Newbie Questions

[MsConduct]

As some of you may have noticed, I am desperately trying to find a VX to purchase before they disappear completely. I am convinced that I do want one, but have a couple of questions...

MPG. I see a number of folks selling because of gas mileage. Just how bad is it? Realistically?

Manual transmissions. Do any have a manual? I haven't seen one yet, but I have to think they are out there somewhere.

Snow. I'm planning to use the VX mostly for mountain snow driving. (Icy, slushy, not-salted roads.) Any words of wisdom?

Tires. I see that many of the trucks available need tires. What am I in for here? Am I going to be surprised because there is some oddball size requirement? Or will i be able to find tires at a somewhat reasonable price?

Many thanks!

[Mile High VX]

Gas mileage will not be your friend, but it's not tragic...:bwgy::bgwo: When I first got mine last year it was getting about 13.5 mpg combined. After a year of seafoam treatements, Lucas gas treatment in every tank, and a good tune up I'm up to about 16 mpg combined. A little less in the winter with winter gas here in CO.

No manuals for the factory. At least one member has made the swap to a 5 speed using parts from other Zu's.

Tires are going to be either 16" or 18" depending on what year VX you buy (the '99 had 16's and the '00 and '01 have 18's). VX is great in the snow, slush, etc., but it's going to depend on your tires. You'll get lots of different opinions about which tires are best, but good tires for every application are available at reasonable cost. I have Yokohama Geolander AT/S and love them. They perform well here in all the CO seasons.

[circmand]

But the tires that I have found that fit the 18s are higher than I pay for tires on my other car and company vehicles that I maintain. They are an odd size. That being said shop around for a deal. I have had luck on www.tirerack.com at $85 a tire plus $15 per tire S&H as they were over stocked and recently Pepboys got a set of 80,000 mile tires with all the fixins including road hazard and an allignment for around $600.

[VXorado]

As some of you may have noticed, I am desperately trying to find a VX to purchase before they disappear completely. I am convinced that I do want one, but have a couple of questions... Don't worry there are still plently of VXs for sale, don't rush into buying one until its a perfect fit

MPG. I see a number of folks selling because of gas mileage. Just how bad is it? Realistically? Depends, I run oversized tires- the lowest I've gotten was 12 MPG, the highest was 19 MPG (with front hubs unlocked, 17 MPG with hubs locked). The reason for the difference is speed, At 75-80 MPH the VX gets much worse gas mileage than 55-65 MPH.

Manual transmissions. Do any have a manual? I haven't seen one yet, but I have to think they are out there somewhere. Dont even think about it :bwgy:, no factory option but Big Meat installed a manual tranny (search for it)

Snow. I'm planning to use the VX mostly for mountain snow driving. (Icy, slushy, not-salted roads.) Any words of wisdom? Myself and others here live in the Colorado mountains. The VX is awesome on the snowy days

Tires. I see that many of the trucks available need tires. What am I in for here? Am I going to be surprised because there is some oddball size requirement? Or will i be able to find tires at a somewhat reasonable price?
No problems, 16" & 18" stock rims- theres a tire thread that shows tire/rim combos for lifted/nonlifted VXs

Many thanks!

Good Luck!!!

[etlsport]

in the winter time i am happy if i get 15mpg on 75% highway
in the summer same driving i get around 18mpg..
but i am also running oversized tires, cone intake and glasspack exhaust

as far as tires, the nice thing is you have some options.

factory tires are 245/60/18 on the 00-01s with 18 inch wheels. these are the hardest size to find. if you replace all 4 you can do a few different sizes though.

255/55/18 is roughly the said diameter but 10mm wider. this would keep you closest to factory look and handling they come factory on porsche cayenne and some of the landrover lr2s

265/60/18 isnt a common factory size, but is a fairly common aftermarket size for a wide variety of tires from street only to aggressive offroad. if i could do it again, i would probably buy goodyear wrangler silent armors in this size. it is larger than stock width and diameter, but with factory wheels should require zero modification.

