Winter sucks gas

I have a 2003 p71, and I pride myself in keeping it in top shape. I live near Toronto in Canada, and it has been a cold and snowy winter. I keeps tabs on my fuel economy, and moreso recently because I changed my front O2 sensors. My last fill-up I averaged 9.25 MPG. That's all city driving mind you, but that totally sucks!!! (summer city driving I get 17 MPG) I have been reading that winter fuel is formulated for vapourization and sucks for fuel economy and performance. Plus is has been mandated(at least in Ontario)that all fuel contains at least 5% methanol...or is it ethanol...anyway, it's just another hit agains getting good fuel economy.

I can't wait till summer so that I can return to the days of 27MPG highway driving. This year I'm gonna try for 30MPG highway with a computer chip.

In cold weather it takes a lot more time for the engine to get to operating temperature. This causes the engine to require a richer mixture to idle.

Are you sure your math is correct, 9.25 MPG seems really low even for winter. My jeep with a 5.2 gets 12mpg in the city, but I'm with you, winter sucks ass and gas, can wait till sping to pull out my vic.



I have a 2003 p71, and I pride myself in keeping it in top shape. I live near Toronto in Canada, and it has been a cold and snowy winter. I keeps tabs on my fuel economy, and moreso recently because I changed my front O2 sensors. My last fill-up I averaged 9.25 MPG. That's all city driving mind you, but that totally sucks!!! (summer city driving I get 17 MPG) I have been reading that winter fuel is formulated for vapourization and sucks for fuel economy and performance. Plus is has been mandated(at least in Ontario)that all fuel contains at least 5% methanol...or is it ethanol...anyway, it's just another hit agains getting good fuel economy.

I can't wait till summer so that I can return to the days of 27MPG highway driving. This year I'm gonna try for 30MPG highway with a computer chip.

Are you sure your math is correct, 9.25 MPG seems really low even for winter. My jeep with a 5.2 gets 12mpg in the city, but I'm with you, winter sucks ass and gas, can wait till sping to pull out my vic.

I live about 5km/2.5 miles from where I work. It's been a really cold snap in February, and my t-stat doesn't open by the time I get to work. Since the engine doesn't get up to temperature it runs very rich. I also idle the car for about 10 minutes in the morning before I leave for work, making the fuel economy that much worse.

It's been warmer this week and got 14mpg on my last tank. So far on this fill-up it should be aroung 18mpg. Cold weather makes a huge difference for my car.

If today wasnt enough, more snow on the way this weekend, I'm only down the road from you in Hamilton.


I live about 5km/2.5 miles from where I work. It's been a really cold snap in February, and my t-stat doesn't open by the time I get to work. Since the engine doesn't get up to temperature it runs very rich. I also idle the car for about 10 minutes in the morning before I leave for work, making the fuel economy that much worse.

It's been warmer this week and got 14mpg on my last tank. So far on this fill-up it should be aroung 18mpg. Cold weather makes a huge difference for my car.

You might want to clean your temperature sensor if they get scaled it takes a lot longer before the computer starts working properly.
Just remove it and use some steel wool to clean.

You might want to clean your temperature sensor if they get scaled it takes a lot longer before the computer starts working properly.
Just remove it and use some steel wool to clean.

I'll give it a try. Thanks for the tip.

If today wasnt enough, more snow on the way this weekend, I'm only down the road from you in Hamilton.

Drag race season is near, and I'm looking at taking the Vic to St. Thomas on the 29th of March for test and tune if the weather is good. I want to see what the Vic will do at the track before and after I add a Marauder airbox+MAF and a custom tune on the dyno at Steeda in Milton.