Just wondering what all you have done to get better fuel economy on your Pathfinder/QX4. any mods or add-ons that have increased your mpg.

Warn hubs can do the trick if you have the transfer case without the AUTO setting... Other than that, regular maintenance and easy driving is about all you can do!

my secret is that I stopped pretending that I'm driving my 240sx the first few fill-ups cured me.

They get terrible economy . . . so much so, that the word "economy" shouldn't be used -- instead, there should be a new word. But I expected it, and bought an R50 ANYWAY. . and I don't regret it.

But in all seriousness . . . I wish the diesel swaps were more common. . or common at all -- haven't heard of ANYONE doing this. The new Pathy gets well over 30 mpg, even in town.

Speaking of better fuel economy, I'm interested to know what octane level everyone uses for gas. My owners manual (02 Pathfinder) says I have to use premium gas, but I started using regular gas over a year ago, and I haven't noticed any difference (except in my wallet). Will this cause long term problems, or am I OK to continue? Any opinions?

VG33E recommends 87 octane. . I've never had a desire to try anything higher.My 240sx recommends premium for "optimal performance" and I do notice a bit better economy... at least, it sure seems like it.

The thing is, that guy BUZZMAN has an 02 pathfinder which has a VQ35, a much different motor than the earlier VG33. The manual for an 02 pathfinder will say "premium fuel only" but it really isn't that important. It will run fine on regular fuel. In fact, it might even run better at low and regular RPM's, since regular gas burns easier than premium with higher octanes. (octane is nothing but the measurement of a fuels resistance to pre-detonation AKA autoignition.) The ECU in your pathfinder will adjust to the fuel. Lower octane will most likely net you more MPG when the ECU notices that it has the easier burning fuel and adjusts to use less fuel. The only time you could possibly see a problem with regular fuel in your VQ35 would be upwards of 7000 rpm (possibly pinging) but most pathfinder owners just don't drive like that.

PS - kouki, I see in your signature that you did the foglight modification. Looks sick bro. I'm glad that it does not come that way from the factory, it makes it a rare sight to see.

fueler wrote:

PS - kouki, I see in your signature that you did the foglight modification. Looks sick bro. I'm glad that it does not come that way from the factory, it makes it a rare sight to see.

Thank you sir!! I agree, actually. . it was such an easy fix, too. . thanks to your help. I'm going to re-do it a bit and run the signal for the relay off of something else, since I already have killed my battery (wasn't a big deal really)

That pic was from last night. . I found a small parking lot out in BFE to play in after it snowed.

http://ot.home.insightbb.com/qx4snow4.jpg

I also riced it out a bit and added LED amber corner lights. . they're not real real bright, but the coloration is very uniform.

Good info regarding the fuel, as well -- I actually had my facts reversed.
Modified by KoukiS14 at 3:20 PM 2/7/2007

Ill tell you what i did. I tested all the surrounding relays with a volt meter to try and find one thats only hot when the key is turned on. That will give the same effect as the rest of the lights, where they turn off when you turn the car off. I hooked the wire up to a prong of a surrounding relay, I believe is says "AC" on it, I can go take a look for you... As far as the fuel thing, people think that 91 is "better" (usually girls). They don't know that it's harder to burn and causes a loss in MPG. 91 octane is for high compression or forced induction motors, so that the fuel mixture doesn't detonate prematurely in the cylinder, which causes "pinging" and other things, like the 4 currently cracked cylinder walls in my 1.8T hybrid honda engine.
Modified by fueler at 1:56 PM 2/7/2007

I was thinking of LED bulbs as well. are they brighter than OEM? I purchased 1156 LED amber bulbs for my turn signals, and they are bright, the problem is that the resistance is so low on them that the QX4 thinks there is a burnt bulb and they blink twice as fast. Great. What a waste.


Modified by fueler at 2:15 PM 2/7/2007

KoukiS14,

Are those HID's in yoru fogs? Looks bright as hell? Or is it H3s with yellow capsules? Looks nice.

It's probably H3 bulbs with the OEM amber caps. I have the same setup and it is identical. The only modifications we have done were to the relay, allowing the foglights to work without the headlights being on. (some states require foglights to remain off if the headlights are not on - the reason all cars with foglights have a relay this way. I've heard of a guy in VA who failed inspection with this mod. Fortunately, I live in CA.)

fueler wrote: It's probably H3 bulbs with the OEM amber caps. I have the same setup and it is identical.

I wish the 2001's on up kept the yellow fogs. That would look nice with the HID headlights.

I think others have used the power outlet number 1 before. . I'll look into it. Don't go taking your ride apart, but if you remember which one that'd work. . I'm not going to be doing this until it warms back up again anyway. If there's one for the AC, that'd make sense to me. .

As for the LEDs. . . the ones I have contain 5 LEDs. . all 4 mm, in a 168/194 base. . I'd THINK they would be brighter, but they aren't really. . I was sorta upset, but oh well. . the color is nice from them so I'll keep 'em. There're so many damned types on eBay. .some have a million LEDs, some have one, etc. . I'm sure there's one out there that's just ungodly bright. I'd like that one. . haha

nmgoodthing wrote:KoukiS14,

Are those HID's in yoru fogs? Looks bright as hell? Or is it H3s with yellow capsules? Looks nice.

Thanks Nah. . I thought about that tho. . haha. . I'd probably never do it. Honestly, it looks a lot like that, but the exposure time was also something like 2.5 seconds to obtain that photo. Not to mention, all the snow on the ground. The headlights really overpower the fogs.

fueler wrote: It's probably H3 bulbs with the OEM amber caps. I have the same setup and it is identical. The only modifications we have done were to the relay, allowing the foglights to work without the headlights being on. (some states require foglights to remain off if the headlights are not on - the reason all cars with foglights have a relay this way. I've heard of a guy in VA who failed inspection with this mod. Fortunately, I live in CA.)

Yeah, just OEM with amber lenses. I, too, am glad there are no inspections.

nmgoodthing wrote:
I wish the 2001's on up kept the yellow fogs. That would look nice with the HID headlights.

I KNOW!! I LOVE the look of HID + yellow fogs. . makes me think of the GS400 or IS300. I'm actually toying with the idea of maybe someday picking up 01+ headlights / grill / under headlight finishing piece, and keeping my old school bumper.I'm guessing this would work. . I have no idea.

I like the later model, but I wish they had yellow fogs too. I prefer the headlights and updated body cladding from the 01+ over the original, but I like some of the other stuff on the old one better... guess we can mix and match till we get what we want

unrelated: I just tallied up all the smilies in my last 3 posts. Funny thing is, I'm sitting here typing most of this with a stoic, slack-jawed expression on my face.

That's OK, i'm sitting here butt naked with a bong filled with ice and a 24oz Pacifico, techno music playing on my satellite radio, so you shouldn't feel so weird.

fueler wrote: That's OK, i'm sitting here butt naked with a bong filled with ice and a 24oz Pacifico, techno music playing on my satellite radio, so you shouldn't feel so weird.

Honestly. . I'm in the middle of cleaning the place right now. . all of that sounds f-ing great to me.

edit: save for the part about a naked man . . . . no offense