# how many miles do you?...



## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

how many miles do you normally get to an entire tank? the first time i filled my car up then went all the way to 320 miles and the gauge was at the bottom. now my gauge is having some issues. i filled it up on saturday and it went 50 miles and the needle was at 3/4. I know this is not right because the first time i filled it up it stayed at the very top. It seems to be getting worse everytime. I noticed that when i fill it up from empty it stops on 10 gallons. now i know this car holds 13 gallons and should be able to go longer then the 300 miles I drive with it. is anyone else experiencing these problems?


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## oliverr87 (Sep 23, 2005)

The gauge is known to be screwy. I would say don't worry about it, and see how many MPG you get when you fill up. To get the MPG, just get the number of miles you have on your TRIP meter, and divide against how many gallons you put in. If you do not see any significant changes, don't worry about it.


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

last night when i parked the car the trip odometer was at 172 miles and the gauge was at 1/4. then i went outside this morning and it was halfway between 3/4 and 1/2. when i started the car it slowly went down to 1/4 again. now it says E and i only went 200 miles


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## Petrovich (May 13, 2005)

Hey, one day I filled up with 10.5 gallons and I only had 220 miles on the odometer. And the car runs perfect, too. Well, usually I get about 250-300 per 10 galons, mostly city driving... But on that one time I had a lead foot syndrome for the duration of entire tank. Pretty good compared to my Legacy's 6mpg foot-on-the-floor fuel economy 
My old sentra had a similar problem when I went to the tank and screwed with the fuel pump. Messed up the gas gauge a bit, so the reading was off. Forget about the gas gauge anyway.
Only thing that should ever worry you is the MPG. Fill up every time you hit 200 miles, and if your fuel economy is alright, you'll never be left stranded. If it worked for a gas-eating Firebird, it'll work for a sentra, too


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## TheMadCheshire (Dec 30, 2004)

Well i usually get about 300-350 miles per tank. Lately i've been real heavy on the pedal and going like 100 on the highways going from work to school, school to where ever and such. So i've only been getting about 280-300 lately. Sure if i let up and went the speed limit i'd get over 300 to the tank. BTW, i've never filled up more than 11 gallons on my car. Even when it was like at E or lower


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## b13pnoysentra (Mar 30, 2005)

The most that I ever stop at to fill up is halway between 1/4 and the empty line of the guage with 260 miles on the trip and about 9 gallons on the clock. I'm sure it could have went more, but I don't like my engine to use gasoline with sediments from the near-empty tank.


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## 94SE-R_wi (Sep 14, 2004)

b13pnoysentra said:


> The most that I ever stop at to fill up is halway between 1/4 and the empty line of the guage with 260 miles on the trip and about 9 gallons on the clock. I'm sure it could have went more, but I don't like my engine to use gasoline with sediments from the near-empty tank.


You all are lucky i get about 150 miles out of a tank of gas. It was like this with my last SER as well. I think it is mostly the way i drive it. Oh and when i fill up from empty mine is 9 gallons.
-Ben


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

ok i went 266 miles and refilled with 11.5 gallons. oh btw i ran out of gas on the way to the gas station  

so this means i am getting 23 mpg, which is not good. this car should be getting atleast 30 since i basically drive most on the highway(everyday). im at a loss because it runs perfectly and the transmission shifts the way it should. i probably need a tuneup. it could also be my 2 front snow tires couldnt it?


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## JohnnyWash1 (Jul 27, 2005)

cdipier2 said:


> ok i went 266 miles and refilled with 11.5 gallons. oh btw i ran out of gas on the way to the gas station
> 
> so this means i am getting 23 mpg, which is not good. this car should be getting atleast 30 since i basically drive most on the highway(everyday). im at a loss because it runs perfectly and the transmission shifts the way it should. i probably need a tuneup. it could also be my 2 front snow tires couldnt it?



Not likely, unless your snow tires are a larger tire size. A larger size will cause a misreading in your speed; you car will count one rotation of the tire to be a smaller distance than in reality. So, if your snow tires are larger, they might be the culprit (and in that case, your mileage is unaffected--it would be your measurement of miles that would be the problem). 


