I was wundering how many gallons of gas the tank in a 1980 zx would hold, and how many gallons do these cars average at highway crusing?

 

20 - 25mpg for the non-turbo... and I think the tank is 15 or 16 gallons.

 

holy **** that isn't good!

 

thats with nismo driving though.... but who could blame you?

 

My '81 and '82 have 21 gallon tanks. And my mpg, with highway and city is 20-21 mpg. Probably would improve if I adjusted my fuel air mixture. Still seems like my Z is running a little rich yet.

 

Well I have some brand new injectors and spark plugs, wires, and distributor,+coil, and fuel filter I want to put in. I am thinking that should nock the milage up some. How the heck did you get a 21 gallon tank in your car wildman? that is cool.

 

HeHe... My Z gets about 15mpg...

Maybe it is a 21 gallon tank... I haven't filled mine full in a long time.

 

well I work all the way in chanle view right now and I am driving frome cleveland. that is about a 52 mile drive one way so you take that twice a day 5 times a week in a jeep with a 4.0 and you spend a lot in gass. I think its time my z spred its wings. the only thing that scares me is all the salt water in the chanle and if I start driving the z I don't want the car to start falling apart.

 

As far as I know, going by how much fuel I put in. When my Z isn't empty, I usually have to put in 16-17 gallons back in. And the little red needle on the fuel gauge is still at an 1/8 of a tank or so. Also the fact my manuals say my Z's came with a 21 gallon tank. My '75 Firebird has a 21 gallon tank also. I am not sure on your Z, but I can look it up for you if you like. And I can tell you what tank came with yours stock. If you could, tell me if your Z is a GL, or plain model. And I know your's is an '80 280zx. If you could tell me more about your Z. I will see if I can tell you what size tank you have.

 

I fill my Z all the time, that is so I can calculate my mpg. It would also tell me, if I need another tuneup. Or something in my ignition is going south. So far so good, at the moment. And I usually fill my Z every 2 weeks or more. Depending, on how much I drive him. I have been pretty good, at keeping the miles off him.

 

Okay according to my Chilton manual. Which are good for this type of info. The '79-'83 280zx's. All had 21.12 gallon fuel tanks. Although somewhere I heard that the 2 + 2's had smaller tanks put on them. I don't know if that is true or not. But I do know your's is a '80 280zx 2 seater coupe correct? Anyway hope this helps you out.

 

Yeah, my ZX can hold 16 gallons of unleaded.

 

20-25mpg!? hmm...I don't think my '81 ZX (non-turbo) gives me that kind of mileage. Will have to double check though.

As for the gas tank, I ran my ZX until it completely ran out of gas (it was parked at my house) and then I filled the tank and it held 16 gallons.

 

Does that mean you are getting better or worse than that? 20-25 is pretty much the average for the 280zx.

 

Uh yea my zx is a 1980 coup. It looked exactly like your car wildman befor I started sanding, and primering, and just messed it up. I basicly redid the front end. somone had banged it up so I replaced hood and fenders, and fixed the pasenger door.

 

check out the view in this picture.

 

Yeah you got your work cut out for you man. I can't tell, but is your Z a slicktop or t-tops? I know in 1980 they started putting t-tops on the Z's. But my '81 is a slicktop. Which I guess is kind of rare. Anyway so you are saying your Z was blue and silver? Or was it the burgandy type color? My '81 was originally the burgandy, and my '82 is originally the metallic blue.

 

it was matalic blue with the silver hood. yea its the slick top. I didn't buy a ttop car even thogh I wanted one. I pulled the metal pin strips off the sides, for the reason the little plastic strips in the middle shrunk. I just wanted to have a smooth body with nothing sticking out. I even thoght about shaving the antina off, but decided to keep that.

 

Today I filled my tank up to 19.5 gallons, it was getting to the point where if i accelerated hard it would start kicking for gas. I got 515 miles to that, going to denver and back to colorado springs several times with average accelerating and speed (80mph-ish)

On my trip out to california, in california, and back i averaged 28 mpg. The highest during the trip was 33 and the lowest was about 24. But on average i get 400 miles to the 19 gallons and get 22-20 mpg in the city.

EDIT:

p.s. mine's a 1983 na stock everything (minus stereo + well... rubber tires?)

This is probably stuff you already know but to get better gas mileage:
don't accelerate hard, take your time getting up to speed.
Cheat, glide down hills and pick up speed like yo uwould on your bike hahaha
try to stay at the same speed when crusing not constantly accelerating and slowing down

 

I got my best gas mileage ever, recently, on a trip from the San Francisco area to the Los Angeles area. I managed 414 miles before gassing up, and calculated to 26.1mpg on my '82 Turbo, even while carrying a passenger and fully loaded with luggage. Admittedly, I was drafting with a caravan and throwing it into neutral on the downhills, though it's also balanced out by the uphill climbs, the LA traffic, and the super hot weather.

 

Yes, all coupe 280ZX's came with a 21 gallon tank. All 2+2 280ZX's came with an 18 gallon tank.

For those of you getting less than 21 in your coupe, it may be time to have your gas tank professionally cleaned and re-sealed. You most likely have a lot of gunk sitting in the bottom of your tank...

The ZX's were designed from the factory to get more than 400 miles to a tank of gas. It was a marketing angle in a lot of the literature. Remember, we were just coming out of the oil crisis of the 70's and it was a major selling point.

P.S.
I got 27 mpg in my 240z on the trip down to LA for the MSA show back in April.

 

Yeah that is what I figured L-Dub. Thanks for pointing that out. I knew the 2 + 2's had smaller tanks. Just couldn't remember what the capacity was. And like I said, I am getting 20-21mpg. And I am pretty sure I am still running a tad rich. Of course the fuel leak I had at the fuel pump, didn't help matters much. Maybe I will wait until I after I fill him up again. And then determine if I need to lean him out or not.

And in my '81 back in the day, my best was 25-26mpg. And that is my quick takeoffs, and heavy foot on the freeways. Not too bad, considering how hard I drove him before.

 

Wow man, that scheme is not too easy to come by anymore. Especially with a slicktop. I do know the slicktops are more rare after '79. Personally I like both versions. But the slicktops, are pretty smooth also. It is all personal taste.

And yeah I took off that gawdy trim just below the doors. Like halfway down? It does look a lot smoother now, and eventually I will use the resin jelly bondo, and cover the small screw holes that are left. And get some blue touchup paint. And see what happens, and keep up on your Z. It will be well worth it, trust me man. I am proud to work on mine, any chance I get. When it isn't so friggin' hot. Over 100 degrees here in Mesa.

 

Gee, how much does that cost? Any place local here in the Bay that does it? (Not sure if I need it, but good to know for the future at least)

 

well I clean them with nuts, bolts, change, and carosine. dosn't cost much if you use nuts and bolts+gas.