Winter Gas Causing Drop in MPG? - Page 4 - Toyota Yaris Forums

docB · 03-18-2010, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twistoffate0817

When does the Northeast switch over to summer gas?

HA Ha ha

We don't have summer and winter blends any more. All the gas is cut with ethanol all year round. The alcohol just cuts your milage and raises the oil company profits. The environmental benefit just doesn't make this a good proposition. Flex fuel vehicles are as big a joke as HEVs.
doc

docB · 03-18-2010, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by captainm27

I know every car suffers MPG drops in the winter. But why is that? Is it because of the winter blend type of fuel being used? Or does an engine use more gas to stay warmer during the coler months? I drive my Yaris the same gentle way I do in the winter as I do during the warm spring days (with the exception of snow storms, etc.) I never see my RPM's going so much higher to suggest using more fuel. Does the engine use more fuel, even though it is keeping the RPM's at the same levels? Or is RPM just not a good indicator of how much gas is being used?

Everything needs to warm up. Oil, grease, water, and the passengers. All that heat plus wipers and defrosters use up extra fuel. The DEF mode for the HVAC runs the air conditioner, too. The snow on the road offers a tremendeous drag that needs to be overcome.
doc

docB · 03-18-2010, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b_hickman11

Your engine likes warm and hot air to be brought into it from the intake. The hotter it is outside, the better mpg's you will get. I recorded my best mpg on a day it was 105+ degrees outside.

Was this mileage determination made with a Scan Gage or be refilling the tank?
doc

b_hickman11 · 03-18-2010, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by docB

Was this mileage determination made with a Scan Gage or be refilling the tank?
doc

By refilling the tank with the last bar started blinking and divided miles driven by amount of gas filled.

b_hickman11 · 03-18-2010, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by docB

HA Ha ha

We don't have summer and winter blends any more. All the gas is cut with ethanol all year round. The alcohol just cuts your milage and raises the oil company profits. The environmental benefit just doesn't make this a good proposition. Flex fuel vehicles are as big a joke as HEVs.
doc

Still have it here in Texas....

Yaris Hilton · 03-19-2010, 12:08 AM

Summer and winter blends aren't about ethanol vs. no ethanol. It's the boiling range of the gasoline part. In the winter they use a lot more butanes and pentanes, which give more vapor pressure for easy cold starting. In the summer the butanes and pentanes are way down, and there are more of the heavier, high boiling hydrocarbons to reduce vapor locking and evaporative emissions.

Hershey · 03-19-2010, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by docB

Everything needs to warm up. Oil, grease, water, and the passengers. All that heat plus wipers and defrosters use up extra fuel. The DEF mode for the HVAC runs the air conditioner, too. The snow on the road offers a tremendeous drag that needs to be overcome.
doc

would think the cold could affect wheel bearing grease as well . Making for more resistance . No ?

Uber_Otter · 03-19-2010, 12:21 PM

Dallas just switched back over to summer gas. I think. Got a 3 mpg gain on my last tank. Drove the same. Maybe they use Daylight savings as the cutover.

Yaris Hilton · 03-19-2010, 01:39 PM

Might've had a difference in your fill levels at the beginning and end of that tank, or a different driving profile. It's a little early for the change, I think. (It's still Winter.)

docB · 03-20-2010, 10:49 AM

It is great to track mileage. The big thing that really tells the whole picture is to keep track of all the fuel that goes into the tank and divide that into the mileage on the odometer. Then the amount you got back into the thing on a refill is a moot point. I made a small excell spread sheet. I keep track of the date, the odometer reading, the quantity of fuel (all the decimal places on the pump), the dollar amount and where I got it. If there are odd circumstances, I keep a side note. I track maintenance items here, too. The sum of the cost of the fuel is tracked along with the total gallons used. This is the number that I divide into the total miles on the car. I update the total fuel economy at the government EPA your mileage site. I have been over 39 mpg since I picked up my cash for clunker the last day of August last year. The max was a little over 44mpg and the low is probably in the high 20s. By the way, a 1994 Ford Escort Wagon 5-speed I bought new average just over 35 mpg over the time I owned it. I don't place a lot of faith in the instantaneous readings the cars provide. I think by brothers full size Dodge pick-up could only get 99mpg on a railroad flat car...lol
doc

b_hickman11 · 03-20-2010, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by docB

