V36 fuel economy and pinging

[R377]

Hi,

Wife has v36 sedan as a family car.  We love it, well built and sturdy for the kids.  K&N air filters but it pings a bit in summer on hot days.  We always run BP 98.

Only downside is the fuel economy, which is felt even more now with petrol prices getting stupid.

Ive read  ECU tuning is limited and expensive, any suggestions ? Is there anything basic and cheap for tune ? Can you play with the fuel and ignition for economy ?  Can we chuck the standard air filters back in and just run it on normal unleaded ?

[Duncan]

You should definitely see if it runs OK with the standard filters back in, at least you then know what your choice is.

Tuning is straightforward but you will cost around $600-$1k for a tuning license and a modification specific tune for the car

 

 

[sonicii]

I would clean both MAFs and try standard filters and see how it goes.  No point going down the tuning route until everything is working properly

[mybrains]

due to petrol prices, I dropped the 98 and ran mine on 95 fine - no issues at all. Mind you E10 94 freaked it out and regular unleaded made it lose power

 

Economy - a nissan dealer told me that any misalignment between the two intakes over time causes a drop in economy. At least spray some cleaner in the intake butterflys to ensure one isnt sticking a bit. same with airfilters, keep them clean.

 

[awsam]

I have this issue with my 08 v36 sedan that has only had 98 in it last 10 years, and Im pretty sure my mechanic puts k&n in when servicing. Could it really be that simple? I've been shopping around to get it fixed, but being so cold in Adelaide, it doesn't make the noise.

[V35_Paul]

On 8/11/2022 at 3:58 PM, awsam said:

I have this issue with my 08 v36 sedan that has only had 98 in it last 10 years, and Im pretty sure my mechanic puts k&n in when servicing. Could it really be that simple? I've been shopping around to get it fixed, but being so cold in Adelaide, it doesn't make the noise.

give the MAF sensors a clean first. I had problems with my V35 when oil from the K&N filter would get on them.

Edited August 12, 2022 by V35_Paul

[YEE-HAA]

I notice a pinging type of sound in my V36 more during warmer months driving up a slight hill @ approx 40-50kmh in the higher gears.  Sometimes it does it so randomly that I wonder if it could actually be a timing chain type of noise/rattle.  As for fuel economy I cant really complain, as I consistently get in the low 9l/100km driving very conservatively. I also believe my tyre choice and wheel alignment played a roll in getting those figures as I used to average in the mid 10 - low 11l/100km. I only run Mobil 98 from X-Convenience.

[colin.ssc]

Wow low 9l/100km. I get mid 11l/100km on long distance freeway driving. That is incredible.

[sonicii]

11L/100km highway? are you sure that's right?  not 11km/L?  as that seems quite poor for highway driving, my V35 gets better than that with urban driving.

[colin.ssc]

Pre tune it was usually sitting around mid 12L/100km. Post tune it went to around 11L/100km.

[sonicii]

Ok, wonder if that is normal??  Even my wife's bulky VQ35 AWD Murano does better than that, usually returns around 9L/100km on the highway. V35 6MT returns around 7.5L/100km and my current Q50 is mid to high 6s.

[robbo_rb180]

Clean MAFs, Check O2 sensors are good, Check knock sensors are good.
They are quiet conservative on timing and factory knock maps (low Octane) are good.

Highway I get 8.8-9.2L/100km in my 370z so must be an issue somewhere.

Tuning anything VQ based is expensive due to Uprev licence costs & tuners knowing how to use it. HPtuners can now do a small amount of stuff but not worth the time compared to Uprev

[Aramith]

I found out that these car's were made to run on E10 as E10 was in production in Japan at the time they were made, but E10 in Japan is higher Ron than Australia's. I run mine fine on E10 95ron and don't notice a difference in performance putting premium 98 Ron in it.

You can buy a box off ebay that plugs in under the dash for $250 that reckons it gives you up to 10% better economy and up to 20% more powerful.

