# Why not a begginers guide to increase performance and mpg?



## NAstyed (Nov 22, 2004)

As a newbie, on cars, what i am always looking for is not how to swap my cars brakes or engine, i would love to do something big in my car, with my own hands, but honestly, i don't have the tools, or the knowledge to do it, maybe in a couple of years, of investment, meanwhile, as i am a normal, monday-friday worker, i try to to little things to my car on the weekends, and i am always looking for articles, on how in little steps i can improve fuel economy, and overall performance, not for racing, but for hobby.
Now that i have explained a little my concept, i would like to invite people to make suggestions on how can a newbie like me, get a little more of his car, like, weekend projects, i know i might be asking too much but i think there are a lot of new owners, that want to be involved on something, that they can talk about the next monday with their work friends.

thanks for your time.


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## Lazarus_023 (Jun 3, 2003)

NAstyed said:


> As a newbie, on cars, what i am always looking for is not how to swap my cars brakes or engine, i would love to do something big in my car, with my own hands, but honestly, i don't have the tools, or the knowledge to do it, maybe in a couple of years, of investment, meanwhile, as i am a normal, monday-friday worker, i try to to little things to my car on the weekends, and i am always looking for articles, on how in little steps i can improve fuel economy, and overall performance, not for racing, but for hobby.
> Now that i have explained a little my concept, i would like to invite people to make suggestions on how can a newbie like me, get a little more of his car, like, weekend projects, i know i might be asking too much but i think there are a lot of new owners, that want to be involved on something, that they can talk about the next monday with their work friends.
> 
> thanks for your time.


read the stickies?

there's good stuff there. and feel free to ask questions if you need more details.

this (B11/12/N12) is actually one of the better forums for that. check the forum for your engine, as well. E/CA series is groovy.


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## dreamteam (Jul 29, 2005)

Well,OK....Here is a few of my favorites.

Upgraded wheels and tires to p185-r14 on pulsar se rims.

Lowered front end 2 inches.

Re-routed fresh air intake hose.

Installed front air dam.

Opened spark plug gap to .050, NGK only.

Set timing ahead two degrees.

Burn mid-grade gas. 89 octane or higher.

Adjusted clutch pedal up one inch.

Results? Better handling, acceleration and fuel mileage.
90 sentra standard- two door-ga16i.

Almost forgot, straight thru exhaust on glass pack muffler.


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## NAstyed (Nov 22, 2004)

Thanks dreamteam and Lazarus_023 for the ideas :thumbup:


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## mille-16i (Jun 16, 2004)

rule of thumb an engine is an air pump the easier it can inhale and exhale the better it will run. I.E. better exaughst little bit larger than stock can be made at any muffler shop. A muffler for bigger car gives decent sound qual and will be freeer flowing than oem replacement, glass pac will be louder but loud if good. K&N filter or similar colder air for intake even homemade ram air. and keep the tune ups done with hi qual parts not discount brand parts. run good tires that are properly inflated and alligned. Bigger cams adjustable cam gears (if available) adjust valve lash (if aplicable). 14 inch 60 series or 15 50 series tires really help these cars out. there are a few mainly keep it in good running order and don't waste your money on higher grade gas it will not give you enough on these cars to make up for the added cost unless you are running turbo or hi comp.


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## NAstyed (Nov 22, 2004)

mille-16i said:


> ...and don't waste your money on higher grade gas it will not give you enough on these cars to make up for the added cost unless you are running turbo or hi comp.


Well that was something i wanted to ask but kept forgetting, i have a 1990 Sentra, in my country they sell *High grade* gas, and *Regular* gas, which i can bet money, is what in US maybe the sell as *Normal* and *lawn mower*, so, how can a lower grade gas may affect my engine, will it damage something with the time, or it will not be as powerfull as with the higher grade, or can i put lower grade but with the money i save can give it a little maintenance to the engine?


