Gas eater!

[SunshineAmanda]

So I just got my 1997 pathfinder and it is eating gas. I get like 200 miles on a tank of gas. That is about 10 miles to the gallon! What is that all about? I know they don't get amazing gas mileage but I mean I have a friend with a suburban that gets 14 to the gallon. Any advice?

[95XE_PATHFINDER]

Hey buddy someone where on here I posted on how to help your gas mileage but I'll write it down.. okay.. So either buy new plugs or soak your old ones in break fluid and dry really good and use a sand paper and whip any carbon build up off the top that gets the spark, then replace your air filter i don't care of it's clean or not but but a K&N high performance one in.. Then get some sea foam, fill your tank and put the sea foam in.. Read the instructions.. this will clean out your injectors and take the carbon out of everything you can also spray it into your air intake I bumped mine upto 20 mpg

[theexbrit]

That's pretty good mileage, 20 mpg. I was getting about 12 mpg around town when I first got my 96. I need to do the plugs but I've used seafoam & installed a K&N washable filter. I'll have to see what the mpg is now.

[zymol75]

I get 21mpg on my 99 3.3 2WD. It has an 18 gallon tank approx. I use premium all the time and I drive a lot. lots of highway and city. I've got 215k miles on it. I keep the plugs original Nissan spec. the Air filter is K&N and the wires cap rotor belts and such are all Nissan spec. as well standard intervals for change. i havea roof rack on all the time and a stage 3 hitch and airbags in the rear. I get 245 miles to a tank consistant. I change the rear diff fluid with synthetic 85w90 every 30k. I do a full trans filter/fluid svc every 30k too. I keep my tires at 38 psi and they are oversized from a Toyota Tundra which gives me 3 more inches of clearance.

I think the difference I see may be due to less weight from a 2WD but the over sized tires should offset that ...so who knows.

As a comparison my wife's 99 QX4 gets 15mpg at best with stock tires but same engine and all other things being equal.

[theexbrit]

The 4x4 transfer case eats a lot of gas even when you're not in 4 wheel drive so that is a difference, but maybe your regular serving helps too. It's interesting that you got 3" of clearance, you're talking about the diff clearance right? I'm after a body lift (2" max on unibodies so I've been told) & bigger tires. What tires are you using? I think 31's are supposed to be the biggest you can put on a unibody Pathy.

[zymol75]

I know everyone says the 99-04 is a unibody but it does have a full frame under it. I've got 265/75/16 Michelin LTX M/S. and stock suspension components and no body lift. the original tires are a 245/70/16 and the QX4 we have is like 3" lower than my Pathy.

[zymol75]

...and yes the rear diff lowermost point is like 3"and the front crossmember next to the pan is about 2" maybe. I do have Airbags in the rear springs for load leveling when I've got my trailers and I keep them at 15psi. That adds a bit more when unloaded. I also installed polyurethane rear bushings on all 4 arms in the rear. Keeps it tight.

[newpath]

I get 21mpg on my 99 3.3 2WD. It has an 18 gallon tank approx. I use premium all the time and I drive a lot. lots of highway and city. I've got 215k miles on it. I keep the plugs original Nissan spec. the Air filter is K&N and the wires cap rotor belts and such are all Nissan spec. as well standard intervals for change. i havea roof rack on all the time and a stage 3 hitch and airbags in the rear. I get 245 miles to a tank consistant. I change the rear diff fluid with synthetic 85w90 every 30k. I do a full trans filter/fluid svc every 30k too. I keep my tires at 38 psi and they are oversized from a Toyota Tundra which gives me 3 more inches of clearance.

I think the difference I see may be due to less weight from a 2WD but the over sized tires should offset that ...so who knows.

As a comparison my wife's 99 QX4 gets 15mpg at best with stock tires but same engine and all other things being equal.

Are you sure that that is what you get? The oversized tires are going to offset your odometer. I don't know how much, or if it would even be significant when calculating mpg.

[zymol75]

I calculate the miles traveled and the total gallons put in to full tank. so say I put in 16.67 gallons and I traveled 285 miles using trip odo reset at last fillup... That would be 17.09658068386323 miles roughly. I usually can go 38 miles safely with the low fuel light on and I've only broken into the 300's a few times. Also I find if I keep it under 70 my mileage goes way up. I usually drive at least 85 on the highway from Brooksville to Tampa.

[zymol75]

Oh I had my brother, (a Sherriff) clock me in his HCSO cruiser and my speedo is not off more than like 2 mph. I thought it would be more, but it's not.

[newpath]

Oh I had my brother, (a Sherriff) clock me in his HCSO cruiser and my speedo is not off more than like 2 mph. I thought it would be more, but it's not.

I found a calculator online that tells you the difference in speed based on original tire size and what ever the new is and it took a huge difference in tire size to make a significance in speed. I have always heard that it makes a difference, but apparently not anything worth noting....which is good for all of us

[drewp29]

I get 21mpg on my 99 3.3 2WD. It has an 18 gallon tank approx . . . I get 245 miles to a tank consistant.

I usually can go 38 miles safely with the low fuel light on and I've only broken into the 300's a few times. Also I find if I keep it under 70 my mileage goes way up. I usually drive at least 85 on the highway from Brooksville to Tampa.

Your math does not seem to add up. Say you get 21 mpg, and by safely driving with the gas light on you mean you fill with let's say 1/2 gallon left. 38 miles at 21 mpg would mean your gas light came on with approximately 2 1/4 gallons left (1 3/4 gallons + 1/2 gallon left at station). That means you would have put about 15 3/4 gallons in your tank before your gas light came on. If you were getting 21 mpg your trip meter would read 330.75 miles (15.75 * 21 = 330.75) if you filled before your gas light came on.

You say you've only broken into the 300's a few times? If you are getting 21 mpg that would mean that your average gas fill up amount would have to be 11.66666 gallons, since 245 miles / 21 mpg = 11.66666 gallons. If this is true then I believe you, otherwise your math does not compute.

I'm not saying I don't believe you . . . I can totally believe your gas light comes on 6 gallons before you are empty because my 02 has a 21 gallon tank and I haven't put more than 15.5 gallons in it when the gas light has come on to get it back to full.

I have a K&N FIPK and NGK GR2 plugs with stock tire size, and I get between 19 and 20 depending on how long I run at >70 mph. I saw 21.2 mpg on a single fill up but I didn't drive 70+ at all on that tank.

Just my two cents . . . no offense meant by anything I said

Sorry, had to edit it to make my point more clear . . . was a bit muddy.

[zymol75]

no prob. The official statement from Nissan literature that I have read is that there is a reserve in the tank of like 1.8 gallons when the fuel lamp comes on. I can tell you that the needle in my wife's Qx4 is higher on the gauge when the fuel light comes on than my needle is on my path yet she can only go maybe 30 miles before running dry. I have pushed to like 45 miles and then got gas. I drive the truck too hard lately (I pulled a 4300lb Audi A6 Avant on a flatbed car hauler 45 miles to the hills of Brooksville Florida) and the trans is acting up and so I can't get any comparable numbers anymore so the issue is no more for me. I'm getting set up to yank the whole drive train and drop in a Ford 429 and Mustang rear axle and go full custom street truck now. time for the fun to trump the frugal. I'm drivin my lil VW now for the mileage to and from work.