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How Winter Lowers Your Fuel Economy And How To Prevent It |
By:
Scott Siegel |
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How Winter Lowers Your Fuel Economy and How to Prevent It
Scott Siegel
Winter can put a big strain on your car, on your driving, and on your fuel economy. To maintain good gas mileage you need to address specific issues that winter brings.
One of the two main characteristics of winter, cold temperatures, create conditions that lower your fuel economy. A car that is cold uses more fuel to start up than a warm car. The colder the car the more fuel it uses when it starts.
In cold weather, the engine of your car is harder to start. The oil in your car is thicker when it is cold and thus requires more energy to get it flowing. All the parts that are lubricated by this thicker oil require more energy to move them. More energy means that it will take more fuel to move the parts. Your engine will use more fuel to run until it warms up.
Other parts of the car are affected by the cold. The joints, transmission, bearings, brakes, and steering mechanisms all need more energy to move them in cold temperatures. This is partly because they too use fluids in their operation that thickens in the cold. Subsequently more energy is needed to operate them which also burns more gas.
Many parts of your car will be stiff and may be frozen. Moisture from the air, from precipitation or from the road can freeze areas of the car. It will require extra energy to move them also. Suspension systems and wheel bearings, are some of the areas affected. As you might suspect more energy is required to move frozen parts and of course that means more fuel burned and a decrease in gas mileage.
Since your engine needs to overcome some temperature issues to lubricate itself in the cold you do need to give it a little longer to idle after starting than you would in the summer. But, I have to stress this, it only needs about 30 seconds of idling, no more. That little extra idling does affect your gas mileage.
Some things you can do to mitigate the affects of cold on gas mileage are: Park your car in a heated garage if available. Even a non heated garage may be warmer than leaving your car outside. It may be time to get rid of all the boxes in your garage and make room for your car.
Make sure you are using an oil that is recommended for your car in cold temperatures. The proper oil will flow better in cold weather thus reducing the amount of energy needed to start and run a cold engine.
In extreme cold climates an engine block heater will help keep the engine and oil warm thus avoiding a complete cold start. You will need a way to plug it in and keep it plugged in until you are ready to drive.
You only need 30 seconds of idling to lubricate the engine at a cold start. Excessive idling longer than 30 seconds will rob you of fuel economy faster than anything else. Your car can complete the warm up as you are driving. This could be the most important cold weather fuel saver of all.
Although cold temperatures can greatly reduce gas mileage, you can minimize or eliminate it's affect. Just follow the simple steps outlined here and you can maintain good gas mileage.
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article61342.html |
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