I hate winter.......

[Arragonis]

And of course its bloody cold outside...

[Sven7]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

And of course its bloody cold outside...

It's 43* F out right now... t shirt weather in Minnesota!

[Cd]

I know how you guys feel.
Yesterday, it got down below 65* here.

[Arragonis]

2 Deg C in the Napoleonic numbers we now use in Civilisation.

It is the thin end of the wedge in my view, we will be using Metres and Kilometres next. Even worse we could be spelling them in the colonial way - meters and kilometers.

Arrrrgh.

[nemo]

79 Deg F here today. Will winter ever arrive, the mid 60's would be nice.

[GRU]

It was -1 celcius this morning...here is a graph showing my engine temp vs. Time

[brucepick]

Right now it's 273º Kelvin here.
Just had to get my two cents in.

Anyway, yes, winter is a bear on your mpg.
All the tips given are good ones.

CAPTAIN CHAOS, consider boosting your tire pressure. I regularly run mine more than 10% over sidewall max. I'm not saying you should go there, but you might set them to sidewall max on a cold morning before driving. The engineers and lawyers know they will go up a few psi from daily temp increase, AND also from driving - so sidewall max when cold is fine, in my humble opinion.

Using lots of EOC will delay full engine warmup. However, that is more efficient than achieving a warm engine by letting it run when not needed. Sometimes, I've nearly achieved my usual average mpg after a short 5 minute drive, and the engine is still relatively cold. Due to lots of EOC. It's a GOOD thing.

Grill block, insulation if its done safely, and block heaters of various types, will all help.

Quick manually adjustable grill block - if you have an opportunity to adjust your grill block once warmed up, say after 5-10 minutes drive or so, you can do a more thorough grill block for startup and then remove some blocking later. I've done this. Good if you're doing errands, or dropping off a kid at school, or picking up a carpool partner.

[wungun]

I just did my first measured gas-up yesterday, and got a pathetic 6.4l/100km.
And I've been employing a lot of techniques in my driving.

But temps now have been around freezing, snow tires are on, every morning I'm driving with the rear defroster on, seat warmer on, heater blower near high, and highbeams on...

I'm rolling soon after startup, give or take a few minutes to clear the windows.

Frustrating, because on one hour long trip, I managed a decent 4.9l/100km...

[EricTheRed]

It was mentioned earlier, but the fuel (winter blend here in the US) really does hit my bottom line more than anything else. I understand the "value" of meeting the emissions and air quality standards by using the winter blend however if we burn more, then the "value" proposition is reduced. I notice around a 10% reduction in fuel economy with the winter blend (ambient air temp being about the same prior to and after the switch minimizing the tire pressure changes and air density effects.) If you want to see if you can find "real gas" in your area try this site Find ethanol free gas near you!. The 10% penalty is a price that I must pay as there are no stations on my daily drive that would offset the distance price that would come if I were to drive out of my way to get the non winter blend. Also, here in the Pacific NW, the rain and standing water on the roads are a MPG killer too.

[Midnight Drifter]

Originally Posted by brucepick

Using lots of EOC will delay full engine warmup. However, that is more efficient than achieving a warm engine by letting it run when not needed. Sometimes, I've nearly achieved my usual average mpg after a short 5 minute drive, and the engine is still relatively cold. Due to lots of EOC. It's a GOOD thing.

My only gripe about that method is that EOC is rough on the starter. I already probably hit the starter 15 times more often than I should due to shutting down at known-long stoplights and the drivethru, and haven't figured a way yet on how to 'kick' the car into gear from a roll. Tried every position, she just won't engage without the engine turning.

I've had 3 starter motor failures in my short driving career, so I'm kinda iffy about that...

The car complains enough about neutral coasting and being dropped back into gear at speed, (it shudders during re-engagement) I don't wanna grenade my trans.