On a tangent, I got 29mpg on that last tank. It was something like 310 miles for 10.8 gallons.


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## b13pnoysentra (Mar 30, 2005)

94SE-R_wi said:


> You all are lucky i get about 150 miles out of a tank of gas. It was like this with my last SER as well. I think it is mostly the way i drive it. Oh and when i fill up from empty mine is 9 gallons.
> -Ben


Isn't the capacity of the gas tank from empty 13 gallons though?


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

WEA WEA WEA try 200 to the tank shiftin gunder 3k, but thats a turbo sentra for ya


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

they are 185-70-r13 and i only have them on the front


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

b13pnoysentra said:


> Isn't the capacity of the gas tank from empty 13 gallons though?


the fuel pump doesnt go all the way to the bottom of the tank so if your underneath that the car will stall out


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## JohnnyWash1 (Jul 27, 2005)

cdipier2 said:


> they are 185-70-r13 and i only have them on the front



Stock size is 175/70R13, so the difference total diameter is about .5" (23.196" for your tires; 22.645" for stock). If we carry that out to circumference, the actual circumference of your new tire is 1.7" greater than stock (72.87" vs 71.141"). Dividing those numbers gives you a multiplier that you can use to convert what your odometer reads to a more accurate number. Keep in mind that the speedo is not very accurate in the first place, so this may all be worthless. Nevertheless, the multiplier is 1.024. This means your actual miles travelled were closer to 272.3, rather than 266. So, your actual mileage is closer to 23.68mpg rather than 23.1mpg. That isn't much.


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

i was never good in geometry, it always confused the hell out of me. however, i do understand algebra much more


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## 91 sentra se (Sep 16, 2005)

dont have any service manuals available to me although i was pretty sure that my 91 sentra se only has a 10 gallon tank almost positive i get around 310-350 to a full tank and have 199,048 on the odemeter 2nd owner since 56,000


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

thats pretty good. mine has 118K which is pretty low for a 1992. i think i need a tuneup


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## oliverr87 (Sep 23, 2005)

91 sentra se said:


> dont have any service manuals available to me although i was pretty sure that my 91 sentra se only has a 10 gallon tank almost positive i get around 310-350 to a full tank and have 199,048 on the odemeter 2nd owner since 56,000


All B13 Sentras have a 13.2 gallon tank.


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## b13pnoysentra (Mar 30, 2005)

Damn, my mpg went from 28.4 to 26.1141245 yesterday. I had 241.8 on the trip and filled up 9.2 gallons with 91. Is this bad? I'm hoping it's just the cold or the constant flooring/minor speeding this week.


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

mine got a little worse this time. i think its because of the weather


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

update
the gauge has bee getting better now when i fill up. last night i filled up and did 100 miles between last night and today, and I have 3/4 tank left. that is about what it should be at i beieve


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## Willy_g77 (Nov 14, 2005)

my 1993 nissan Se-r got 97 miles on a full tank last time. i let it warm up ten minutes before i go to school. i know something is wrong with the tranny.. (slipping and what not.) but this is crazy 97 miles!!!!!!!! what could cause such gas mileage loss? help!!!! im going crazy!!! :thumbdwn: :loser:


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## internetautomart (Mar 8, 2004)

you've got 2 mileage sucking problems.
fix them both and then you'll see better mileage


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## yuke (Nov 16, 2005)

*Poor Mileage*

I also am getting poor mileage about 23mpg.I think I should be getting 30.Tried a lot of things but no increase in mileage.Maybe someone else had this same problem and can shed some light on it.


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

this time i got 24 mpg, im glad it got better. and my fuel gauge is working again


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## JohnnyWash1 (Jul 27, 2005)

I'm down to about 25mpg per tank. City driving and 227K suck.


