I've ran into something strange.. I purchased a 2000 Sportage the spring of this year and it has been great. No problems other than I had to replace the lock in lock outs. And the primary Cat was busted to pieces when I purchased the sporty. I have been reading this board for the entire time I have owned the Kia, basicly this board is the reason I purchased the Sporty to start with.
I have driven the Sportage all year no problems. I even got 23-24 mpg. About 5 Weeks ago I replaced the stock sized tires with 235/75/15. It improved the ride a great deal just as many of you have stated it would. And the new size even improved the mpg. For 3 weeks I got 25-26 mpg, Yes this is with the correction made for the tire size. Then it turned off cold here in Kentucky and has stayed that way for the most part. And now for the past 2 weeks I have only gotten 21 mpg.. Is this normal for the Sporty to drop in mpg when it turns cold or is it just my Sporty..

Yep, it's normal. Mine does it every Winter.

Yup mine also, It has to do with (i think) more addatives they put in gas so it doesn't gel up or freeze. Make you get less milage.

more likely to do with colder intake air....

If I remember right, mostly alcohol is added to reduce the freezing temperature of gasoline during the winter months. I have measured up to a 10% difference, in mileage. I would expect that, depending on your location, the percentage of additives will vary. After all, I'm in NM, where the coldest it usually gets is around 20*F in Albuquerque, whereas in more northern areas of the US, it often gets below zero degrees F.

I would highly doubt that a CAI would do anything but increase mileage. You get more power from greater efficiency.

Diesel gels in winter. Gasoline doesn't. But gasoline may freeze with a high water content. I think the winter blends of gasoline have a slightly higher ethanol content.



Cold air intake charge promotes better combustion. But there probably is a point where cold is too cold.

The main reason for less mileage in winter is due to the engine running in open loop longer until it warms up. In this mode the O2 sensor data is ignored by the ECM and the ECM forces a richer fuel mix that a cold engine requires to run decent. The higher RPM cold idle is a dead give away that the engine is in open loop. The concept is identical to the old technology carburetor and choke. Once the engine warms up the ECM switches to closed loop mode where the O2 sensor trim is used. Also, drag is a greater factor in cold weather. The 90W gear oil is like thick molasses until it warms up. Same for the wheel bearings. They all contribute to a lessor MPG.

Some automatic won't shift into the overdrive gear in open loop mode. I don't know if this is true with the Sportie Automatic trans (I own a manual shift). But, I had a 2003 Suzuki Aero AWD that did that. Drove me nuts until I got used to it.

Suzuki Aero AWD, I didn't know they came in 4wd...

Yep, the automatic won't shift into OD until the coolant temp reaches 155 degrees F.

yes this is very true. i was taking a trip to orlando (it was about 35-40 degrees farenheit) and the car would suddenly shift out of overdrive while i was on the expressway going about 75 mph and i would have to slow down and let the temp come back up. i couldnt figure it out, <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> until i did the timing belt job and i found that the thermostat was removed by the previous mechanic. i put one in and everything went back to normal. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />