Yeah I am gonna do this twice and then will post results.

 

Light is indeed correct but is only pointing that out as a "check/balance" against the computer (not everyone resets their MPG at fill-up) He knows very well that your odometer is a "swag" or calculated number just as the speedometer is a derived number and even the corner gas pump may not be all that accurate.

I have found the calculated display (over a tankful) very close to the mark but by all means, if you think your computer is "off " it never hurts to exercise our basic math skills

 

I seem to be doing ok in the mileage department. Not as good as my old Altima 2.5S but better than my Murano. I am impressed on how close the in car mileage calculation is to the actual mileage.

 

Exactly. I measured my fuel mileage very carefully several times the old fashioned way (miles divided by gallons) during the first six months I had my '09, found my measurements were fitting very nicely with what the onboard computer was saying, so dropped my beautiful 1927 K&E slide rule back in its soft pouch, and have used only the onboard computer since.

A matter of simplicity over nostalgia.

 

Is that a sheet spread that you made out or did you get that somewhere online? I would like to get one of those to get how my milage is. Thanx in advance.

 

Hey everyone I came across a web site that allows you to basically track the amount of fuel that you use in your vehicle and breaks everthing down for you.

Check out Fuelly.com
iPhone Users: m.fuelly.com

 

2young2retire - EXCELLENT set of stats. Your digilence is much appreciated. Others 'talk the talk', you 'walk the walk.'

From your stat table, it is obvious that, if you continue to do the same type driving, your overall running average will very shortly climb to over 25 MPG. That is a really impressive number for a 3600 pound car with a 290 HP engine in everyday all-around driving.

I am impressed. Impressed both by your keeping an exact record of your fuel usage tied to mileage, and by the excellent performance you are getting from your car.

 

For those who are less-diligent and dedicated than 2young2retire (i.e., most of us fairly lazy folks), this 'Fuelly' site could make keeping track of fuel efficiency a little easier.

 

Ya it defiantly can... I did a google search for something that I could use to track my fuel consumption. It will help everyone to understand basically what everyone else with an 09-10 Maxima is getting. Right now there is only one other person with an 09 Maxima on their.

I plan on using this on my next fill up.

 

As much interest as fuel threads seem to get here, I would bet there will be a few others here trying 'Fuelly.'

 

All right here is the info your where asking about,

Percentage of city driving 57%
Freeway 12%
open road 2%
outer sub 29%

Speed ave is 5 over the city limit and freeway 10 over...
since i removed the res i have been pushing the car a bit more to hear the rumble, but before this it was just driving smoothly MODerate if you will.
i hope this helps....


Leo

 

Wow! With 57% of your driving being city driving, only 12% on the freeway and only 2% on the open road, your overall MPG of 21.6 is excellent. We have others here doing mostly city driving who are getting around 15 to 18 MPG.

Thanks for the latest info; very informative. Your car seems to be doing very very well with fuel efficiency.

 

21.6MPG is really good. I just filled my tank up for 300 miles and it took 14 gallons so that's about 21.4MPG and I do about 60% highway (30% at 6:00 am when is not too too busy and 30% at 4:00 when traffic is just starting to pile up, with highway speeds avg between 60 and 100 ( 100 being in the am only) plus I wasn't really pushing the car ( with high RPMs not speeds ) to see what high numbers I could get. If he is getting better at 21.6 with the majority being city driveing be happy, be very happy

 

I have to tell ya that this past week i have seen a drop in MPG..lol due to the removal of the res....and i have a intake on its way...perhaps i should have not changed it....i can say that the car sounds really good tho...

 

I think that we are all going about this the wrong way what we need is the TURBONATOR! Forget everything else!
LOL I was just thinking about how stupid this really is!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Super...item27af8b20d1

Enjoy the snow everybody!

 

One of my neighbors owns a 09 S, i pulled him over asked him what type gas mileage he was getting, he responds with 19.7 I dont understand, why so low.....i shook my head and went on with my biz....about 5 mins later i saw him racing down the main road by the house, passed me and others like a mad man...lol THERES YOUR SIGN...

 

1ST TANK AVERAGED 20.5 nAV SCREEN SAID 19.5
ON SECOND TANK
DASH SAYS 20.4 NAV SCREEN SAYS 20-20.6 WHY DIFFERENT?

i READ MILAGE IMPROVES AFTER BREAKIN?i AM SEMI HARD ON THE PEDAL BUT NOT ALWAYS.


