Cold Weather Fuel Economy?????

[Turbo Kidd]

O. K. , first let me say I'm sorry to bore all of you again with yet another fuel economy question. I was just on a snowmobile trip this weekend up to Northern Wisconsin..... I had a great time, but I noticed my fuel economy suffering VERY BAD this trip! I only got 12. 2 MPG on the way there and about 13. 8 MPG on the way home. Average temps were from zero to the teens. My question..... Does cold temps, realy effect fuel economy that bad, or should I be looking for a possible problem? I was only pulling a two place trailer with two sleds... . Maybe 2000 LBS. ! I was averaging about 72 MPH. I'm so sick of the poor fuel economy. My brother-in-law got almost the same fuel economy with his HEMI!!

 

[coobie]

O. K. , first let me say I'm sorry to bore all of you again with yet another fuel economy question. I was just on a snowmobile trip this weekend up to Northern Wisconsin..... I had a great time, but I noticed my fuel economy suffering VERY BAD this trip! I only got 12. 2 MPG on the way there and about 13. 8 MPG on the way home. Average temps were from zero to the teens. My question..... Does cold temps, realy effect fuel economy that bad, or should I be looking for a possible problem? I was only pulling a two place trailer with two sleds... . Maybe 2000 LBS. ! I was averaging about 72 MPH. I'm so sick of the poor fuel economy. My brother-in-law got almost the same fuel economy with his HEMI!!

I think the winter diesel fuel has part to do with fuel economy. I also let my truck warm up for about 10 minutes before I take off,that also knocks my mileage down. I get around 16-18 mpgs (city/highway) in the summer months,not towning. It was 1 degree here this morning in michigan. I drove a 100 mile loop this am. and got about 14-15 mpgs not towing, driving about 60-65 miles and hour. How fast are you towing your trailer? Above 70 miles an hour my mpgs drop off alot. coobie

 

[Tony T.]

I would say that was pretty good mileage considering your towing an probally running winter blend fuel at 72 mph. JMHO!



You could of probally loaded up your brother-in-laws Hemi an still got the same mileage an make him pay for half the trip riding in your Cummins :-laf



Tony

 

[Turbo Kidd]

That's funny... LOL! I'll tell you what, I will never go back to a gasser again..... However, that HEMI is a kick ***** motor! I think it is very impressive. I has a V-10 before I bought my current truck 03 555, and IMHO the HEMI is a far better motor than the V-10 was. As for the Viper... that is a different story!

 

[JCrockett]

I wish my HEMI got that good towing. I went ridding the other weekend with two sleds and a trailer and was at 8-9 MPG, driving about 60-70 MPH. Your right it is fun to drive, but all my friends have an 04 Cummins, I'm tradin' the Gasser in... ... I can't wait for the 05 to get here Oo.

 

[PBerry]

i have not noticed any mileage difference since my station added additive to fuel. I have averaged 20. 5 over the last 3000 miles and only 600 have been interstate the rest town and work and lot of idleing. It started going up after i had ran tk7 for 1000 miles. that and a bit bigger turbo is all i have changed since then.

 

[JLovas]

No doubt, No #1 (winter) fuel has less btu's/gal than No #2, thus your power and economy will suffer when running No #1. Take a good look at the pump next time you fuel up to see what your putting in. Most fuel stations sell a blend... part no#1, part no#2, which works well for most people. I'm in North Dakota, and some poeple run straight no#2 all winter long, but it takes some careful management. I'm planning on sticking with no#2 until it gets colder than -20, which is usually only for a couple of weeks here. If you don't see temps that cold in your climate, just use straight number 2, go to your local Cummins dealer and get a jug of Fleetgaurd diesel fuel additive which will reduce your CFPP (Cold Filter Plugging Point) 30 degrees, and let your fuel heater do the rest. Then you should be back close to your summer economy depending on how much idleing you do this winter.

