1 wierd trick for better MPG with winter gas
12-29-2018, 09:45 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
1 wierd trick for better MPG with winter gas
I live in Michigan. The law requires different gas in winter to emit less toxic fumes. The problem is I get worse gas mileage by about 2mpg with "winter blend". Gas does get cheaper in winter... 1.84⁹/gal yesterday. I play around with hypermiling techniques sometimes to see what I can do...coast in neutral down hills or to a stop sign etc. I notice small changes when I just drive the same old, same old, everyday.
Anyway I tried the yellow bottles of "octane boost" available at Dollar Tree. I get 1 - 1.5 mpg better with a bottle added per tankful (36gal). So I'm getting about 30-50 extra miles per tankful (for $1). I tried this last winter with the similar results but I was also putting on a kayak rack as well as kayaks, which drops my mileage, so I was not 100% sure it worked. I take quite a few odd trips in the summer so I do not have conclusive evidence with "summer gas blend"
You can poo poo this, but try it yourself before you become a naysayer (or neighsayer for Mustang owners) YMMV
Anyway I tried the yellow bottles of "octane boost" available at Dollar Tree. I get 1 - 1.5 mpg better with a bottle added per tankful (36gal). So I'm getting about 30-50 extra miles per tankful (for $1). I tried this last winter with the similar results but I was also putting on a kayak rack as well as kayaks, which drops my mileage, so I was not 100% sure it worked. I take quite a few odd trips in the summer so I do not have conclusive evidence with "summer gas blend"
You can poo poo this, but try it yourself before you become a naysayer (or neighsayer for Mustang owners) YMMV
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Joe Tom (12-29-2018)
12-29-2018, 10:08 PM
#2
Senior Lurker
Mine varies a couple MPG tank to tank with no apparent reason. I think there's a million variables that can affect your MPG on any given tank - hard to pin it on one thing.
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12-29-2018, 11:22 PM
#5
Hold my beer
No way in heck am I dumping Dollar Tree goop down my beloved 5.0's throat for an extra 50 miles... especially when gas is under $2 now.
12-29-2018, 11:23 PM
#6
Senior Member
The reason the gas in winter is different is they are allowed to be different VOC mixes in there. Temps are colder so they can mix butane which would evaporate in the summer. Guess what, butane is cheaper so that's what the refiners pick, makes no real diff to the environment but lets them extract more gasoline per barrel.
google winter gas voc or check out the popular mechanics article.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/car...ence-13747431/
google winter gas voc or check out the popular mechanics article.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/car...ence-13747431/
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12-30-2018, 12:14 AM
#9
I think I'd rather eat the 2mpg than put the wear on my transmission shifting it often. Plus I imagine your brakes get more work as you don't have the engine to help slow you down. At $1.84 a gallon it's cheap enough to not worry about 2mpg.
12-30-2018, 01:42 AM
#10
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I live in Michigan. The law requires different gas in winter to emit less toxic fumes. The problem is I get worse gas mileage by about 2mpg with "winter blend". Gas does get cheaper in winter... 1.84⁹/gal yesterday. I play around with hypermiling techniques sometimes to see what I can do...coast in neutral down hills or to a stop sign etc. I notice small changes when I just drive the same old, same old, everyday.
Anyway I tried the yellow bottles of "octane boost" available at Dollar Tree. I get 1 - 1.5 mpg better with a bottle added per tankful (36gal). So I'm getting about 30-50 extra miles per tankful (for $1). I tried this last winter with the similar results but I was also putting on a kayak rack as well as kayaks, which drops my mileage, so I was not 100% sure it worked. I take quite a few odd trips in the summer so I do not have conclusive evidence with "summer gas blend"
You can poo poo this, but try it yourself before you become a naysayer (or neighsayer for Mustang owners) YMMV
Anyway I tried the yellow bottles of "octane boost" available at Dollar Tree. I get 1 - 1.5 mpg better with a bottle added per tankful (36gal). So I'm getting about 30-50 extra miles per tankful (for $1). I tried this last winter with the similar results but I was also putting on a kayak rack as well as kayaks, which drops my mileage, so I was not 100% sure it worked. I take quite a few odd trips in the summer so I do not have conclusive evidence with "summer gas blend"
You can poo poo this, but try it yourself before you become a naysayer (or neighsayer for Mustang owners) YMMV