Thanks


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

lower octane burns at a lower temp so its perfect for n/a (naturally aspirated) cars. turbo, high compression, and nitrous cars need a higher octane because as the piston compresses or as the turbo heats up or the bigger shot of nitrous u use, the hotter and hotter the intake charge is going to be therefore u get a pre ignition. As the charge temp or compression increases then so must the octane or the engine wont run correctly because the gas would ignite too early from the heat or the compression rather than the spark (pre ignition).

running a higher octane in your car would just cause carbon build up and make your car eventually run like poop because u wont burn all the gas so just stick to 87 and u will more than likely see the best gas mileage that u can get.


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## mille-16i (Jun 16, 2004)

octane is the rating of the fuels resistence to detonation the lower the number the quicker it will detonate so in low compression aplications like your everyday E or GA engine it is not worth the cost since detonation is not a worry yes higher grade gas is a wee better but a wee bit for an extra 10-15 cents a gallon not worth it in my book. How ever as the coin flips if you are runnning a built SR20 or CA16 with higher chamber preasures( turbo hi comp) then the higher octane is needed not so much for power but for detonation. 

If all you get is 35 mpg on mid grade and get 33 mpg on reg do the math it is not worth it. I have only ran mid grade in one car and it was a ZEETEC Ford that got about 4-6 mpg better on average and I ran cheveron so it has better additives and what not. I would say run a tank of higher grade Texico or Cheveron every so offten may help.


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## NAstyed (Nov 22, 2004)

Really good information, i though for years that mid grade and low grade fuel was just speaking of quality, not temperature, yesterday i had to fill up the tank and am gonna start my test too, i filled up with mid grade gas, and will see the difference for a couple of days, by far what i've noticed that the "click click" (misfire?) going up a hill has been reduced remarkably, and this morning, when i started the car it was shaking more. I didnt knew it but i ran it with high grade fuel for a full year, does that will affect my engine? should i do something about it, beore it's too late?


p.d.
My friend has a Sentra 91, not the same ga16i as i have i think, i told him what you guys told me about the gas and he told me to ask you which gas does he should use on his.

Thanks a lot for your time, me and my car are very happy with your comments! :thumbup:


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## dreamteam (Jul 29, 2005)

NAstyed said:


> Really good information, i though for years that mid grade and low grade fuel was just speaking of quality, not temperature, yesterday i had to fill up the tank and am gonna start my test too, i filled up with mid grade gas, and will see the difference for a couple of days, by far what i've noticed that the "click click" (misfire?) going up a hill has been reduced remarkably, and this morning, when i started the car it was shaking more. I didnt knew it but i ran it with high grade fuel for a full year, does that will affect my engine? should i do something about it, beore it's too late?
> 
> 
> p.d.
> ...


Your click click misfire going up a hill sounds like the beginning of the dreaded #3 spark plug wire failure that is so common on these engines.

It starts out intermittent and just gets worse.

Look under your hood in a dark place at night and you will see what I mean.

As far as octane ratings go , they are not always what is posted on the pump.
If you car is knocking under hard acceleration you need more octane or to manually reset (retard) the timing.

Constant pinging or knocking usually indicated a mechanical problem.
Worn timing chain or distributor or both.


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## dundee (May 11, 2002)

ga16i eh? swap in a ga16de slap on a turbo ..... :evilgrin:


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## NAstyed (Nov 22, 2004)

dreamteam said:


> Your click click misfire going up a hill sounds like the beginning of the dreaded #3 spark plug wire failure that is so common on these engines.
> 
> It starts out intermittent and just gets worse.
> 
> Look under your hood in a dark place at night and you will see what I mean....


Well in the past (6 months ago) i've got a problem like the one you told me, the tip from the 3rd spark plug cable (from left to right, looking from the front of my hood), was all burned out, and i had to replace the cables, do you think this is the same problem, why can i be happening so often then? Ill take a look at the cables, but also, i might sound idiot, but, when you say, that i should check them in a dark place, you say I have to unplug each one of the cables at a time, with the engine running, and check the tip? can you be a little more specific?