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## yuke (Nov 16, 2005)

In reply to mileage,When I checked it this time after about 200 miles of highway and the rest city I was impressed with 31 mpg.Since I have an auto 1.6.I think getting my egr to work was a big part of the increase.I do'nt think my egr solenoid valve is working so I currently have it unhooked till I figure out whats wrong with it.


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## JohnnyWash1 (Jul 27, 2005)

yuke said:


> In reply to mileage,When I checked it this time after about 200 miles of highway and the rest city I was impressed with 31 mpg.Since I have an auto 1.6.I think getting my egr to work was a big part of the increase.I do'nt think my egr solenoid valve is working so I currently have it unhooked till I figure out whats wrong with it.



Mine gets around 34-35mpg on the highway. It's just my city mileage that sucks.


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## NissanGuyB13 (Dec 10, 2005)

i get around 280-300 (w/o lead foot)miles a tank im running a 1.6 with I/H/E



97 miles are u kidding either ur car has massive work done or needs a SE-Rious tune up and if i were u id jump on it asap



Willy_g77 said:


> my 1993 nissan Se-r got 97 miles on a full tank last time. i let it warm up ten minutes before i go to school. i know something is wrong with the tranny.. (slipping and what not.) but this is crazy 97 miles!!!!!!!! what could cause such gas mileage loss? help!!!! im going crazy!!! :thumbdwn: :loser:


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

this time i got 25.33 mpg with 265 miles and 10.460 gallons to fill it :givebeer:


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

cdipier2 said:


> this time i got 25.33 mpg with 265 miles and 10.460 gallons to fill it :givebeer:


winter *sigh* 19mpg last fill up. summer is better, 24-25 (sometimes 26 if i massage the throttle)


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## 91 sentra se (Sep 16, 2005)

no way impossible i ran my car out of gas last night on purpose with a 5 gallon can in the back seat with exactly 5 gallons and it only took 5 more gallons to fill it up and the gas station was within 2 miles away from when i ran out only has a 10 gallon tank for SURE!!!!


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## b13pnoysentra (Mar 30, 2005)

91 sentra se said:


> no way impossible i ran my car out of gas last night on purpose with a 5 gallon can in the back seat with exactly 5 gallons and it only took 5 more gallons to fill it up and the gas station was within 2 miles away from when i ran out only has a 10 gallon tank for SURE!!!!


I got 28 mpg last fill-up. And somebody in the forum said that the fuel pump doesn't get the fuel all the way from the bottom so it isn't really a 13.2 gallon tank.


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## bnorml (Oct 27, 2004)

The problem with most fuel gauges is that they are not well calibrated and almost all fuel tanks use a float attached to an arm. The movement of the float up and with the level of fuel rotates a variable resister between ground and the fuel gauge. The other side of the gauge is connected to voltage, so as the level goes down the amount of resistance changes and the needle moves towards empty. If the connection between the sender and the gauge is intermittent or the wire is corroded it can give incorrect readings or the sending unit could be sticking or not moving freely. You can get access easily to the sending unit/fuel pump under the back seat.


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

this time i got 23.70. not 2 bad but it could be better


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## msnizjett (Jan 9, 2006)

All I know is that ever since I put in an intake/large diameter muffler, my gas milage decreased.


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## b13pnoysentra (Mar 30, 2005)

Okay, I just beat the 29 mpg city driving that Edmunds.com states the GA16 sentras should get for city driving. I got 30.143156597 on today's fill up (all city). I have an ebay intake, apexi n1 muffler, ngk spark plugs v-power, new distributor cap, new pcv valve (deustch), wix oil filter, castrol syntec 10w-30 motor oil, wix fuel filter, ngk blue spark wires, and running on 91 octane shell v-power. This was shifting at 2k rpm 80 percent of the time, up to 3k rpm at 10 percent, and redlining the other 10 percent all the way to third. If I never floored it all those times I woulda probably reached 35 mpg (city).


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

lucky you, mines been getting worse again


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

recently i learned that this car is too small for more then 2 people. normally i drive everyday by myself for school and such. but i took out my younger siblings last week (total of 4 in the car) and this thing is so cramped and sluggish. i want to upgrade maybe to an altima or maxima because its way to small inside

maybe a b14 would be a little bigger inside


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## b13pnoysentra (Mar 30, 2005)

Yeah, you can feel the slowness with passengers. Plus, the car gets really low in the rear.


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## JohnnyWash1 (Jul 27, 2005)

I changed my distributor cap and rotor and spark plugs (car was hesitating) and now the car runs much smoother. I imagine I'll see close to 30mpg now.


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## rx7racr (Jan 25, 2004)

Mine is getting ~19mpg, and I CAN'T PASS EMISSIONS (but it runs PERFECTLY!)!!! 

Has anyone been able to SOLVE their fuel consumption issues??? 


the B13 should get great mileage - - it's a lightweight 4-banger!! IF this doesn't improve, I may as well trade it for a truck!!


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## msnizjett (Jan 9, 2006)

rx7racr said:


> Mine is getting ~19mpg, and I CAN'T PASS EMISSIONS (but it runs PERFECTLY!)!!!
> 
> Has anyone been able to SOLVE their fuel consumption issues???
> 
> ...


Not me. Car is sittin pretty in the garage. Think it's time to trade also, for a 350Z. Probably get better gas mileage with that 6 cylinder. All my aspirations for adding a turbo is dwindling. Oh heck, it's auto anyways.


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

b13pnoysentra said:


> Yeah, you can feel the slowness with passengers. Plus, the car gets really low in the rear.


yes especially when my younger brother is in the back he ways 300 pounds, plus another sibling back there is not good on the car at all

has anyone had an older altima(93-97) or older maxima(up to 97)? i wonder how they are on gas/space/acceleration


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## b13pnoysentra (Mar 30, 2005)

cdipier2 said:


> yes especially when my younger brother is in the back he ways 300 pounds, plus another sibling back there is not good on the car at all
> 
> has anyone had an older altima(93-97) or older maxima(up to 97)? i wonder how they are on gas/space/acceleration


The Maxima should be faster. It has better space accomodation and decent gas mileage.

95 Altima SE

Length: 180.5 in. Width: 67.1 in. 
Height: 55.9 in. Wheel Base: 103.1 in. 
Curb Weight: 2829 lbs. 
Interior 
Front Head Room: 39.3 in. Rear Head Room: 37.6 in. 
Front Leg Room: 42.6 in. Rear Leg Room: 34.7 in. 
Luggage Capacity: 14 cu. ft. Maximum Seating: 5 

Base Number of Cylinders: 4 Base Engine Size: 2.4 liters 
Base Engine Type: Inline 4 Horsepower: 150 hp 
Max Horsepower: 5600 rpm Torque: 154 ft-lbs. 
Max Torque: 4400 rpm Drive Type: FWD 

Fuel Tank Capacity: 15.9 gal. 
EPA Mileage Estimates: (City/Highway) 
Manual: 24 mpg / 30 mpg Automatic: : 21 mpg / 29 mpg 
Range in Miles: (City/Highway) 
Automatic: 333.9 mi. / 461.1 mi. Manual: 381.6 mi. / 477 mi. 

97 Maxima SE

Length: 187.7 in. Width: 69.7 in. 
Height: 55.7 in. Wheel Base: 106.3 in. 
Ground Clearance: 6.1 in. Curb Weight: 3010 lbs. 
Interior 
Front Head Room: 40.1 in. Front Hip Room: 54.3 in. 
Front Shoulder Room: 56.8 in. Rear Head Room: 37.4 in. 
Rear Shoulder Room: 56.2 in. Rear Hip Room: 55.9 in. 
Front Leg Room: 43.9 in. Rear Leg Room: 34.3 in. 
Luggage Capacity: 14.5 cu. ft. Maximum Seating: 5 

Acceleration (0-60 mph): 6.9 sec. Braking Distance (60-0 mph): 134 ft. 
Road Holding Index: .79 g Base Number of Cylinders: 6 
Base Engine Size: 3 liters Base Engine Type: V6 
Horsepower: 190 hp Max Horsepower: 5600 rpm 
Torque: 205 ft-lbs. Max Torque: 4000 rpm 
Maximum Towing Capacity: 1000 lbs. Drive Type: FWD 
Turning Circle: 34.8 ft. 

