Tis the Season! (Crappy winter fuel economy)

[nickels]

30l took me 480km on my last tank.

Strong winds, long warm up times, well below zero temperatures, soft grippy tires...

I look forward to my next 700km tank, maybe in April sometime. HA.

Stupid Canada.

[dspace9]

30l took me 480km on my last tank.

Strong winds, long warm up times, well below zero temperatures, soft grippy tires...

I look forward to my next 700km tank, maybe in April sometime. HA.

Stupid Canada.

Yea eh, same story every year and every winter season, with my own Mirage. Also, the Mirage always drinks gas if you drive it fast enough. Like any car. So often any given day the driving conditions are less than ideal for perfect fuel-sipping maximums.

Can't do much about the weather, or traffic conditions. Maybe in April we'll have nice weather again, and nature won't be cruel. And we'll get an early spring.

[Fummins]

I’m more than happy with the numbers I'm seeing so far. I don’t even try to drive to save dolphins and get better economy than anything I’ve ever owned. But that’s not saying much.

[Wallythacker]

Ya, this time of year does nothing to inspire better driving habits. Try as I may, a cold day with a bad headwind will ruin the overall mileage of a tank of gas. But I do now have the Kats cartridge heaters for each car. I hope that will help. If nothing else, the cabin will be warmer faster.

[Mark]

Ya, this time of year does nothing to inspire better driving habits. Try as I may, a cold day with a bad headwind will ruin the overall mileage of a tank of gas. But I do now have the Kats cartridge heaters for each car. I hope that will help. If nothing else, the cabin will be warmer faster.

Lower mpg during winter months is pretty hard to avoid, because of winter blend gasoline.

Even if you didn't change tires & had some decent weather, you're probably not going to achieve summer mpg ratings.

https://www.bellperformance.com/blog...blend-gasoline

Winter blend gas is a necessary evil of northern winters!

[Eggman]

Lower mpg during winter months is pretty hard to avoid, because of winter blend gasoline.

Even if you didn't change tires & had some decent weather, you're probably not going to achieve summer mpg ratings.

https://www.bellperformance.com/blog...blend-gasoline

Winter blend gas is a necessary evil of northern winters!

That article says there's about 2% less energy available in winter fuel, right? I don't think that accounts for the Mirage loss of fuel economy in cold weather.

I can go about 4 weeks on a tank of gas. I notice increased fuel consumption in colder temperatures with the same tank of gas.

No doubt winter gas is a factor, but there's more to that story.

[Mark]

That article says there's about 2% less energy available in winter fuel, right? I don't think that accounts for the Mirage loss of fuel economy in cold weather.

I can go about 4 weeks on a tank of gas. I notice increased fuel consumption in colder temperatures with the same tank of gas.

No doubt winter gas is a factor, but there's more to that story.

All vehicles I've owned get lower mpg during the winter months. I see no reason why the Mirage would be any different? I think winter blend gas is a large part of it all. Other factors are surely in play even if you don't change tires during the winter months. Obviously, driving through snow or slush isn't going to help one's rolling resistance.

Early to mid-November is when I notice a change in my area, too. It may be a combination of different fuel & tires in my case.

[Eggman]

Take a look at my (or any other cold-climate) Fuel Economy Log entries that have been collecting data for several years. You'll quickly notice the summer to winter variations are much more than 2%.

I've noticed a direct correlation between temperature and fuel economy - lower temperatures mean lower fuel economy numbers, even with the same gas in the tank. In my opinion, this suggests the Mirage ECU delivers more fuel in colder temperatures. There has been a recall to reprogram the Mirage ECU to deal with an excessively-rich fuel condition in cold temperatures.

I don't fully understand why the air-fuel ratio needs more fuel in colder temperatures. Your article suggests that cold fuel isn't as volatile, and that makes sense. I'm thinking that in the case of the Mirage, Mitsubishi has ordered more fuel than is necessary.

Forum member foama has shown us a way to combat this by fooling the ECU into thinking the engine is warmer, and in turn the ECU delivers less fuel. His fuel economy numbers improved with his modification. Just providing evidence to support my claim.

All vehicles I've owned get lower mpg during the winter months. I see no reason why the Mirage would be any different?

The manufacturer's programming. Mitsubishi has programmed the Mirage Engine Control Unit to deliver a richer air-fuel ratio for colder ambient temperature operation.

I think winter blend gas is a large part of it all.

I do not doubt it is a factor, but no more than 2% as your article claims.

Obviously, driving through snow or slush isn't going to help one's rolling resistance.

So far I've encountered rain and some slushy road conditions, but mostly wet roads. Again, it doesn't account for all the loss of fuel economy.

Early to mid-November is when I notice a change in my area, too. It may be a combination of different fuel & tires in my case.

Sure, there are lots of factors that contribute to this. But temperature is the biggest.

[Wallythacker]

It's interesting if you track mileage you can almost predict with certainty when the winter blend gasoline hits the pumps. For me, there was a noticeable change in the middle of November. I gas up weekly and my driving habits don't change much so it's down to altered weather and gasoline blends.

[Wallythacker]

One thing I haven't really tracked is the median daily temperatures in a given month. It just might be that mid November for where I live is when there's a noticeable change in the temperature. I'm not going to bother trying to chase it down.