HAVENt BROKEN IN YET BUT DAM I JUST CANT HELP IT I BEEN DRIVING A LITTLE HARD (SHORT BURTST THOUGH)oNE RACE 1/4 MILE STOPPED AT 80MPH(DUSTED A 328 WHO WANTED IT) MIXED REVEIWS ON HOW BAD THIS IS?ANOTHER THREAD THOUGH.
ANYWAY LOOKING FORWARD TO BETTER MILAGE AND WHEN I CAN STOMP AROUND A LITTLE MOREWITH PEACE OF MIND.

 

All those fuel mileage presentations are calculated estimates, and hence will vary, depending on the method used by each system.

The most accurate method is to manually divide the miles driven by the number of gallons used over a period of at least three tankfuls. Even with that method, I could quickly list a dozen tiny variables that would still leave room for a slight variance from being completely exact. But we don't really need 'labratory exact' anyway.

Your MPG is very good for a 'sometimes stompfoot' in a new car. It is difficult to get much above 30 MPG with this car on a level, open freeway, so 20 in town/suburban driving is good.

 

Thanks Light ROTFL thats really made me laugh"Sometimes stompfoot" very descritptive.Largly humerous

I do the tank division calculations also 1st tank was 314/16 for a 19.6mpg.
I expect this tank to be a little worse.I'll post it when.
I am having so much fun though I relaly dont care.And to think I actually I wrote the max of my list because of MPG and premium.My 97 gets 21 average on regular.

I drive 200 miles a week to work on the highway.
40-60 highawy on weekends but probably spend 40miles a week "somtimes stompfooting" locally

But On highway I am also a chronic "onramp Stompfooter" and are a addictivly habitual "lane change/see ya later stupid other driver whosdriving so stupid there dangerous Stompfooter" as well so i probably have low hiway too.

All this before Its broken in.Guess I'll just have to trade it in affter warrenty..

 

Look at my sig. it basically says it all about my average MPG. I have no clue why I am getting such horrible gas mi.

 

I've noticed over the years that some of my traits are so ingrained that I would deny that I ever do them. So, you may try this out and see if it helps..
Get an "observer" to watch you drive (critically) for a day...hopefully this would be a typical day not a weekend. You may be more binary than you think (e.g. Light Green, Right Foot Down, Light Red, Left Foot Down (all the way))
As a performance modder of the past (vs a styling modder) I've also noticed that folks who add performance parts tend to be a bit more liberal with the gas pedal and decelerate just as quickly.) This tends to really bring down the old MPG. Not to mention the oft chance missed vacuum line!

Try going for a week and never allow your Tach to go over 3000 RPM (downshifting to slow is ok to exceed as long as you aren't using the brakes.) Lets see how your MPG responds.

 

I have about 3700 miles on the car now. And Going by the car computer my car averages 21.8MPG. On a recent road trip calculating my MPG the old way i average 24 to 25 MPG. I dont know why the cars computer didn't calculate the same. But i have to honest i do step into sometimes i like to hear the 3.5 sing. So i can probably get better MPG if i keep my foot out of it. Just my .02

 

wonderful chart man, that is exactly how I have my own chart for tracking mpg and mileage, etc!!! great job!!

just as a side note, I don't know if you do this but I try to lessen some of the variable and try as much as possible to go to the same gas station and same pump each time I fill-up!

I guess maybe I'm just being ****, but I enjoy writing this stuff out and calculating my mpg to see if I'm getting the best that I can!

I currently am getting slightly less than you are for avg's, mainly 21-22mpg but the car only has a few thousand miles so far, not even 5k and I've done mostly short tripping around town so I think I could get his up a little more!

anyway, kudos on the chart man!!

 

[quote=lightonthehill;7454596]All those fuel mileage presentations are calculated estimates, and hence will vary, depending on the method used by each system.

