milage going down?

[caug1]

hello, i got 03 m45 for a year now. last time i reset mpg gage was like 5 month ago after i did dicarb. service, and milege improved. one week i reset by mistake and i am getting now 18.8 to 19.2 vs. 20.2 to 20.4. i know it is not a big deal, but i would like to know if in the winter gas quality changes?i use only shell and sunoco 93 only. style of driving is the same.thanks,caug.

[Andrew224]

Don't gas companies change the blend of gas according to the seasons? I thought I heard this somewhere but I couldn't tell you for sure.

I know my mileage goes down too, but I attribute it to the fact that I have to let my car warm up quite a bit longer than I normally do in the milder seasons.

Andrew

[M45-Zero260]

I remember reading about the seasonal/regional gasoline mixtures as well. The gasoline you pump in say, Miami in December, is different than the same month in Chicago. Also, the colder climates will change their blends to compensate for the changing seasons.

Either way, Caug, those numbers are a lot better than what I have been getting. I just topped off my tank an hour ago, and I was somewhere around 13 mpg...but I always let the car warm up where I'm at (it's been in the single digits for the past few days), and I was doing around 120 mph in my driveway on Thursday when I came home from work because it had just snowed and my driveway is almost a hundred feet long at an incline. Needless to say, I smoked up my neighborhood a bit and I still had fresh burned rubber smell in my car for my commute the next morning.

[caug1]

you my type of guy. keep it up.i would recomend do decurb service for you, if you drive hard which i think you do. i bed you will get better milege. it is recomended to do it every 15k, plus it is good for the car if you love it, which you do.thanks.caug.

[M45-Zero260]

Thank you very much for the compliment...I admit, I love to hear the RPM's increase, and the Michelin's decrease ever-so-slightly in their overall diameter. I have been interested in that BG-44K treatment that I keep hearing about. It's just...I have always been told, if it's not broke, then don't fix it...so I am a little hesitant. However, as I am totally impressed with the way this car takes off from a stop light - I was not the original owner, who was able to peel away from the dealership back in '03, so I don't know how the car was brand new. Perhaps one treatment of BG-44K will work in accordance with Z's instructions and recommendations. I will try it.

[lfj2025]

I live outside Chicago and no matter what car I've had as soon as the weather turns cooler my mileage goes down. The two factors are temperature and winter gas blend.

Have you manually checked your mileage using miles driven and gallons used instead of the car's MPG screen? My MPG screen always seems higher than my actual. Other cars I've owned were very close to the "real" mileage numbers.

[Motorsport Nut]

When you cold start your car it obviously idles much higher until warmed up, that uses more fuel, plus you are getting winter blended gas. Mine has dropped just like your's. I track my mpg with every fill up since I bought the car!

[Motorsport Nut]

I did have the readout tell me 356 miles to empty the last time I got gas, and my odometer read 356.8 or something when I reset it FWIW.

[HolySh*t]

I did have the readout tell me 356 miles to empty the last time I got gas, and my odometer read 356.8 or something when I reset it FWIW.

WOW!! 356 mile to empty. I filled up yesterday at $3.27 a gallon. A total of $60 bucks. When I hopped in the car it was around 294 to empty. That is a big difference. I am currently at 16.7 mpg and i dont drive hard.

[Motorsport Nut]

Yup. My last tank was 356.4 miles traveled. I always reset both a and b settings. When I restarted it said 356 to empty. Properly maintained, I use Premium Conventional Valvoline dino non synthetic 5/30 oil, and have the tires inflated to the high side. Oh yeah, and my K&N filter that is taboo.

[lfj2025]

I get the same mileage on the highway(around 360) but when I'm running around town it falls under 300 per tank closer to 275.

[DRIPS]

I drive all in town. Highway once a week for short duration to go to bars in Portsmouth NH. I average 272 per tank and I drive it like a grandma most of the time (cept the usual pedal to the floor to open her up).

That comes to my average of about 16.4 mpg!!!!!!!!! DO NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT 19 hahah.