OK now this really sucks,,, Got the new Chevy and mileage was well it was outstanding like 18 around town and 24 out on the road. Filled up with the winter gas last week dropd to 13.8 around town and 17.3 on the road. Anybody else have this issue??
Winter Gas
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North Idaho Wolfman
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I only have a winter gas problem after chili or burrito night! 
I have noticed that my mileage seams to have gone down too, but I was attributing that to cold weather warm up times.
This is my first year with an automotive diesel, I never noticed much of a difference in the tractors.
EDIT: OOPS, I read winter blend and mind went strait for diesel, not gasoline!
I have noticed that my mileage seams to have gone down too, but I was attributing that to cold weather warm up times.
This is my first year with an automotive diesel, I never noticed much of a difference in the tractors.
EDIT: OOPS, I read winter blend and mind went strait for diesel, not gasoline!
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Winter blend they start oxygenating gasoline in the cold climates. Years ago when I was avid keeper of mpg's noticed a 2 to 3 mpg loss. Spring comes around they quite and yahoo 2-3 mile boost
I am aware of Winter blend diesel fuel, but I've never heard of Winter blend gas. I have never noticed a decrease in gasoline fuel mileage during the Winter, so I wonder if we don't get it around here.
RCW
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I'm much more north, and have morning warm ups, but I see lower mpg. That's just using the dashboard thing that says it.
I'm happy with 17 summer; was 15.3 last week. I very rarely drive highway, so it's all country roads and in town.
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I'm happy with 17 summer; was 15.3 last week. I very rarely drive highway, so it's all country roads and in town.
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So fuel companies have now figured out to maximize fuel profits, not only do they get paid for water in the gas, reduced fuel economy is next. All we need is gas. No toxic additives. My old carbureted truck barely burns the garbage at the pumps as it is. Premium isnt much better anymore. Didnt need winter gas before,had problems?dump in some isopropanol and problem solved. No room for that in gas now.
Take your morning coffee. Add your sweetener,whitener,maybe a little caramel, pumpkin spice,and some whipped cream and sprinkles. Is it coffee anymore?no bloody way.
Where does all that caffeine go when they make decaf coffee??just curious....
Take your morning coffee. Add your sweetener,whitener,maybe a little caramel, pumpkin spice,and some whipped cream and sprinkles. Is it coffee anymore?no bloody way.
Where does all that caffeine go when they make decaf coffee??just curious....
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I have not checked lately but it used to be state and area thing. I could jump across to Idaho and get gas that had not been oxygenated. Emissions thing...burns cleaner but duh burn more
Daren Todd
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Mines dropped a couple mpg's recently. But it's most likely warm ups do to weather, the construction on my quickest way to work, and the extra holiday traffic. They just recently installed two roundabouts of death in front of a new strip mall they just completed on my normal route. During construction, I had to change my route going home at night. Traffic would back up to the road my work is off from, which is a mile and a half away.
Instead of taking a couple minutes to get out of the big box store parking lots, they have turned into a zoo, as well as significantly more evening traffic through town during the week.
Instead of taking a couple minutes to get out of the big box store parking lots, they have turned into a zoo, as well as significantly more evening traffic through town during the week.
My Daddy in law used to tell a story about gas companies and how years ago gas was originally unleaded and they said they had to put a little bit of lead in for upper cylinder lubrication and it was going to cost a few cents more,,,,50 years later they said we have to take the lead out and it is going to cost a few cents more.
Daren they put in a "ROUND ABOUT OF DEATH" here on a state highway you cant tell who is suppose to get on where or how the hell to get off!! And then they put a DIVERGING DIAMOND out by the big malls WTF put in stop lights so you can so south on the north bound lanes and north on the south bound lanes and then cross back over 300 yards down the road. I cant begin to tell you how many fender benders this has caused already,,, I have a friend in the Lodge that works for PENN DOT I asked him one time just who the duce makes the highway plans up,, he said he didnt know but he was sure they didnt speak english !
