Xterra fuel economy :(

[proper4wd]

I understand the above points - however I'd like to understand if anyone has ever undertaken some kind of real "project" to increase fuel economy with one of these versus just either A) accepting it for what it is or B) throwing random parts at it?

Slowing down, while an option, is not realistic for me because I like to keep up with the pace of traffic. Particularly on highway stretches where vehicles moving at 70mph+ are in the left lane, and semi's doing 60mph are in the right lane. It's dangerous to move back and forth between the two lanes so frequently.

Fortunately I don't make these long highway blasts often but when I do, its a remarkable pain to only have ~275 miles usable range between fill ups, and at 15 mpg.

There must be improvements to be made...

 

[Robert Bills]

I understand the above points - however . . . . [t]here must be improvements to be made...

There are, and as previously mentioned they include a less restrictive air filter, intake manifold spacer, less restrictive exhaust and an electronic tuner. However, the cost of any one of these modifications will be more than the money you will save from any resulting increase in fuel economy.

There is no free lunch. If you want the fuel economy of a Prius you are stuck driving a Prius.

 

[proper4wd]

I'm not chasing the fuel economy of a Prius. I'm looking for a consistent 20mpg highway with a lifted Xterra on 33's. That would extend usable range by about 100 miles per tank.

Assuming all highway driving at 15mpg / 12k miles per year... thats $2240 in fuel with today's cheap prices (2.80/g). Up that to 20mpg, and fuel costs drop to $1680 over the same period. $600 annual savings over an ownership period of lets say 5 years is no joke!

 

[skibum315]

Unfortunately it's just not going to happen with this vehicle, carrying an RTT (on heavy tires with other gear), and trying to maintain 70mph (average) ... like Robert said, something's gotta give.

If you can back off of the speed requirement (even just down to 60), and you're willing to spend a few bucks (for the listed hardware/tuning); then I can see being able to reliably carry the RTT on heavy tires and with other gear, and doing it at 17 or *maybe* 18mpg at the outside ... but that's just my gut, so if you see a path to some different/better solution, I'd love to hear it. Truly!

 

[dennismc]

I have added all but the electronic tuner to my 2001 and while it did give a little more usable power and torque and a minor increase in gas savings there's no way it's going to hit 20mpg. If that's your goal you won't reach it with your Xterra, don't think you can even do that with a Toyota.

 

[b00ster]

I'm driving a 2011 pro4x, stock-ish still. IIRC, the stock tires are slightly bigger than the non-pro4x models. I have an aftermarket (Maxterra) rear bumper/tire carrier (+60lbs, maybe?) and an aftermarket intake. I have tested my fuel economy a couple of times (I don't do it often because there isn't a lot I can do about it) and have always been in the similar range as others here....15-16 or so in town....18-19 on the highway. This is a manual trans, too.

I also have an aftermarket (Volant) intake and filter. I didn't add the intake for extra HP or better MPG, though it claims both. Never bothered to test because, best case scenario, I might get 2-3 HP and 1 MPG....I'm even dubious of that claim. But it sounds sweet and, according to my "seat-of-the-pants-ometer" it does seem to have slightly improved throttle response....again...totally unscientific.

What I have found with every vehicle I have ever owned or driven, though, is that the cheapest mod you can make to improve fuel economy is to shave some weight off of your right foot. My guess is that if I were to ease up on the throttle, I could do 10-15% better on fuel economy without spending a dime or finding a 10mm wrench in the tool box.

Bottom line is, you're fuel economy doesn't seem terrible, given what you're driving. That being said, anything you can do to reduce weight or drag will likely be your cheapest options after adjusting driving style. You could go with taller tires but that would likely have a negative impact on your city economy and may even on your highway economy if it increased drag by making the vehicle taller...I don't have a wind tunnel handy for that test. Someone mentioned fuel with ethanol in it....fuel with no ethanol will tend to give you better MPG but you'd probably make up the difference driving around to find it.

An intake, IMS, higher flow exhaust etc. *might* help but I have never seen any of those items pay for themselves in gas savings.