 

[ScottBrown]

Well the winter blend stinks, You could use the Styadyne performance formula, it has a cetane boost, Also if your motor is broke in use synthetic motor oil. make sure the air filter, fuel is clean.

 

[Turbo Kidd]

I hate to beat up this subject even more, but I have some new data to share. I went back to Northern Wisconsin for Christmas with my family, and I brought the snowmobiles with again (Of course!). Some of you may recall, that in the midwest we encountered record cold temps on Christmas Eve and Day. Anyway, I drove up on Thursday morning... and it was -10 when I got to my parents house. I decided to try driving slower to see if I could improve my fuel economy! :-laf I pulled my two place trailer with two sleds at a consistent 68 MPH with my cruise set... . RPM's were right aound 1800. I still only got 12. 5 MPG. I did however, have strong head winds the whole way, and it was VERY cold. Now, I came home today... . temps. were above freezing up there, and almost 50 here in Chicago. Same thing 68 MPH with the cruise on..... I got 14. 3 MPG. What the hell is going on here???? :--) Are these ligit numbers towing a load of less than 2000LBS in winter? Am I getting screwed on milage? Input please.

 

[Cattletrkr]

Proof Positive It's Not The Fuel...

Well, sorta. I get lousy mileae in the winter and the power is down, so is the boost gauge. Today it was 45*, which is stupid warm for this time of year. boost was back up to summer levels (27 or so). I didn't drive that many miles, but I would assume that mileage would be up as well. All this on the same tank of fuel that's been getting 1mpg less on average than in summer. Straight #2 w/antigel. I always thought that cooler air meant higher boost and better economy, guess not. Stupid computers must have something to do with it, they're always at fault ya know.



Uh Oh, the crown is starting to kick in. getting difficult to type, see ya laterrrrr. :-laf :-laf

 

[Mr.Goat]

Well the weather here has covered a wide range as of late, minus 34 to plus 9 to-day with rain. I do not pull anything this time of year. The overhead has been sitting steady in the mid 19 range. My driving is a combination in town to highway and I not a doddler. I personally think the fuel we get varies alot in guality as I do notice that at various times my milage goes poor and the only change to the equation is the fuel.

 

[Dean Upson]

I get less mileage in the winter. I believe the fuel blend is just part of the reason, all of the fluids in the drivetrain are cold and also the tires being cold do not help out economy either.



Dean

 

[MichaelWright]

You are just going to have to wait till spring. Both my Dodge and Volvo (tractor), have lost exactly 2 mpg, it's the winter blend, cold and wind. I go through this every winter, wish the fuel was cheaper, really hurts my bottom line. Try running some Howe's fuel conditioner/anti-gell, run synthetics where you can and change out the fuel filter. I would tell you to lube the truck, but someone forgot the zerks.



Mike

 

[barbwire]

I am going to add a new twist to this subject, that will probably get me flamed, but here goes! When driving to Billings last year, there was snow blowing across the road. It was very fine (in volume), but nonetheless it was there. When I got there, a couple hundred miles later, I opened the hood and noticed that the filter minder on the air cleaner was pegged The filter was not all that old, and I had not been in any dirty environments to speek of. Anyway I removed the filter, and there didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary wrong with it. I replaced it anyway. Then back home, I noticed the same thing, after driving in snow blowing accross the road.

My thoughts are that the snow is being picked up and it is plugging the filter( then it melts) leaving no trace of the problem. Thus reducing air volume and also reducing MPG.

Just my thoughts FWIW, and my$. 02, and all that stuff.

Aftermarket air filter systems or drilling holes in the stock air box so that it gets more air from under the hood may or may not help.

Also, when I used to run my 84 Ford 6. 9 diesel in the winter, I had this problem ( which snow would actually plug my filter chocking the eng) "untill" I removed the air tube from the grill to the air cleaner. That simple act solved the problem.

 

[MichaelWright]

Barbwire,



Your the second person to mention the snow in the filter? You might be on to something! This would definatly cause a drop in mileage.



