Winter Gas - Better MPG?
#1
Winter Gas - Better MPG?
Okay well its starting to be the time for winter mix out here.. Since i work for a gas company i know we just started it now since it rarely is getting above 46 out here..
I filled up yesterday and based on my gauge and my miles i am actually doing better than i was on summer fuels.
I thought most peoples mpg drops in the winter.. Mine seems to be getting better.
I filled up yesterday and based on my gauge and my miles i am actually doing better than i was on summer fuels.
I thought most peoples mpg drops in the winter.. Mine seems to be getting better.
#9
I'm still not convinced that poor winter mileage is completely due to Winter blend fuel.
Case in point , On older Rangers many people were putting a resistor on the intake air temperature sensor to fool the PCM into thinking the intake air was colder than it actually was.The PCM in turn would richen the fuel mixture.
Many were doing this for either more power or to eliminate pinging.
So my view is still cold air = lower mileage.
Case in point , On older Rangers many people were putting a resistor on the intake air temperature sensor to fool the PCM into thinking the intake air was colder than it actually was.The PCM in turn would richen the fuel mixture.
Many were doing this for either more power or to eliminate pinging.
So my view is still cold air = lower mileage.
#10
So are you saying a cold air intake is not good for a car/truck?
I'm talking a cold air intake that blocks off 100% of hot air from the engine.
Not like the K&N for the ranger where some hot air still gets sucked in
I'm talking a cold air intake that blocks off 100% of hot air from the engine.
Not like the K&N for the ranger where some hot air still gets sucked in
#11
#12
You guys should feel the difference in a propeller driven piston engine airplane. In the winter, it's like someone strapped a rocket under the plane compared to summer time. When it's 99.9 in August, you hope you have enough runway to get off the ground.
But there are two different things happening here for cars. One is the cold dense air (good) and the other is the "winter blend" of fuel (bad).
In the summer when it is warm, the fuel is blended to not evaporate too easily. In the winter, that cold temperatures would result in that same fuel not vaporizing properly in the engine, therefore hurting emissions and maybe even hurting performance. So the blend is changed around to compensate. This doesn't cause any change in performance or economy. What usually causes the drop in MPG that we see is ETHANOL. It is added as an oxygenate to improve emissions. But it also displaces everything else (nothing is free) and results in us using more gas to do the same thing. Also people tend to warm the cars up a lot more than normal resulting in "wasted" gas.
For those of us that live in a state where MTBE is outlawed (like me in CT), our gas has 10% Ethanol in it year round. So the "winter blend" doesn't actually change that and we suffer its effects on daily basis all year.
But there are two different things happening here for cars. One is the cold dense air (good) and the other is the "winter blend" of fuel (bad).
In the summer when it is warm, the fuel is blended to not evaporate too easily. In the winter, that cold temperatures would result in that same fuel not vaporizing properly in the engine, therefore hurting emissions and maybe even hurting performance. So the blend is changed around to compensate. This doesn't cause any change in performance or economy. What usually causes the drop in MPG that we see is ETHANOL. It is added as an oxygenate to improve emissions. But it also displaces everything else (nothing is free) and results in us using more gas to do the same thing. Also people tend to warm the cars up a lot more than normal resulting in "wasted" gas.
For those of us that live in a state where MTBE is outlawed (like me in CT), our gas has 10% Ethanol in it year round. So the "winter blend" doesn't actually change that and we suffer its effects on daily basis all year.
Last edited by FireRanger; 12-02-2008 at 05:17 PM.
#13
Cold air is good for power
#20
I'm betting most lose mileage based on the ECM seeing cold air, and adding fuel to compensate. I bet if you heat up the IAT sensor to summer temps (80-110*F), read it's resistance and get a resistor that matches it, install it in the connector bypassing the IATs, you'll have the same mileage. It's like snowmobiles guys, it gets colder, you jet richer, it gets warmer, you go leaner. Basically what OTR is saying.
#21
It's true that your engine will have less power, but hotter air also means less lift. In hot climate areas like Arizona, there is a MAX air temp that planes are allowed to take off.
#22
That is why the runways at Denver are so long. Because of they are so high up in the mountains, the air at that altitude is less dense requiring more runway to do the same thing.
#24
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I definitely get worse mileage in the winter, some of it due to requiring 4x4.
Most of it is due to the cold air as many people have said. The engine is giving more fuel to mix with the correct air/fuel ratio compared to a hot summer day; this does make more power, which I can definitely see, but also uses more gas when you don't necessarily want to.
Most of it is due to the cold air as many people have said. The engine is giving more fuel to mix with the correct air/fuel ratio compared to a hot summer day; this does make more power, which I can definitely see, but also uses more gas when you don't necessarily want to.