Winter blend gas and MPG

I see a lot of people blaming lower MPG's on winter blend. While there may some truth to that there are also other factors involved in lower MPG's in the winter. Here is a good article that points some of them out.
http://articles.mcall.com/2013-03-0...-mpg-20130307_1_more-gas-mileage-gas-stations

 

I usually go from high 21's to 19's so that is about the 1.7 percentage loss they talk about.

 

I don't seem to experience any drop in MPG's because of winter blends on any of my vehicles, but I do not do warm ups on my vehicles.

 

on my 2012 Access Cab - 4 Banger 4X4, I would easily get 24+ mpg in the summer. As of late, I am lucky to hit 21 mpg....


Use a fuel tracker app on my phone and I have to break it down to two season when trying to beat my records.

 

Your info indicates you are from Texas...... What is a winter gas blend in Texas? Probably why you don't see a difference.

 

I did not think about that so I did some research. I thought it was a federal issue and the same everyplace, but it is not. It seems it is not even the same within certain states as it can change from county to county and Texas is one of them. Some states even surpass federal requirements so I guess that is why some in certain areas get less MPG's. Here is a short list chart.
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/gasolinefuels/volatility/standards.htm

 

Wouldn't a 2mpg drop from 21 to 19 be 10% drop? Not 1.7?

 

Yes.

 

Beat me to it

Fluids thickness probably has a lot to do with MPG during winters. PS fluid, engine oil, tranny oil, diff oil, transfer case and front diff oil(4x4). Everything adds up and load up the engine.

I notice when it gets really cold (Canada cold), when I press on the clutch to change speed, It feel like the brakes are sticking. Thick oil create a restriction to movement.

 

My tranny shifts a bit ruff when I get going first thing in the morning in the cold. Normal i'm thinking. The fluid needs to warm up. Once it does it shifts perfect

 

havent driven the taco enough to compare but in the camry i went from 27ish to 24ish

 

In addition to all of that, colder air is denser, and we are asking our not-so-aerodynamic trucks to plow through that denser air.