Poor fuel economy so far

[rusty607]

I bought a 2011 kia forte 5-door. I love the car, but i average about 22-23 mpg. I drive 90% city and 10% highway though. Got 9,342 miles on it. I dont know if thats too good or bad, its not what the EPA estimated but i knew that estimate wouldnt be too accurate.

[ItsaRuck!]

(11-08-2011 02:59 AM)rusty607 Wrote:  I bought a 2011 kia forte 5-door. I love the car, but i average about 22-23 mpg. I drive 90% city and 10% highway though. Got 9,342 miles on it. I dont know if thats too good or bad, its not what the EPA estimated but i knew that estimate wouldnt be too accurate.

With 90% city, if you throw in a lot of idling at stop lights and then colder weather and the dreaded "winter mix" gas to the mix; that mpg would be about right.

[Kovalchuk17]

i changed spark plugs and went to a K&N filter and ARK test pipe(although this one not for fuel reasons) and have noticed better gas mileage. I know iridium plugs are great and all but they are more for performance vehicles and turbo cars. I went with double platinums for now.

[ItsaRuck!]

(01-29-2012 04:16 PM)Kovalchuk17 Wrote:  i changed spark plugs and went to a K&N filter and ARK test pipe(although this one not for fuel reasons) and have noticed better gas mileage. I know iridium plugs are great and all but they are more for performance vehicles and turbo cars. I went with double platinums for now.

Irridium and platinum plugs last longer, but your best spark will come from a copper plug. Copper is the best conductor compared to the other two. You just have to religiously change them every 30K miles.

[Kovalchuk17]

(01-30-2012 02:27 PM)ItsaRuck! Wrote:  

(01-29-2012 04:16 PM)Kovalchuk17 Wrote:  i changed spark plugs and went to a K&N filter and ARK test pipe(although this one not for fuel reasons) and have noticed better gas mileage. I know iridium plugs are great and all but they are more for performance vehicles and turbo cars. I went with double platinums for now.

Irridium and platinum plugs last longer, but your best spark will come from a copper plug. Copper is the best conductor compared to the other two. You just have to religiously change them every 30K miles.

thanks for the advice. i will definitely try that next time. any gap preference? i change my spark plugs like a fanatic, and it makes people i know scratch their head lol. it's so easy, why not do it? copper will be the next test then. probably getting the car tuned end of Feb/early March... should i make any adjustments to the copper plan?

[ItsaRuck!]

(01-30-2012 03:36 PM)Kovalchuk17 Wrote:  thanks for the advice. i will definitely try that next time. any gap preference? i change my spark plugs like a fanatic, and it makes people i know scratch their head lol. it's so easy, why not do it? copper will be the next test then. probably getting the car tuned end of Feb/early March... should i make any adjustments to the copper plan?

Just follow what's posted on the underside of the hood for the gap.

[Tronk]

I drive a 2012 EX 6-speed automatic and live in Northeast Ohio. I am also dealing with the "winter mix" of gas. I have noticed a decrease in gas mileage since the winter blend. I drive just over 100 miles a day on two lane highways with the posted speed of 55 mph. I usually average 60-62 mph and have been getting about 34 mpg. Prior to the winter blend gas I was getting about 37 mpg. I have almost 12000 miles on the car (bought it in September) so I would say it is well broken in.

[Forte5]

I have a EX 6AT. I drive about 2200 miles a month. Best mileage observed 36 mpg (55-60 mph 100% highway). Worst I've seen was 23 mpg middle of last summer with the A/C Blasting and bumper to bumper traffic. Most of the time I drive like I stole it and manage between 29.5-33 mpg, but that will likely decline as it gets hotter.

Keeping the tires properly inflated can make a huge difference. Yesterday I drove 350 miles and stuck between 75-90mph and got a pretty astounding 31.2mpg.