Winter gas

[Cos]

So I know we have a thread about normal gas, but what about winter gas? My truck is severly affected by winter fuel. I used to use shell and it seemed okay. I now live near a coop and their winter formulation seems horrible. I'm contemplating going back to shell.

What have your guy's experience been?

[Muji]

Nothing noticed on my three vehicles, sure your fuel injectors are in good shape? I use Coop when possible, so maybe 80% of the time unless out of Calgary, then I use a major player like Esso, Shell, etc.

[ExtraSlow]

I run centex year round in all my vehicles, and honestly, I don't notice a big difference.

[AndyL]

co-op winter diesel is horrible... foams up a 1/4 tank each fill...

might be able to adjust fuel/spark curves for it with a programmer - much like e85at husky...

[Unknown303]

I don't really notice anything either. Changing tires made a difference though.

[schocker]

Havnt noticed any difference between a mix of going to coop and costco.

[J-hop]

hmm, that is weird, I always end up going back to COOP because I've had a couple bad experiences elsewhere, my fuel mileage does drop a lot during the winter but its not necessarily because of the type of gasoline i'm using.

[TurboMedic]

I always get about an 80-100km difference on my tanks between summer and winter fuel....I always notice when they change it, even in how the truck drives.......

Granted, some of the fuel cost is eaten up in my remote start, but even then its only running between 5-10 minutes a few times a tank, so its not that crazy.

I use Costco fuel only, I've noticed in the summer I get consistently 50-100km more per tank than others

[AE92_TreunoSC]

Colder it is, the longer the vehicle will run rich and shift later.

Idling is a wonderful waste of gas as well.

There are a lot more variables to poor fuel economy then just the gas itself.

[Cos]

Haha you guys are funny. I wasnt asking WHY my mileage went down. I do know why. Since picking up my F150 I have become very versed in the exact tank they switch to winter blend. It affects my mileage and performance considerably more than it ever did in my cars. Same as TurboMedic is describing.

I am looking for the difference in the blends not gas saving measures. I found Shell to work out well. Even this year when I use shell it seems to run better. I use the COOP for the $0.03 per liter back so that is why I am wondering who seems to have the best winter blend.

I will return to COOP in the summer as I find their summer blend to be very good.

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by Cos
Haha you guys are funny. I wasnt asking WHY my mileage went down. I do know why. Since picking up my F150 I have become very versed in the exact tank they switch to winter blend. It affects my mileage and performance considerably more than it ever did in my cars. Same as TurboMedic is describing.

I am looking for the difference in the blends not gas saving measures. I found Shell to work out well. Even this year when I use shell it seems to run better. I use the COOP for the $0.03 per liter back so that is why I am wondering who seems to have the best winter blend.

I will return to COOP in the summer as I find their summer blend to be very good.

I just think you're bat shit crazy. That is all.




















;)

[Cos]

I should have explained myself better in the first post. From summer to winter I lose about 3mpg. That has been consistent over the 3 winters I have run the truck.

I find, however, a 1.5 to 3mpg difference between stations. Even on the highway. When I went out to banff last week best I could manage was about 15.5mpg. When I drove to Leth for work I could hit 16/17. The drive to Lethbridge had more snow and more slowdowns as well so I am starting to think that the Shell winter I was running to Leth is much more efficient than the COOP stuff which is what I ran to Banff.

[J-hop]

to be honest I think there are WAY to many variables in the equation to attribute fuel consumption differences to differences in the gas you are getting. It is a little easier to compare during the summer when the temperatures and conditions aren't fluctuating so drastically, but with the fluctuations in winter I'd say its pretty hard to compare.

I am sure you are right, but to come up with proper data to compare gas stations, you would have to run one gas all winter long, then the next year switch to the other gas because fuel consumption is so dependent on weather conditions.

For example consider your example of going to leth vs going to banff. Now if I remember correctly the prevailing winds for the majority of the year come from the west/northwest. So heading to banff you are going into wind, heading to leth you are going cross/downwind.