Mike

 

[llotton]

Cold Weather Fuel Economy

Hey Turbo Kid. You might consider a winter front, I know it has helped me to keep the engine warm and at a constant temp. when running in the cold. Just a thought. Larry

 

[DocDetonancour]

O. K. , first let me say I'm sorry to bore all of you again with yet another fuel economy question. I was just on a snowmobile trip this weekend up to Northern Wisconsin..... I had a great time, but I noticed my fuel economy suffering VERY BAD this trip! I only got 12. 2 MPG on the way there and about 13. 8 MPG on the way home. Average temps were from zero to the teens. My question..... Does cold temps, realy effect fuel economy that bad, or should I be looking for a possible problem? I was only pulling a two place trailer with two sleds... . Maybe 2000 LBS. ! I was averaging about 72 MPH. I'm so sick of the poor fuel economy. My brother-in-law got almost the same fuel economy with his HEMI!!

FYI: Pulled enclosed trailer with two sleds yesterday. road was snowpacked and required running in FWD for 100 + miles. Checked mpg and got 12. 5. This seems to be about average for this time year in Spudland. Get 20 + in the Summer. Doc

 

[SLinse]

I wish my HEMI got that good towing. I went ridding the other weekend with two sleds and a trailer and was at 8-9 MPG, driving about 60-70 MPH. Your right it is fun to drive, but all my friends have an 04 Cummins, I'm tradin' the Gasser in... ... I can't wait for the 05 to get here Oo.

The way you drive I would have expected worse! :-laf :-laf

 

[RKerner]

Pulling a 4 place enclosed...

FYI: Pulled enclosed trailer with two sleds yesterday. road was snowpacked and required running in FWD for 100 + miles. Checked mpg and got 12. 5. This seems to be about average for this time year in Spudland. Get 20 + in the Summer. Doc

Just got back from a 2800+ mile trip with a 4 place enclosed v-nose Haulmark. Started out at -20F and 9. 6mpg at 64mph, finally got straight #2 in IA and got 12. 6mpg across Nebraska at 66mph and about 34F, 11. 5mpg going up and down Berthoud Pass between 17-55F, 9. 9mpg at 70mph going east and back to 9. 6mpg heading north with a 30mph sidewind at 66mph at 14-18F. I haven't checked the last tank as it was in 4WD pushing 6-10" of snow, into the wind as usual. The overhead was showing 8. 1mpg which is probably 7mpg or less now that I've had the so-called mileage TSB done.



Note: I'm pretty sure the running gear was warm as snow is packed on the axle tubes but the diffs are clean.



It's kinda hard to find straight #2 unless you go to the big rig pumps or ask questions as the RV pumps may or may not be blended. This is all at a scaled 14,500lbs. Needless to say, I am not impressed with the mileage (my buddies get 13. 5mpg or more with an 03 SO and 04 HO) but at least it's better than the 6. 5mpg I got last year towing with my Tundra.



There's no doubt that slowing down would help but adding 5 hours to a long trip doesn't score points with the wife and kids.



EDIT: After reading the AFE thread, I checked my airfilter and the indicator was pegged with all kinds of ice and snow in the airbox. I'm not quite sure what to do when in a snowstorm as the fender intake is also susceptible to snow ingestion.

 

[TCDiesel]

Their are several combinations that will cause GREAT mileage Drops,



1 colder air is heavier,so harder to push.

2 Add any combination of drag will at to the force

3 Weight

4 Wind resentence

5 Bended Fuel

6 Mods

7 Speed

8 Idle time

9 driving habits

10 Road conditions

Blended fuel with mods usually get's a bigger drop, Number 2 fuel should be could to about 5-0,anything below 0 should get some type of additive to be safe. I would recommend # 2 year round if possible. The % of blended can be greater each way. It may say 50/50 but in reality it may be only 30/70 either way. I always try to buy #2, and when -0 add additives.