One of my friends needed some help in completing a move from Denver to Las Vegas and I volunteered to help. After dealing with the frustrating tracking system at U-Haul, we ended up taking the 24' enclosed trailer (with the Z racecar in the garage) and my '08 Titan SE LWB KC on the 1,650-mile round trip. The trip would take us through four states (Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Nevada) over soaring mountain passes, searing high plain deserts and gorgeous National forests.
After loading the truck and trailer, the trip down went smoothly. The Equal-I-Zer antisway WD hitch did its usual good job as it has over the past two decades and made driving easy. The speeds ranged from 65-75 MPH across I-70 in Colorado to 80-85 MPH through Utah and down into Nevada on I-15. One parameter I wanted to examine in greater detail was the fuel mileage from my VK56DE. After all, without the usual 350Z racecar onboard, I was curious to see how the unladen Dynastar trailer would affect mileage.
The (perhaps predictable) answer was the increased frontal area and corresponding aero drag pulled mileage down into single digits, no matter whether the trailer was fully loaded or not. Speed was a bigger factor, as keeping highway speeds down to the 55-65 MPH resulted in higher ::kiss::MPG (7.567- hand calculated), while running 80-85 MPH took me down to 6.278 MPG. Running 70-75 in the Colorado mountains across I-70 had mileage right around 7.0 MPG, but this was via the onboard system as I didn't really collect much data or hand calculate this figure. I thought elevation changes would be a bigger factor, but my Titan happily went up anything I asked it to. Going faster really was the biggest factor during this trip, and that 34-gallon tank got filled up an awful lot.
Fuel prices ranged from $2.47 to $3.49/gallon for regular unleaded in Colorado and Nevada, respectively. But it needs to be said that mileage wasn't the sole focus of this trip. Far from it! The scenery was spectacular at this time of year, and I was awestruck by the pure beauty of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. After delivering my friend's furniture and personal items to Las Vegas, I also had a side goal of meeting another TT member (TitanPro4Xutah) to purchase a radiator from him. He's a true Nissan enthusiast and I thank him for driving south to meet me on I-15 at Spanish Fork. Made the trip back southeast over US-6 a better option with more direct route. Now, if you'll excuse me, I go collapse in my own bed for a good night's rest!
After loading the truck and trailer, the trip down went smoothly. The Equal-I-Zer antisway WD hitch did its usual good job as it has over the past two decades and made driving easy. The speeds ranged from 65-75 MPH across I-70 in Colorado to 80-85 MPH through Utah and down into Nevada on I-15. One parameter I wanted to examine in greater detail was the fuel mileage from my VK56DE. After all, without the usual 350Z racecar onboard, I was curious to see how the unladen Dynastar trailer would affect mileage.
The (perhaps predictable) answer was the increased frontal area and corresponding aero drag pulled mileage down into single digits, no matter whether the trailer was fully loaded or not. Speed was a bigger factor, as keeping highway speeds down to the 55-65 MPH resulted in higher ::kiss::MPG (7.567- hand calculated), while running 80-85 MPH took me down to 6.278 MPG. Running 70-75 in the Colorado mountains across I-70 had mileage right around 7.0 MPG, but this was via the onboard system as I didn't really collect much data or hand calculate this figure. I thought elevation changes would be a bigger factor, but my Titan happily went up anything I asked it to. Going faster really was the biggest factor during this trip, and that 34-gallon tank got filled up an awful lot.
Fuel prices ranged from $2.47 to $3.49/gallon for regular unleaded in Colorado and Nevada, respectively. But it needs to be said that mileage wasn't the sole focus of this trip. Far from it! The scenery was spectacular at this time of year, and I was awestruck by the pure beauty of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. After delivering my friend's furniture and personal items to Las Vegas, I also had a side goal of meeting another TT member (TitanPro4Xutah) to purchase a radiator from him. He's a true Nissan enthusiast and I thank him for driving south to meet me on I-15 at Spanish Fork. Made the trip back southeast over US-6 a better option with more direct route. Now, if you'll excuse me, I go collapse in my own bed for a good night's rest!