285/60/18 is probably the most common "plus sized" tire used on the VX. it is very wide and about 2" taller than factory. looks very aggressive and sometimes requires a very small amount of trimming to the front cladding if used with factory wheels (on an aftermarket wheel, it will require more extensive shaping of the front wheel wells, but easily accomplished by a do it yourselfer)

235/65/18 is a size i have never seen on a VX however it is factory on the nissan murano and a couple others. this would give you improved snow traction because of the thinner footprint, however imho it would look too skinny. however the size is easier to come by and it would fit the skinny factory rims easily.

the 16" wheels on the 99s are much easier to buy tires for. 245/75/16 is about the most common truck tire you can find and will fit the vx. a 265/70/ is a bit wider, but still very easy to find

i would say anticipate 500 at the low end installed for a set of tires installed. about 1000 at the high end. if you go all out up to about 1200, but for the most part you will be in the 5-600 range for 16's and 750-850 range for 18s

[Cris]

MPG highway with premeum I have got as much as 380miles out of a tank with regular max about 280 to300 . As for the trans NOP! didn't come with a manual but 98 to 2001 Trooper came with manual trans and same 3.5 motor and also a switch to shut off the TOD . Might want to look into that. Tires anywhere u want to buy tires u can find tires for your VX.

[Scott Larson]

As to any desperation you may feel in finding a good clean VX, don't worry, they don't seem to be going away any time soon. Their availibility comes and goes, sometimes the market appears flooded and other times it dries up. Hang in there and I'm sure you'll find the one you want and can afford. Best of luck and remember, you'll find all the help you may need right here!

[VX KAT]

Here's a thread that has a bunch of good info on a variety of points for a newbie.
http://vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=17399&highlight=mpg+skid+plates+roof

Regarding MPG - yes, as the others have said, this is not the car for someone that's really concerned about MPG.

You'll see ranges in MPG mentioned here, that's because "stock" gets the highest MPG, then as we add things, it goes down.

~My MPG with NO roof rack basket and STOCK tires was around 16, full highway could get close to 20-21.

~I got my Yakima roof cargo basket and the larger tires at the same time...average MPG went to about 15.

~ Then I added 150 pounds of the Kilby steel skid plates....no real change in MPG.

~Then I put my larger than stock full size spare tire in the basket.
It's like a brick shape going down the highway!
City MPG - 15 tops
Hwy MPG - 17 tops

~ EXTRA WEIGHT: I figured my MPG would tank once I put all this stuff on:
150 lbs skid plates
60 lbs 4 larger tires -(total lbs over stock tires -Cooper 285/60-18)
23 lbs cargo basket
29 lbs wheel
49 lbs spare tire
20 lbs recovery kit stuff (tow ropes, shackles)
20 lbs front bull bar/lights
351 LBS TOTAL

~ DELETE WEIGHT:
-65 lbs Remove back seat
-30 lbs Remove donut spare (estimate)
~255 lbs TOTAL - extra weight my VX is carrying all the time now (about the same as a real big passenger full time)

~I recently took a 3,700 miles road trip, with all the stuff listed above, as well as some luggage. Had lots of high altitude mountain driving, as well as much flat open driving. Most would be with "winter gasoline" formulas, which lowers MPG.
High - 17.4 MPG
Low - 11.7 MPG
Avg - 15.06 MPG

Overall, I seem to stay in the 15 -16 MPG with all the extra stuff on board AND making the adjustment for my slightly larger tire circumference. I also have more highway driving on average around here which may help bump that up a tad.....

Another member here found this kinda fun website where you can track your MPG. Here's mine: http://www.fuelly.com/driver/vxkat/vehicross


Regarding tires:

Since you will need to drive in snow/slush, you'd be wise to get something a little more grippy and capable than the pitiful OEM BridgestoneDuelers. So you can probably expect what Eric (etlsport) estimated as to total price $ for four.
** Just an important point to mention....All 4 tires MUST be the same size, model and VERY close in tread depth, otherwise, many owners have found the TOD system goes crazy and makes all kinds of hideous noises. Tires must be same (or VERY similar) circumference to prevent this. In other words, don't replace 2 with new now, and leave 2 old, planning to buy 2 new in the future...do them all at the same time. **

Fuzzy hole.....
That's the small cubby to the left of the steering wheel. It has a black fuzzy nap lining...and thus the nickname...
Many of us put a HotWheels VX there. I also have my hatch popper release button in there, and I hang my CB mic holder there when I'm using the CB.
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/DSC_1860.JPG
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/DSC_27291.JPG

[MsConduct]

Thanks, everyone!

