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Positive MPG feedback

10K views 67 replies 25 participants last post by  rlholland 
#1 ·
I went into this thing knowing gas mileage wasn't going to be great. My biggest hope was simply to achieve the MPG on the window sticker. Reading through these forums made me nervous. A lot of peeps are getting terrible gas mileage, even without mods like bigger tires and suspension.

So far, I've been pleasantly surprised. My overall average is 19.7. However, I took a road trip last weekend from Salt Lake City to Moab. We played in Arches National Park over Easter weekend : ) On the way down, I managed to get 23.7 MPG! I made this drive once before but only achieved 20.6 MPG. At that time, the truck wasn't broken in and I was hauling mountain bikes on a hitch mounted bike rack.

But 23.7?!?!? I'm pretty excited about that. My only mod is a tonneau cover, which I expect contributes a bit to the good MPG. Coincidentally, this was the first tank of gas after my very first oil change. I put in Mobil 1 5W-30 full synthetic. Maybe the switch to synthetic helped a bit too... Thoughts?

Anyways, just wanted to jump on here for a minute and talk about MPG - without griping : ) I'll be EXTREMELY happy if my MPG averages 18-20.

I love my truck so far. Literally zero gripes.
 
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#2 ·
What trim level? 4x4 or 4x2? Auto or manual trans?
(Guessing 4x4, but thought I'd ask)
 
#4 ·
I have a 2 month old 2017 SV 4x4 auto, and I track MPG on both my vehicles.

This is the 2017 Frontier, all 2 lane roads, it has not been on the freeway.


This was my Titan, 13 years and 212,000 miles, 671 tanks of gas, 13,500 gallons of gas, $35,126 in gas
 
#10 · (Edited)
Great spreadsheet - and I love spreadsheets : ) However, it's a little easier these days with apps. You should check out Fuelly.com and the GasTrackerz+ app (iOS, they make something else for Android).

I get 19.5 hwy with my lift, 265 75 16 duratracs, toolbox fully loaded for work. Drive 35 miles each way on a country highway. Go up 2000' in elevation on my drive to work (I live at ~7400', work at 9300'(
That's awesome and makes me rethink bigger tires and a small lift. I had already written that off in my mind due to what others were saying about gas mileage. Now maybe I'll reconsider.
 
#6 ·
^^ wow very impressive with the spreadsheet.

I wish my frontier did better in the MPG department. But I can't complain. I knew what I was getting into. I did think I could beat all the other claims because I always have with my other vehicles. But this is my first automatic in my entire life and it seems they are a wee bit harder to get the best MPG's.
 
#7 ·
My 2012 sees mostly highway driving, but it's pretty normal to see ~20MPG or better even with winter gas. My last trip however was a bit worse but weather conditions were absolutely horrid even for Canadian weather. Slushy conditions were causing vehicles to loose control and end up in the ditches, people white knuckling with lots of changes in travel speeds (speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down) etc. The guess-o-meter still read around a 18MPG equivalent even having been in 4HI the whole trip.

I don't look at it when I'm running around town though that can get depressing especially when compared to a lightly modified 04 Outlander 2.4L that I normally drive day to day around the city.
 
#14 ·
I have a 16 Pro4x and for me the best I got was 20.0mpg, until last week I got the drop in K&N air filter and got up to 23.1 mpg which blew me away! I do drive fast (at least 70mph on the freeway, Detroit parents in me) but still to get ANYTHING above 20mpg for a truck is great in my opinion! Never thought I would love a Nissan, but I DO NOW!!! :cool:

*Here's a pic from this last weekend at the prop (Foresthill,CA) cleaning up the landslide from the other month
 

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#18 ·
Averaging 17 mpg since I started keeping track last fall.
Depending on routes (flat or mountainous)...
Summer: 18-23 mpg hwy & 15-17 mpg city
Winter: 16-20 mpg hwy & 12-14 city (snowy roads, winter gas, 500+lbs in bed, tires down a few psi, cold engine on city drives)
I drive with a very light foot (gandpa style) going for economy and longevity. It's very rare to see someone accelerate or brake slower than me. Generally drive 69-70 mph on highway if route & conditions allow it.
Front air dam removed, front lifted 1.75", 265/75/R16 tires.
 
