatti comment: I'll own one WAY before you even think about touching one. Don't believe me? Ask around.

Read the news, educate yourself, and get back to me when you're ready to try to argue with facts instead of emotions.

 

Agreed, but it's still more driven by the prospectors. The only really good thing about it is that those a-holes are losing their rear-ends now with the prices dropping. The way it works is the oil company drills the oil, packages it and gets it ready for transportation to a refinery. Once it leaves the docks, it's "owned" by prospectors who buy it based on betting that the price of oil will increase before it is delivered. Once delivered, it's sold back to the oil company who then processes it, turns it into everything from vinyl to gasoline to candles, and then distributes it to the public.

What drove up the prices wasn't a lack of supply, it was the oil speculators all thinking the prices were going to skyrocket after Katrina. A whole bunch of investors became speculators shortly after the hurricane and caused an artificial inflation in oil prices because there WAS a shortage in the oil available to speculators (still way, way more than enough for all of us, mind you). This, in turn, was passed onto us via the oil companies who kept the same margins percentage-wise. So, if, for instance, the oil companies made 25% margins on a gallon of gas when the gas was, say $1.00 per gallon, they made 25 cents. Then gas shot up to, arbitralily to keep the math simple, to $3.00 per gallon they would then be making 75 cents per gallon and their costs have remainded, marginally, the same. That is why they posted the huge profits during the last few quarters. These profits also caused more investors to jump into the speculation market and kept the artificially raised prices up.

I haven't heard a really detailed explaination as to why the prices are dropping again, but the general consensus is that the investors have finally realized that the prices weren't going to remain raised as they were and gradually the smart ones got out of oil. This caused a slight slip in the prices the prospectors were paying thereby causing a faster decline in oil prices due to panick by the not so smart investors. Thus, the experts are now saying that we're going to hit pre-1996 gasoline prices in the next month or two.


Imma gonna go find a Chevy big block STAT!