The most accurate method is to manually divide the miles driven by the number of gallons used over a period of at least three tankfuls. Even with that method,


OK So this tank245/16=17.75MPG wow thats horible I think.
dash says 20 Nav screen says 19.9
I am almost ready for 1000mile oil change.I sure hope MPG gets better with Oil change and breakin. So far spending 225 a month on gas up from $150 in my 97

Alao mylow fuel gas warning comes on at 60Miles( can I change that?) does whats lowest anyone would run tank?I read the post about that being a really bad thing to go to empty.Maybe 40miles

 

This last trip I drove 498 miles on a tank of gas. Mostly highway miles. Drove across the state stayed in my hometown for a day and drove part of the way back.

Drove 498 miles
Put in 17.5 Gallons
MPG = 28.5
MPG Computer = 28.7
Right on!

Not too bad. Was driving about 74 the whole way. Not as good as our 08 Acura TSX but its still pretty good. We would usually get 33 or so in the TSX for the same trip/ We like our Max better for sure. Lots more power, and lots more room!

Forgot to mention we use premium.

 

if you want to get the best gas mileage out of your Maxima, use your cruise control as much as possible; I just filled up with premium yesterday and there is about a 9 mile stretch of open highway by the gas station so I pulled out and went down it using the cruise control at 60-65mph and the entire time I was driving I was getting 37-38 MPG!!!! I couldn't believe what I was getting but thats what the trip display showed during the entire time I was on that open 9 mile stretch of highway using the cruise! as soon as I took the cruise off and drove that same 9 mile stretch back to my house at the same 60-65mph I got 32-33mpg without using the cruise control! CVT loves cruise control apparently!!!!

I'm going to start using the cruise on my back county roads doing 40-50 mph and see if I can get some mid 30 mpg again!!!

before I started using and playing around with the cruise control, I was getting a 21-22mpg avg per tank so I'm hoping if I start using cruise more I might be able to get that up to 24 or 25mpg, that would be awesome!!

 

The drop from 37-38 mpg to 32-33 mpg is not because of not using cruise. It was because you had a tail wind on one direction and not in the other. Cruise does not help the CVT much, it helps the conventional tranny much more.

 

no I don't think so, as soon as I turned the cruise off the mpg bar fluctuates and drops dramatically! when I turned the cruise on the mpg bar shot all the way up to 30 and stayed there while the cruise was on, except when going down hill or up hill and then would return to 30 on flat straight away; there was no wind that day, weather wise, other then normal wind drag that a car experiences under high speeds so that had nothing to do with it! I've heard other people getting 30 plus mpg on open highway with the cruise so I can't see why these numbers are not reasonable! plus like I said, the mpg avg reading on the nav screen is typically 1 mpg higher than what I've always manually calculated from the trip and pumps so you can probably assume from the numbers I quoted that the cruise highway mpg was really 35-36mpg while the non-cruise highway mpg was really 30-31mpg! still not to shabby for almost 300 horses under the hood!

 

Cruise control can sometimes help with MPG, but only on open flat roads. It cannot do nearly as well as a careful driver when hills, valleys, traffic lights, etc, are involved, as it does not have the ability to anticipate anything.

 

very true light, and as I pointed out in my last post, when I had the cruise on during this 9 mile trek, the mpg bar went down from 30mpg when I went down or up hills and then returned to 30mpg when the road leveled out again proving exactly what you just said!!

I should have pointed out, I'm not saying that everyone should drive around with cruise control all the time, but if your on open interstate or highway I think it might be able to improve your fuel economy 2-3 mpg!!

 

[QUOTE=MAXIMUMBS;7458137]


MAXIMUMBS - Using the method I mentioned gives meaningful data only if done for a period of several consecutive tankfulls. There are dozens of factors involved in exactly when the service station gas pump shuts off. Such things as your car may be at a slight slant front-to-rear, or side-to-side. That can change the time at which the shutoff thinks the tank is full. Temperature at fillup has an effect. Every single pump nozzle at every service station has a slightly different full-cutoff point. These and other extreraneous factors can be somewhat mitigated by running the test for several consecutive tankfulls.

As for changing the time at which the fuel warning light comes on, that is very unwise. You aren't doing yourself any favor by running the tank low. You could damage the catalytic converter, fuel pump, etc. If there were a sudden power outage, gas pumps become inoperable (and outages are becoming more common as summers have been getting hooter, and power demands are overloading the grid) or a sudden snowstorm left you marooned on a freeway (has happened to countless drivers these last few months), and your tank is low, you are in serious trouble.

