So, it is cooler outside, And i am seeing that the same road i used to travel with a mileage of 19mpg, i am getting 17. Also, i always idle my car before the first start in the morning. I called the Dealership and the told me that there is a drop of 1-2 mpg in temperatures under 55 degrees.

Fact or Fiction?

 

wait i just reread..

normally when its cooler you will get better mileage.

 

That's what I thought too - cooler air, better engine performance...? The only related comment I've heard is that the gas formula changes in the Northern parts of the country in the winter, so you get worse mileage (is VA "Northern"). Can't say whether this is accurate or not.

 

If you're sitting there idling, you're burning gas without traveling, so of course you're going to see a decrease in mileage.

 

In colder months the car takes a little longer to warm up to operating temperature so you will see a slight decrease in mpgs there. Theres no need to warm up your car for more than 30 seconds as it just wastes more gas idling. The "winter blend" gas formula that is used over the winter is supposedly not as effecient as the "summer blend". So really 1-2 mpg less is not out of the ballpark. I see typically a 1-2 mpg decrease over the winter.

 

ok, i am confused now. Better or worse mileage?

 

Worse mileage. In my wife's old RX300, we'd get around 19-20mpg's in the fall and spring when the weather hovers around 60-80 degrees. In the winter, especially when it got super-cold (20-degrees or lower), we'd see 16-17mpg's. Summer, we'd see around 17-18mpg's when the weather was up in the 90's or more (probably due to AC).

 

I thought there was a difference in mileage because the cold air means cold air in tires, which means the tire pressure changes a little bit which changes your mileage. but that could be totally wrong...

 

ya since its winter, its way colder in the morning, i feel like my car has a better throttle response , and i dont have to push as much on the accelerator, so i dont know why u would notice a drop in mpg

plus our cars are still new , so we dont need to warm up the cars , im guessing u do this so that ur pistons wont scrape the cylinders of ur engine, and not to heat the interior of the car

 

I know they dont need to be warmed up at all. I just do it coz i feel i am not being nice to the car if do a cold start. also, it rides much smother once the revs have been brought down to normal temp. revving.

 

Oh boy.

So many misinformations.

tg

 

40lbs is 40lbs is 40lbs, it doesnt matter if its 100 degrees or 100 degrees below zero

 

The air pressure you put into the tires can vary significantly depending on the temperature. That's why they tell you to pump up the tires to mfg's recommendations when cold.

While 40 lbs at 100 degrees is the same as 40 lbs at 100 below, tire pressure is not measured in pounds, but rather pounds per square inch.

There would probably be a difference of at least 5 psi in a tire at 30 degrees vs. 90 degrees.

 

I for the life of me could not think of that measurement when I was making my post

 

Yea, check tire pressure, it dropped 4psi in the past week due to the colder temp, up here in the northeast.