I own a 350z

[royanddoreen]

Originally Posted by Debonair

i hear ya trying to get the most out of your car, i was/am too. But as mentioned, have the car for fun days, and get a beater. You'll enjoy the car that much more, i know i do.

Plus you'll inevitably have to sacrifice power or fuel economy. If you get taller gears you'll rev lower, but wont take off as fast for example.

I broke down and got another vehicle, fuel economy in mind among other things. I'm very glad i did.

I think I will enjoy my car with any fe improvements. I did my hot rod thing 30 yrs ago in a 340 duster now i cruise and enjoy the cars look and historic past of datsun 240 z's I remember so well but now have all of today's comforts.Can't have insurance on two cars so I'ii enjoy one

[ecomodded]

It would be great if your car had a Sport or economy switch but it doesn't so you'll be the switch, Which has now got me thinking maybe you can have it chip tuned to improve economy. I read your car gets 17 city 24 hwy, I know you will be getting much better millage than that with your driving style.

[royanddoreen]

hey ecomodded , I noticed you said I would be getting great fe with your engine got me thinking is your car good aero or are you trying to improve it? No doubt my engine could use improvement I never seen any chips for it ,only me would be looking for fe in a sports car, I think I will try to do a grill block to get a quicker warm up. Peace Merry Christmas, Roy

[ecomodded]

My car has basically poor aerodynamics, the 1.9 tdi's are incredible. Somehow,with all its great curvy flowing lines it still has a high cd of 38, where as your car may have a cd. as low as 30(much better). I am unsure why the beetles are getting some of the best mileage when they have some of the highest cd. values.
For areo mods i am planning to run side cameras as a replacement for side mirrors and install a small belly pan i made up out of thin gauge stainless steel sheet.

[mcrews]

Search for my posts. I have a 02 Q45 Sport.
I have discussedd the advantages of a larger OD and proven the results.
I get 30mpg+ on road trips. epa is 22mpg.

[Ladogaboy]

The 350z is a nice car, and theoretically, it *could be* very economical to drive daily. I see no reason it couldn't get nearly 30 mpg freeway and considerably more than estimated for city. As you've already stated, its strengths are that it is fairly sleek with tall gearing. The weaknesses are that it is a little heavy (I think you have one of the lighter versions... ~ 3,200 lbs) and the massive displacement (3.5L). Also, I think you stated that your car is an automatic, and in my experience, they are harder to drive economically.

Other than working on your driving habits, here are some of the basic mods I would recommend for you: tire pressure/lrr tires (possibly larger OD); weight reduction (e.g., spare delete with AAA or roadside assistance, which you should already have); basic aero mods (smooth underbelly); ECU tuning (low-load timing and possibly low-load lean burn AFR).

I'm not a fan of having two cars, unless one is a dedicated track car. Performance cars and efficient cars have many characteristics in common and could be considered two sides to the same coin. While efficient cars take advantage of certain characteristics in order to gain mpgs, performance cars take advantage of similar (sometimes the same) characteristics to gain speed. Both are seeking the same thing: efficiency. And I, personally, believe that both speed and mpgs can be had on the same car, especially since the driving conditions under which speed and fuel economy are sought are so different. Take the 600 hp, 30 mpg Corvette.

If I want to drive my one car 100 miles each way to the track, who says I have to drive like a mad man on the public streets? If I can get 35 mpg putting along the freeway only to get 10 mpg on the track, then why should I need a second car? I only have room, time and money for one car, so I don't buy into the idea that since I have a sports car, I always must drive it like a sports car. Sometimes my car is a sports car; sometimes my car is a commuter car; sometimes my car is a weather beater (AWD w/ M/S). If you need multiple cars to do all of the things you need to do and have the ability to keep more than one car, then by all means, do so. I just don't think it is practical (or prudent) to say, universally, that a car shouldn't be multipurpose.

[royanddoreen]

Thanks Ladogaboy!! Inspiring comments!! I've done some testing and as my rpm rises my mpg falls, so i will be buying bigger o.d. lrr tires can't see how I would go wrong on that one. The 350z has a smooth underbelly already but I got to add some grille blocking. I'm interested in the ECU tuning but haven't found out much about it yet. The car is manual so I have been using p&g and other hypermiling tricks. I love driving it so it won't be a lowered stance car but more of a go anywhere car. Merry Christmas from the snowy north!

[johnunit]

I don't know about the costs in your area and insurance group, but for me I'd have to drive something like 50,000km a year for having two cars on the road at the same time to pay off on the strength of cheaper costs per mile for the fuel miser. That's with a car that doesn't do nearly as well on fuel as your 350Z (big old carbed V8 boat).

For preservation of the "enthusiast" car, I've bought a second car (used prius bought for a steal) that I drive only in the winter, while the big boat is off the road. Even in the summer though, I've developed the somewhat odd driving style of "earning myself" spurts of aggressive/sporting driving with bouts of hypermiling. I've seen 24+mpg tanks on the highway, EPA rating (back in the 80s, not the more realistic modern testing) of 17mpg. If I had to choose between just the boat or just the fuel miser, the Prius will get the for sale sign.

What I'm trying to say is I totally understand and sympathize with the desire to have one car put a grin on your face AND get great gas mileage (relatively speaking). It's easy to say "have two (three in your case) cars" when you're not the one paying for insurance, licensing, maintanence, second parking space (in the case of urban living), etc.


Good luck with your quest for more fuel efficiency!

[royanddoreen]

Thanks Johnunit!! Dying to know what the boat is. I'm going to keep seeking better efficiency, it's like hot rodding for speed for me. My two kids bought me a scanguage 11 for christmas ,so looks like I'm getting serious about this eco thing.