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Hey y'all, I'm driving a 2014 Chevy Spark. I've had it for a year and a half now and I'm wondering what y'all have done to try to push that MPG to the 30somethings? I was at 32 when I drove off the lot then it dropped to 25 until I got my fluids changed and my transmission switched out. It started pushing a flat 29 then. Now I'm pushing 28.9 and unsure what I can do to raise it instead of drop it. I've tried fuel injectors but they did nothing. What else can I do? 

 

I drove a lot of city, then I did a cross country move and now it's mainly highway I drive and would love to get that 39 MPG or close. I will admit I have a heavy foot and love pushing the ole lady to 70 or 80 on the highway, for most of my drive. 

 

What can I do? Better gas? Mid-grade gas? Something under the hood should also be changed? 

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12 hours ago, LittleBlue! said:

Probably not the answer you want to hear but you alluded to it, driving style has a major impact. At least, with my car that was the biggest driving factor. Try driving like a grandma for a tank of gas and see what it does as a reference. Slow acceleration and coasting. An easy check would be checking tire pressure. 

I was figuring me acting like I am in a race car had a factor in it. I was told my heavy foot is what caused my transmission to go out too :/ 

 

I will give it a go and see how it does, since I'm on my last quarter tank. No point in not trying. Thank you! 

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You aren't going to get an average of 39 with it unless you drive all highway and live right next to the highway. Driving sensibly will help but in my experience when I had my 2014 they are kind of a disappointment with gas mileage for as small as they are. My wife turbo sonic on average was only a couple mpg's less then the Spark. We have since moved on from both of those. She now drives a 2018 Chevy Malibu which gets an average of 31-32 mpg. 

 

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To get better gas mileage:

1. Inflate tires 2-3 psi higher than recommended (ride will be slightly harsher, but not noticeably)

2. Install correct oil grade recommended in user's manual (I think it is 5-30W) I get oil changes at dealer who 

emails me coupons for full synthetic oil change for $49.95 so I have not memorized recommended grade of oil.

3. Most important, anticipate stops coming ahead and coast there. Do not drive like my ex who is a digital driver

meaning her foot is either on gas pedal or break pedal, and never off of both pedals,

4. Do not stomp on gas pedal to accelerate, instead try to keep RPM below 2000 until you reach 30 mph.

After reaching 30 mph, you cam increase rpm's to 2500. This only applies to CVT tranny.

5. Use Shell's highest grade gas (or equivalent) every 10 fill-ups. It seems to clean fuel injectors and other gunk 

built up better than the regular grade gas, but may not give you any better mileage.

 

By getting higher MPG's your car will last longer, need fewer brake jobs and save money at gas pumps.

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19 hours ago, Bobby MSME said:

To get better gas mileage:

1. Inflate tires 2-3 psi higher than recommended (ride will be slightly harsher, but not noticeably)

 

I don't know about recommend pressure there but this need to consider that it is good with low temperature. With increasing temperature (atmosphere) it should be avoided as tyre itself adding temperature due to friction which directly increasing pressure inside. So if you are living in high heat areas, can think about it. 

This I am referring with incidents happen here. Best example is Yamuna expressway (India), it's good road, straight so one can easily go above 100kmph for long time and there are more incidents of tyre burst, especially in summer. 

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On 10/13/2019 at 4:10 PM, ChevyBeat said:

 

I don't know about recommend pressure there but this need to consider that it is good with low temperature. With increasing temperature (atmosphere) it should be avoided as tyre itself adding temperature due to friction which directly increasing pressure inside. So if you are living in high heat areas, can think about it. 

This I am referring with incidents happen here. Best example is Yamuna expressway (India), it's good road, straight so one can easily go above 100kmph for long time and there are more incidents of tyre burst, especially in summer. 

I measure tire pressure when car is sitting in shade outside. So yes, in winters I have to add more air than in summers. 

Tire bursts are caused mostly due to under-inflation, not over-inflation. That is because under-inflation causes tire walls to flex more back and forth and that weakens the tire. Of course older tires will burst more often than newer because of fatigue and wear.

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