winter mix fuel SUCKS
 

since my usual station switched to e10 I have struggled to break 30mpg this is upsetting since I've seen as high as 34mpg on summer mix. I want my milage back you bastards.

It'll be back in the Spring. :p

Seriously though, I feel your pain. Meanwhile, dive into some of the mods that make sense for Winter: grille blocks, block heaters, etc. Take it as a personal challenge to get those efficiency numbers back! You might not succeed, but any progress you make will be to your (and everyone's) benefit.

Hang in there,
Rick

i know it sucks, i lived in PA before and my mpg dipped below 30 on my old civic.


does anyone know is washington state uses a winter mix? (seattle area)

Imagine how those of us that live in areas that have E10 year round feel!

-Jay

Me too. colder temps, and alcohol will drop mileage. My driving hasnt been as
good as it could be either. My accord was getting 31-32 or so in the dead of winter, and 36-38 in the heat of summer. My Civic seems really close to that...

lame...I can still get the non-e15 mix here. Or I can get the e15. never been a fan of watered down fuel.

We have 10% ethanol in our fuel here too. I don't like it but have no choice.

The Cutlass has dropped to 28mpg where before I was able to squeeze 30 out of it.

Maybe my injectors are cleaner or something. There has to be something positive about it.

Its made some corn farmer very happy...

:D

I'm wondering if Virginia puts ethanol blends in place during the winter. I have seen my MPG drop lately, but I think it was due to low tires.

I try to run E10 all year if I can, I was wondering if I should take a look at my injectors or not and while the engine was apart I decided to do so. They were pretty awesome. Not sure if it was the alcohol or not but I never use additives and the nozzles looked like new.

Danronian: King George is borderline whether or not its E10 year round. I know Stafford & Fredericksburg are E10 territory.

-Jay

I reduce the percentage biodiesel for the winter (sub-freezing) and use petroleum diesel to offset the bio's cold temperature flow issues. The petroleum diesel has about 10% higher BTU content than the bio, so my winter fuel consumption rate doesn't take much of a hit.

or for the glass-half-full types: My summer mpg doesn't rise much above my winter numbers because I use more of a lower energy density fuel by choice.

but even petroleum diesel has different blends, more D2 in the summer and increasing amounts of D1 (or kerosene) in the mix as the temperature falls or latitude moves closer to the pole. The same seasonal gripe about falling numbers with winter fuel hits the oil-heads, too

i live in ontario, canada and we too have the 10% ethanol year round...and dont even get me started on winter mpgs. ugh. especially the short trip i take to work, any car is just barely warmed up by the time i get there not even on the really cold days. gobbles gas bad.

I usually get gas in Fredericksburg so I'm probably on E10. Might explain why my highway MPG haven't been so great.

Filling up in the city on your weekly trip to Carl's? (or are they closed for the winter yet?) ;)

-Jay

Colder less efficient
 

The Solstice' gone to 24 from 26 mpg summer, I also added more air to the tires once we got in the 30's-20's, the tires went from 28 to 21 lbs. once it got cold. Baltimore is gasoline, but all I get in Virginia or Phillie is e10.

I feel your pain, haha, my mpg calculation from yesterday's fillup was 29.45mpg, 25% lower than the previous tank, which was 39.32 mpg. Morning temperature yesterday here in FL was in the 40s. Winter being one of the main reasons why the mpg dropped by so much.

I went the same routes as my last tank, and the tire pressure was lowered to 33 PSI from 35 PSI. Driving while not caring much for the mpg may also have contributed to the lower mpg.

At least our cars ain't getting below 20 mpg like those behemoth SUVs (H2, Escalade, etc).:D

I just moved here actually... What's Carl's?

I mainly go to Fredericksburg to shop, take pictures, walk around. The old-town is real nice there.

I just moved here actually... What's Carl's?

I mainly go to Fredericksburg to shop, take pictures, walk around, eat at some restaurants. The old-town is real nice there and the college, UMW, has an awesome campus to walk around. :thumbup:

Carl's is one of the places you just have to see if you're in the area. Its a drive-in ice cream shop that's frozen in time sometime in the 50's. He closes up shop every winter and doesn't re-open till sometime in march. Its at 2200 Princess Anne Street. From King George take route 3 accross the Chattham bridge into Old Town. As soon as you cross the bridge make a right (I think that's Sophia St) That's going to parallel the river for about 1/2 mile then make a 90 degree turn left. right after you are forced to make the left make a right on the first cross street (Can't remember the name). It will be one way on that section. Get in the left lane. Right when it changes to 2 way traffic you want to make a left, then an immediate right onto Princess Anne St. Carl's will be about 2 or 3 blocks up on the left. Be prepared for long lines on weekends and evenings.

https://www.choppedonion.com/sitebuil.../scan00061.jpg

https://www.choppedonion.com/id11.html

EDIT: I almost forgot... As long as you're there the 2400 Diner is a great place to go if you like diner food. Its a tiny diner that only seats like 20 or 30 people. Its at 2400 Princess Anne.

https://i.pbase.com/u/slug/4/213.14.jpg

Oh damn, I have seen that place, just never knew if it was good or not.

Thanks for the info!

Its considered a Nat'l historic landmark. He uses the same ice cream machines that were used when the place opened. I hear parts are a real pain to find. He also uses the exact same recipe that was used when the place was opened. My "usual" is a Jumbo Chocolate cone. On a summer evening that is the place to be. When I used to drive an ambulance in the area whenever we dropped someone off @ Mary Washington Hospital we'd cut through and get ice cream for the ride back to the squad. I've seen it where the line wrapped around the building twice. They don't do that now. It was too much of a problem. If you notice in the picture there are 2 orange cones to keep the line from going around the building. Now they just let the line trail down the block. Opening weekend in the spring is just amazing. You just wouldn't believe the lines.

-Jay

Its funny that I haven't visited an ice cream shop for the 14 years I have been in the U.S.

I should get out more often hhaha.

Lmfao I haven't seen what you speak of since the 80's, we used to have
a restaurant the line of cars would regularly hold up traffic on the main 3-lane
45mph thoroughfare...
Apparently many a business today could stand to take some lessons here.