HOW TO: MAXIMIZE MPG!
 

I figured i have searched this forum and many others trying to put things together on how to MAXIMIZE FUEL EFFICIENCY in my car and cant seem to find for sure, proven ways to do it... So here is a chance for everyone to throw in their proven ideas on how to improve MPG for the 2009+ 7th Generation Nissan Maximas! Hopefully we get enough ideas to turn this into a STICKY!

Start posting Ideas and I will edit this post so it will be easy to read and learn!

Thanks!

Ways to improve fuel efficiency (MPG)

FREE ways! (No pun intended!)

• Properly Inflate Tires- Keep tires inflated to manufacturers recommended psi. You can inflate tires over the recommended psi to improve fuel efficiency but be aware that your tires may not wear correctly. DO NOT EXCEED TIRE MANUFACTURERS MAXIMUM PSI!!!
• Remove Excess Weight-Do not keep heavy, non-important goods in your car. Extra weight means less efficient! For example subs, amps, and sound deadening.
• When driving on the highway, put the car in Manual and shoot all the way up to the 6th gear setting, if you happen to step on the gas a little bit more, the engine wont go crazy and rev too high because of the programming for 6th gear.
• Purchase Tires with LOW rolling resistance. If you get the super track, grippy tires that wear out in 10k miles your gas mileage WILL go down but your performance will be better. If you don't drive spirited and just cruise on the freeway or cruise around town get the tires with less grip they will net you better fuel efficiency (basically try to find tires that will last 100k miles).
• Drive AHEAD of traffic. For example, try to coast to stop lights instead of running up to them and slamming on the brakes. Think of it this way, using brakes WASTES energy by turning momentum into heat.

NOT Free Ways:

• If you decide to go for aftermarket rims, go with LIGHTWEIGHT wheels! 1lb of rolling weight equates to around 2-3lbs to stationary "load". So stay away from the 26" Gangsta rims that weight 75lbs each.
• Get those PERFORMANCE accessories. Buy that intake, get the exhaust, purchase and load that tune. All of these equate to more efficiency. That is why you gain HP and Torque from installing these. Just keep your foot off of the skinny pedal (I know its hard!)!
• Buy the aerodynamic and suspension components. Lowering your vehicle reduces the drag on the undercarriage. Lowering your drag, increases your efficiency.

Properly inflated tires, keeping weight load to a minimum, maintaining a light foot, etc

When driving on the highway, put the car in Manual and shoot all the way up to the 6th gear setting, if you happen to step on the gas a little bit more, the engine wont go crazy and rev too high because of the programming for 6th gear.

Buy lightweight rims if you go aftermarket. If you have a dual sub box I recommend dropping down to a single 12" with a smaller box to reduce weight. Bridge your amp and get a nice 12, it's plenty unless you want to enter sound competitions or go deaf.

And for those who have overweight passengers frequently, you can ask them to go on a diet to help your mileage too.

:laugh:

I see a little bit of a difference, and the rpms only jump when I need them too which is what i like. I hit my paddles twice go to four and Im off. And then back up to six.

So your saying leaving it in MANUAL 6 shows the best MPG? I might have to try this on my next trip...

What ever you do, do not use Ds mode. Not that its not fun but as pertaining to getting the best MPG, Ds mode keeps your RPM's up higher while your driving, and unwarrented higher RPM's = lower MPG's

keep a clean air filter.... that always helps a lil bit.

I thought I read on here that some people got better mileage by not using the cruise control. They were driving it for best mileage though, by driving slower, and letting the car slow down going up hill, and using the downhill to speed them back up.

Oh a very important factor is SLOW DOWN Cars are generally about 15-25% less efficient when driving 70mph compared to 55mph! Now that is a HUGE difference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_ec...in_automobiles

Oh and here is a site I found that is all about MPG's. Some stuff is very radical, I would say!
http://ecomodder.com/forum/

Is this because of increased wind resistance or something else? Sorry I tried to find it in the Wikipedia article that thing is enormous.

I would think so but to me it's too much of a generalization since some cars are a lot more aerodynamic than others.

Yea, bc in that setting and at 6 gear, the trans belts expand slowly, and it keeps engine rpms down low. Even at the point right before the sticking point, the rpms still remain very low, and increase slowly. If u get it past sticking point, it automatically downshifts to 3rd gear.

Very true..I've gotten up to 5mpg more by driving with my foot and not the CC. The 7th Gen Cruise control keeps you at a set speed VERY well but does not know how to drive terrain!

I thought I read that here!!! I too have done it with good results, I just don't do it too often, I love having cruise!

The MPG 70 vs 55 is mostly due to wind resistance. Just think about when you are riding your bike. Say with no wind at all and with a 15 (70-55) head wind. How much more work do you have to do to keep up speed. its a lot trust me I live in Kansas and its windy here;)

I can't remember the number of coefficient of drag, but our cars are not aerodynamic, relative to some others. Maybe somebody can find the facts for me.

But trust me slow down from driving your 75+MPH, to even 65 or 60 if you can bear it. You will see a big increase in MPG!!!

"Driving ahead of traffic" does not make sense with what your describing.

I think you mean "Driving with no Brakes." Basically estimating speed and distance, looking further ahead for the best possible coasting route. In which to minimize braking usage.

It is funny passing people who shoot right pass you as your chugging along. :laugh:

Your best bet to increase mileage, is just to slow down like what 2010BlackMax suggested. I hypermiled my 3rd gen for a good two years, and speed is a great factor. At 75mph I averaged 27mpg, at 65 I averaged 32mpg. :lolrun:

That is by far the main reason. Power required to overcome wind resistance is a cube function of speed, although the rolling resistance also increases slightly with speed. You may get a slightly offsetting benefit from the engine running at a more fuel-efficient rpm for the power needed, but that just keeps the drop in mpg from being any worse.


