Gas mileage gone bad?

[Tweeter]

Wow...haven't been on here in months...but at least I have internet again!

So I figured I would get this out there since it's been bothering me lately. I read the other "gas mileage" topic and everyone was agreeing that the Aveo would get better gas mileage as the engine was broken in. Well, I am sitting somewhere between 10k-11k miles, and I am getting CONSIDERABLY less MPG than I did the first few months. I mean, we're talking about going from 28MPG to 23MPG.

I drive like a dick, and I know that. I'm okay with 23MPG, as long as I know that nothing is wrong. Is something causing this to happen? How can I go from 28-29MPG to 22-23MPG when the only thing that has changed is the weather? And even that doesn't seem to be right because it wasn't extremely cold in October/November and that's when this all started.

Anyways, any input is appreciated. It's good to be back...hopefully I can catch up a bit.

And I'll get my sig changed so it's not so large.

[Dan]

Nature of the beast dictates that the colder it gets the more fuel you burn to drive. Also could be that the fuel mixture has changed up there (like it did down here, they started adding ethanol to the gas.)

Also engines require at least 3 things to work right, air fuel spark. So check those out! If you got a bad air filter it could hurt you, maybe plugs need to be changed, run some seafoam through your gas tank. Oh and stop driving like a dick, that can help too

[Monzaveo]

To they use a winter blend fuel in your area?

Have a friend drive behind you, If they don't see any black sooty exhaust clouds when you get on it, then your probably fine.

Maybe a calculation error?

[Petrified.Rabbit]

i drive faster than most, i get 22-25 mpg, once you are at wide pen throttle the car dumps fuel.. a cold air intake, or even short ram below 50* doesn't help with economy either.. the cold dense air need more fuel to be productive.

i have 20000 miles. oil changes seem to help it run smoother. and get a little more range out of the next tank of gas, but its marginal.

[thehunterooo]

i only get 23mpg, but my rpms are always past 4000 and im over 100mph 1/4 of the time, maybe i should test it out driving normaly

[Nemasys]

Stop whining, i get around 300 kms on a full tank of gas with my 2.0 which is 40 liters before the light comes on.

40L = 10.5 gallons
300 kms = 186.4 miles

Which gives me 17.8 mpg, driving normally

[Petrified.Rabbit]

i think that is the fate of a 4 cylinder, epa estimates are not realistic for really world speed and driving, He use more throttle to get up to speed and expend more gas to pass, etc.. My vr6 ve got @ 30mph, the hp and gearing were made for it.. my 2.0 16v vw did really good too. but i never measured it out because never had a full tank driven on.. lots of idling for troubleshooting.



more (adequate) hp+tall gears for momentum= better mpg, and it only improve if you get the hp with less displacement.

[WOLFMAN AK907]

My milage is down a little bit right now, but only because my car hardly ever reaches operating temp. I go out and let it run for about 10-15 minutes before I drive it to work. After about 8-10 minutes of driving it will climb slowly up to operating temp, but if i get stopped at a red light or have to go to the store and it idles, it will drop all the way back down to the big C in about 45 seconds to a minute. I have the entire radiator covered with cardboard too. And oooh man, does that power steering whine when I first start it up. It doesn't stop whining for about a minute after I start it.

[ontarian_frog]

My milage is down a little bit right now, but only because my car hardly ever reaches operating temp. I go out and let it run for about 10-15 minutes before I drive it to work. After about 8-10 minutes of driving it will climb slowly up to operating temp, but if i get stopped at a red light or have to go to the store and it idles, it will drop all the way back down to the big C in about 45 seconds to a minute. I have the entire radiator covered with cardboard too. And oooh man, does that power steering whine when I first start it up. It doesn't stop whining for about a minute after I start it.

That's like my car... It was warm when I got to work...but I was locked out for about 15 min. With the car running, at the end of the 15 minutes the needle was all the way down again. It was -20C this morning.

[Reddemonx92]

lol thats why i love being in florida.. it never reaches snow temps.