Jay204

Well another winter has rolled into the Canadian Shield and with it comes my terrible mileage. I went through the forum and found similar threads. But most of them were in other Forums and not much in 3rd Gen. So is it really true to expect worse mileage in the 5VZ-FE ? do to winter gas and the amount of ethanol they mix in the fuel? Just wondering what people are getting for mileage in their 3rd gen's in the Northern States and in Canada.

cackalak han

My MPG drops 1-2MPG from the winter blend. Ethynol burns cleaner, but takes a toll on the MPG. Which makes me wonder, is it a good/positive trade off? You're burning cleaner, BUT you burn MORE gas.

Jay204

Yeah go figure eh ? They just put up sign's at the gas station " may contain up 10% ethanol" 1-2mpg drop isn't as bad as what i'm getting...i'm, beginning to think my 02 sensor is on its way out....come on scanguage 2!!!

mastacox

I too have noticed a decrease in mileage... Damn you winter demons

Gerdo

They run the same E-10 gas all year long here.

axman667794pickup

is the 'winter mix' just in the north or what? how far south does it go?

kellogg

just curious...what is the winter mix? i'm from san diego so....

4banginRunner

my mileage is down in my 22RE from 22/23mpg to 19/20mpg

at least gas is down to a reasonable price and i'm not dealing with a 4.0 Jeep this winter (14-16mpg sucked)

MadCityRich

The EPA mandates different fuel mixes for different regions based on emissions characteristics related to weather and other climate factors. So in land with seasons, we see a winter fuel mix. For whatever reason it leads to worse gas mileage, but does significantly improve emissions characteristics.

In your land of perpetual sunshine and perfect weather, you have no need for such complications.

MadCityRich

mokai

In Oregon they switched to the 10% ethanol year round now, but I am still getting 20-22 mpg on the hwy. But yea at least the price of gas has gone down. I went from spending $65 to fill my tank to $40 yesterday. Sweet.

racingcameron66

dont feel bad i just did my mileage.......15.2 in a 22re somthings cant be right

ARB1977

Nothing new. My 3.4L still gets better than EPA, down to 20 mpg from 22 mpg.

Ian Rogers

They use winter gas in CA,

ozziesironmanoffroad

as far as i know in san diego they use winter gas all year round, i havent seen a pump that doesnt say 'up to 10% ethanol' in like 10 years here in san diego. i did see a couple in vegas though that didnt say it, and true, when i filled up there, my mileage increased. ethanol sucks.

mkgarrison5

i lose gas mileage just due to the colder ambient temps outside. colder air = more condensed air = more fuel to mix to burn therefore less fuel mileage. i think this is mostly what you guys are seeing but you attribute it to the gas.. i have used E10 around here (some stations carry it some dont) and i cant tell a difference. i keep strict records of gas mileage too..

Joe's Toy

I think I agree with Mkgarrison on this one. Look here. From everything I've read it seams that because your engine is taking longer to warm up it gets worse mpg. What do you guys think?

BigBallsMcFalls

my mileage also dropped 1 to 2 mpg for around town,
and 1 mpg on the highway. it bites


partly because it is cold, and the thing eats more fuel (a wee bit) starting and driving around town
air is denser and harder to push a vehicle through


and the winter antifreeze gas they sell...sucks.

seaofnames

Dont forget the cold start injector using more fuel as well!

BIC performance

Even worse milage than I already get????, I get 300-330 (185-200 miles) kms per tank till the fuel light goes on I figured about 16-17 mpg. My uncle gets 450-500 kms per tank on his 00 Runner. I think the best I ever got was about 400 on the hwy. I should install a V8 for better fuel economy !!!! LOL

mastacox

Standard gasoline has about 34.8 megajoules per liter of stored energy, while ethanol has about 23.5 megajoules per liter. So a mixture of 10% ethanol / 90% gasoline equates to a reduced stored energy of about 33.6 megajoules per liter, a 3.2% reduction from "pure" gasoline (and hence a 3.2% reduction in fuel economy). This reduction in stored energy would account for a little less than 1mpg drop if your mileage was originally 20mpg. Paired with the colder temps, you get a 1-2 mpg drop during the winter time in colder areas.