28 MPG??!???!? You've got to be KIDDING me!!!

[ShadeTreeMech]

I didn't think it was too practical myself, but he seems to be sucha nice kid and a newcomer besides that I kept it to myself :P

[Red Lion]

Air bags are about as practical as you can get for quick raising and lowering. I like Ground Controls (or similar, quality sleeve-type coilovers), but even if you do quickly raise and lower, your geometry will still go out of whack every time it raises or lowers.

[ShadeTreeMech]

Well, I just logged a roughly 1200 mile journey from Arkansas to Iowa and back again. It was interesting as we had little to no sleep and did it all within 24 hours. I never slept so good in my life when I got home!

On the way up, we encountered some rain which seemed to sap some of the mileage, as well as having to make several more pit stops than normal due to 2 children refusing to sleep. All in all though it was an interesting experience.

I am sold on using 89 octane though. Nissan recommends 91 octane, but it can run 87, so I split the difference. After a couple tanks of 89 which did well, a tank of 87 that didn't do so well, and a tank of e85 which made my idling issues worse but gave me a decent MPG figure, 89 is certainly a winner in my book.

For whatever reason, 89 octane is cheaper than 87 in Iowa, by about 30 cents a gallon. I haven't a clue as to why, but I know the tank of 89 I got in Iowa gave me 30 mpg. I'm not too pumped about it though, I fear faulty data. During most of that tank I was running at 80 mph, but it was flat and we didn't stop but one time. I know my brother and I were in shock watching the tripometer moving along quite quickly and the gas guage seeming to get stuck for about 100 miles. Turns out the guage is quite accurate in predicting half a tank, and I know when I hit empty I still have about 3 gallons left. My biggest refuel was 15 gallons, but i have a 18.5 gallon tank.

Doing the math, I calculate that with straight through driving I could easily exceed 500 miles on a tank. As much as I wanted to have some aeromods on for this trip, I figured a good baseline would be in order.

My Scanguage seemed to read the correct speed from the computer more or less. If anything it was 1 mph fast according to my brother's GPS unit. My speedo is also nearly 4 mph fast, but then again, the computer reads more or less correctly. I have a sneaking suspicion I am about 1% fast on the odometer, so I wonder if I could get tires that are 1% bigger around? I counted mileposts and watched the tripometer, and after about 5 miles the tripometer was getting a hair faster. I could worry about it more, but i suppose it falls in the realm of reasonable error.

What really confuses me is that 30 mpg tank. I know for a fact we were doing most everything wrong, ie driving fast, using the cruise control, and passing quite a few people. But we didn't stop hardly at all, rarely had to slow down, and drafted trucks whenever possible. And on the downhills we encouraged the fuel shut off @ 0 TPS. I suppose I need to try to repeat the experiment.

My brother showed more interest in the SG than i thought he would, since he's not the car bore i tend to be. My wife is also watching it too, which helped her get a 27 mpg tank in mainly city driving. Here's to hoping it pays for itself sooner than later!

[talldudenumber5]

I just got a sg for my max and I am curious to see stock to stock if the GLE is better Eco than an SE model since our conditions are roughly the same.

[PaleMelanesian]

I predict driving conditions will far outweigh the model differences.

[talldudenumber5]

got my scan guage and put an upper grill block on that could stand highway speeds (i.e. not cardboard) and i got 33 miles to the gallon from branson to kc i am hoping to repeat or beat on my way back down. but now we have a goal to shoot for. i am going for 35 on the way back down i will keep you posted

[raccoonjoe]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

1. Generally good advice, but read the manual. Most Honda's specify 4-wheel towing up to 35 mph and up to 50 miles. Around town these are fine to EOC.

I know this has been beaten like a dead horse, but I have to say it again. Yes, Honda, Saturn, and a few other companies claim that you can flat (4 wheel) tow your car, as long as you stay inside the restrictions (35 MPH, 50 miles). However, what they don't tell you is that often that 50 mile limit is cumulative, not consecutive. That's 50 miles flat tow or EOC over the LIFE of the car/tranny.

Just $.02 from a tow truck driver who's been accused of burning trannies in broken cars....

[ShadeTreeMech]

I suspect the only differences between the models that would affect mileage would be larger rims (likely less rotating mass and able to handle corners a bit better) and the slightly stiffer suspension. Other than that, our vehicles are very similar.

Your mpg figure for that trip is very promising! Nice work!

[talldudenumber5]

i got 34.1 avg on my way back down so i am excited for it to cool off so i can go full grill block. also air dam is next we will see.
there are some slight differences in our models. no fog lights and small lower gill openings = smother front bumper on my car, and my rims are flat with very few holes in the alloy rims = closer to smooth wheel covers, and i have under body panels under the font half of my car. this could give me a 1-3 mpg advantage stock to stock potential. not a big deal

i can see 35 in my sights

[ShadeTreeMech]

hmm, I may need to look more seriously into lexan covers for the fog lamps and replacing the missing under body panels on my car. That's a great figure for mileage!