To all:

I have searched every forum for the answer to my question, and have found some parts to my question but not all. So for all you Xterra owners out there that want to tell me to search, eat your heart out.
So I have wanted a Xterra for a long time, finaly finished college and got one. Love it.
I knew the gas mileage would be bad, but I am getting an average of 13 in town, and 14.5 on the highway! And there is no as much get up and go that I would like.
There was only one owner before me, I bought it 3 months ago with only 39,000 miles on it. The lady that owned oviously did not take care of it, the tires were worn thin on some parts because she never rotated them.
I put some 31 X 10.50 BFG T/A on.

So my questions...

1# Should I check for certain things that she might now have taken care of that would lead to the bad gas milage?

2# Is there a gas mileage, as well as performance, improvement by replacing spartplugs.. installing a cool-air intake.....better exhaust system....ect? If so, what brands work best? What mods are best?

I can see that many answers on the site are..."If is not worth the money"
Take money out of the situation...what would make a 2001 XE 4X4 get better gas mileage and performance?

I would appriciate any and all responses.

Thank you for your time.
J

I discovered the magic elixir to getting awesome gas mileage: a light touch.

I drove across the country (Vancouver to Montreal, about to return in a couple of weeks) and mileage was my highest priority.

Before the trip I averaged 350-400 kms on 55 liters (you do the math you non-metric heathens). Calculating around $0.90 per liter for a 5000-km trip, my wallet cried and pleaded with me to fly instead.

I pumped up the tires to 35 PSI (BFG AT 31") and removed the roof rack cross bars and air dam, and hit the road. The rack and dam didn't have as much of an impact compared to the way that I drove though, as I've repeated the same improvements in mileage with a huge 18-foot canoe on my roof for a few 500-km trips since I've been out here. Aerodynamics plays less of a role than:

Stepping way lighter on the go pedal and planning your hills and stops properly.

I increased my 55-liter fillups to 600 KMs by simply accelerating smoothly (shifting before 2000 RPM) and staying under 100 KM/h. I would increase speed slowly and slightly if coming up to a hill to give me some more momentum, but I wouldn't mash down on the gas if the truck slowed down, I'd just let it slow down to whatever it wanted to as I climbed up a hill, and let it accelerate to whatever it wanted to on the downhill (up to 120 KM/h, then I'd take the foot off the gas and coast).

In-town driving is the same, accelerate easily and shift below 2000 RPM, plan your stops and let off the gas early so you coast to red lights or stops. Even better, try to guesstimate when the light will turn green so you don't waste precious energy re-accelerating.

A body in motion stays in motion. Plan your acceleration and coasting speeds, even in traffic you can improve things alot. It's better to waste a bit of gas accelerating before the hill than trying to stomp on the pedal halfway up, downshifting and hitting high RPMs just to maintain speed. Don't accelerate up to an oncoming stop, you'll only get there 1 or 2 seconds faster anyways and you'll waste a shitload of fuel.

I've noticed the truck's sweet-spot for mileage to be around 90-105 KM/h. 120 KM/h kills it and brings me right back down to 350 KM per 55 liters.

I've gotten so used to being easy on the gas now, that when I do want to have some 'fun' and nail the throttle 'till I hit redline, holy shit does it feel like there's a lot of juice under the hood!

On my 3-times-a-day fillups across the country I saw 100 kms by the first notch on the fuelometer, 200 on the first 1/4, 300 by half, and six hundred when I hit the bottom line. I'd typically fill up 55 liters, giving me another 15 or so to go before running dry?

J.
Lets see, first things first, How about an engine tune up (especially the timing), fuel filter will probably help, check the plugs (they should be OK), fluid change of oil, tranny, differential (possibly to synthetic) and make sure you use Nissan filters.
Make sure your hubs are not locked (try turning tight turns and see if the steering binds, if no STOP immediately and drive in reverse to unlock them).
An alignment might also do you good especially with your new tires.
As far as mods go, cool air intake will actually use more fuel (cool air is more dense thus the CPU will compensate with more fuel = more power). I had the best millage with a K&N drop in filter (not as much fun as a cone filter though). Exhaust might gain you some mileage (nice sound too).
Try those for now and see what you get.
I have 25K on an 02 and get on average 18mpg (half city / half highway)
Good luck

I guess I am confused about the poor mileage with my Xterra (2000) because my Pathfinder (1996) with the 3.3 gets between 18 and 19 mpg constantly on the highway, while my Xterra gets between 14 and 16. What is up with that since they both have the same motor?

