Good bye Good Mileage??

[bsams]

I didn't start paying close attention to my mileage until the end of June this year. Of course hot summer months = nice mpgs. Now that it's cooling off here in upstate NY I am noticing quite a significant drop in my mpgs. Now I know of course this is inevitable with the colder temps, but it seems like I am losing about 1mpg per 10degree temp drop. Is there a general rule of thumb for ambient air temps and how it effects mileage? Just curious... can't wait for winter!

[dkjones96]

MY mileage drops when it gets colder but that's because the car runs so much better. On a 20 degree morning I beat the poor car to pieces as opposed to a 105 degree day when it can barely get out of its own way!

[Jay2TheRescue]

Maybe rig up a winter WAI, and remove it in the spring to maintian your mileage?

-Jay

[GasSavers_Erik]

At some point the refineries switch us over to the "winter blend" which yields less mpg

[Jay2TheRescue]

Yes, but a WAI will help soften the impact of winter blend fuel.

-Jay

[KARR]

Try blocking the air flow that hits the radiator. I've tried it once and mileage increased in 10 mpg, on average. I've done nothing that could explain this increase so I suppose it really improves mileage. Last weekend I've made a new "blocker" that covers a bigger area of the radiator.

[GasSavers_SD26]

Originally Posted by Erik

At some point the refineries switch us over to the "winter blend" which yields less mpg

You beat me to it. Yes, winter blend fuels are different in that they will help the engine start in colder months rather than give the economy of warmer months. There are mandated periods of when those fuels need to hit the distribution chain and then when they should hit the street. I think they hit the marks pretty well.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Yes, a good grille block is usually good for an extra 10% MPG.

[FLAteam]

I've also noticed a drop in my MPGs...but its strange because Scangauge shows that I've been consistently getting 36-40 mpg per trip, yet this last fill-up yielded 34mpg. My cutoff is 4, which is 4 above 0 (my idle TPS) and its uncalibrated.

Could the cold weather be affecting how well the SG is reading my actual mpgs? Should I reset the ECU? I'm thinking seriously for a grill block soon...

[bowtieguy]

no need to wait until winter to do a grill block. i have ~3/4 grill block in temps higher than most. certainly positive or negative(over heating) results vary from vehicle to vehicle, however.

i was thinking of installing a WAI myself.

i'm actually hoping for BETTER FE during winter via limited a/c usage.

gotta add this as well...

in january, i'll think about you northerners while outside in shorts and w/out shoes playing w/ the kids.