Daren Todd
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The best one is the new roundabout on an overpass that isn't finished yet
on the freeway side where it's supposed to cross over to link a new mall, there are just a few barrels blocking the exit to nothing So far no one has gotten liquored up and tried to clear the highway Hit one of them diverging diamonds a few moths ago in San Antonio. Not sure of the genius behind that concept. Luckily where I was at, and the time of day, there was hardly any traffic. I was entering off a side road, and waited till I could follow someone through. That was a new experience
Those Round-Abouts are an interesting concept. The state of Ks. put one on a busy highway going East/West and the N/S road had very little traffic, but the move another nearby county road into the modern, no stop sign, circle turning, get off when you can round about.
There is the open area in the center. The state spent money/time to beautify that to make it presentable to those drivers who where paying so much attention of getting and off it made no difference to them.
To the west 15 miles of this obstacle is a Wal-Mart distribution center. Their trucks just beat down the road night and day. They been there for several years. The state engineers never took into consideration the room required to motor a tractor trailer half way around a circle.
The entire circle is too small for over-the-road truck to go E/W without curbing their tires. Many of the drivers simply drive straight through, right over the plants that are so "pretty". I always see tire tracks through them.
Now the state has to have 3 or 4 trucks with flashing lights in every approaching lane to warn drivers of some activity as they replace the plantings in the center on a regular basis.
It's an example of Government in Action.
What's this have to do with winter gas? I don't know, but I feel better!!
There is the open area in the center. The state spent money/time to beautify that to make it presentable to those drivers who where paying so much attention of getting and off it made no difference to them.
To the west 15 miles of this obstacle is a Wal-Mart distribution center. Their trucks just beat down the road night and day. They been there for several years. The state engineers never took into consideration the room required to motor a tractor trailer half way around a circle.
The entire circle is too small for over-the-road truck to go E/W without curbing their tires. Many of the drivers simply drive straight through, right over the plants that are so "pretty". I always see tire tracks through them.
Now the state has to have 3 or 4 trucks with flashing lights in every approaching lane to warn drivers of some activity as they replace the plantings in the center on a regular basis.
It's an example of Government in Action.
What's this have to do with winter gas? I don't know, but I feel better!!
NoJacketRequired
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Two comments:
1) there are many factors at work which rob vehicles of fuel economy in lower temperatures; winter-blend fuel is but one of them. Think of extra friction losses, extra tire rolling resistance, plus that biggie, increased fuel in the mixture because we now have a lower temperature, more dense air charge. Fuel/air mixture ratios are based on mass, not volume, so our engines are able to make more power in cooler temperatures, and we are more likely to use that power to overcome the other power-robbing factors I've already mentioned.
2) Roundabouts... Properly engineered, roundabouts are the best thing since sliced bread. Poorly engineered, they are a traffic management nightmare. Having spent a fair bit of time in Europe, particularly in the UK, I can say that I'll take a good roundabout over a traffic light any day of the week. They just work better in all traffic flow conditions. Of course, one of the biggest challenges with roundabouts is driver training - the USA has been particularly slow to adopt any kind of change in traffic management because of an entrenched mindset that nothing should ever change. As some wise man once said, it's crazy to keep doing the same thing while expecting a different outcome. Here in our local rural town a roundabout was installed and it took nearly a near for people to learn how to use it. Now it functions very well, and one rarely sees a problem with it. When we do, it is inevitably a new user that's at fault, not the design of the roundabout itself.
1) there are many factors at work which rob vehicles of fuel economy in lower temperatures; winter-blend fuel is but one of them. Think of extra friction losses, extra tire rolling resistance, plus that biggie, increased fuel in the mixture because we now have a lower temperature, more dense air charge. Fuel/air mixture ratios are based on mass, not volume, so our engines are able to make more power in cooler temperatures, and we are more likely to use that power to overcome the other power-robbing factors I've already mentioned.
