versa performance

[sd185023]

I am kinda new to this forum. I have recently bought the 2008 Nissan versa with all power option. I have seen that this car doesnt give more then 500 to 550 kms a tank. I thought this car should give more on the highway. I have kept the RPM lower as this is a new car. Is this the kind of mileage I should expect from the car?

[kc5f]

It's been discussed here on many threads. Some folks say it will get better after break-in. Mine's been pretty consistent at 625-675 km/tank, with lots of highway driving in moderate weather and easy acceleration. A couple of folks get better, many get worse...

[sd185023]

So what kinda RPM should I maintain initially and for how many kilometers. My car is reading 700 kms now.

[DejaWiz]

It may get better as more miles are put on it.

Mine has 7100 miles on it and averages about 27.5 MPG on the highway (traveling around 70 MPH).

This is only 1 to 2 MPG better than what it averages in the city (mostly stop and go rush hour traffic). I'm still waiting for the fuel economy to improve, as I was hoping to get at least 27 MPG in such city driving conditions.... a bit disappointing so far.

[kc5f]

So what kinda RPM should I maintain initially and for how many kilometers.

The manual says for the first 2000 km, "Avoid driving for long periods at constant speed, either fast or slow, and do not run the engine over 4,000 rpm," "Do not accelerate at full throttle in any gear," "Avoid quick starts" and "Avoid hard braking as much as possible."

Some folks here say the engine is burned in enough at the factory, and others play it safe for the whole break-in period. I still do the last three and never let it go over 4000 rpm, and it helps my mileage. (Kilometerage?) Hopefully it's also better on the engine and drivetrain!

[sd185023]

Thanks a lot for the input. The next question may sound stupid or an affect of being with the wrong company but can the GAS LEVEL in the tank affect the mileage of the car.

[kc5f]

Well, nobody else has answered, but I think the answer is "no". Other than the weight of the gas, but a full tank of 50 liters would weigh 38 kilograms, and go down from there. I doubt you'd get much better mileage by never keeping the tank more than a quarter-full, or whatever amount you'd select.

[DUCeditor]

The manual says for the first 2000 km, "Avoid driving for long periods at constant speed, either fast or slow, and do not run the engine over 4,000 rpm," "Do not accelerate at full throttle in any gear," "Avoid quick starts" and "Avoid hard braking as much as possible."

There are as many POV's on the best way to break an engine in as there are motorheads. I won't take sides, but here are a few largely agreed on points:

1) Break in on today's engines is less critical than it was in year's past (when many people formed their opinions on this subject). That is because of advanced metallurgy and finer machining.

2) The key goals of any break in regimen is a) avoiding local heat (not overall raised engine temp) to prevent micro welding. The small imperfections that might cut through the oil barrier creating metal to metal contact have to be gently worn away while b), enabling the rings to expand so as to assure a good seal.

Any method that does the above is good; any method that does not do the above is not good.

The "no jack rabbit starts" and "under 4K rpm" assures the first, but if applied in an overly gentle fashion may not accomplish the later. The resulting poor ring seal and cylinder glazing will prevent the engine from ever making it's maximum potential power.

There is no magic mileage when an engine goes from "NOT BROKEN IN" to BROKEN IN." It is a cumulative process. Personally I start giving strong gas for short bursts early on. And while keeping one's rpm down makes sense, slightly higher rpm would seem to far less risky than heat-inducing lugging.

-don

[marleyfan]

My V has about 20,000 km (ish) and I'm still getting about 500km per tank. Often less. I do pretty much city driving only. When I do get out on the highway for any length of time my mileage goes up considerably.