Thanks!


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## BII (May 13, 2004)

The names of gasoline grades is purposely confusing. In the US we tend to have, Regular, Mid (sometimes called Premium), and then Premium (sometimes called Super Premium). There is nothing 'better' in the mroe expensive grades, but as others already explained, the higher grades contain more octane.

Many higher-end and performance cars require 'premium' because the engineers designed those engines with more power in mind. But many people put the 'cart before the horse' and think the extra power comes from the more expensive gas. Not so, the engines were designed to run on this gasoline. If your engine was not so designed (and Sentras, being economy cars, we not), then you'd just be wasting money (unless you've modified your car to the point where you take advantage of the extra octane).

As an aside, many cars today that require premium will also run on regular. Their computers will pull back the timing to conpensate for less octane, so power will suffer, but they will generally run. The converse however, is not true unfortunetly, cars designed for regular won't detect higher octane and advance timing for more power


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## dreamteam (Jul 29, 2005)

NAstyed said:


> Well in the past (6 months ago) i've got a problem like the one you told me, the tip from the 3rd spark plug cable (from left to right, looking from the front of my hood), was all burned out, and i had to replace the cables, do you think this is the same problem, why can i be happening so often then? Ill take a look at the cables, but also, i might sound idiot, but, when you say, that i should check them in a dark place, you say I have to unplug each one of the cables at a time, with the engine running, and check the tip? can you be a little more specific?
> 
> 
> Thanks!


No, I did not mean unplug each wire.
I only meant to LOOK at the wires to see if any sparks are jumping around.
That is why the dark place.
This visual check will tell you if the wires are leaking any electricity.


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## NAstyed (Nov 22, 2004)

dreamteam said:


> No, I did not mean unplug each wire.
> I only meant to LOOK at the wires to see if any sparks are jumping around.
> That is why the dark place.
> This visual check will tell you if the wires are leaking any electricity.



Ok, i got it wrong, i'll do it just like you are telling me and see what happens, thanks!


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## mille-16i (Jun 16, 2004)

NAstyed the noise under hard acceleration is pinging a form of detonation. it is a sign of a tune problem since our cars were designed for 87 octane (regular) it should not need higher octane to not ping. run some good fuel system cleaner see if that helps. some times enough carbon will build up on the pistons to create hot spots in the cylinders this is real hard to remove with out a full tear down so mid grade may be nescary. but look at all your tune parts check timming wires plugs stuff like that. As for your friend nissan already answered his question on gas grade it is in his owners manual. A GA16DE should run regular.


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## NAstyed (Nov 22, 2004)

mille-16i said:


> NAstyed the noise under hard acceleration is pinging a form of detonation. it is a sign of a tune problem since our cars were designed for 87 octane (regular) it should not need higher octane to not ping. run some good fuel system cleaner see if that helps. some times enough carbon will build up on the pistons to create hot spots in the cylinders this is real hard to remove with out a full tear down so mid grade may be nescary. but look at all your tune parts check timming wires plugs stuff like that. As for your friend nissan already answered his question on gas grade it is in his owners manual. A GA16DE should run regular.



Thanks Mille-16i, i now see the difference between fuels, the pinging has been reduced a lot, when cold almost 0, but, when my heat sensor, its about 50% the ping start to show, i want to change my cables, spark plugs and oxygen sensor, for a ngk one i saw, maybe that will help i think.

I will tell my friend also to use Regular, he just got the 91 sentra a few days ago, and he has noticed that his fuel consumption is a lot more than mine, i would say 3 times more fuel,,, obviously something is wrong, but his engine sounds nice, no pinging, what he should he start to look also in his engine? i told him that he can star by filling up the gas tank to max, and then a week later make numbers and see the average MPG on his engine, and start from there.

Thanks !


