Hybrid News

On two different occasions I have noticed my car belched out a bit of smoke when I accelerated hard, both times on to a highway. It made me wonder, since most of the time I am really lugging the engine around town, if these engines are prone to a bit of buildup. Has anyone else noticed a bit of smoke during hard acceleration? I’m thinking a bottle of Techron once in a while might be in order.

Would you pay more for a high performance trimline of a car intended to focus on higher mileage? How much economy are you willing to compromise for better performance?

I am among those who loves the idea of a super-efficient car, but I still want some power…the work that many companies are doing with twin turbo and direct injection is yielding much better performance and economy, so could the hybrid market need to offer some performance?

I have been wondering but was afraid to try it.

For those of you that are really into modding your NAH, I wrote up a short post over at cleanmpg on my solar panel I mounted recently.

Let me know what you think!

Eph

Hi Guys new here but have had my 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid with technology package since last year :D. Living in maryland and had to travel to New Jersey to get it and it is worth every cent:).

I am thinking about putting some Wheels on it but not sure what is the proper course of action to do so. What will happen if I put 18′ Wheels on my NAH? What procedure should I follow I want to have fun with my Hybrid, get a few outside items not too much but I want to show the world :D I love my hybrid and I want it to even look even more unique than my other cars. It averages about 37.5 as long as I drive with some sense, about 34.3 if I drive my age. Would I lose my warranty? Can it hurt the car?

Another serious concern is my EV mode does not come on as much lately. When I normally start up the car wait about 2 minutes and then it kicks in and then I start to drive. Normally, I can get a fair distance before ev mode cuts off as long as I do press gas pedal too hard. Which I try not to do when I can stay in ev mode and save a lot of gas but lately, it just will not click to ev mode like it has in the previous year. I hit my 15k mark. I’m actually over about 100+ miles and I’m taking it in this wednesday I will get it through its premium maintanence. The oil is over about 100 miles so I’m at 3850 compared to the 3750 I normally take it to get it worked on.

Fellow Hybrid owners hit that start button and help me out oh yeah dont forget to hit the brake before hitting that start button ;). I know it is cheesy but in a generally good mood it is Friday after all.

Gallery: SEMA 2008: Nissan Altima Hybrid Racecar

Hi all. Any of you had any experience in the snow with your nah. I am being told the tires are the main culprit (continental). I am curious if anyone went to snows or anything else- Thanks, Andy

It’s getting cold here quickly.

So, I now have both my upper and lower grills blocked from the inside with black coroplast. Looks pretty good, IMO, and I’m noticing I can get to temperature more quickly and maintain temperature better. I’ll take a couple picks to post soon…

Question: In the lower grill (below the bumper) on my ‘08 NAH, there is some kind of sensor visible to the right of the license plate.

What is that? Can it be shifted slightly? Can it be blocked? Hope so! :embarass:

Thanks,
Eph

Apparently, driving as efficiently as possible doesn′t score plus points with the cops

On my commute back home, I have a 4.5mi stretch of road which is a slight downhill almost the whole way and is just absolutely perfect for the NAH. I can make it from top to bottom without a drop of gasoline and almost no change in battery level going 40 mph the whole stretch. Only problem - street is 3 lanes and has a 50 mph speed limit.

Generally when there is traffic around me I drive with the speed limit, but otherwise go 40mph. This one night I was coming home from work pretty late (1am) and figured, what the heck, no cars on the road, lets work on FE Well half way down the hill I pass a stopped police car, then see it start up, close up behind me and ta ta… lights start flashing and off I stop to the right. The cop came over and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi (<– thats the first time I have ever been pulled over, wasn’t sure what to say)
Cop: Would you like to tell me why you are going so slow?
Me: Well since this is a hybrid vehicle, whenever I go under 42 mph the car travels using only the electric motor and thus it is very fuel efficient.
Cop: How much have you been drinking today?
(I got pretty annoyed at that point)
Me: I never drink.
Cop: You never drink while driving, or you never drink before driving?
Me: I dont drink, period.
Cop: Count backwards from 10.
Me: 10, 9, 8, … 1, 0.
Cop: 0?
Me: Yes 0. Its a number. It represents how much gas I have consumed since the top of that hill. It also represents how much I drink. Is there a law against driving slowly to conserve fuel?
Cop: I will ask all the questions.
Me: You have already asked all the questions. I would like to have your name and whatever identification number you use. After that, feel free to give me a breathlizer test and unless you plan on citing me for something, I would like to be on my way.
Cop: Have a nice day in that case.