I'm guessing that the X is quite a bit heavier than the old Pathy, and taller.

As for me, I drive with an extremely light touch, rarely stick my foot in it and the tach never sees 3000 rpm except on the steepest hills. I have a 5 speed and I've very adept at managing momentum. However, my city mileage still absolutely blows. My conclusion is that this engine is one gas-sucking piece of crap that was long overdue to be sent to Nissan's scrap heap. It's under the X hood because it was reasonably reliable and cheap to manufacture.

No amount of tinkering will turn it into a VTEC wunder-motor. However, when I get time, I'll be doing a complete tune-up and fluid change and I hope that will at least do something to help.

Slow cruising speeds are the key.

When I lived in cali - driving 75-80 all the time on the freeway I got 14mpg.

On hi-speed trips across the desert at 85+ - 12.5-13mpg.

Now that I live in the land of "Driving Mrs. Daisy" Cruising at 60-65mph I get 18-20mpg.

I never thought it was possible.

Actually its an extremely reliable powerplant, it just likes gas in the same way I like beer.

One other thing - you may be actually hurting your mileage by not revving up the motor ever. Some people (I'm not accusing you in particular) like to leave the transmission in a high gear so the RPMs stay nice and low and then they plant their foot firmly on the gas pedal and wait for something to happen - as the gas gushes away. It's more efficient to operate in the engine's powerband - which to me seems like 2500 - 4000 or so - at least for acceleration purposes. Even with 32s my method normally returns 16-17 city and 19-22 hwy, depending on terrain, wind, etc.

I do have a high-flow exhaust, but I haven't noticed any difference in mileage over stock (but it has noticeably better throttle response and sounds much better).

Ya, I know what yer saying. I don't lug the engine or crawl up hills in too high of a gear; I think I'm pretty sensitive to where the power band is - but I do tend to stay in the lower part of it unless I really need the revs.

Perhaps I could try higher shift points while accelerating. I think part of my reluctance to do so is that I find this V6 to be very rough and growly compared to my old Toyota four-banger (smooth revving and oh-so-gutless). I realize that vibration is inherant in a V6 design, but I feel like I'm causing the engine pain every time I go over 3000. Perhaps I'll get used to it...

Not to keep kicking a dead horse, but my 2002 Pahthfinder with a 3.5 gets around 18-20 also on the highway compared to the 14-16 with my Xterra. Is the Pathfinder that much lighter and lower to make that much difference, especially with 265HP in the 2002 Pathfinder? I think I drive them all the same over the same roads, although it is fun to pass with the 3.5 V6.

Tom

Your 1996 Pathy had a curb weight of 3995 pounds; curb weight of the X is 4,130. Combined with the roof rack and perhaps more aggressive tires than you used to run, and I think it's quite possible that you're getting crappier mileage.

As for the 2002 Pathy, it's apples and oranges. It's even heavier than the X, but the engine technology seems to be way ahead of the old one. Lots of manufacturers are getting V8 power and 4 cyl mileage out of their newest V6's. Also - the new one is much more powerful so it doesn't have to work as hard as the 3.3 to haul all that metal around.

I've concluded that the 3.3 is the George Foreman of engines. It can still deliver a knockout punch, but it costs too much to feed the fat bastard.

The Pathfinder is Nissan's Mid-sized rig for the road. The Xterra was marketed to a small section of off-roaders who needed a truck that would do the job. I have suspected that Nissan kept the horsepower down and fuel economy in line with the X to help point to the higher dollar Pathfinder for the daily urban jungle. The similarities between these two stop at their Nissan name badges. You have gotten some excallent points to help with the fuel mileage. I get 19-20mpg- 90% of the time. In the area that I live and given that most of the X's power is way down low, there is no reason to hammer it out of the hole. I get just about the same acceleration tapping the gas as flooring the thing.

Hi,

I've been shopping for a new ride and I found this website: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/bymakemodelNF.shtml

If nothing more, you can compare what you should be getting in terms of MPG with both of your vehicles.

Best of luck to you.

Amy

Wahoo!! I get the lowest fuel economy, and the highest emissions!!

A nice American Truck this 01 X made in Smyrna,Tennesee by Americans sick of their job and boss and benefits While the happy Jappanese people make a far better vehicle hence the $10,000 price swing ..ok that was outa line lol

Are you speaking english? I have a really hard time understanding anything you write.

Interesting that you say that... because historically, a V6 is less-prone to vibration than an inline-4... And toyota 4-bangers are infamous for excessive side-to-side vibration.