Effect of temperature on mpg

[Coprolite]

Nate,

Nice chart. Is that hand tracked data of some sort of data dump from a computer? I have been manually tracking way too much that can probably be tracked by something plugged into the car...

I miss the gas mileage I got growing up in Monroe County... I don't miss the winter weather and salt.

 

[jdawg89]

Well you have to factor in your warmup time too...you're using gas then too. I usually warmup for 10-15 min. If its real cold I'll go 20

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Our domestic cars would get better economy in the winter than in the summer. Living in North Carolina, our winters are relatively mild, and our summers are long and hot/humid. High loads on the air conditioning.

In contrast, both of our Hondas apparently have a valve in the fuel tank that dumps fuel right onto the pavement when the temperature is under 40*F or so...economy at colder temperatures is quite poor. Both seem to thrive in hotter weather. They run smoother, they run better in general, and they get better economy.


My Corolla gets better mileage when it's hot and I'm running the A/C all the time than it does in the winter cold...

 

[NateDN10]

Originally Posted By: Coprolite
Nate,

Nice chart. Is that hand tracked data of some sort of data dump from a computer? I have been manually tracking way too much that can probably be tracked by something plugged into the car...

I miss the gas mileage I got growing up in Monroe County... I don't miss the winter weather and salt.

I track fuel usage in Fuelly. It allows you to export your entire record to a spreadsheet, which is how I generated the chart.

 

[NateDN10]

Originally Posted By: jdawg89
Well you have to factor in your warmup time too...you're using gas then too. I usually warmup for 10-15 min. If its real cold I'll go 20

My warmup time is about 15 seconds on average - enough for me to buckle my seatbelt and turn on the radio. I go easy on it until it's up to temp, but no idling to warm up for me.

 

[KitaCam]

My golf ball flies farther in the summer...even here in Florida...

 

[morris]

well nate did do a lot of work, thanks. last year i found a guy doing the same test. on honda dont remember model. it seamed to be not as smooth, as nates. all so it was hard to very good tests like nates.

 

[tgferg67]

Tires rolling resistance - the higher the ambient temperature, the lower the rolling resistance.

 

[Spector]

Very noticeable on my hybrid as it takes longer for the gas engine to heat up before it will switch over to electric. the shorter the trip the worse the mpg, takes 10-15 miles of driving to overcome that initial cold start decrease in mpg. If really cold out there is a permanent drop in overall mpg as well

 

[ernied]

i know this sounds foolish but my trip computer on my santafe will read 290 miles when filled up in the winter or around that number but will read way over 300 in the summer when i fill it.

 

[morris]

440 is right "older cars spitting fuel out of the vapor vents" if you dont beleave me just try to drive a stock 1955 chevy V8 up Pikes Peak in the summer. it will vapor lock only 3 times. AND DONT you dare tell me how great the 1955 chevy was . my dad had one from new to 1960. it was only a fair car on a good day. thats why dad started buying chryslers and stayed.