'93 Sentra is suppose to have 35mpg, but i only get 31mpg

[JEDI]

Here's my story:

in 1996, i bought a '93 sentra w/36k miles on it. the specs say 35mpg highway. i only get 31mpg. In the owner's manual, i found the orginal paper that dealers stick on the windshield to show how many mpg a car gives. it says 35mpg highway.

but i only got 31 mpg on highway (connecticut to dc round trips, no traffic). Just wondering what could be robbing me of the 4mpg???

 

[AlwaysWong]

How fast do you drive? Do you ever floor the throttle?

 

[Rallispec]

i think the 35mpg is at 55mph--- faster than that and effeciency goes down.

 

[spanky]

35mpg.... dowhill!

 

[FSUpaintball]

They do everything humanly possible to inflate the MPG number. They optimize what speed they travel at - usually around 55 is ideal for low gas consumption. They probably used a manual transmission car. They accellerate very carefully as to conserve gas. They take out all the weight possible from the car (why do you think spare tires are so small? it pushes the MPG up!). No luggage or anything of the kind. They use a newly tuned car.

So 35 MPG is not under "normal" circumstances. They don't really cheat it, but they do everything possible to "help themselves out."

 

[TopGun]

OMFG NOT 4MPG!!!!!!!!111 On a car 6 years old, and how many miles does it have on it now? Loosing only 4 MPG is pretty damn good imo. If you really want to be anal about it go get a good tune up and see what happens.

 

[notfred]

I wouldn't complain too much, 31 is still pretty good. My car gets 15-17, on premium gas. I paid $1.92/gallon today.

 

[AlwaysWong]

<< I wouldn't complain too much, 31 is still pretty good. My car gets 15-17, on premium gas. I paid $1.92/gallon today. >>



Sounds just like my car.

 

[Imdmn04]

do you keep your air condition on all the time? also if you floor it alot, that would suck huge amount of gas. it all depends on your driving style.

when i see a red light far away, i dont step on the gas so i can get to the stoplight faster and wait for it to turn green. i let my car roll off the momentum and by the time i get there the light already turned green. unnecessary breaking causes unnecessary accleration which gets you bad milege.

 

[Thegonagle]

Are your tires stock and inflated properly?

Has it been aligned recently?

Does your area require ethanol in your gasoline?

Do you drive fairly mellow most of the time, shifting at low a low RPM, giving it gentle throttle?

Do you cruise at 65 MPH, or at 80?

Is the AC on, or the windows open?

Do you have a spoiler, or any aftermarket body work?

Do you have a fresh, preferably genuine Nissan (or something not super cheap, like Fram) air cleaner and fairly new spark plugs?

Are you sure the engine is otherwise running properly?

Are you running the correct weight motor oil?

Any of these these things can factor into your fuel economy.

 

[Jokeram]

<< unnecessary breaking causes unnecessary accleration which gets you bad milege. >>



it also gives you excessive wear and tear on brakes...

I get about 35-37 on my '89 accord used to get around 40 regularly just a few years ago.

 

[luvya]

<< do you keep your air condition on all the time? also if you floor it alot, that would suck huge amount of gas. it all depends on your driving style.

when i see a red light far away, i dont step on the gas so i can get to the stoplight faster and wait for it to turn green. i let my car roll off the momentum and by the time i get there the light already turned green. unnecessary breaking causes unnecessary accleration which gets you bad milege. >>



haha, this is exactly how I drive my car. When I see a red light in front, I just stop accelerating..the cars behind me usually get so pissed off, they'd change lane to go faster. 5 seconds later the light turn green, I catch them back and pass them cause I don't need to accelerate from stop

 

[ThaGrandCow]

Stop drag racing, and slow down to under 80mph. That might help

 

[freebee]

Just another little tidbit for the performance people. With all the money people spend on titanium go-fast parts to save a few ounces here and there, the best performance may be gained by losing weight and taking a dump before driving.

As for the gas mileage, the majority of the vehicle's power (at highway speed) is spent "breaking wind." Wax your car for massive psychological gains. Leaning forward and encouraging your passengers to do so will also benefit fuel economy.

