Nissan Quest: ripped

[vivekiny2k]

ok, i did not rip my new QUEST.

but i did rip the last drop of mpg off my fuel.

here is a snapshot after 400 miles on highway (full tank), including jam on mississipi river bridge.



upside, an MPG of 26 (yes, the trip computer is not that accurate, my calculation shows a little over 26 MPG).

downside, tok around 30-40 mins extra compared to the GPs estimates. And some pissed off truck drivers when i took upto 30 seconds to go from 40 MPH to 65 MPH. heck, they will thank me later

now I think getting around 11+ KMPL from a big minivan with auto transmission is worth mentioning. And it's not thru it's first service yet. here's what I did

1. maintain sane limits (60-65 Mph)
2. maintain RPM below 2K once on the highway (hence 30 sec lag mentioned above).
3. use minimal cruise control. it's nervous up and downshifts is what kills the MPG.

EDIT: quoted MPG on highway for quest is 24.

[anupmathur]

That's mighty green of you Vivek, but you also know it's not 'sustainable'!!
But kudos to you that you could achieve those figures!

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

That's mighty green of you Vivek, but you also know it's not 'sustainable'!!
But kudos to you that you could achieve those figures!

of course I know. I was actually testing the difference between 89 octane and 91 octane, since nissan recommends 91+. but i did not find much of difference.

but frankly speaking, i am expecting it to go even higher when it crosses 30-40K of mileage, when the engine settles.

[Nitin]

Thats a pretty good start! 28mpg is impressive for the Quest.

[Mpower]

Pretty impressive. Does it have the VQ engine? is the trans a 5 speed auto?

I've squeezed 36 out of a Camry 2.2 4 speed auto. Takes a lot of patience though.

[vivekiny2k]

yes, VQ. it has overdrive which i assume is the 5th gear.

[Mpower]

You can have OD in 4 speed trans too. The 5 speeds usually have a super tall 5th.

[RJK]

26MPG is huge from a mini van. Not to steal your thunder but 3weeks back when I drove upto canada in my car, which is a '94 Mazda Mx6 with 104000miles on it, driving at 60-65mph continuously..it gave me 39.6MPG..yes thats true From a 2litre engine that's 13 yrs old and considerable mileage on it..I was amazed !

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by RJK

26MPG is huge from a mini van. Not to steal your thunder

nah, yours is a coupe (?)

speed and acceleration play a major role here, since wind drag increases as square of the speed.

[Nitin]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

nah, yours is a coupe (?)

speed and acceleration play a major role here, since wind drag increases as square of the speed.

Thats right Vivek.. 26mpg is really good. The maximum i've heard of is about 20-22mpg. 26mpg beats many sedans, especially the V6s.