Winter makes me drop 10 MPG?

[thebook92]

In my last car (1998 Ford Escort) and my dad's two previous cars (2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser and 2011 Dodge Avenger, switching from summer blend to winter blend gas would cost us 1-3 MPG (plus another 1 in the Escort for switching to snow tires). In the Sonic, snow tires plus winter gas equals my MPG dropping from 38-40 on the DIC (which is never off by more than 0.5 MPG from hand calculations) to 28-30. My driving style and routes haven't changed from the summer. Why is my mileage suddenly turning to relative crap?

 

[SubSonic]

mine only dropped 3. i get 37 city on summer gas, and get 33.5-34 on winter blend. not sure why you lost so much.

 

[$ub$onic]

1) take some lead out of the foot
2) try a few different gas stations
3) hypermill a little
4) if your car is full of crap the added weight can effect it

 

[Papasonic]

Here is a six page thread related to this topic. A lot of interesting theories.
Click on link below.

http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/t5623/

BTW: My 1.4 manual trans LTZ; this winter is averaging 5-6 mpg less than in summer driving conditions.
I also believe that the smaller displacement engines are more susceptible to mileage variations in cold climate conditions.
"Example" My Silverado normally achieves 18 mpg in summer; now 15 mpg this winter. Only a difference of 3 mpg.
As I previously mentioned, my Sonic has lost about 6 mpg during similar driving conditions.

 

[Maddog2020]

I got a tune in December so it's hard to say what the actual change was, but I'm down about 5 MPG. I'm hoping it's actually down 10 MPG so this summer I'll be up 5!...If that makes sense.

 

[Swordsmith]

Here is a six page thread related to this topic. A lot of interesting theories.
Click on link below.

http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/t5623/

BTW: My 1.4 manual trans LTZ; this winter is averaging 5-6 mpg less than in summer driving conditions.
I also believe that the smaller displacement engines are more susceptible to mileage variations in cold climate conditions.
"Example" My Silverado normally achieves 18 mpg in summer; now 15 mpg this winter. Only a difference of 3 mpg.
As I previously mentioned, my Sonic has lost about 6 mpg during similar driving conditions.

If you were getting 36mpg in summer, and 30mpg in winter, that's the same loss as 18mpg to 15mpg. If you get 40mpg normally and drop to 34mpg, that's actually less drop than your Silverado. Of course if your Sonic normally gets the same summer mileage as your Silverado, then the 6mpg drop is twice as large... but man you gotta tell me what mods you are running to get mpg that terrible out of a Sonic!

 

[thebook92]

1) take some lead out of the foot
2) try a few different gas stations
3) hypermill a little
4) if your car is full of crap the added weight can effect it

1) not much lead in there to begin with
2) already did, ended up switching from BP to Shell gas as well
3) no cruise, so a little P&G happens naturally while on the highway
4) I keep it meticulously clean and added a total of three pounds for winter preparedness (combination snow brush/ice scraper)

Also, my normal driving routine is about 40% city, 60% 55-mph highway. I have a 1.4 manual sedan.

 

[Ubryaj]

I'm getting about 28 mpg during winter. Summertime I could always get over 30 at the least...

 

[$ub$onic]

1) not much lead in there to begin with
2) already did, ended up switching from BP to Shell gas as well
3) no cruise, so a little P&G happens naturally while on the highway
4) I keep it meticulously clean and added a total of three pounds for winter preparedness (combination snow brush/ice scraper)

Also, my normal driving routine is about 40% city, 60% 55-mph highway. I have a 1.4 manual sedan.

Well that's all I had... I slowed down to 55 and hyper mill with winter tires and winter blend I went from 31 to 39-40.

 

[dvn]

Mine has dropped about 6 mpg.

 

[Maddmatts]

Engines have poor economy when they're cold too. They need a richer fuel mixture to keep them running smooth untill they warm up. I always see a dip in my average economy on my morning commute because of this.

 

[GeneralZod]

Guys, please don't compare the amount of mpg loss from car to car without doing the proper math. Going from 18 to 13 is a 28.7% difference.

Going from 36 to 30 is a 16.7% loss in mpg.

It is like high mpg diesel cars, going from 50 mpg to 45 might seem huge, but it really isn't. Well, in terms of percentage lost.

 

[Turbo Lover]

Cold weather sucks. Whenever I get gas on the way home from the interstate, I am at about 39-42 MPG when I get home on the fresh MPG display after driving two miles at normal temp. Then when I start the car the next day, and wait for the RPMs to come down after 45 seconds or so, it is already down to 35 MPG and 33 by the time I'm into second gear, and 29-30 by the time I'm onto the main road. And of course it's not at full temp until 3 miles later in these temperatures. Then it's a climb back to reasonable MPG. Rinse/repeat. Cold temps + frequent, short trips + winter gas = garbage MPG in the winter. I want to move into a place with a garage so badly. Heated garage = same MPG all year long in my old apartment.

 

[chivalryder]

I've noticed that what winter tires you use have a dramatic effect on how much your mileage drops. On my Sonic, I got some Michelin X-Ice i3 tires when I bought the car and I'm getting 32mpg average with a relatively heavy foot and at least 25% city driving. I don't know what my summer mileage will be, because I bought the car in November.

My parents '04 Cavalier will easily get 40 mpg in the summer, but the mileage drops to as low as 20-25 mpg in the winter once they got these Yokohama tires that stick to the road like velcro! They drive nearly 100% country roads with next to no stop lights or signs.

 

[rondoman]

Bought the car two weeks, went through two tanks of gas and have been averaging about 36M mpg. That is doing about 75% highway (60-70 mph). I dont know what the first tank was (filled by the dealer) but the 2nd tank I used 91 octane.

 

[Turbo Lover]

True story, my MPG has dropped by at least two this week with temps 15-20 degrees colder than they have been. Was 9 degrees last night, the normal hi temp for this part of the season is 49.

 

[cndctrdj]

Well I have owned the car for the winter and have seen as high as 50mpg but average 36-37 so on summer gas I would love to see 43-47mpg on average

 

[GeneralZod]

This winter I have driven in some of the worst conditions. Not just one or two, but days of poor conditions like ice, snow, rain, and wind. When the weather was good, but cold 33-36 could be had.

Add bad weather and temps below 25F and low 30s.

I did a 250 mile trip on the parkway that was like a Nordic rally. Uneven packed snow and ice. Even some nice drifting to slow down on ramps. Using the brakes would result in people ditching.

I actually find the Sonic good in the snow. But I have driven poor winter weather cars and LRR tires on snow most of my life. I find LRR tires to be dangerous.

 

[13TurboLTZ]

Of course you lose MPG in the winter - more warming up and idling!

 

[Turbo Lover]

Average 34-37 per full tank now that it is spring/early summer. Was getting 28-30 during the winter. About half city half highway.