[qdog425]

does anyone have an issue with bad gas milage in the cold? i live in florida, but since it has been so cold lately my gas milage sucks... when it's above 50 degrees or so in the afternoon it doesn't use as much fuel. could there be something else wrong?
please help

 

[frontyfan]

How bad is it? I get 8.5 mpg city and 13 hwy. I won't dare complain though, since 1. I bought a truck, and 2. I modded it a bit.

 

[bimmernut318]

I dont know if mine is any worse in the cold that we are having in Fl but right now it is just crappy altogether. I dont want to know!

 

[frontyfan]

Scangauge read out gives me my numbers! At full acceleration I get 2.6!!!

 

[dubie2003]

Just so the OP knows, the motor runs at higher rpms when it is cold to get the temps up so that is why your mpg sucks so much especially when you don't have to drive too far to get to work.

Also, what truck and motor do you have? Also, what is the normal mpg compared to the sucky winter mpg?

Side Note: I get about 17mpg in city and 20mpg hwy in my truck with a heavy foot.

 

[qdog425]

thanks i didn't know the engine runs higher rpms till it warms up. my drive to work takes about an hour. i have a 02 frontier with a 2.4 engine. it just seems like in the morning about 6 am going to work i use more gas watching the gas gauge. i have a heavy foot to and from work and they way i drive doesn't change either way. basically i drive 40 miles to work each way, 5 times a week. i put $20 dollars of gas in about every three days at $2.69 a gallon. maybe i am just not getting good milage. i just changed out my cap and rotor and will be changing out my plugs and wires to bousch.

 

[dubie2003]

IDK if I did my math correctly but if you only use 20 bucks every 3 days at 2.69 a gallon, that means you travel (40x2x3) 240 miles on (20/2.69) ~7.5 gallons of gas which is (240/7.5) 32mpg which is pretty good, lol.

 

[kerm]

Gas mileage will drop off 10 to 20% in the winter temps. The reason for this is the cold air is denser and produces more power but with more power comes more fuel consumption.

I generally average 23 mpg in spring summer and fall and now in the dead of winter I'm running right at 20.

You probably aren't used to the temp flux that you are currently seeing in Florida either. So ultimately blame Al Gore.

 

[Q451990]

i just changed out my cap and rotor and will be changing out my plugs and wires to bousch.

I sure wouldn't go with aftermarket ignition parts - especially Bosch! Nissans are super particular about their ignition components. I would go with all OEM specified plugs (NGK), wires (or get NGK or Denso from someplace like Psychology-based User Experience Design : Sparkplug), rotor and cap. I use Nissan Parts - Everythingnissan.com for my OEM parts supplier. If you had a lot of difficulty getting the rotor off of the distributor, it's possible that you twisted something a little and your timing is off - I did that on a Maxima once.

Another possibility is that your thermostat is marginal, and your truck's engine isn't getting up to normal operating temperature in cold weather. The ECU goes into something called "closed loop" after the truck reaches operating temperature - which is more fuel efficient than the protective enriched mode that it's in until that time.

Heath

 

[Delta]

Don't for get about the winter blend gas. Burns faster then the normal summer blend.

 

[qdog425]

thanks everyone. there is alot of good info. i am going to check out my thermostat on my next day off. and i didn't think about the difference in the fuel mixtures eithers. i bought the bosch wires thinkin they were the right ones, then i remebered that it is the NGK for nissans. should i run NGK plugs or go with bosc matched plugs? when i bought the cap and rotor i just wanted to make sure it fit and if not i would be able to take it back to advance for a return. i am nervous about buying certain parts off the internet becouse if i have to return it the turn around time is long. well thank you all for the help anymore info would be great..
Patrick
P.S. anyone from around Tampa,FL? i live north of Tampa