diff --git a/cmd/bulk_data_gen/main.go b/cmd/bulk_data_gen/main.go
index c9fb53b0..c13a1698 100644
--- a/cmd/bulk_data_gen/main.go
+++ b/cmd/bulk_data_gen/main.go
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ func main() {
 		log.Printf("Using config file %s\n", configFile)
 	}
 
-	out := bufio.NewWriterSize(os.Stdout, 16<<20)
+	out := bufio.NewWriterSize(os.Stdout, 4<<20)
 	defer out.Flush()
 
 	var sim common.Simulator
diff --git a/cmd/bulk_load_influx/main.go b/cmd/bulk_load_influx/main.go
index a7adfb32..d4421b9a 100644
--- a/cmd/bulk_load_influx/main.go
+++ b/cmd/bulk_load_influx/main.go
@@ -486,7 +486,7 @@ func scan(itemsPerBatch int, doneCh chan int) (int64, int64, int64) {
 
 	var batchItemCount uint64
 
-	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(bufio.NewReaderSize(os.Stdin, 16*1024*1024))
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(bufio.NewReaderSize(os.Stdin, 4*1024*1024))
 outer:
 	for scanner.Scan() {
 		if itemsRead == itemLimit {