Increase in Mileage - things to look out for?

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Soldato
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17 Oct 2002
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Hi there,

I drive a Nissan 350z and due to a change in work contract will now be doing 400 miles a week as a commute rather than about 25. The large majority of this is motorway (Bristol to Swindon) but I was wondering what I should keep an eye on i.e. how frequently should I change the oil, how long to tyres tend to last etc etc.

Also (local knowledge needed) given I suspect I will now be doing approximately 20k miles min per year does anyone know any good Nissan/Jap sports car garages in the Bristol area for servicing etc. There is a Wessex Garage in Bristol that serves as a Nissan dealership but other than that I don't know any and have never used it so have no idea what it is like :)
 
Hope someone is paying your fuel bill. I sold my M3 because of a mileage increase similar to yours, and I have to fork out for my own fuel.
 
350z can do 30MPG on a run so it isnt the worst car in the world to be commuting in. However the heavy control would be putting me off as a distance commuter.

Not really much to look out for, just increased servicing and fuel consumption. Tyres, brakes etc will no doubt wear out quicker due to the mileage but I fell like I'm stating the obvious?
 
Tyres yes, brakes I think would be about the same as you don't really use them much through the distance. Hope you're not going near Jct 20. For what it's worth never go north if it gets closed between 17 and 16, always take the south detour (unless your work is in North swindon I guess). If you're going to Nationwide/old town in Swindon they opened up a new road recently that isn't all that well marked I can label if you want it. There are also other routes from Jct15 to town if the A419 North closes I can label too. In the 6 years I did that stretch the vast majority of the accidents were on the Bath hill crest and just after 17 going east (everyone loses mobile signal here co-incidentally).
 
Going from a 5 mile to 50 mile daily commute was one of the contributing factors to getting rid of my Octavia vRS. I could afford it but I simply never had the desire to drive the thing for anything other than getting to work and back... which leads on to "there is absolutely no difference what car you drive when all you do is play follow the leader in traffic"... which leads on to random resentment of running costs. Now I just want something cheap to run with cruise control and am no less happy running our Grande Punto to work everyday.

Obviously the 350Z is a much better car but also has higher costs associated with it. If you like the car and can afford to do so I'd look at getting something to soak up the boring miles and keep the 350Z as something a bit special for leisure use.

In answer to your original question just stick to the manufacturers service interval (if anything it was when you were doing lower mileage this should have been a concern) and check your fluids and tyres once a week for peace of mind :cool:
 
I know you didnt really ask this but it might well be worth looking into a different car? getting a 50mpg diesel should see you £30 a week better off in comparison to your current at best 30mpg.
Unless your mileage is being paid for of course :)
 
I currently do 95 miles a day, in a peugoet so not exactly a similiar car...
But i have noticed that the following should be checked.
Tyre wear can give a readout on the suspension state.
I currently service the engine every 10k i.e. Drop the oil and change filters.
The brake pads on mine havent needed changing in the last 20k because ypu dont really use them.
Id find that motorway miles seem to have less mechanical wear on the engine than city or country driving. Might want to look at your belts.
You sure you dpnt want to buy a mk2 mondeo to pile the miles ontp
 
Other than the additional fuel costs and tyres, its not the biggest issue in the world as motorway miles are pretty gentle on a car.
 
Abraxaz1 said:
I currently do 95 miles a day, in a peugoet so not exactly a similiar car...
But i have noticed that the following should be checked.
Tyre wear can give a readout on the suspension state.
I currently service the engine every 10k i.e. Drop the oil and change filters.
The brake pads on mine havent needed changing in the last 20k because ypu dont really use them.
Id find that motorway miles seem to have less mechanical wear on the engine than city or country driving. Might want to look at your belts.
You sure you dpnt want to buy a mk2 mondeo to pile the miles ontp
Click to expand...

I also have a Pug (306 2.0hdi)...although my daily just now is an old Audi A6 2.5tdi auto est....and it's a greedy ****er, ie about 30-5 to a gal....Pug easily gets 50....but Audi is comfier and lazier....but does that justify more diesel, tax ect.....mmmmmm dont know :confused:
 
Motorway miles are nothing to a car.
I got a story: Me and my mate had a Primera 1.8 from first owner 90k motorway miles on the clock. Two years later we wanted to change it for one with less miles one cos that one went up to 130k miles. We went to see same model of car 2 owners 65k miles done in the city only. That car was ****ed 3 times worse than our 130k miles one lol.

Anyway i would say just do standard oil changes ect cos car on motorway barely gets worn compared to city driving.
 
NathWraith said:
350z can do 30MPG on a run so it isnt the worst car in the world to be commuting in. However the heavy control would be putting me off as a distance commuter.

Not really much to look out for, just increased servicing and fuel consumption. Tyres, brakes etc will no doubt wear out quicker due to the mileage but I fell like I'm stating the obvious?
Click to expand...

Hm, when i was researching into the running costs i found that the majority of owener said 25mpg is more realistic for motorway driving.

The only time I ever saw 30mpg honestly mentioned was if it was driven like miss daisy at 50 mph in sixth gear everywhere :p
 
Jono8 said:
Hm, when i was researching into the running costs i found that the majority of owener said 25mpg is more realistic for motorway driving.

The only time I ever saw 30mpg honestly mentioned was if it was driven like miss daisy at 50 mph in sixth gear everywhere :p
Click to expand...

I did a journey to bournemouth and back on one tank, 424 miles, approx 85 on cruise the whole way. Cracked just over 30MPG. My average MPG was 23.

Check my posts I posted a screenshot somewhere.
 
Ianm63 said:
I also have a Pug (306 2.0hdi)...although my daily just now is an old Audi A6 2.5tdi auto est....and it's a greedy ****er, ie about 30-5 to a gal....Pug easily gets 50....but Audi is comfier and lazier....but does that justify more diesel, tax ect.....mmmmmm dont know :confused:
Click to expand...

im doing it in a 1.4hdi peugoet 206 with a 50 litre tank+ brimming
My level of boredom has reached extensive levels, that i have now started playing audio books as the radio stations like to play the same 5 songs over and over but I do get 700 miles to a tank if I drive sensible...
 
I've been commuting from Swindon to Bristol for nearly 2 years for work.

Petrol is obviously my biggest expensive and concern. I leave early from home and early from work to avoid 'other' drivers as that would be my second most irritating thing about commuting.

Other than that, it's fine. Large MP3 collection. Comfy seats. Moderate right foot. Cruise control is a blessing.

Saab 9-5 Aero Estate. MPG varies through boredom. I reckon 33 MPG being good and 26 MPG being enthusiastic for parts of the journey.
 
Things to look out for:
Significant decrease in thickness of wallet from fuel and maintenance costs
Increasing dread of having to go to work because of commute
Conflicts with other commuters listening to their MP3 collection who seem to "switch off" and drive on autopilot in the mornings.
 
Would you like to see my running costs of an E92 M3 on 27k/year mostly business miles? Would that make you feel better?

//wanders off to cry a bit in the corner
 
If you can afford it why not, I have a 300 mile round trip commute once a week so did the sensible thing and bought an S2000 for it ;)

Where in Swindon out of interest, I did a bit of work at Nationwide for a while last year.

(kept in touch with any of the other Exeter Uni guys?)
 
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