My dealer offered to tune mine for me for $1500 to get abother 50, 60 kilowats out of it. (bringing it up to 300KW)

you can also get after market computers to switch over giving you around the same increases, but they take control of the WHOLE car.

 

[robbo_rb180]

1 hour ago, Aramith said:

You can buy a box off ebay that plugs in under the dash for $250 that reckons it gives you up to 10% better economy and up to 20% more powerful.

My dealer offered to tune mine for me for $1500 to get abother 50, 60 kilowats out of it. (bringing it up to 300KW)

you can also get after market computers to switch over giving you around the same increases, but they take control of the WHOLE car.

 

please buy the ebay box........

They will do 230ish kw MAX with headers, exhaust and maybe intake pipes. Anything else requires a power adder (nitrous or boost)
I want some of what your dealer is on.

The after market ecu does not control everything.... they run the engine and integrate with the factory Nissan CAN system so all the factory systems work.

[Murray_Calavera]

1 minute ago, robbo_rb180 said:

please buy the ebay box........

They will do 230ish kw MAX with headers, exhaust and maybe intake pipes. Anything else requires a power adder (nitrous or boost)
I want some of what your dealer is on.

The after market ecu does not control everything.... they run the engine and integrate with the factory Nissan CAN system so all the factory systems work.

So many of his dreams.... shattered in an instant. 

[Aramith]

Sorry, i guess i was just talking about what it would do to my car. My car is still stock from the factory. My car has 245KW. I'm not sure what you're talking about when you say "they" when your car is an R33. and the aftermarket CPU's say they take control of all critical function of the car, which to me, man i thought i would write everything. I don't understand how a stock car's ECU can handle putting new exhaust and intake pipes when the factory's make the car as a complete package and made for the ones it comes with.

The dealer didn't tell me about the box i found on ebay. I found it. The dealer told me they do stage 1 tunings in his work shop and that that is the ECU tune to get another 50-60 Kilowats and the after market computers give about the same KW increase, man. They can be sourced from around $700

 

Edited September 18, 2022 by Aramith

[robbo_rb180]

 

Next thing we'll be hearing about Don mega spec fuel systems and valve springs in rotaries.......

Having worked at one of Queensland's biggest vq tuners I may know what I'm on about.

[Murray_Calavera]

59 minutes ago, Aramith said:

Sorry, i guess i was just talking about what it would do to my car. My car is still stock from the factory. My car has 245KW. I'm not sure what you're talking about when you say "they" when your car is an R33. and the aftermarket CPU's say they take control of all critical function of the car, which to me, man i thought i would write everything. I don't understand how a stock car's ECU can handle putting new exhaust and intake pipes when the factory's make the car as a complete package and made for the ones it comes with.

The dealer didn't tell me about the box i found on ebay. I found it. The dealer told me they do stage 1 tunings in his work shop and that that is the ECU tune to get another 50-60 Kilowats and the after market computers give about the same KW increase, man. They can be sourced from around $700

 

Aramith, unfortunately you're going to have to take our word on this. You have a large knowledge gap with regards to how engines and ECU's work. 

The thing on Ebay is 100% a scam. It does not do what it claims to do. 

The power increases your claiming with an ECU/tune alone are not possible. The power figures on a dyno can easily be manipulated by the operator, they could take your money and give you a dyno printout with that increased power figure showing. Only problem is that again, it's a scam. 

If you are keen to learn about how all of these things actually work, there are heaps of us here that can point you in the right direction of where you can go to learn about these things. 

[Vee37]

And worse, if it isn't a total scam (ie does absolutely nothing), it could even do damage.

[sonicii]

Yep, about the best you could expect from an ECU tune with no supporting mods would be about 10-15KW.

Anything that plugs into the OBD2 port and claims power/economy gains will be a scam ,just don't go there!

2 hours ago, Aramith said:

My car has 245KW.

At the flywheel, it is quite a bit less at the wheels where a dyno measures power. From what I have read a stock 370Z is around 200kw at the wheels, so the 370GT would be similar.

Edited September 18, 2022 by sonicii