At which point he just turned around, walked back to his car and took off like he was on a race track… prb burned more gasoline in those 3 seconds than I do in a week…

As far as I am aware the verbage for driving too slow is something along that lines that you are going under the speed limit and are holding up more than 3 cars on a single lane, and there are no problems with the vehicle that would warrant driving slowly. So given that there were no other cars on the road that night I was pretty sure that I am well within my rights to drive slow, although now that I think about it while speaking with the cop I prb should have kept my mouth a little less open But that darn comment about drinking just really got to me given that I am totally against alcohol…

Anyways, moral of the story, drive slow to up FE, but not so slow that you are attracting cops!

Hi,

NBC news announced That Nissan is having a recall on 2007 to 2009 Altima cars due to a defect in the passenger air bag sensor. I am trying to find any confirmation from the normal sites.

http://www.wnbc.com/automotive/17721272/detail.html

15,000 miles and time to change the interior cabin filter. I have the shop manual on CD and the procedure didn’t seem too complicated but in reality it was a major PIA - so difficult that you would think it was engineered by a European car company.

You have to remove the glove box which wasn’t all that willing to just slip out and once you get it out you discover that they don’t leave enough slack in the connected wires to manuver it very well.

The worst part is getting the old filter out and then trying to postion the new filter in the opening. You can’t see any of this as the slot if too far forward and pretty much hidden. It seems like the opening is smaller than the filter.

The old filter I took out didn’t look that dirty so I would say that another 30,000 miles would be soon enough for the next change. Not looking forward to doing this again - maybe go to the dealer.

for the last 11 months winter avg was 28.3 but car was new

Summer saw low of 27.2 high of 28.8

last month raised to 29.9 and this last tank was 596.2 / 19.175 gal or 31.1 mpg with ZERO AC use.

I can barely sniff a 600 mile tank much less 700 or 800

last tank at 31 mpg = coasting where possible , long coasting to off ramps, accelerating at or below the first tick on the power guage , using EV upto 15-20 mph before ICE kicks in and using 100% gasoline not E10.

Dealership tested the car and A/F was at 99% and Iam using 0W-20 oil.

Trip to work consist of the following 1/2 mile neighborhood + 10 miles 70-75 mph tollroad + 4.5 miles of 40mph 4-lane main arteries.

any suggestions on how to get 35+ ????

Although this may have been asked already, I was just curious as to what fuel most NAH owners are using. I’ve been using 87 octane from Chevron, Mobil, and Shell… but I was thinking of switching to 91…

Working on a new theory which I have not heard anyone mention. Reducing the amount of air which enters the intake will increase fuel economy. My theory is that it will decrease performance, but increase FE due to the computer sensing a lower volume of air and running a leaner fuel to air ratio to the ICE. It goes against all that we have learned in the past, especially with the Horse Power dudes. Some time ago I swapped the standard air cleaner in my 2003 Toyota tacoma pu, for a K&amp;N high performance (greater flow) air filter. I noticed immediately that the FE had dropped but the throttle was peppier and seemed to be more aggressive on acceleration. Again it is only one vehicle but is it possible? I have not had a chance to try this on the NAH and am deciding on the best way to restrict airflow. Perhaps a thin layer of some cloth material covering the intake tube inside the air box, or maybe a cloth material covering the air filter (paper element) within the air box. What do you guys think???