It is great to track mileage. The big thing that really tells the whole picture is to keep track of all the fuel that goes into the tank and divide that into the mileage on the odometer. Then the amount you got back into the thing on a refill is a moot point. I made a small excell spread sheet. I keep track of the date, the odometer reading, the quantity of fuel (all the decimal places on the pump), the dollar amount and where I got it. If there are odd circumstances, I keep a side note. I track maintenance items here, too. The sum of the cost of the fuel is tracked along with the total gallons used. This is the number that I divide into the total miles on the car. I update the total fuel economy at the government EPA your mileage site. I have been over 39 mpg since I picked up my cash for clunker the last day of August last year. The max was a little over 44mpg and the low is probably in the high 20s. By the way, a 1994 Ford Escort Wagon 5-speed I bought new average just over 35 mpg over the time I owned it. I don't place a lot of faith in the instantaneous readings the cars provide. I think by brothers full size Dodge pick-up could only get 99mpg on a railroad flat car...lol
doc

Sounds like a lot of extra work just to find your mpg.....

BailOut · 03-20-2010, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b_hickman11

Sounds like a lot of extra work just to find your mpg.....

That's because he's tracking more than just MPG.

b_hickman11 · 03-21-2010, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BailOut

That's because he's tracking more than just MPG.

Sounds like he needs to track what winter gas is.....

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03-19-2010, 12:08 AM	#60
Yaris Hilton Half a Bubble Off Plumb Drives: 2009 Yaris Sedan Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bristol, Tennessee, USA Posts: 1,593	Summer and winter blends aren't about ethanol vs. no ethanol. It's the boiling range of the gasoline part. In the winter they use a lot more butanes and pentanes, which give more vapor pressure for easy cold starting. In the summer the butanes and pentanes are way down, and there are more of the heavier, high boiling hydrocarbons to reduce vapor locking and evaporative emissions.

03-19-2010, 12:21 PM	#62
Uber_Otter Drives: Black XA not yaris but close Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: DFW Posts: 48	Dallas just switched back over to summer gas. I think. Got a 3 mpg gain on my last tank. Drove the same. Maybe they use Daylight savings as the cutover.

03-19-2010, 01:39 PM	#63
Yaris Hilton Half a Bubble Off Plumb Drives: 2009 Yaris Sedan Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bristol, Tennessee, USA Posts: 1,593	Might've had a difference in your fill levels at the beginning and end of that tank, or a different driving profile. It's a little early for the change, I think. (It's still Winter.)

03-20-2010, 10:49 AM	#64
docB Drives: '09 Yaris Sedan Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Western N.Y. Posts: 75	It is great to track mileage. The big thing that really tells the whole picture is to keep track of all the fuel that goes into the tank and divide that into the mileage on the odometer. Then the amount you got back into the thing on a refill is a moot point. I made a small excell spread sheet. I keep track of the date, the odometer reading, the quantity of fuel (all the decimal places on the pump), the dollar amount and where I got it. If there are odd circumstances, I keep a side note. I track maintenance items here, too. The sum of the cost of the fuel is tracked along with the total gallons used. This is the number that I divide into the total miles on the car. I update the total fuel economy at the government EPA your mileage site. I have been over 39 mpg since I picked up my cash for clunker the last day of August last year. The max was a little over 44mpg and the low is probably in the high 20s. By the way, a 1994 Ford Escort Wagon 5-speed I bought new average just over 35 mpg over the time I owned it. I don't place a lot of faith in the instantaneous readings the cars provide. I think by brothers full size Dodge pick-up could only get 99mpg on a railroad flat car...lol doc