Cold weather MPG sadness

Cost of doing business.

 

According to Cummins MPG Guide/Study:

• Winter fuel can lower your fuel economy by up to 3%. This translates to up to 0.225 if your mpg is 7.5.
• “Light” rain can lower your mpg by 0.2 to 0.3. Heavy rain and snow will be worse.
• For every 10 degrees F drop, your mpg will lower 1%. 85 degrees versus 15 degrees is a difference of 70 degrees, resulting in a mpg reduction of 0.525 if your mpg is 7.5.
• Running on lower gears will consume more fuel. For example, it’s common for traffic to slow down when there is snow, packed snow, and/or ice on the road. My 9-speed truck shows a difference of 1 mpg between 9th and 8th speed at full throttle, that is.
• Cold weather reduces tire PSI. Every reduction of 10 PSI results in a loss of 1% in fuel economy.

 

If I spend all night going to one of our power plants and doing nothing else, I can get my fuel mileage down to 2.5 mpg in the winter. It's a 27 mile trip, all uphill, followed by a 45 minutes of PTO work unloading. 5 loads a night.

Summertime I do that and get 4.5 mpg, in the winter I'm usually at 3.9 or so. But if I get in a hurry, I can see 2.5.

It's the fuel. Nothing else

 

That's what I don't get...in the summer in Texas at 95 degrees I get stupid MPG, like ~11+ pulling an empty, ~8.5+ pulling 80k...if it's 50 degrees it goes back to ~10 empty, ~7.5 loaded...

 

You get less fuel by volume below 60 degrees f.
The air you are driving through is also denser and heavier so you use more HP to do the same ''work''.

 

I thought that was the point of a 'cold air' intake, to increase horsepower from denser air...

 

Denser air being forced into the piston chambers is good. Pushing denser air across your hood is bad

 

Think of it like this, in the summer time you walk on the beach and it’s fairly easy, in the winter time it’s like walking in the water knee deep, not quite as easy.

 

Air doesn't burn and can't make H P by itself.
Well speaking from a I. C. engine perspective it can't.

 

Just another reason to become a company driver at JBHUNT or Schneider.

Forget all your worries and just drive.