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Gas Savers Forums / Gas Savers Forum / General Gas Savers Tips and Tricks / Improving gas mileage, 2005 Nissan Xterra

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Posted: 28 Dec 2007 02:24
Administrator Currently Offline	Posts: 58 Join Date: May 2007
I drive a 2005 Nissan Xterra with a 4.0 liter V6. The window sticker said that I could achieve up to 21 mpg on the highway. Those numbers have been revised for the newer Nissan Xterras down to 20 mpg with the new rating system for MPG. My goal is to improve the gas mileage. I think I could improve my average mileage by up to 5 MPG without changing my driving habits. Do you agree that it's possible? I think I'm going to stay away from gimmicky gas savers such as the Tornado and such. My first addition will be a K&N filter charger system. These are said to improve gas mileage and increase horsepower. I've seen the dyno numbers to prove the power gains, but can I actually save gas? We'll see. My next move will be to remove dead weight. I'm ditching the basket on the roof rack and removing the trailer hitch that I never use. Keeping my car cleaned out is going to become an obsession of mine. I've had thoughts of removing the spare tire, but I think I would be sorry I did so in the future. If that's what it takes, I will remove it also. I might remove my skid plates as I don't do much off-roading and I think the Xterra can handle snow just fine without them. Cup holders, first aid kit and other not so important things have got to go. Every ounce counts! Every time I stop at the gas station I am going to check my tire pressure. My 2005 Nissan Xterra is equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system. That should help. Some newer vehicles have Nitrogen in place of air for tires. I'm going to look into this for weight savings, but I don't know where to fill up aside from the Nissan dealer. I will continue to use full Synthetic motor oil with a weight of 5w30. The weight and synthetic oil should be optimal for gas mileage, and the factory MPG ratings are measured with regular motor oil. Does anyone else have any good ideas? Remember, I like driving an SUV and I don't want to change my driving style (I don't want to drive like Grandma all the time)

Posted: 24 Mar 2008 05:04
Registered User Currently Offline	Posts: 7 Join Date: Mar 2008
One thing that definitely works is to use an oversize tire. It gives the effect of changing the gear ratio and you will feel less acceleration but the engine, running lower rpm's will use less fuel to go the same mph. And if you look into low-rolling resistance tires when you buy replacements, that's free gas mileage just for using a well-engineered tire design. And keep those fuel injectors clean! You need an optimal spray pattern for best combustion efficiency. Higher mileage vehicles should have a fuel system cleaning done to get carbon deposits off of the valves. You wont believe the difference on engine with 80,000 plus miles.

Posted: 28 Apr 2008 08:21
Administrator Currently Offline	Posts: 58 Join Date: May 2007
That's interesting. I always thought bigger tires would decrease my gas mileage in my Nissan Xterra. I've heard that increasing the overall height of any vehicle creates more drag. Does the increase in drag coefficient outweigh the gear ratio change from an increase in tire diameter?

Posted: 20 May 2008 05:22
Administrator Currently Offline	Posts: 58 Join Date: May 2007
Update with 2005 Nissan Xterra. I finally removed my spare tire, hitch, roof basket, tire iron and jack. My Xterra feels lighter and it seem quicker to accelerate. Ghetto Cowboy says that every 100 lbs off the car saves around 2% of your gas. I hope I don't get a flat tire any time soon. I also noticed that there is now a big pocket under my SUV where the tire use to be. I wonder is this will catch air and increase drag, possible reducing my gas mileage during highway driving. Maybe I could have some sort of aluminum plate made to cover the gap. Any thoughts?

Posted: 24 May 2008 17:18
Registered User Currently Offline	Posts: 13 Join Date: May 2008
I'm sure you'll see some improvement in fuel efficiency, but will it really be worthwhile if you get a flat in the middle of nowhere in a mobile phone dead spot?

Posted: 31 Aug 2008 16:10
Registered User Currently Offline	Posts: 13 Join Date: Aug 2008
I found a site to get $500 in free gas: www.gas234.com

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