#20 ·
I dont have a Frontier(yet) but I wanted to chime in because I also live in SLC. For some reason my F150 loves that drive from SLC to Moab. I actually went a bit farther to durango, but I averaged 21 round trip(including driving around Durango for 3 days) and 22 mpg on the drive home. Thats on 33" Duratracs. Never have I hit those numbers on any other trips. I think some of it is that the speedlimit is 65mph, except for the short stretch of I70, and its fairly flat. Everywhere else(I80 and I15) it seems like you are looking at 75-80mph speed limits and rolling hills generally, in which case my F150 gets like 17 mpg.
 
#24 · (Edited)
My truck was getting about 15 1/2 miles per gallon but since I have been strictly using Shell gasoline, it is getting over 17. That is a big difference when traveling to work 70 mile round trip Monday - Friday.

That means using about a half gallon less a day if my quick math is correct. This may not seem like much but saving about $5 a week is $250 over a years time.
 
#25 ·
Bought my Fronty in November of '16 with just over 60 miles on the clock. As of today, a little over 11K miles, mostly highway. I consistently average about 23.5 mpg. Worst tank is 22.1 and best is 24.6.

Just did my 10K oil change and switche to synthetic and gained one mpg (the 24.6). At a cost of about $30 extra for synthetic, I'll save about 9 gallons for a 5K oil change, so not worth the additional cost for fuel savings, though arguably wear and tear should be lower.

Mine is a fully stock 4-cylinder, 5-speed manual. Use my AC a lot (Florida). Typically drive somewhere between 70-80mph with cruise on.
 
#26 ·
Bought my Fronty in November of '16 with just over 60 miles on the clock. As of today, a little over 11K miles, mostly highway. I consistently average about 23.5 mpg. Worst tank is 22.1 and best is 24.6.



Just did my 10K oil change and switche to synthetic and gained one mpg (the 24.6). At a cost of about $30 extra for synthetic, I'll save about 9 gallons for a 5K oil change, so not worth the additional cost for fuel savings, though arguably wear and tear should be lower.



Mine is a fully stock 4-cylinder, 5-speed manual. Use my AC a lot (Florida). Typically drive somewhere between 70-80mph with cruise on.


$30 extra? Shop around and you could find it for much less. I picked up pennzoil platinum for ~$10/5 qt jug($2 a quart) off amazon with a rebate. Even if you go to Walmart and pay the normal price, synthetic oil and a nice filter should be less than $30 total nevermind $30 extra.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#27 ·
Betting he had his synthetic oil change done for him. All too often, these places (including some Nissan dealerships) charge extra for synthetic, then they use a blend and pocket the difference.
 
#42 · (Edited)
Yeah, I didn't have time so took it to Jiffy Lube. Regular oil change was $29, synthetic was $59. Did it anyway, but yeah I can probably do it myself cheaper. I'll continue to use synthetic though, should be better in the long term.

"Mostly hwy" is a big help.
LOL, or ALL highway. I am almost never driving my little truck in town. She's a highway truck and that's why I got the 4 cyl. I wanted mostly a commuter that could occasionally be a hauler. In any case, 23mpg is right at highway EPA number and I for one am happy with it. :)
 
#33 ·
Am more inclined to believe this 4-cyl claim than I am to believe the simple addition of a K&N adding a few MPGs. But hey!? IFF it's on the the internet, then... LOFL

Happy Saturday!
 
#35 ·
I drove to Dallas and back on I 20 300 miles, 75 and 80 mph most of the way averaged 22.23 mpg. I did have 15 minutes of almost stopped traffic because of a accident on the freeway.
Hand calculated or dash? I4 or V6?
 
#40 ·
20.23, I miss typed it, and I expected more. I will be driving to Moscow, Idaho/Pullman, Washington in July, I will see how it does on a long trip.
I had my Titan for 13 years and would normally get between 18 and 20 on our trips to Calif. on the interstate, driving those same speeds
 
#44 ·
Only question here was everything re-calibrated for the larger tire size as that can throw out measurements?[/QUOTE]

265s were stock size. no need for calibration. However on my 285s i know they roll a % more and cover more ground so no, havent recalibrated with 285s
 
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