Advice on car

[AAAintheBeltway]

Quote from nitro:

This might be the problem, a mild case of it - "Break Pedal Pulsation" or Brake Judder:

http://www.nissanhelp.com/Ownership/Bulletins/Nissan/2004/NTB04-068.htm

nitro

I doubt it. That problem is caused by a warped brake rotor, not something you should have on a brand new truck. Anyway, you will feel it the minute you apply the brakes, not when you are almost stopped.

Most likely, you are feeling something peculiar to the transmission. Sound slike it is disengaging a lock-up torque converter.

 

[nitro]

Quote from AAAintheBeltway:

I doubt it. That problem is caused by a warped brake rotor, not something you should have on a brand new truck. Anyway, you will feel it the minute you apply the brakes, not when you are almost stopped.

Most likely, you are feeling something peculiar to the transmission. Sound slike it is disengaging a lock-up torque converter.

I agree with your logic.

Today it is not happening at all! I have a feeling it might have been an O2 sensor, but I really don't know. This is great, now, just like when you go to the doctor, it won't be sick.

I found the power outlet. I can't believe where they put it - all the way on the passenger side besides the glove compartment :eek: That is just plain idiotic There is one in the console storage under the armrest area too apparently. Now I have to see if I can figure out how to open the damn thing.

Geez, all this technology and the simple things are unintuitive, at least for me

nitro

 

[nitro]

I am up to 17.1 gallons per mile after 700 miles. This is all calculated and displayed for me by the cars computer.

This is under different driving conditions like stop and go and highway. Also, the temperature has never been above 45 degrees Farenheit and that does affect gas consumption. My guess is that in the summer with no air-conditioning on I would get 1-2 MPG more.

So far, the "average" lie is about 5 MPG overstated by Nissan.

nitro

 

[nononsense]

Quote from nitro:

I am up to 17.1 gallons per mile after 700 miles. This is all calculated and displayed for me by the cars computer.
...

nitro

That's more gallons per mile more than a Boeing 747!

nononsense

 

[MRWSM]

From my experience, the trick to knowing whether a car will get the stated MPG or more is in the test drive. Make sure before you buy a car that you test how good of a coaster it is. Driving about 45 MPH and let go of the gas and see how far it glides. My mothers 2002 Hyundai Sonata immediately starts slowing down when you take your foot off the gas pedal, almost as if you are braking. Needless to say it gets horrible MPG, no where near stated. My 2000 Bonneville glides better than any car I've seen yet and it gets more than stated. I get on average between 27 to 30 MPG in a city highway mix and have gotten 34 MPG on long trips loaded with 5 large people. It's supposed to get 19/30 MPG, I find it gets more. I also inflate tires to 40 pounds about 10% under max pressure which helps, didn't do anything for my mothers car though. I learned this trick when I had a BMW 740iL which needed 40 pounds of pressure just to run smooth without their common 45-55 shimmy.

 

[nitro]

I agree that some cars have a lower "drag coefficient" (for lack of a better term) than others. This can be do to poor tire inflation, poor wind design, friction between it's moving parts, etc.

AFAIK, how well a car "coast"s has zero or any effect on gas mileage. My stang "feels" like it coasts better than my murano, but the murano gets about the same or better gas mileage.

All other things being equial, the number one predictor of gas mileage is weight of car. The number two is size of engine. Number three is how you drive. After that, imo the returns on reason are diminishing fast.

F = ma

nitro

Quote from MRWSM:

From my experience, the trick to knowing whether a car will get the stated MPG or more is in the test drive. Make sure before you buy a car that you test how good of a coaster it is. Driving about 45 MPH and let go of the gas and see how far it glides. My mothers 2002 Hyundai Sonata immediately starts slowing down when you take your foot off the gas pedal, almost as if you are braking. Needless to say it gets horrible MPG, no where near stated. My 2000 Bonneville glides better than any car I've seen yet and it gets more than stated. I get on average between 27 to 30 MPG in a city highway mix and have gotten 34 MPG on long trips loaded with 5 large people. It's supposed to get 19/30 MPG, I find it gets more. I also inflate tires to 40 pounds about 10% under max pressure which helps, didn't do anything for my mothers car though. I learned this trick when I had a BMW 740iL which needed 40 pounds of pressure just to run smooth without their common 45-55 shimmy.

 

[MRWSM]

Quote from nitro:

I agree that some cars have a lower "drag coefficient" (for lack of a better term) than others. This can be do to poor tire inflation, poor wind design, friction between it's moving parts, etc.

AFAIK, how well a car "coast"s has zero or any effect on gas mileage. My stang "feels" like it coasts better than my murano, but the murano gets about the same or better gas mileage.

All other things being equial, the number one predictor of gas mileage is weight of car. The number two is size of engine. Number three is how you drive. After that, imo the returns on reason are diminishing fast.

F = ma

nitro

That's right, being a good coaster does not mean it will get better than a car that is not. What I am guessing is that it will do better than the stated MPG for that vehicle. When they test cars for MPG, they basically drive the cars relatively the same, so coasting or low drag coefficient is not really taken advantage of. This I beleive is why my car get's better than stated and on the other hand why my mothers car get's worse.

 

[nitro]

Quote from MRWSM:

That's right, being a good coaster does not mean it will get better than a car that is not. What I am guessing is that it will do better than the stated MPG for that vehicle. When they test cars for MPG, they basically drive the cars relatively the same, so coasting or low drag coefficient is not really taken advantage of. This I beleive is why my car get's better than stated and on the other hand why my mothers car get's worse.

Ah, I see. That could be...

I would give up 30 HorsePower to get 5 MPG more out of this car. The trend is to get more more HP out of advancing engine technology instead of better gas mileage out of the same HP Some cars are doing cool things like turning off cylinders when not needed. That gives you HP on demand when you need it, but turns some off for better gas mileage when you don't. All cars should have that feature imo.

nitro

 

[AAAintheBeltway]

An important consideration is if you need premium gas or if yu can get by on regular. The easiest way to get more power out of an engine without hurting the mileage is to raise the compression ratio and if you raise it much, you will have to burn premium fuel, which really gets into your pocket. Basically, 20 mpg on premium is like 18 on regular.

 

[nitro]

Quote from AAAintheBeltway:

An important consideration is if you need premium gas or if yu can get by on regular. The easiest way to get more power out of an engine without hurting the mileage is to raise the compression ratio and if you raise it much, you will have to burn premium fuel, which really gets into your pocket. Basically, 20 mpg on premium is like 18 on regular.

Good point!

Nissan recommends premium on the Murano

nitro