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## SuperStock (Dec 31, 2003)

Slacky said:


> lower octane burns at a lower temp


no, its just the opposite. lower octane burns at a higher temperature.



on my GA16i i notice some knock during the summer, so i put in 89 oct and it goes away


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## mille-16i (Jun 16, 2004)

NAstyed said:


> Thanks Mille-16i, i now see the difference between fuels, the pinging has been reduced a lot, when cold almost 0, but, when my heat sensor, its about 50% the ping start to show, i want to change my cables, spark plugs and oxygen sensor, for a ngk one i saw, maybe that will help i think.
> 
> I will tell my friend also to use Regular, he just got the 91 sentra a few days ago, and he has noticed that his fuel consumption is a lot more than mine, i would say 3 times more fuel,,, obviously something is wrong, but his engine sounds nice, no pinging, what he should he start to look also in his engine? i told him that he can star by filling up the gas tank to max, and then a week later make numbers and see the average MPG on his engine, and start from there.
> 
> Thanks !


Have him post on the B13 forum he should get lots of help from ppl well versed with the Ga16DE and its problems but always hit the basics like a full tune up


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## NAstyed (Nov 22, 2004)

dreamteam said:


> ....
> Look under your hood in a dark place at night and you will see what I mean.
> 
> If you car is knocking under hard acceleration you need more octane or to manually reset (retard) the timing.
> ...


dreamteam, yesterday night i looked under the hood, and there were any sparks around, but this week, i discovered than my engine is not as economical as i though, i was cheking this website

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ 

and saw that the 17 MPG im getting from my engine is half of what i should get from it!

About the pinging, it doesnt occur meanwhile my engine temp is below 40%, then something strange happens, let say im going up a hill, im on 2nd gear and have my pedal pressed 50%, if i press it a little more, it starts to ping, but if i completely press it to 100%, it stops to ping, why these gaps?

What should be my MPG attack plan? plugs? wires? Oxygen sensor?

21.6 liters of gas, for 100 miles is not a good number!  


Thanks


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## dreamteam (Jul 29, 2005)

NAstyed said:


> dreamteam, yesterday night i looked under the hood, and there were any sparks around, but this week, i discovered than my engine is not as economical as i though, i was cheking this website
> 
> http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
> 
> ...


Is your air filter dirty and plugged?


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## NAstyed (Nov 22, 2004)

dreamteam said:


> Is your air filter dirty and plugged?



I checked it and it is not so dirty


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## dreamteam (Jul 29, 2005)

OK, good on the filter.

We will need to address the issue of "pinging".

Let's do this one stage at a time.
We will start with the cooling system, since that is a common issue on these engines. 

Locate the bleeder bolt.
It is under the spark plug wire loom. This is the "comb" that holds all four spark plug wires together before they branch off to each separate cylinder.
There is a bolt holding the loom to the block, look down a couple of inches and you will see another 10 mm bolt in the block. This is the bleeder bolt.

Do the following with the engine off and cold.

Open the radiator cap.
Open the bleeder bolt two turns.
Pour coolant into the radiator.
Coolant should be dripping out of the bolt now.
Pump the lower radiator hose by hand.
Continue pumping and pouring until no more air (bubbles) escapes from the bolt.
You can speed this process up by removing the bleeder bolt, but, you will have to be quick at threading the bolt back in so you don't loose too much coolant.


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## nastynissan (Jan 26, 2003)

Not to step on your toes Dreamteam.... But why not check the timing first as it is the #1 cause of Spark Knock after tune-up issues... 

That and if the temp gauge isnt going much over 1/2 you shouldnt have any cooling issues.. If you are having cooling issues then the question becomes... For How Long has it been an issue..

The timing can also have a MAJOR effect on fuel mileage.. Personally in 10+yrs. in the automotive field Ive NEVER had cooling system be the cause of a spark knock, Unless it had overheated and blew the Headgasket...

Check the timing and if OK.... We'll delve further into things...


Just to make sure... The Fuel filter, Dist cap, Rotor, and Plugs are ALL in good shape??? If NOT replace them FIRST... I know youve checked the Air filter and Wires..


