quikandskinny <quikandskinny@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in
news:1183871757.841287.56570@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> On Jul 7, 4:01 am, Jeff <j...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> quikandski...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote
>> innews:1183740357.589182.100090@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>> > I am a new Kia owner, having purchased the 2006.5 Optima last
>> > weekend. It's the LX V6 model, and so far I love it, but have a
>> > couple of questions for "those in the know". First - I've been
>> > reading about cold-air intakes and chips that can bump the MPG from
>> > it's current 28 hwy to over 30, and I was wondering if anyone here
>> > has had good/bad/ indifferent luck with them and which ones to look
>> > into/avoid. Second - on a related line, I've also been told that
>> > chips can void a warranty (I still have nearly 50,000 miles left on
>> > the 60,000 mile warranty, so I'd rather not do that).
>>
>> > Thanks in advance!
>>
>> > Matt
>>
>> Generally speaking, the aim of the mods you are suggesting is to
>> produce more power. Producing more power means burning more fuel,
>> period. Those mod chip sellers that tell you they will give you more
>> power AND higher mileage are just lying.
>>
>> I don't have first-hand experience with these mods, but from what
>> I've read all that the cheap chip mods do is trick the ECU into
>> thinking the intake air is cooler or more dense than it really is to
>> advance the spark timing. They also recommend using higher octane
>> gas with the chips. Why? With low octane gas and an advanced spark
>> your engine will be prone to knocking. The engine's built-in
>> anti-knock sensor reacts to this by retarding the spark, thus undoing
>> the so-called improvement from the chip. Even if they could manage a
>> small improvement in mileage under conservative driving conditions,
>> you are spending more for each gallon of gas you are using.
>>
>> Go ahead and try the cold-air intake if you want. At least it will
>> do no harm and you are honestly giving the engine cooler air instead
>> of tricking a sensor.
>>
>> Be glad you are getting 28 MPG. My average is about 23.5 with over
>> 75% highway driving. The trip computer shows 44 MPH average since
>> new. You won't get that from sitting at stop lights all day ;).
>>
>> Jeff
>
> Thanks, I appreciate the info. I was definately leaning away from the
> chips anyway, and figured there had to be a "catch" of some sort. So,
> should I choose to try the cold-air intake, would I need to go to a
> higher-octane gas as well? If so, it would nearly defeat the purpose
> of getting a higher gas mileage.
>
A higher octane shouldn't be necessary if you could get cooler/denser air
to your intake, however, the ECU would compensate for this by INCREASING
the fuel injected to get the proper mixture ratio.
Take a look at the air intake system on your car. You will see it is fed
by a tube running under the battery from an intake just above the grill.
You already have a cold-air intake from the factory. Altering that is not
likely to help anything.
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