I've just recently bought a '96 Accord DX non-VTEC and the idle was rough and the gas mileage is really bad (barely 350 miles on 15 gallons~23 mpg). When I changed the spark plugs the number 2 plug had oil on the outside of it. I read on here where the spark plug tubes leak sometimes but I read where someone said the upper was all you needed to fix, but someone else said there were other things you had to replace, so I'm kinda confused. Anyone else personally had this problem fixed and maybe have an idea about gas mileage being that poor? ANY help would be SO appreciated, and thanks guys...

 

the first thing you should do is make sure it runs right!, i guess u already started doing that. check and change the air filter, spark plugs and if u had oil on the outside of it then its because of putting too much oil in the engine, and that results in oil fouled spark plugs. check all your fluids. check your fuel pump and fuel filter. if one or both of those a bad then that results in bad gas mileage. check the tire pressure make sure its right according to the label in the door jam. that should help a little

 

i have no idea about what tire pressure i need, my tires say 51 max (215/40/17) and when i bought them from a guy off another accord he only had 25 in them and i didn't wanna wear them out, so i went up to 45 in them. The oil wasn't fouling the plug, the plug was fine, it just had oil dripping off of the ceramic (white) insulator part.

 

45 is too much

open the driver's side door and look at the sticker on the door jamb. It will tell you how much to fill them.

 

Bigger rims and tires create more rotational mass, which usually leads to 1 or 2 mpg less. Also because of the larger diameter you are actually traveling further and faster than the speedo and odometer are indicating which could make up another 1 or 2 mpg loss. I had to buy a valve cover gasket set, and that fixed my leak. My started running weird once so i decided to change my sparkplugs. My oil wasnt overfilled but when took the first spark plug out it was covered in oil. So changed my valve cover gasket along with all the grommets and sparkplug hole rubber gaskets and it stopped leaking.

 

He stated that he has aftermarket rims and tires. 45 is fine if the max is 51

 

whoops i skipped over that h:

 

Thanks man, now i have some idea. I didn't think there would be any difference with the wheels though 'cause the diameter is actually slightly less than my stock tires. Think the closest you can get to stock size is 205/45/17 and mine are 215/40/17. Anyway, again, much thanks. Thinking of letting some air out though cause it feels like now i'm beating my suspension to death, guess i'll just have to fine tune it, i just don't wanna ruin expensive tires...

 

35 psi seems to be what works best
(at least according to tire rack)