ANyone noticed a difference with the performance of their car in the last week or so in the Northeast? The temperature has settle down some, to the upper 30's and low 40's. I drove my car for the last three days at night and very early in the morning--whoaaa...I noticed the pull the baby has--and how fast it is moving when I step on the gas...

And to think about it, in the summer, there is such a lag--whoooaa..glad the winter is here!!
(maybe not the snow salt and all the other crap that destroys the paint, though.)

 

Yeah, cold air definitley makes a difference. Throttle response seems better also. As long as it doesn't snow, it's all good

 

I'm in IA and I noticed it too-suppose that's why they ice down the intakes at drag races. I heard that in winter they add stuff to the gas to make it "flow better" through the injectors/carbs which reduces the gas' efficency. That sound right? B/c if cool air adds h/p, it should give me better mileage but I always lose 1-2 mpg in winter. Any ideas?

 

You lose mpg in the winter because you idle more. You let your car warm-up to defrost your windows before you go anywhere. You encounter more stop & go traffic snarls. Etc.

 

Idling and traffic can't be it. My car sits in a heated garage and traffic patterns are the same every day on the way to work (which is almost all highway). I actually drive slower in winter. Any other ideas? or know if any additives in gas in winter?

 

Yea....its "winter gas". They add oxygenates(sp) to the gas. I *THINK* it helps with cold weather starting....or maybe cold weather emmisions. At any rate...it seems to lower mpg by 1-2mpg when used.

Also...about the cold weather thing. You got more O2 when its cold...thats why it runs/more powerful. HOWEVER...you also get O2 from water..H2O. So...when it goes down to like 0 or 5 degrees...the car doesn't seem that peppy. Cold air drives away moisture very well. It just can't hold moisture when it's that cold out. Thats why it seems like the car does best on a 50 degree foggy night. (cool and very moist)

agree? disagree?

Mike S.

 

Um, yes and no. Winter gas does have oxygenates to help with emmisions mostly. But the reason mpg goes down and power goes up is because cooler denser air needs more fuel to burn. To have optimal combustion you need to maintain the perfect stoichiometric fuel/air ratio which I think is 14:1. The ECU also dumps more fuel in on cold starts and it takes longer to warm up in winter so you idle longer.

 

Probably combo of MTBE and your theory as well. But it definitely adds up to more fuel consumed. Not so sure about the car performing better though, I think it's better at 50-70 degrees than when the temp is low. At least the fuel has dropped a bit even though oil has gone up. I saw super going for 1.61 the other day, wohooo!