well, after looking at some postings relating to mileage perfomance of the xterra and some guys stating a great mileage improvement just by simply taking the basket and the fairing off the truck and knowing that the actual mileage per gallon in my 04 XE 4WD is 15.235,i decided to take the fairing and the basket off just to see if i can gain some mileage per gallon, and by god they were rigth!!!
i made the exact calculations every time i filled the gas tank and i came with 19.079 miles per gallon.that's wonderfull in my case because i was going to sell the truck based in mileage per gallon, but i came to a conclusion that 19.079 miles per gallon is not bad at all,only that i don't like the looks of the xterra without the fairing and the basket off,(looks bald)but i guess everything has a price, i love this truck!!!!!!

I get that mileage now. Thats the best I can do. I havent tried the fairing/Basket removal I just might try it.

what? you are getting 19 miles per galon on a 04? without removing the fairing? hard to belive.

I'm getting 14.7 on my S/C cc. Lead foot, 500lb. of cargo, and an 8' wooden ladder on top. Bet I could do 19 stripped down and backed off.

my mileage just depends on how i drive. if i drive 45-50 mph everywhere, i get between 21-22 mpg, but if i drive 80 on the freeway, i get around 17-18. all of this is without taking anything off.

And yours is a 2 wheel drive. 4 wheel drives usually get worse gas mileage.

i have a lead foot, 33's and lights on my roof...and i still get 16 mpg

mines getting around 15-17 in the city and about 18-19 on the highway but thats keeping it under 70.anything faster than that and it drains the tank.i havent tried takeing the basket off yet,i dont like the look.

Anyone who thinks they are getting over 4 MPG improvement in gas milage by taking off the fairing and basket is smoking something illegal.

Concider the friction of the engine, tranny, axles, tires on the road, the weight of the truck and then add that to the overal drag of basically a box being moved down the street.

Now stand infront of your truck. Look at the overall surface area of the truck from the very bottom to the roof. The faring makes up probably 5-8% of the ovel area? Now walk around to the back. Because of the rise on the roof, the basket makes up maybe 3-5% of the overal surface area.

So between the mass of air the Xterra has to move to fit the fairing (and it's one of the most angled areas of the truck anyway, and fills a hole as the air goes up and over the windshield, probably reducing an air pocket) and the drag behind the basket, it would be generous to belive it makes up 5% of the overal drag of the truck.

Discounting all the other factors that affect fuel milage, a 5% decrease in drag would acount for .75 MPG increase if you started at 15MPG.

If you drive 10K miles a year, you save yourself about $70 in fuel. I don't think I'll make the switch.

I have to say that I took off the fairing and basket and I did not notice much of a difference. I took them in order to get full view of my sunroof, and have actually gotten pretty used to the look. I think it makes mine stand out a bit, although I do see a lot in this area that have also removed them.

There is no real diffrence, other than a little less road noise.

I am averaging 18.74 WITH the fairing and basket. The last fill up I got 19.8 mpg. So why take it off.

Then again, I did not buy the Xterra because of the MPG!! I just fill up whenever I need to and don't worry about the mpg.

Me too.

But in case anyone is wondering, I average 17.645 mpg.

I have been getting 19 all around. I drive fairly conservative, but get on it once in a while. Everything is stock. I have about 1500 miles now.

My 04 X hasnt seen over 65 mph since I got it. Hence the 20 mpg

I have an '04, 4wd with auto trans. Overall mileage is between 18.5-19.5 mpg. But, I've noticed that the best gas mileage is with Mobil fuel. Almost 1mpg better that Shell or Citgo. Anyone else find the same thing?

first of all, to all of you that said you are getting 18-19 miles per gallon on a 04 without doing anything to the truck, i want to ask you this, are you sure you are doing the right calculations when you fill up? i meant dividing the mileage you have against the gallons you put in.(of course this is done by filling up the tank all the way and setting the trip counter to zero and when you fill up again do this calculations)
because if you are getting this kind of mileage, well i think something is wrong with my truck.
anyway i love it!!!!

I truly mean no offense, so please don't take any...but...I've driven Xterras for years and have to call BS on claiming 22 mpg under any conditions unless you're going downhill for 300 miles in neutral.

Is the 21-22 mpg claim based on true calculations (filling the tank, then dividing the exact distance traveled by the number of gallons needed to refill the tank) or is it one of those, "well, I went about 300 miles on about 14 gallons of gas so that's 21-22 mpg" things?

And do you have a V6?

Well, I just took off my basket and faring. We'll see what happens.

As a matter of fact I like the look of the white X with 32" BFG ATs, Shrock up front and no basket/faring. Hmmm... i might just keep it that way.

I have an '02 V6 Auto 4x4 with aftermarket gas tank skid plate, rear diiferential cradle, front brush guard, rear bumper guard, K&N FIPK and Calmini cat-back:
Around town: 13.2-14.4
Highway: 17.1-18.4

I drive a lifted, bumpered, slidered, 32" tired, loaded with tools, 2002, 4wd, 5sp. Xterra (with fairing and basket on), and continuously get 17-18 mpg... I don't waste any time getting from Point A to Point B either. I'm in the middle of the Allegheny "Mountains" and drive up and down them.

And... Yes, I know how to calculate mileage. I have 78,000 miles on mine and a recent tune up did help!

-Jeremy

OMG. 16 with 33" bfg m/t's?? That's way better than what I expected. I'm upgrading.

How about this... when i drive back to college pulling an 8' trailer with my motorcycle, couch, and tons of other crap in it along with the car completely full and a bike rack on the back with a bike on it (and air conditioner on, mind you) I get between 9 and 11 MPG. 31" tires by the way.