I personally try to fill up fairly soon after reaching the 5 gallons left mark. When I was young and foolish, I used to run the tank down to the last two gallons. That came back to bite me big-time on more than one ocassion. Our brain and body parts may wither as we grow old, but lessons learned the hard way tend to stick with us. When your fuel light comes on, be very wise and begin planning your fuel stop at that time.

 

Not my experience at all. I drive the same 177 Mile route every day in the relatively flat lands of FL. With cruise on I average 26-28MPG (over several tankfuls.) With cruise off (driving with my foot) I get 28-32 MPG (depending on season and wind) The cruise in the 09 is very "active" in maintaining the correct speed at the cost of economy. If you drive "ahead" and maintain constant pressure you will most definitely improve your mpg over your cruise.

 

well that is still some decent mpg your getting their with and without the cruise!! all thanks to that CVT!!

well I had the opposite experience but, I have a 10, and while I don't think the cruise is any different between the 10 and 09 and I can't explain why it was so good!

even without cruise control, getting 31-33mpg on open highway is really excellent when you think about how much HP and torque is under that hood

 

smartie666 - We may have one additional factor here:

In handling the gas pedal, I drive quite a bit differently now than I did around a million miles and sixty-some years ago. I now consciously think about the road ahead, sometimes even a mile ahead. I try to adjust my speed for optimum efficiency for the terrain, road contour and expected traffic.

Instead of raising the RPMs to maintain speed when nearing the tops of rises, I allow the speed to drop in order to keep the RPMs low. When dropping down slopes that will be followed by a rise, I build up speed in order to have momentum help me up the rise. I allow the speed to fluctuate based on terrain. On two lane roads, I don't waste gas passing a vehicle if that vehicle is already moving at somewhat the speed of traffic in the distance ahead. I often drive as if there was an egg between my foot and the gas pedal. Low RPMs, gentle pedal pressure, and driving based on the terrain and traffic are what I consider the secrets to better MPG.

An added benefit of gentle driving is that the 6th generation Maxima runs fine with regular gas when driven gently, and this 7th generation Maxima can use midgrade when driven gently. But those who have to be first out at every light should stick with midgrade with the 6th gen and premium with the 7th gen.

(I should note here that I am still using premium, because I sometimes revert to my childhood and choose to put excitement ahead of MPG. This 7th gen Maxima encourages such misbehavior.)

 

very good points! I personally fill up with premium all the time because at the Shell stations I go to, the price different between plus and premium is only 10cents at most and so I can't see getting the mid-grade since your only going to pay $1-$2 less each fill up for plus as you would premium I rather get max performance out of my 7th gen and pay the extra 2 bucks each fill-up! just my two cents!

later!

 

I am jealous beyond belief. I began using Shell in 1949, and have had a Shell credit card since 1958, so that was one three brands (the other two are BP and Chevron) I chose to keep; down from a high of 14 gas cards in the mid-1970s.

BUT

My local Shell station has their midgrade 30 cents above regular, and premium is 60 cents above regular. I pay the extra money for premium, but I feel I am being gouged big-time.

 

wow, I'm surprised there is that much difference in price from plus to premium where you live; here in central NJ, the most I've ever seen in difference between plus and premium is 15 cents; most are 8-10 cents in difference; my local is only 10 cents difference $2.73 vs $2.83! so I obviously pay for the premium; when your talking an almost 30 cent difference that starts to add up a bit more! but I think your Maxima, if it could talk, would thank you for pampering it with premium light

 

Have not done the 1st oil change yet, but yea your def. correct; it seems like my gas mileage is getting better as the car is breaking in, thank you
last time I calculated I got like 20mpg!

 

my gas mileage is around 23-24 mpg. I get better gas mileage if I use my foot compared to cruise control. When I use cruise control, I feel it slightly accelerating every 2-3 seconds (to stay at the designated speed) instead of cruising at a constant speed. So i'm guessing that's why I do better when I drive without it.

 

Recently i shared that my max was getting 21.6, the past three weeks i have been driving the same roads and driving relative the same speeds. 5 over speed limit most of the time, and i also added the STILLEN short air INTAKE, The Cars CPU says now that my MPG is 22.3, the first week i wanted to hear the new rumble, and yes it dropped, But the last two weeks have been a tad more careful and im getting .7 miles PG better. not much gains, but i love the attention its been getting...lol