2) Roundabouts... Properly engineered, roundabouts are the best thing since sliced bread. Poorly engineered, they are a traffic management nightmare. Having spent a fair bit of time in Europe, particularly in the UK, I can say that I'll take a good roundabout over a traffic light any day of the week. They just work better in all traffic flow conditions. Of course, one of the biggest challenges with roundabouts is driver training - the USA has been particularly slow to adopt any kind of change in traffic management because of an entrenched mindset that nothing should ever change. As some wise man once said, it's crazy to keep doing the same thing while expecting a different outcome. Here in our local rural town a roundabout was installed and it took nearly a near for people to learn how to use it. Now it functions very well, and one rarely sees a problem with it. When we do, it is inevitably a new user that's at fault, not the design of the roundabout itself.
Daren Todd
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I had nicknamed the new roundabout they installed the "round abouts of death" do to the nightmare it was causing do to construction.
They are finished now except for clean up and some striping. The only issue I see with them are the raised concrete areas they installed to separate the lanes. With my 550 service truck, they are a little narrow and you have to be really paying attention to vehicle placement going into it. Any tractor trailers coming through end up clipping those concrete spots. If they were beveled to the asphalt it wouldn't be an issue. But as they are now, I'm thinking the city is gonna be replacing a few tires before it's all said and done
They are finished now except for clean up and some striping. The only issue I see with them are the raised concrete areas they installed to separate the lanes. With my 550 service truck, they are a little narrow and you have to be really paying attention to vehicle placement going into it. Any tractor trailers coming through end up clipping those concrete spots. If they were beveled to the asphalt it wouldn't be an issue. But as they are now, I'm thinking the city is gonna be replacing a few tires before it's all said and done
In the more northern regions, they're allowed to have more volatile organic compounds (VOC's) in the winter fuel. That's not the only thing that kills winter fuel economy though. In the summer, my Dakota shifts into overdrive as soon as I get out of town. In the winter, it takes about 7 miles before it shifts. Lubricants and tires are stiffer, warm up times (even if you warm it up while driving). I think automatics are worse, but it hurts with manuals too.
I prefer roundabouts to stop signs myself. Once the traffic gets too heavy stoplights are better, but properly designed roundabouts are a good choice for moderate traffic.
The wife of the guy that rents my parents' property kept going around on one until she got pulled over. The cop got her off of the roundabout and she ended up going the wrong way.
I prefer roundabouts to stop signs myself. Once the traffic gets too heavy stoplights are better, but properly designed roundabouts are a good choice for moderate traffic.
The wife of the guy that rents my parents' property kept going around on one until she got pulled over. The cop got her off of the roundabout and she ended up going the wrong way.
been known to get stuck in roudabouts for days...drinkn beer, smoken boo, listening to old r&r at 110 db and a occasional pull on George Dickle.
well maybe not in 50 years, let me imagine that thogh
well maybe not in 50 years, let me imagine that thogh
Now Irish whiskey wasnt bad...but I did like George Dickle "sour mash"
My gas bill does not go up in the winter, goes down. I drive a lot less and tend to hibernate and dwell on years gone by.
Not sure if this was mentioned, but there is also increased parasitic drag from colder fluids in trans, t-case, axles, etc. Although cool air can boost power in high-performance engines due to higher density, and therefore able to burn more fuel in a given volume, I do remember reading somewhere that this has an adverse effect on most regular engines when the temps really drop. Even tires and wheel bearing grease can have an effect on mpg when things are not as slippery as they are when hot.
Refiners or distribitors used to add a little alcohol to gasoline in winter months for the reason that alcohol blends with both gasoline and water which permits moisture to pass through rather than build up possibly freezing therefore stopping the fuel line (fuel line freeze up).
Today practically all gasoline already has 10% alcohol and is limited to that amount, unless it's E85 which is 85% alcohol and clearly marked as such. I'm not sure there is a different winter blend any longer.
There is certainly more friction in cold weather which lowers mpg.
Today practically all gasoline already has 10% alcohol and is limited to that amount, unless it's E85 which is 85% alcohol and clearly marked as such. I'm not sure there is a different winter blend any longer.
There is certainly more friction in cold weather which lowers mpg.