301 messages,
Last post on May 15, 2013 at 4:23 AM
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Nissan Altima Forum.
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Nissan Altima, Fuel Efficiency (MPG), Sedan
#86 of 301 Re: 2008 Altima 3.5 SE [ruking1]
by omelet1978
Dec 28, 2007 (5:59 pm)
ruking1...
Well I bought the 3.5 b/c I like having a powerful engine. Money is not tight for me, but I do have a house payment, a new car payment, insurance now on two vehicles, etc...so I feel like I'm throwing money away using premium. It's not that much, but I just don't think it is necessary. My previous vehicle, a V8 2004 4Runner, suggested premium as well, but when gas prices went up I put regular in and it worked fine as well.
The 3.5 is rated at 270hp, and 258 torque. 90% of that is 243hp & 232 torque which is still plenty of power. Thats a 68hp and a 52 torque difference, so it is still significant. Despite being a 4500 lb vehicle my 4runner was pretty fast, and using 87 the Altima is significantly faster.
Also, it's a Nissan Altima, not a BMW 3 Series. If I bought one of those I would use premium! I'm not insulting the Altima here by any means. I think it's a great car! Oh, and btw, filled up today and it averaged out to 19.9 mpg, so it seem like the car is slowly starting to get better mileage.
Dec 29, 2007 (9:08 am)
Oh, I was comparing the 3.5 to the 4 cylinder when I said 68hp and 52 torque difference.
#88 of 301 Re: 4 cylinder [omelet1978]
by generee
Dec 29, 2007 (4:39 pm)
hey omelet, just curious if your mileage got better with time? i'm still running about 15 mpg. If i'm not mistaken, the altima has a 20 gallon tank, which should last at least 340 miles if the mpg were around 17 and up. i have 700 miles to go to hit 2000 miles so hopefully this gets better as xmas shopping has me mad broke
Dec 29, 2007 (6:51 pm)
Yeah, it seem to be improving. My last fill-up was 19.9mpg, so hopefully it keeps going up. I'm expecting just over 21mpg when it is all said and done since i'm using regular. Typically, when I fill up it's anywhere from 15-17 gallons btw. Oh, and 15mpg is pretty low, I would take it to the dealership and have them look at it.
Dec 29, 2007 (9:49 pm)
Hey, I have the 2008 Altima 3.5 and I have been getting 23 - 24 in town and that is Atlanta traffic. In the summer with the air on it was 22 -23 mpg. I go back and forth with the RUL and PUL. My foot is not too light but not that heavy in traffic. Someone at the Nissan dealership said that it might need some tweaking on the EFI. I hope that it gets better for you. Gotta agree - I love the power that it has! When you turn the heat on, try pushing Auto and then push the A/C button to turn it off and see if it gets better. Hope this helps!
#91 of 301 Re: 2008 Altima 3.5 SE [ruking1]
by omelet1978
Jan 01, 2008 (2:16 pm)
rukin1....one quick question for you. You said a 10% decrease in performance using regular. Using regular do you get a 10% decrease in fuel economy as well? If so that would put it right around the new fuel economy standards saying that the 3.5 SE averages around 22mpg using premium.
thanks
#92 of 301 Re: 2008 Altima 3.5 SE [omelet1978]
by ruking1
Jan 01, 2008 (6:49 pm)
In the case, where I did the side by side comparison, no. But I could almost immediately feel the performance difference, so I did not drive it normally.
#93 of 301 Gas mileage drop after putting on snow tires
by 97alty
Jan 03, 2008 (10:58 pm)
Hi all, I recently put on snow tires and my MPG went down from 32 to 26. What would that mean?
My MPG is
Track Your MPG
#94 of 301 Re: Gas mileage drop after putting on snow tires [97alty]
by ruking1
Jan 04, 2008 (9:14 am)
To me it means that snow tires and winter operations are 18.75% less efficient.
#95 of 301 Re: . [maverick1966]
by generee
Jan 05, 2008 (11:55 pm)
I'm praying i break 20 mpg let alone 23-24, but we'll see on the next tank, still keeping tabs on each fill. By the way, what's an EFI? From a quick google search i'm guessing something about the way the computer in the car reads something? Thanks for the advice, either way I'll call the dealership to see if this may be a cause of the not-all-that mileage