A&Q about 350Z
Q:
i have personally run until my DTE readout displayed a STEADY 0 (ZERO) miles until empty and filled up i think i squeezed 35 bucks in there... sorry i don't look at the gallons... but it was at like $1.99 per gallon... which if you do the math... divides up into this:
17.587939698492462311557788944724 gallons
i also know that i just set the hold switch (cause who the hell wants to sit there and hold the trigger for 5 min. straight) and it clicked off and i click and squeeze my way up to 35...
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Chrome Silver '03 Touring -MT-
C.F. Nismo Wing
Shorty Antenna (Stolen!!! Thanks alot!)
Kicker Solo Baric L7 1200w
I don't think, I know...
Well, I don't think you know either
A:
I gave up on the ^#$@! gauge. Mine starts complaining 150+ miles before true empty. This is total bullshit and is the result of a crappy fuel system design by Nissan.
Now I set the Z's trip odometer to zero when I fill up and run it until I accumulate 400 miles on the ticker. At ~21 MPG, thats a safe distance. If you can't find a gas station in ~20 miles in Southern California, you are not looking very hard.
My Z runs for days past the "dead empty" warning on the digital gauge. At 400 miles driven, my tank takes about 19 gallons.
Yes, the US Z really does have a 20 gallon tank. I know, since I intentionally ran it out of gas once, testing the the gauge and the tank capacity :-)
The MPG gauge is very accurate, according to my calculations. I wish the fuel-remaining gauge worked as well.
I had the dealer swap the in-tank fuel pump unit - same problem. Now they tell me the inaccurate gauge is a "feature" to prevent us stupid Z drivers from running the tank dry.
I have not had a lot of problems with filling the tank. I just keep topping it up until a teaspoon or so of gas comes out the filler neck. When you can see gas in the filler neck, its holding an honest 20 gallons - unless you are on a steep hill.
The saddle tank design makes the gas pump handle kick off prematurely, but it does not affect how much gas you can put in the tank if you keep clicking the handle.
I wonder if you could pull the sending unit out of the tank and bend the float arms downward a bit. If it is possible without breaking them (it?), then maybe it would make the gauge read something more realistic.
The trip computer in my 2000 Dodge Durango is dead-nuts accurate. Nissan needs to take a lesson from some good old American auto engineering.
Kevin
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2003 350Z Track
Silverstone with Nav, Michelin Pilot Sport tires
Alpine CDA-9847 head unit
Pioneer 4-way speakers
Sirius module
A:
zooom wrote:
> For example, my last road
> trip the computer showed my MPG at 28.9 ! Fantastic I thought !
I suppose its possible, if you are driving mostly in 6th gear and are not hotdogging it.
My MPG gauge is accurate - your's may not be. You can check it by measuring how long the trip was and dividing the miles by actual fuel added to the tank at your next fill up. Make sure you fill it completely to the top for accurate measurements. The MPG you calculate should equal the MPG on your gauge. Mine does +- 0.1 MPG.
You can reset the MPG gauge when you fill up to see the mileage you are getting on THIS tank of gas. If you reset it in the middle of a tank it will tell you the mileage you are getting right NOW. If you are going down hill or drafting on someone, it will go up to 30+ MPG.
I reset mine when I fill up, but I can usually count on 21 MPG. I drive a 90 mile round trip commute every day and a couple hundred miles on the weekends - mostly in 6th gear.
I always fill it to the top - it will mess up your calculations if you put 10 bucks in :-)
> But, with all this talk about gauge malfunction and fill up
> problems, it makes me wonder how accurate those figures really
> are. I do not trust the DTE read-out down to a few miles when
> on long road trip. Looking at the fuel gauge showing close to E
> and the DTE still showing 50-60 miles, makes me a little
> nervous !
Ignore the DTE, the analog gauge and the low fuel light completely since they are ALL wildly innacurate. When the DTE says _zero_, you really have 70+ miles to go. If you get gas when DTE says 50 to go, you probably are putting in only 13 gallons to fill it. That is crazy on a 20 gallon tank.
Pay attention to the MPG if you reset it properly, and use your odometer to tell when the ^#*$@ thing is *really*running out of gas. If you are not driving like a maniac, then you should get about 400 miles on a tank with a little left to spare. :-)
Kevin
_______________________________
2003 350Z Track
Silverstone with Nav, Michelin Pilot Sport tires
Alpine CDA-9847 head unit
Pioneer 4-way speakers
Sirius module
A:
Skydiver: Thanks for the detailed follow up. My road trip was 400 mi. Pitstop at about 200mi and refill. Avg MPH 75-80. I sometimes will reset computer on each refill or wait until I reach my destanation for overall average mpg. I thought about cross checking the read-out with the old tried and true method, but was just to lazy to bother. The worst MPG I showed with computer was 27 something mpg.(really drops after a few of those hard and fast entrys back on to the freeway)
'06 Silver Alloy 350Z Touring