[chkolny541]

Originally posted by J-hop
to be honest I think there are WAY to many variables in the equation to attribute fuel consumption differences to differences in the gas you are getting.

I am sure you are right, but to come up with proper data to compare gas stations, you would have to run one gas all winter long, then the next year switch to the other gas because fuel consumption is so dependent on weather conditions.

For example consider your example of going to leth vs going to banff. Now if I remember correctly the prevailing winds for the majority of the year come from the west/northwest. So heading to banff you are going into wind, heading to leth hat you are going cross/downwind.

ding!

the difference b/w 15 mpg and 16 mpg isnt substaintial, something as simple as a headwind, or slightly heavier load could do this.

[Cos]

yeah you guys are right. Just seems considerably worse this year. Could be the conditions and not the actual gas.

thanks

[J-hop]

Originally posted by Cos
yeah you guys are right. Just seems considerably worse this year. Could be the conditions and not the actual gas.

thanks

well I think your argument has merit, but I think it would be hard to prove.

[Cos]

Originally posted by J-hop


well I think your argument has merit, but I think it would be hard to prove.

You are right on both points. Another thing to note is that because of the warmer weather it may be windier, and since I drive a fucking sail that may be all that it is. Who knows. All I know is that this year I commute more on the highway instead of the inner city and my mileage is worse. haha

[wintonyk]

I drive to Banff all the time for skiing and I range from 8 L/100km this Winter to 11.5. This is all with the exact same gas station.

Your speed, traffic, wind and temperature are the big factors.

[M.alex]

I'm lucky to get 320ish kms to a full tank of gas in the winter :(

[Cos]

Originally posted by M.alex
I'm lucky to get 320ish kms to a full tank of gas in the winter :(

Well I get between 600 and 800 on city/highway in the summer. 1300 in the summer on the highway.

Winter is 500/600 on city/highway and highway is around 800 or 900.

























.......... on 120L of fuel though ;)

[psycoticclown]

Originally posted by TurboMedic
I always get about an 80-100km difference on my tanks between summer and winter fuel....I always notice when they change it, even in how the truck drives.......

Granted, some of the fuel cost is eaten up in my remote start, but even then its only running between 5-10 minutes a few times a tank, so its not that crazy.

I use Costco fuel only, I've noticed in the summer I get consistently 50-100km more per tank than others

Huge factor could be tire pressure. Threw on my winter tires at the end of November, didn't check the tire pressures, I was getting fucking terrible mileage. For 2 or 3 weeks, I was getting around 18L/100 compared to my 12-13 normally, thought it was because of the heavy snow. Snow cleared, I was still getting around 14-15. Finally checked my tires, realized they were all different, ranging from 25-28 or 29psi, car is supposed to have 35psi. Decided to pump them up to 40 for the fuel mileage, just drove to Calgary and back to Lethbridge this weekend, averaged 9.0L/100 on the highway and 11 in the city. My usual Calgary-Lethbridge commute in the summer is 10.2-10.8, I was shocked at how much difference tire pressure made.

[revelations]

All other things being equal, here is the info from Petro Cans website about winter gas.




WinterGas — available during the winter months in all gasoline grades at Petro-Canada gas stations across Canada (except the Greater Vancouver Regional District, Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast).

Here’s how WinterGas works for you:

* Includes a de-icer that minimizes potential problems due to the possible presence of condensation in fuel tanks and lines during cold weather.

* Contains Tactrol™, our proprietary deposit control additive, designed to keep fuel systems clean.

* It evaporates more readily than summer gasoline for improved cold weather start-ups.

WinterGas is suitable for all vehicles and smaller engines such as chainsaws, snow mobiles and snow blowers.

[ipeefreely]

Also from Petro Cans website:

Fuel Economy Comparison (http://www.petro-canada.ca/en/wholesalefuel/314.aspx) (bottom of the page)

[Cos]

^^ nice post



Condition-----------Detail----------------------------Avg % increase----------Max % increase
Uphill driving-------7% grade-----------------------1.9-----------------------25
Poor road-----------Gravel, curves, slush, etc.--------------4.3-----------------50