14 MPG fair in this case?

[mclasser]

So I've given the Infiniti to my nephew to drive. He's a good kid and needed a car. His driving style definitely falls under the severe category: - Only city driving. - 3 mile round trips to school. - Stop-and-go driving when school lets out. - Small town so grocery store, fast food, friends' houses are only a few miles away. - Morning idle time is 5 minutes to clear up windows and get interior toasty. He fills up premium gas (mfg recommended) and routinely checks fluids & tire pressure. Current fluids are Castrol 5w40 syn oil and MaxLife ATF. I've asked him to hand calculate his MPG and he gets around 14. Considering this driving style is pretty hard on a 16 yr old car in the winter -- fluids don't fully warm up, fuel dilution, multiple starts a day -- is 14 MPG fair with winter blend gas? The EPA city estimate is 17.

 

[HemiHawk]

for sure, in almost any vehicle I've owned I've noticed roughly a 3mpg hit in winter.

 

[TmanP]

Yep, under similar circumstances (short trips just around town) and in the dead of winter my Buick gets 15 or so, the Sienna 12-15 and the Silverado 9-12. I'd say he's right in the ballpark. Most cars will do poorly given these conditions but bigger, heavier cars with larger engines will do worse. Short tripping is hard on cars, so I try to get it on the highway and fully warm it up regularly. I also change oil more frequently. Aside from this, it's all you can do.

 

[Andrew1972]

5 min warm up is killing your MPG driving 3 miles round trip.

 

[Audios]

Yea the warmup is a long time, Id cut it in half max, and Im sure theres seat heaters in the car too. That does sound about right though, these engines really get good mileage on the highway, otherwise around town they guzzle it. Plus we all remember how we drove when we were 16/17

 

[gabriel9766]

I dont even figure mpg in the winter. normally i average 28-31mpg combined in the summer with the ac on. If i do an all highway trip with the car in ac eco mode i can get 39mpg at 70mph in my Malibu.

 

[FZ1]

Yep. The thick oil,waiting in the fast food drive,the warmup,and the short tripping are doing it. Lucky to get 14. That oil seems too thick,is the oil synthetic?

 

[Oro_O]

Originally Posted By: Audios

Yea the warmup is a long time, Id cut it in half max, ...

Cut it in half? I'd cut it to shreds. 30 seconds or so, then keep it under 2000 rpm until the temp gauge is swinging past at least 1/4. Then turn on the heat. Take care of the machinery first, not your fanny. If he can't manage or adapt to that, then let him go old school. Microwave a potato, let him carry that in his hands while he walks through the cold to keep him warm. Then he can eat if for lunch at school, after leaving it near the fire during the morning while he sits through his lessons. Just like the kids on "little house on the prairie." Seriously, that's a horrible routine in the winter morning for the car - fuel dilution, etc. Horrible. Teach him. Also, is MaxLife the best atf for that older vehicle? I don't know about infinity transmissions, but I have an Acura and lexus from that vintage, and they WAY prefer DexIII thickness fluids and not modern low-viscosity ones. Just a thought. Really loving Castrol Transmax HM in DexIII/TIV original spec applications right now, after a lot of experimenting. Just a thought, may not apply to that car.

 

[FCD]

Cut that warmup time, your kids are not going to freeze because the interior is not toasty warm...

 

[mightymousetech]

30s warm up. If you can see, start driving. Otherwise you are just throwing fuel out the tailpipe.

 

[RooflessVW]

Mileage seems about right. You're under the EPA estimate for city because of the idle time, cold weather, and age of the engine.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Yup, 14 mpg sounds quite possible under these circumstances.

 

[mclasser]

Cool, good to know it seems right. I agree that the warm up time is too much, especially With heated seats and steering wheel. MaxLife works great. This tranny is known to beat up ATF so a syn fluid is a necessity.