OK, gas mileage isn't that terrible. Whew. I plan to keep my other car for serious commuting since it gets about 30 mpg on the freeway. It just really whines and complains about the snow and ice. And I hate to put on chains.

I'm also glad to hear that the tires are available for a reasonable price. And great tip about replacing them all at once. I usually don't do that, so I would have set myself up for anxiety with funny noises.

And as for the "fuzzy hole," gotta love it!

[Mile High VX]

And great tip about replacing them all at once. I usually don't do that

This something that you will always need to do...the TOD system is very particular about the tires all being the same size. So if you dirve 30,000 miles on a 60,000 mile tire and have an unrepairable tire failure you'll need to replace all 4 and not just the one.

Also, if you ever have a flat on the rear you will need to put one of the front tires on the rear and the spare on the front.

If you don't do these things the TOD will create quite the issue for ya'.

[circmand]

needing to be the same I had all different sized tires on it. Same size from factory but from 3/32 to 8/32 and 2 other measures all at the same time. I never heard one peep from the TOD system. I always had the 2 largest on the back and two most worn on the front. I still think it is a good idea to keep it close. if you do get a new one maybe get it shave a mm or 2 but considering the OEM spare is a different size I think this is overhyped.

Others will disagree.

Also I have run premium and regular unleaded. I tried it several tanks full. I saw no difference and certainly not 100 miles more. I doubt that can be accomplished without some other mod or an error in calculation. If it were possible gasoline manufacturers would be touting it and the BO admin would be requiring it. I even ran 110 in it by mistake one time no difference

[Triathlete]

Others will disagree.

With you? No way!:bwgy:

But yea...the tod is happiest if all tires are the same but as long as the bigger (within reason) tires are in the rear you are fine.
MPG...I have always used the cheapest gas I can but (inclubing in Moab where they have even lower octane levels) and have noticed no negative affects. I always get 320+ miles on a tank of gas (mostly short trips city/country driving with a bit of highway). And that is with oversize tires.:yesy:

[Mile High VX]

Here is a good post on the subject:

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=18022&highlight=tires+size

[Osteomata]

I get 16 MPG pretty consistently. As for seeing VXs for sale in need of new tires: I think it has to do with sellers recognizing that the VX is such a "specific" vehicle with a wide range of uses, and not wanting to invest in new tires that would be completely unsuitable for some buyers. That has been my logic anyway. I dont want to buy street tires for a buyer that will be wanting offroaders.

[MsConduct]

Again, thank you one and all! I cannot believe all the helpful information here! I even know where the "fuzzy hole" is now, and what it is used for!

If anyone is interested, here is a link to some shots taken at my house last winter. As you can see, So Cal does get snow at times. This is why I need a snow car... you can almost make out the street in the first shot... and that was right after it was cleared.

http://gallery.me.com/lavaitaitis/100146

[Triathlete]

I even know where the "fuzzy hole" is now, and what it is used for!

;eeko;;eeko;;eeko;;Do;:laughing:

[Anita]

Good Grief! Where is that? That looks like Big Bear.

[MsConduct]

Close, Anita! It's Arrowbear, actually. Just outside of Running Springs.

[vt_maverick]

Agree with pretty much everything said here. Couple of small notes:

Marlin would agree with circmand's observation that differing tire sizes are not as big a deal as is often stated on this site. That said it is the OEM recommendation to keep the tire sizes the same, so I say why not?

The other note is that (generally speaking) narrow tires are better for snow as carrying the vehicle's weight over a smaller surface area helps the tires crunch down into the snow for better traction. If snow driving is your primary focus, you might do well to stay with a 245 or 255 width tire. If you don't like how far back the tire sits in the wheel well with the smaller width, you can always look at aftermarket rims with a lower offset (38 is stock, -2 looks really nice IMHO).

[MsConduct]

Again, thanks so much. Yes, I plan to eventually get some "real" snow tires for it (not the wimpy "M + S" stuff they sell locally here). Maybe even go nuts and have a separate set of rims and snow tires for the season.

[Mile High VX]

If you don't like how far back the tire sits in the wheel well with the smaller width, you can always look at aftermarket rims with a lower offset (38 is stock, -2 looks really nice IMHO).

And -6 with some 275's looks awesome...:bwgy::smilewink:bgwo::bgwb:

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/DSCN02722.JPG