why do nissans have poor gas mileage?

[urameatball]

their 350z gets about the same mileage as a 5.7L corvette C5.
I heard the xterra is absolutely horrible in gas.

and generally, the cars in their line-up are generally not very fuel efficient, especially when compared to other japanese car makers (well, I guess the sentra is pretty decent, but nowhere near the efficiency of a toyota/honda of the same class)

[Rocky03]

I thought the Altima 4cyl was the best gas milage in it's class beating the Camry & Accord.


EDIT: (looks like the Honda is the worse)

new EPA:
4 cylinder Altima: 26mpg
4 cylinder Camry: 25mpg
4 cylinder Accord: 24mpg

6 cylinder Altima: 22mpg
6 cylinder Accord: 21mpg
6 cylinder Camry: 23mpg

[XxXSnake23XxX]

I thought the Altima 4cyl was the best gas milage in it's class beating the Camry & Accord.

i can vouch for that one
have a I4 altima amazing gas!

[urameatball]

cool, my bad :P
guess they're not all that bad :P

[KorruptioN]

You say it like all Nissans are terrible at efficiency.

Comparing the Nissan VQ35DE to the Chevy LSx is beyond apples and oranges. They do different things, they're designed differently, and even in terms of performance, they do not compare.

[urameatball]

You say it like all Nissans are terrible at efficiency.

Comparing the Nissan VQ35DE to the Chevy LSx is beyond apples and oranges. They do different things, they're designed differently, and even in terms of performance, they do not compare.

but isn't it a little strange that a higher powered 5.7L is getting the same mileage as a 3.5L? I find it strange.... strange indeed.

[ShadowVlican]

older subaru n/a engines get the same gas mileage as current turbo models.... go figure

[ES_Revenge]

but isn't it a little strange that a higher powered 5.7L is getting the same mileage as a 3.5L? I find it strange.... strange indeed.

You're comparing a pushrod motor to an overhead cam motor. It's not a good idea to do this just looking at displacement, however it's all too common that people do this.

The Corvette's LSx engine has 16 valves for example, the VQ35xx has 24 valves.

VQ35 has to rev to make it's power, whereas the large-displacement Vette engine has lots of low end. In regular driving people are perhaps more likely to rev the Nissan higher between shifts which could net lower fuel economy. Tap the throttle in the Vette and it goes, the 350Z needs a little bit more enthusiasm

There's many other factors which can affect fuel economy. For example axle, final drive, gear ratios all affect overall fuel economy. It's certainly not as simple as saying "hey this engine is x litres and this one is y litres" and then automatically assuming that whichever is the lower of x or y should have better fuel economy. It simply doesn't work like that.

Plus as someone else said, not all Nissans can have poor economy can they? I mean I'm sure the Versa and the Sentra are fine in their class right?

[camber]

but isn't it a little strange that a higher powered 5.7L is getting the same mileage as a 3.5L? I find it strange.... strange indeed.

Not really...

The 360HP 6.0L LS2 found in the Pontiac G8 gets way worst mileage then the 3.5L engine in the Infiniti(Nissan) M35. Both cars are similar weight and size...

That's more of an apples to apples comparison.

Corvette and 350Z is an apples to orange comparison. One is a cheap and mass produced sport car based off a widely used platform and the other is a from the ground up made only to be a sports car.

Outside of the Corvette, the LSX series engines returns rather average fuel economy for that particular application and segment.

[malecoke]

actually my x-trail is on par with the 2008 CR-V, accroding to the recent test by canadian driver.
Doing around 12.5L/100km with full city driving in such horrible weather conditions.

[mr_raider]

their 350z gets about the same mileage as a 5.7L corvette C5.
I heard the xterra is absolutely horrible in gas.

and generally, the cars in their line-up are generally not very fuel efficient, especially when compared to other japanese car makers (well, I guess the sentra is pretty decent, but nowhere near the efficiency of a toyota/honda of the same class)

Because they make more powerful cars in equivalent segments to Honda and Toyota, i.e. G35 vs. is250, sentra vs. civic. Power eats gas. Two cars with similar power and torque curves will have similar gas consumption, regardless of engine displacement.

[Engi-Nir]

Not really...

The 360HP 6.0L LS2 found in the Pontiac G8 gets way worst mileage then the 3.5L engine in the Infiniti(Nissan) M35. Both cars are similar weight and size...

That's more of an apples to apples comparison.

Corvette and 350Z is an apples to orange comparison. One is a cheap and mass produced sport car based off a widely used platform and the other is a from the ground up made only to be a sports car.

Outside of the Corvette, the LSX series engines returns rather average fuel economy for that particular application and segment.

not really, one is 18 mpg (G8 6L ) vs M35 3.5L 19mpg

[KawaiiTentacleBeast]

The 360HP 6.0L LS2 found in the Pontiac G8 gets way worst mileage then the 3.5L engine in the Infiniti(Nissan) M35. Both cars are similar weight and size...

The G8 GT does not use the LS2, it uses the L76/Gen IV Vortec 6000, same or similar to the Suburban/Yukon.

Also according to fueleconomy.gov,
Car city/highway/combined

G8 V6: 15/25/20
G8 V8: 15/24/18
M35: 16/23/19

Engine displacement really has very little to do directly with fuel economy, I don't see why anyone would come to such a conclusion.

[Tomy]

my 2000 altima gets good mileage when i had it..

i forgot the numbers.. but i remember gas mileage was one and horsepower was one of the positives of this car =)

[Asad_A203]

their 350z gets about the same mileage as a 5.7L corvette C5.
I heard the xterra is absolutely horrible in gas.

and generally, the cars in their line-up are generally not very fuel efficient, especially when compared to other japanese car makers (well, I guess the sentra is pretty decent, but nowhere near the efficiency of a toyota/honda of the same class)

Really hard to say; i get poor gas mileage; worse than if owned a F350/Corvette. I think it really comes down to the Corvette engine being alot more simplier; the VQ is mass produced and is definately not as simple as a pushrod. Probably didn't fit well with the vehicle; and lets not forget the 350Z/G35 are heavy vehicles too.

For the 350Z lacking torque; it doesn't really; I get around mostly under 2000 RPM. Anything above 2XXX; I am going to fast for general traffic. The 350Z/G35 put out 90% torque (243 lb/tq) from 2000 RPM to 7000 RPM; Corvette Z06 puts out fricken 400 lb/tq from 2400 to 6600 RPM. Difference between Corvette and G35 is well the torque output of 2-3 Honda Civics there . That being said; the 350Z puts out more torque at 2000 RPM than most vehicles on the road; so the 350Z having to rev higher is probably not the reason.

To be honest I have no idea why a Corvette would be more fuel efficent than my vehicle. Sure it sucks; but I think the car has alot of other qualities that make it worth it. Nissan has put newer engines in the G which has increased fuel economy; the HR (high rev) is now both in the G35 Sedan and the 350Z. The G37 3.7L has that BMW M3/M5 feature thing (can't remember off top of my head); but apparently it has better fuel economy than the prior G35C while producing 60 more RWHP.