With respect to tires . . . low rolling resistance tires aren't for everyone. If you've ever needed every bit of grip that your tires could give you to get stopped in time*, don't be trading that away for something like 3% fuel economy reasons. Among tires with similar performance levels, then it's an OK tie-breaker reason.



(* - over the past 45 years, I have found that this situation happens on average once or twice per set of tires. YMMV.)

Norm

Very possible in hilly terrain, if you're a "smooth" driver and are willing to drop some speed as you climb. There are people who on a good day can maintain a steady speed on level ground nearly as well as cruise control.


Norm

Synthetic oil has always helped my mpg on my motorcycles and vehicles. Less friction/resistance = better fuel efficiency. I have a jeep patriot with approching 180k still gets better mpg running mobile1 now than when I drove it with regular oil brand new.

It should get better MPG now at 180k miles then when it was new... at 180k miles you probably dont even need oil anymore (Just kidding but proving my point)

First week I dropped in synthetic oil in my max I got 29.2 MPG, ever since I've been unable to get near that number. 26.4 was my highest *official* number since (divide miles/gallons filled)... Same temp/wind conditions as far as I'm aware of as well. Currently trying out manual mode, we'll see the results next week.

what kind of oil do you use? I'm up for a change soon and it looks like a lot of forum members have different tastes. I want the one that gives me 26 mpg though lol.

also, i bought my car used. is it a good idea to run one of those fuel cleaners through the engine in case the previous owner filled it up with regular or something stupid?

I used Pennzoil SynPower, most people would likely recommend using Mobil-1, I'm likely going to use full syn Mobil on my next oil change unless I find a decent deal for another full synthetic oil.

How many miles are on your max (when you got it vs now) and do you have the maint records they kept? Dealership I got my Max from filled it with regular, I was disappointed but it was already to late by the time I noticed.

You happen to know the exact type of Mobile 1 to get?

I have ~24,500 miles on it now and I got it with 22,500 when I bought it in November. It was a previous lease so I can easily see how the "owner" might have filled it up with regular. Unfortunately there were no records that came with this car, and the Carfax showed no maintenance records either. The car itself is fine, had my mechanic check it out before I bought it, but I definitely want to do whatever I can to "clean up" whatever the previous guy might have done or not done.

Mobile1 5w30 $25 for a 5qt jug at walmart, and yes I use gumout every oil change. I use to use Lucas but since have switched to gumout. working well

permanent lube LOL :)

I got 27-30mpg on each fill running dino oil (castrol gtx). It really depends on how you drive, in order to get good mpg.

I have switched to full synthetic (pennzoil platinum) and notice the same mileage. Only reason I went synthetic is to cut down on oil changes, because the oil filter location for this car is ridiculous (i.e. gets messy :p).

Something like this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mobil...s#ht_500wt_701

they usually have those in the big box stores for like 35

okay good to know. just making sure thats the right type of oil alternative to the esther oil.

take a bus:)

Try nitrogen gas in your tires rather than plain old air...increases fuel efficiency by maintaining your tire pressure more stable than regular air. Nitrogen air has less moisture than regular air which means less corrosion inside your wheels.

Where do you get this? Is it like a c02 cartridge?

Just tires and places like that should have it. I think it's like $20 a tire.

The cost varies widely - one source mentions a $3 to $10 range (per tire).

Understand clearly that you aren't getting 100% pure N2. 95% to 98% is as good as you'll find. While that's better than "regular air" (which is about 78% nitrogen already), the difference isn't going to be as huge as hearing or reading the words "nitrogen filled" suggests. And suggestion is everything when it comes to advertising/selling.

I'm not saying that benefits aren't there, but they are over-hyped - corrosion on the insides of aluminum wheels is a non-issue, and the payback period for $20/car in better fuel economy is going to be out there quite a long way.

The potential for losing the benefits is rarely discussed - consider what happens to your 95% pure N2 inflation if you need to inflate a soft tire just once with "regular air". Are you really going to return to a nitrogen fill station and spend another $3 - $10 to purge that tire and refill it just because it ran a bit soft and your N2 content dropped to 90%? If you don't know why it went soft, how many times would you be willing to play that game?


I'll mention now that the left rear tire on my '01 20AE Max repeatedly went soft for no readily determinable reason, including investigation via a lengthy water dunk at 40 psi. Now that it seems to be holding air just fine, I suspect that the cause was a valve stem core that wasn't always staying seated but did for the water test. There is no way I'd ever be willing to throw $5 away for every time I had to re-inflate it, nor would anybody with a lick of common financial sense.


Norm

This may be just anectodal but, I just had my CVT drained and refilled for the 3rd time (104,000 miles) but everytime I've had new fluid, my MPG goes up 3-5 MPG. Admittedly, I have no explanation, but it is very co-incidental.

This is by far the most important thing you can do. After getting my Takeda intake installed I kept wanting to hear how it sounded so I was pushing it kinda hard for a few days and from the looks of it my MPG went down to 13-14 MPG from 18.5 normally...

The biggest factor I find is having a light foot, try flooring your car for a day and driving softly for a day and you'll see a huge difference. Personally if I bought a nice car with a (relatively) powerful, fuel economy is probably the last thing I'd be worrying about.

Buy a Prius. =D

that is very interesting! I wonder what causes this? very cool though, i wouldn't be complaining thats for sure!!