If you find something that really works for you, let us all know...I'm sure everyone here would love to get a few more MPG!!!

 

[Co-opski]

Should have got a Juke.
http://www.fuelly.com/car/nissan/juke

 

[KiwiKurt]

Stinks!

Averaged 15-16mpg on 1700 miles of pavement (highway) this past weekend.

This needs to be addressed. What are others seeing for average mpg?

(2nd gen in this case)

Gotta run high tire pressure and keep the speeds low. Anything over 62 and it starts to plummet. Set at 62 I've seen 22 with Cali gas......that's as good as it gets im afraid. Stock at least.

Ims, ypipe back exhaust and a tune helps from what I'm told.

 

[Allof75]

Typically things like intake, exhaust, and tune mods, as well as tune ups will help your MPG. Inflate your tires a bit more (within the maximum range), switch to synthetic oil, remove any extraneous racks etc, and perhaps go for some lighter wheels/tires. These will all make a small (maybe even tiny) difference, but they add up. As mentioned, driving style is a huge factor in MPG. Sites like ecomodder.com will give you an idea on some other little tips and tricks, those guys go nuts.

 

[libarata]

http://pure-gas.org/

 

[Strizzo]

i was getting like 15.5 on the highway after i put the duratracs on at like 34psi. i've since bumped them up to 44/42 f/r and have been getting around 17 at 75mph on the highway. at 68-70, i've managed 19-20 on rare occasions. This is with the shrock non-carrier rear bumper, full skids, and about 2.5" lift. The duratracs are stock size at 265/75-16 in C load range.

 

[Tinfish]

I'm looking for a consistent 20mpg highway with a lifted Xterra on 33's.

I really doubt that is possible. I am driving a completely stock Pro4x (6spd) and I only hit 20 mpg on long trips where I keep the speeds down. Now that the speed limit in Utah and Idaho is 80, I get more like 18-19 on long trips. Lifted, larger tires, etc, are all going to hurt that -- I just put stock sized snow tires on and saw my mpg drop. If there was an easy way to bump mpg Nissan would have done it; they are under pressure to raise fleet mileages.

 

[IM1RU]

I understand the above points - however I'd like to understand if anyone has ever undertaken some kind of real "project" to increase fuel economy with one of these versus just either A) accepting it for what it is or B) throwing random parts at it?

Slowing down, while an option, is not realistic for me because I like to keep up with the pace of traffic. Particularly on highway stretches where vehicles moving at 70mph+ are in the left lane, and semi's doing 60mph are in the right lane. It's dangerous to move back and forth between the two lanes so frequently.

Fortunately I don't make these long highway blasts often but when I do, its a remarkable pain to only have ~275 miles usable range between fill ups, and at 15 mpg.

There must be improvements to be made...

First things first, get a Bully Dog Tuner! I drive a 2011 Pro 4X, fully armored, 3" lift, stock tires for now. Fully loaded for camping I routinely get 17 - 19 MPG on the highway (87 octane tune with +2 deg timing advance). Obviously that is fully dependent on terrain. Mixed city / highway driving it's down at 15 to 16 MPG, if it's all city your looking a 13 to 14 MPG's. If you throw a bunch of $ at it for intake manifold, cold air intake, cat back exhaust (headers are another additional option), Bully Dog, you can expect a few additional MPG's but you'll get a bunch more power. The reality is 20 MPG is the very best you could really ever expect to get, and not very likely. Just remember when you pass all those jeeps, their mileage is as bad or worse and you paid $10,000 less for your rig that is every bit as capable. That's a lot fuel.

 

[StomperNJ]

My 2011 is still stock (new Terra Grapplers going on this week though!!) and I've actually been averaging around 19mpg in mixed driving if my calculations are right. With the 6MT the mileage is much better than I would have expected.

 

[Martinjmpr]

There must be improvements to be made...

You've already been given the answer.
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As Kurt pointed out, every MPH over 62 will cost you.
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Honestly, 15 - 16 on a lifted Xterra with 31 - 32" tires and an RTT sounds pretty good, especially if you are running > 70MPH. Damn good, in fact.
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Want better mileage? Slow down.