Accent coasts poorly, but why?

[Eyeteaguy]

Yes, manual. Its cold here too and I am shocked at how much that affects the mileage. I've started getting into Pulse and Glide so my numbers are getting very good.

I spoke to my mechanic who put me onto his autobody guy. He seems to think any reduced aero will be negated by the added weight. He also says that it will affect the handling. I drive at 80km/hr? Its not an F1 car.

I'll let you know if it works out. There was a big crosswind today and it really killed my numbers so I am thinking that aero must be a big deal.

Eyeteaguy

[GasSavers_maximilian]

Originally Posted by Eyeteaguy

Yes, manual. Its cold here too and I am shocked at how much that affects the mileage.

Do you use winter tires?

We seem to be getting roughly comparable mpg figures. I'm not too willing to modify my car in non-reversible ways as I may wind up selling it. This limits the aero mods I can try out.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by Eyeteaguy

I spoke to my mechanic who put me onto his autobody guy. He seems to think any reduced aero will be negated by the added weight. He also says that it will affect the handling. I drive at 80km/hr? Its not an F1 car.

Adding a little weight doesn't have much effect on most cars, though an Accent could be sensitive to it. There's a link in my sig about it. Most people fail to improve their fuel economy by removing weight.

The amount of weight for aero mods is usually tiny and nobody would think it a problem. The proof is in the puddy; look at Basjoos car, which has loads of stuff added to the body for aerodynamics, certainly weighing a lot, and done on specifically a model that is known to be very sensitive to weight.

Aerodynamic improvement means more than weight for anyone who is even vaguely trying to drive efficiently. People for whom weight matters more are those who drive exceptionally wastefully, and those who drive 100% in awfully congested hurried city environments.

However, I wouldn't pay the body guy for aero mods. Professional body work is very expensive and aero mods tend to be experimental, taking a few tries to get an improvement and then not generally improving enough to pay off a professional body guy.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

I've come down on the side of not removing the spare and jack from my Accent. I did take the drawbar for my hitch out though. Doesn't weigh much, but I never need it unexpectedly.

My mechanic, while skeptical of a lot of hypermiler stuff, thinks a body pan is worth looking into. He's a gruff, skeptical sort, and we enjoy talking.

[zero_gravity]

those are the best kind to talk to sometimes, they can think of things very differently and will often come up with ideas you would never have on your own.

[dletm08]

I don't know if this pertains to your issue, but my wife had an accent a few years ago and that thing did horrible with fuel economy compared to my civic. They were both 5 speed 1.5L, but the accent always got mid 30s, where my civic would usually get mid 40s. Maybe it is a hyundai thing that they want to keep your Mpgs low.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

The Accent does seem to have worse economy than you'd expect. The 2008 Aveo has a 1.6L engine (same as the Accent), weighs slightly more, yet gets better fuel economy ratings. Gearing ratios? Aerodynamics? Cheap bearings? X factor?

[theholycow]

Like the Hyundai Accent, the Aveo is Korean designed and built too, by Daewoo. The Aveo is pretty well known as a loser, at a price only slightly less than a larger and nicer Cobalt while getting worse fuel economy. (Though it has that reputation, I looked it up and the price difference is large.)

Fueleconomy.gov reports EPA ratings 24/34 for the Aveo vs. 27/32 for the Accent; that adds up to 27 combined for the Aveo vs. 29 combined for the Accent. Accent wins there. The only place the Aveo gets a better economy rating is on the highway.

So, let's have a look at some of the differences that might account for its better FE...
cD: .33 vs. Accent's .31 -- Accent wins. This is important for highway ratings.
Curb weight: Google reports various numbers for each, but the Aveo comes in slightly lighter...but not enough to explain a signfiicant FE difference. Doesn't matter for highway ratings anyway.
Gear ratios: I'm not finding definitive information, but they seem very close. The Aveo seems to have a taller 5th gear but the "final gear" (differential ratio) is shorter, and I'd guess it comes out even. I didn't figure in tire size, though.

I was expecting gear ratios to be the advantage. American manufacturers seem to put in taller highway gears than foreign, and I thought maybe GM insisted that Daewoo put in a tall 5th when building the Aveo.

How many RPM does the Accent run at 70mph (or 55mph or whatever)?

[GasSavers_maximilian]

Checked my owner's manual and the gear ratios aren't listed. I'll determine what the top gear ratio is next time I'm out. Can't help with the automatic, of course.

Did a search of the garage and the only Aveo with a significant gaslog is averaging below the EPA combined estimate, so it's not much good as a point of comparison.

[Sludgy]

Did anyone mention alignment? A wheel might have been hit. If nothing else works, I'd take it to a shop and have all four wheels checked for toe-in.