Fuel Tank Capacity: 18.5 gal. 
EPA Mileage Estimates: (City/Highway) 
Manual: 22 mpg / 27 mpg Automatic: : 21 mpg / 28 mpg 
Range in Miles: (City/Highway) 
Automatic: 388.5 mi. / 518 mi. Manual: 407 mi. / 499.5 mi.


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## JohnnyWash1 (Jul 27, 2005)

I had a 1991 Maxima 5-speed and I got about 21-24mpg. But, it was alot quicker. I only had the 160hp VG, but it was a sweet engine. Loved that car.


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## keesio (Nov 4, 2003)

With my 92 Sentra XE

For me a 'full tank' is 11 gallons. I've never filled more than 11 gallons at one time. And this was after I let the fuel gauge drop clearly under the E for 15 miles. My manual says 13 gallons is what we have but I'm not gonna risk it.

With that said, on a 'full tank' I get

Winter driving (city/highway mix) = ~210 miles
Summer driving (city/highway mix)= ~260 miles

On the times I go on a long summer road trip where my car is pretty much on the highway the whole time (and no AC on or anything), I've gotten 330-340 miles. That is about the best I've even gotten


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## Kindfiend (Oct 13, 2004)

You guys looking for sugestions about bad gas milage? Or just talking about how bad yours is...

Anyway, a tune-up, timing and idle check will do wonders. As would checking the tire pressure. The O2 sensor would be my next item on the list. Possibly the coolant temp sensor (that the ECU reads, not to the gauge). Driving habits, like cruising at 85 compared to 65 on the highway. Plenty of stuff to go over if you are getting horrible milage.

I just reread the title, so it looks like I'm off topic here... Still something to think about.


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## JohnnyWash1 (Jul 27, 2005)

Kindfiend said:


> I just reread the title, so it looks like I'm off topic here...



Yes, you are.


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

i just missed picking up a 1996 maxima se. the sucker was fully loaded with leather, sunroof, and it had a manual. im mad cause it was $2700


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## internetautomart (Mar 8, 2004)

cdipier2 said:


> i just missed picking up a 1996 maxima se. the sucker was fully loaded with leather, sunroof, and it had a manual. im mad cause it was $2700


you should be. that's a decent price if the miles were reasonable


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## msnizjett (Jan 9, 2006)

Kindfiend said:


> You guys looking for sugestions about bad gas milage? Or just talking about how bad yours is...
> 
> Anyway, a tune-up, timing and idle check will do wonders. As would checking the tire pressure. The O2 sensor would be my next item on the list. Possibly the coolant temp sensor (that the ECU reads, not to the gauge). Driving habits, like cruising at 85 compared to 65 on the highway. Plenty of stuff to go over if you are getting horrible milage.
> 
> I just reread the title, so it looks like I'm off topic here... Still something to think about.


I'll try that. Yeah, it's high time I change the O2 sensor. Actually, I should let the factory do that. My brother and I "play" mechanic and "tune" my car on boring weekends. I get good gas mileage and acceleration for about 5,000 miles then I lose that "just tuned" feel. Thanks for your advice. :thumbup:


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

internetautomart said:


> you should be. that's a decent price if the miles were reasonable


i think the miles were high on it. any other maxima around the same year i see is like 5-6K, which is a bit much

but i will keep looking. i really want a loaded maxima


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## JohnnyWash1 (Jul 27, 2005)

My Maxima had 220K on it and it ran fine. The VG30 was a great engine.


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## cdipier2 (Nov 26, 2005)

is it nice and quick too?


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## JohnnyWash1 (Jul 27, 2005)

cdipier2 said:


> is it nice and quick too?



Well, the VG30 only had 160hp, but with a y-pipe and intake it was fun. Much quicker than the Sentra. It wasn't fast, but it was fun.


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