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## dreamteam (Jul 29, 2005)

nastynissan said:


> Not to step on your toes Dreamteam.... But why not check the timing first as it is the #1 cause of Spark Knock after tune-up issues...
> 
> That and if the temp gauge isnt going much over 1/2 you shouldnt have any cooling issues.. If you are having cooling issues then the question becomes... For How Long has it been an issue..
> 
> ...


Hey Nasty,
You and me are on the same team.
We are likely going to be answering a lot of posts together.
My approach is a methodical one.
Yours is more hands on.

In this case, I would like him to eliminate the coolant issue first.
Then move on to the mechanical ones.
If the head is not bled correctly, it will not cool correctly.

BTW, your method of removing the ball joint from the steering knuckle was right on the money.
keep up the good work.

PS, NAstyed, sorry I highjacked your thread.


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## nastynissan (Jan 26, 2003)

dreamteam said:


> Hey Nasty,
> You and me are on the same team.
> We are likely going to be answering a lot of posts together.
> My approach is a methodical one.
> ...


Its cool man... Everybody has a different way of doing things. And I tend to get a bit uptight occassionally. :cheers:


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## nastynissan (Jan 26, 2003)

AND Ive been wrong before.... 


Nastyed............ Check out this thread..... http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=108940

His Pinging WAS from a cooling issue!


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## bob89sentra (Sep 15, 2005)

nastynissan said:


> His Pinging WAS from a cooling issue!



It was a combination of overheating, timing off and the EGR was leaking. I stopped most of the pining when my engine was warm, but not hot, by removing the exhaust line from the inlet of the EGR, and plugging it with a vacuume cap. I still overheated, and would ping at the higher temps, even with premium. I rechecked my timing, and it was at 8-9 DEG BTDC (just a tad too advanced) I backed it off to 6-7 DEG BTDC, and almost all pinging went away. It would ping when I would overheat, at lower RPMs with more pedal pressure. The new intake manifold, stopped the pinging, and overheating.​


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## dreamteam (Jul 29, 2005)

Now we're gettin' it!

Right or wrong working together is what it's all about.

Happy Thanksgiving!


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## bob89sentra (Sep 15, 2005)

dreamteam said:


> Now we're gettin' it!
> 
> Right or wrong working together is what it's all about.
> 
> Happy Thanksgiving!


Thank You 
And happy Thanksgiving to All y'all too​


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## NAstyed (Nov 22, 2004)

Thanks to all for your responsed, i havent responded in a few days beacuase i switched job, but now, im all setup, i did a few changes to my car in the time i wasnt reponding in this post, and i now am much better than before in MPG, my mechanic realized that the past owner removed the thermostat and that was the reason the temp was allways too low, one other thing is that ia schitched to regular Fuel, before i was using Premium as i though the name was related to quality, also my mechanic did a change on the distributor and i surely took a lot of the pinging out, now im in 25 MPG that's a lot compared to 17 i was getting, now i looked at my sparks and they are severe burned i took them off and did a little cleaning on them, just the contacts and the pinging was reduced a little too, im about to buy new sparks, and i want to invest in the besti can, any suggestions? iridium? is that as good as they say? will those work in my 90 GA16i Sentra?

Thank you very much for your time, here in Costa Rica, we dont celebrate Thanks Giving, but i wish you all a nice one!

Bye!


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## nastynissan (Jan 26, 2003)

NGK is the only way to go... I use their V-power in my stuff, But their OEM version should be just fine for most peoples needs..


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## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

SuperStock said:


> no, its just the opposite. lower octane burns at a higher temperature.
> 
> 
> 
> on my GA16i i notice some knock during the summer, so i put in 89 oct and it goes away


 so adjust your timing, higher ocatane is needed when u have higher compression or a hotter running engine.


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## dreamteam (Jul 29, 2005)

NGK-BCPR5ES-11 is the plug you want.

Gap it at .044
expect to pay about 2.50 american.
You can order them on line at several parts places,
or purchase them locally.

These are not the most expensive plugs, but will perform as well or better
than most others.


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