 

[BornStar]

Just to dispell the whole "best gas mileage at 55mph" rumor, the actually peak in gas mileage occurs at the peak of the torque curve in the highest gear. That occurs around 2000-2500rpm in most cars. I can feel that in my car, but not everyone can.

 

[GooberPHX420]

wtf dude its 10 yrs old, dont be a crybaby. Sh1t...my bronco gets 6 mpg, maybe 7 highway...

 

[Thegonagle]

<< Just to dispell the whole "best gas mileage at 55mph" rumor, the actually peak in gas mileage occurs at the peak of the torque curve in the highest gear. That occurs around 2000-2500rpm in most cars. I can feel that in my car, but not everyone can. >>

I think you may be confused, but just slighty . Perhaps you heard that that the peak "engine efficiency" occurs at the torque peak, which is true, but that only means that the engine is producing maximum power for the amount of fuel used. It is possible to use less fuel, however, if less power is required.

 

[BornStar]

Assuming we wanted to travel the farthest distance using the least amount of gas, wouldn't you assume that we would want to have the engine working at peak efficiency and using the best power/fuel intake ratio?

 

[Ultima]

<< do you keep your air condition on all the time? also if you floor it alot, that would suck huge amount of gas. it all depends on your driving style.

when i see a red light far away, i dont step on the gas so i can get to the stoplight faster and wait for it to turn green. i let my car roll off the momentum and by the time i get there the light already turned green. unnecessary breaking causes unnecessary accleration which gets you bad milege. >>



Yeah I just read about that on a site that also talks about other stuff you can do like when you're in stop&go traffic to leave a space ahead of you so its easier for others to merge etc.. and that will end up clearing up traffic behind you. Hmm..

 

[toant103]

come on now. It's not that much

 

[Jugernot]

Dude you almost never ghe speced MPG. Be glad you get 31mpg and not 11-12 that I get in my truck.

 

[XZeroII]

<< As for the gas mileage, the majority of the vehicle's power (at highway speed) is spent "breaking wind." Wax your car for massive psychological gains. Leaning forward and encouraging your passengers to do so will also benefit fuel economy. >>



lol


Add 50% water to your gas tank. The gas and water mix to dilute the gas a bit and you save 50% on gas (since water is free!). If your engine feels a bit sluggish, just push the gas peddle harder. Don't let anyone tell you this wont work either, they are just jelous.

 

[hoihtah]

let's say your 93 sentra was spec'ed by nissan to do 0-60 in 10 sec.
do you expect you to be able to pull 10 sec? brand new?
and now, after almost a decade, do you think the test drivers that pulled 10 sec, 8-9 years ago can still do it with your current car?

well... unless you've done some modifications, it ain't happening.

my 89 grand marquis, has 18 mpg city brand new.
after 8 years of driving it, i was lucky to get 12 highway!
so i wouldn't be so harsh on your sentra for losing a few.

think of it in this way, if you were to keep you car as efficient as it first was, you'd had to spend much more money doing that, then on the excessive gas you've burnt.

 

[IshmaelLeaver]

I think you should sell the car. To me.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Lots of people are very close, Garfang has the best suggestions (as usual). The EPA Highway cycle is still conducted at 55mph and not at the 65-75 mph speeds where most of us drive. So if you're going the speed limit on the highway, you will get less than rated highway mileage. My 1988 Accord (PGM-FI engine, not the carbbed engine) gets about 31 mpg at a steady 75 mph. I've gotten 33 at 65 mph, and I've never checked it at lower speeds. In my normal mixed driving I get about 28-29 mpg.

Also, fuel mileage drops significantly in the winter. This is due to two factors: First, anti-freeze and other compounds are added to fuel in the winter which reduces the amount of energy per unit of fuel, forcing the engine to use more fuel for the same amount of power. Second, the air is colder and denser. Dense air contains more oxygen, and more oxygen allows more fuel to be burned in each power stroke of the piston. There is a common misconception that cold air reduces fuel consumption which is based on the fact that cold air does, in truth, allow an engine to run better. However, the reason it runs better is because the extra oxygen in the denser cold air allows more fuel to be burned which in turn allows more power.

ZV