Is anyone else really affected by winter blend?

doug910

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Hey guys, ever since it got cold here in MI and we (presumbly) switched to winter blend, my MPG's have tanked and power seems to be down as well. I know that some engines are more affected by winter blend than others, but it seems pretty severe.

I usually averaged about 21 mpg or so per tank this summer, I'm now averaging about 16-17 mpg per tank. I remember when I first got my Ranger in January, fuel economy wasn't stellar (about 19-20 mpg), but I assumed it was because of engine break in. Come March and 3000 miles on the odometer, I stabilized in the low 20s. Since then, I have gone up a tire size so I lost about 1-2 mpg there, but the mpg drop now seems pretty severe. Anyone else have any experience with Ecoboost engines on winter blend?
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As the winter gets colder, winter blend will work better... Until spring!
The flash point is lowered for winter blend, usually with the addition of more C3s and C4s.
In the spring, go to high volume stations until its all summer blend.
Butane and propane boils out more aggressively as the temps rise above freezing.
The best choice though is to live with it, and remember that most folks drive less in cold weather.
Buying premium might help for now, since fewer people are buying it, and summer blend might be in the tanks longer.
 
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doug910

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As the winter gets colder, winter blend will work better... Until spring!
The flash point is lowered for winter blend, usually with the addition of more C3s and C4s.
In the spring, go to high volume stations until its all summer blend.
Butane and propane boils out more aggressively as the temps rise above freezing.
The best choice though is to live with it, and remember that most folks drive less in cold weather.
Buying premium might help for now, since fewer people are buying it, and summer blend might be in the tanks longer.
I only go to high volume stations, so summer blend is probably all gone ha. I haven't noticed that I'm refilling more often so I'm glad for that. We'll see how it goes as it gets colder!
 

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My gas mileage tanks in the Winter because I let my car warm up before driving off. Nothing to do with the gas formulation. Its the idling time.
 

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I've also seen a drop in mileage, though I contribute it to my use of auto start during the -20F days. This engine loves to suck fuel at idle and when it is auto-started it is running at a higher rpm as well. Once I'm in and hit the button the rpm comes down.
 


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I have also seen a considerable hit. Usually average ~22mpg on my work commute, now it's all the way down to ~18mpg for the same route! Huge hit in my book, but like other people have been saying, I've always seen a dramatic hit in mileage in winter, no matter the vehicle. So I'm not surprised. Slightly disappointed, sure. But nothing to be done really. I'm not sure the reasons. Maybe it is the winter fuel blend (first I'm hearing of it, but I'm not terribly educated in fuels so not a surprise). But I'm sure it also has a lot to do with needing more fuel to warm the engine (whether you remote start or not). And in my case the lower tire pressure. I had all tires set at 35psi for the summer, and they've all dropped to 30psi just due to the cold. I could pump them up again, but would rather have the small traction increase in winter driving conditions of lower pressure than the small increase in mileage.
 

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I have also seen a considerable hit. Usually average ~22mpg on my work commute, now it's all the way down to ~18mpg for the same route! Huge hit in my book, but like other people have been saying, I've always seen a dramatic hit in mileage in winter, no matter the vehicle. So I'm not surprised. Slightly disappointed, sure. But nothing to be done really. I'm not sure the reasons. Maybe it is the winter fuel blend (first I'm hearing of it, but I'm not terribly educated in fuels so not a surprise). But I'm sure it also has a lot to do with needing more fuel to warm the engine (whether you remote start or not). And in my case the lower tire pressure. I had all tires set at 35psi for the summer, and they've all dropped to 30psi just due to the cold. I could pump them up again, but would rather have the small traction increase in winter driving conditions of lower pressure than the small increase in mileage.
If only Roger Goodell was as smart as you? Who woulda thunk that cold weather cause inflation pressures to change?
 

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Be sure and turn off the A/C if possible, some systems run the A/C any time defrost is on.
 

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You should hear the Prius people complain.
 

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My fuel mileage has dropped a ton. Winter gas, larger snow tires and remote starting to warm up the truck really hurt it but it is what it is no matter the vehicle.
 
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doug910

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Yeah all engines run super rich when they're cold too I guess which is a contributing factor. I personally didn't get remote start because I don't like the idea of an engine dumping extra fuel into the engine, which will eventually contaminate the oil. Might be a negligible amount, but I still avoid it. I suck it up and bundle up ha.
 

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Hey guys, ever since it got cold here in MI and we (presumbly) switched to winter blend, my MPG's have tanked and power seems to be down as well. I know that some engines are more affected by winter blend than others, but it seems pretty severe.

I usually averaged about 21 mpg or so per tank this summer, I'm now averaging about 16-17 mpg per tank. I remember when I first got my Ranger in January, fuel economy wasn't stellar (about 19-20 mpg), but I assumed it was because of engine break in. Come March and 3000 miles on the odometer, I stabilized in the low 20s. Since then, I have gone up a tire size so I lost about 1-2 mpg there, but the mpg drop now seems pretty severe. Anyone else have any experience with Ecoboost engines on winter blend?
What octane? I'm getting 25 mpg here in Colorado with top tier Shell 91 Octance.
 

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What octane? I'm getting 25 mpg here in Colorado with top tier Shell 91 Octance.
I don't know about everyone else on here, but I'm running 87. Always have, will continue to do so. The price difference for higher octane doesn't make it worth it for me given the type of driving I do.
 

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I don't know about everyone else on here, but I'm running 87. Always have, will continue to do so. The price difference for higher octane doesn't make it worth it for me given the type of driving I do.
I was curious what the octane rating was for winter blend fuel... that's why I asked him about it.

But to your point, I too had planned to run 87 fuel also. Seeing as this was our first vehicle with a turbocharger and I had read previous to buying the truck about issues related to carbon deposits at our first fill up I referred to the owners manual.

At that point I figured why not go with the recommendation of the folks that built the truck.

Page 140 and 141 87 - 91 Octane.jpg
 
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doug910

doug910

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I don't know about everyone else on here, but I'm running 87. Always have, will continue to do so. The price difference for higher octane doesn't make it worth it for me given the type of driving I do.
Yep I always run regular 87 octane. Premium isn't worth it imo.
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