winter blend fuel = ~3mpg drop??

so, my truck, seemingly out of the blue has dropped about 3 mpg average according to my fuelly which i update religiously. my past 2 fuel ups have dropped to about 16.8! the only thing that's changed that i can think of is that gas stations are switching over to winter blend fuel. does it really make that huge of a difference? i'm getting worse fuel economy than most 4.0litres...

 

I've changed too many things on my truck lately (wheels, tires, lift, synthetic oil) to be able to see any trends in fuel economy.

But I had my last rig, a 92 Explorer, for 12 years. I always checked the gas mileage. Every winter, I would see a 10% drop in fuel economy when the winter blends arrived at the pumps. It sucks!

 

I have noticed a drop too. From about 19.3 to 17.8. Thats the only thing I can see making that big a difference. Maybe the cooler air is throwing of our Air/fuel mix with it being denser.

 

well... this being the first year i've ever tracked my fuel economy... i think i'm in for a long even more depressing winter

 

yeah it all has to do with the amount of oxygen in the air at colder temps. gas companies nknow this so they accout by adding a heavier fuel mixture tha can ignite under strained condidtions like in the cold weather.

 

geeze beastly what do you do to get that kind of fuel mileage...

 

oh, well long story, but i dont fill up all the way any more. i jsut do like 8 bucks here and there so i dont bother with it. i used to get like 28-30 but that was when i filled up when gas was like 2.24 a gallon

 

Another possible factor is that when colder, it takes the vehicle longer to reach operating temparatue thereby possibly increasing fuel consumption.

 

This may be stating the obvious but be certain that your tire pressures haven't dropped due to cooler temperatures. Also, if you're running traditional, dead dinosaur stuff in the engine, transmission and differential, try using a synthetic.

I've used AMSOIL products since 1978. The ONLY claim I've ever made regarding MPG and AMSOIL is that a user will see a smaller reduction in MPG during winter. It takes a LONG time for gear lube to warm up in the cold. AMSOIL lubes remain liquid at much lower temperatures than dead dinosaur products.