Survey Hy MPG Big tow--vs-no Big tow

[nursecrickett]

Thanks Charlie,
After picking up my spinning head from all the numbers....lol.....I figure the bottom line is that because I don't have the patience to travel at 70mph I get less.....well....time is money either way you slice it, huh?

Thanks for figuring it out for me, I sure appreciate it and I'll sleep better tonight knowing theres nothing wrong with my Titan. I was getting concerned and almost ready to complain to the dealer, but since I have a lead foot I guess I wouldn't have much leg to stand on!

Thanks again guys....you all are the best!


To all!!

Crickett

[PHOEBISIS]

Nurse,I made it too goofy,reversing the usual miles/gal,and using gal/mile because I thought it would be clearer .Despite my best efforts to screw it up,you got it.
Speed makes fuel consumption increase much more than intuition leads you to think it would.
Intuition says-double speed-double fuel consumption.Wrong,unfortunately
But,noooo,if you double your speed,your consumption goes up 4 times!!!This squaring-multiplying it by itself once- is why 13.4mpg is just like 16mpg at 70mph.
Truck is ok,Charlie PS If you could drive 55mph,you would get 20.9!!,I can't,doubt you could!!

[Deepwater]

Originally Posted by nursecrickett

Deepwater,
I don't get it.....

I just got back from Arizona last weekend.....rode about 1,500 miles, filled the tank 4 times, and got only 13.6 to the gallon....gas mileage for me SUCKS!!!

I'm not quite sure if there is anything or whether I can do anything about it.


Crickett

HI!.. ? for you, I was wondering how many miles do you now have on your truck? And how did you drive in the brake in period of your truck? When I first got my truck I was getting around 13.5 to maybe 15 mpg on the highway. But after I put my cover on and had about 4k miles on the truck I started to see an improvment in my mpg. I now have just over 7k on the truck. Your mpg might have somthing to do with the type of gas out there.
I do hope things improve for you! You should be getting atleast 15 mpg on the highway even if you are driving at 80 mph! You will do better with the AC off, sometimes it is hard to tell if it is off! It's a little yellow gold light on the dial and is a little hard to see during the day.

[nursecrickett]

Hey Deepwater....
I have 4,000 miles on it, and thats only because I just put 1,500 on it this past weekend on the trip.
During the break in period I did as the dealer told me to. I didn't drive the same speed on the highway for too long, and didn't do any quick starts. Standard stuff.
I had the A/C on coz once I got out of San Diego the temp didn't drop below 100. Besides that, I can't stand the noise with the windows and moonroof open. The a/c in this thing kicks ***! lol
I'm hoping the mpg improves with some more miles. California Titan told me his got better with miles too. We'll see.

Pheobisis (Charlie)....
How the heck do you know this kind of math?? Engineer? Professor? lol

Thanks guys!
Crickett

[benjr]

1)13.5
2)SE KC
3)Big Tow
4)4WD

I drive San Diego to LA alot so its impossible to stay a constant speed on the highway. 13.5 is the best so far. Truck is all stock. Is it possible to change the gear ratio on the big tow package to the non big tow ratio. I only tow 3500 lbs so i dont really need it. My salesman said the lower gear ratio was selected by tow mode. Dont know why I bought that line, I usually have a good understanding of mechanicals on cars. I have under 3,000 miles

[Dude]

Is it possible to change the gear ratio on the big tow package to the non big tow ratio.

Sure you can change your gears, but it probably would take a long time to recoup your money, because the difference in gears probably doesn't amount to a lot. I would imagine Nissan would try to find a way to void the warranty on your drivetrain, because you changed OEM equipment that came with your car. Even if Nissan themselves put the gears on, they would possibly see that your car came with 3.36s. I believe Nissan would only guarantee the newly installed gears for 1yr/12K miles rather than the 5yr/60K miles you get with your drivetrain warranty.

I could be wrong, but I wouldn't change if I were you as you would quite possibly cause yourself trouble one way or another. Not much bang for the buck and hassle as they say.

[TrojanDan]

Originally Posted by Dude

Sure you can change your gears, but it probably would take a long time to recoup your money, because the difference in gears probably doesn't amount to a lot. I would imagine Nissan would try to find a way to void the warranty on your drivetrain, because you changed OEM equipment that came with your car. Even if Nissan themselves put the gears on, they would possibly see that your car came with 3.36s. I believe Nissan would only guarantee the newly installed gears for 1yr/12K miles rather than the 5yr/60K miles you get with your drivetrain warranty.

I could be wrong, but I wouldn't change if I were you as you would quite possibly cause yourself trouble one way or another. Not much bang for the buck and hassle as they say.

Changing the gears is gonna cost you bigtime. I would drop that idea now if I was only thinkin about doin it for gas mpg.

[PHOEBISIS]

benjr,you might hunt for taller tires when your's wear out.Changing gears is possible,but as Dude and TrojanDan pointed out,it would never pay for itself.On the hy,the difference between the 2.94 and the 3.36 is at best 1 mpg,so it would take 90,000 miles at $3/gal of hy driving if the gear change cost just $1000.The city mpg would be very close for the 2 rear ends,so no advantage there,and it would be a less competent tow vehicle with the 2.94 rear end-resale would be less..
When your current tires wear out,there will probably be a bigger selection of replacement tires.You can drop about 60 rpms at 60 mph with a 265/75 18 tire,or something just as tall.It would be 1.2" taller,and the truck would be about 1/2" higher..Luck,Charlie ps dropping your speed 3 mph would get about the same mpg as the lower rear end.

[Trav]

1) 20mpg
2) KC/XE
3) No BT, no OR
4) 4wd

Comments: 400 mile trip from MN to NE. All flatland, ave. speed 65-70. A/C usually on. 18+ mpg on way to NE with tailgate on. 20 mpg on return trip with tailgate in the rear of the cab (it fit!). Tire pressure 40. 8000 miles on truck. I've put the tailgate in the garage (less weight) and raised the tire pressure to the max of 44 to see if I can sqeeze out a couple more mpg.

[titanjbc]

I increased my tire pressure the last time I towed, up to around 40psi. I never lowered them after the trip. I think having the tires around 40 yields another 1, maybe 2 mpg.

15-16 mpg
SE CC
Big Tow, no Off-Road
2WD

(only 10-11 towing...)

[Arkytitan]

I just got back from a trip going from Conway, Ar. to St.Louis, Mo. Mainly highway driving between 55 to 70 mph. My truck got 19 MPG! Never expected this 4x4 truck to get that so I am very pleased!

XE CC
Off Road, no big tow
4x4

[extunder]

Another semi-scientific way to check for odometer accuracy is this:
1) set cruise at exactly 60mph on the highway.
2) start stopwatch when passing a mile marker
3) stop stopwatch when passing next mile marker
4) traveling 1 mile at a true 60 mph should take exactly 60 seconds.

good luck trying to figure the rest out!

[Wmoore]

I get about 16.0 or so miles to the gallon. I have 6800 + miles on the truck. It is KC XE 4x4 with big tow package. I drive fast (not reckless) mostly short highway miles 10-20 miles highway travel 80+ easy.

[homer]

I'm still getting about 14 mpg city, but last week I registered a new high during a trip which was mostly highway. I got 17.1 mpg, averaged about 75 mph with AC running, tires set at 35psi, gasoline 89 octane.