Gas Prices down along with Mileage?

[bates]

Has anyone else noticed a decrease in mileage since the cost of fuel has fallen? I have noticed that commute speeds are increasing again and this has caused me to suffer some reduction in my mileage the last couple of months.

[mathowie]

Well, it's also winter, so I'm seeing a reduction as the temps dip below freezing (and spinning wheels in snow for fun doesn't help either).

[tomnh]

Same here, as the temps went down and first the Ice Storm, then the heavy snow storm Friday, my milage droped to 16mpg. I figured it would be lower as I had to putter all 54 miles home at 20 mph on the highway and the stop and stop trafic jams.

[stedman15]

I was getting much better mileage in the summer. I was wondering if anyone else was having this issue.

[VWJunky]

Yep, just had my worst tank. We had lots of days below freezing at least in the mornings. I was thinking there might be some winter diesel mix a the stations now? Also my car just gets warmed up by the time i get to work! When the temps are below freezing and siting at a stop ligth with the heat wide open I can see my water temp go down! LOL! Oh well. At least fuel is cheaper than before.

later

erick

[zadar]

My mileage has been dropping a lot for the last few months. Is it weather related or do they change gas in the winter???

[VWJunky]

It could be be the grade of fuel you get. A guy in the in the oil busness said there were 2 tiers of fuel. Like Shell stations would get better than say the local mom and pop no name store. Also all fuel is pumped in the same pipe one right after the other, they measure what they put in on one side and measure what they get out on the other. of couse there is a blend in between. I think he said that high octain gas is just a additive they put in later on before they take it to the stations. So if you got one of the mixes it could throw you off on your milage.

[bates]

I don't know about the rest of the country, but in Southern California we get a better btu grade of gasoline in the winter time because of AQMD requirements to add oxygenators is lowered during the colder months. Normally I can tell when I get the first tank of "Summer Blend" gasoline as my mileage will fall between 10 and 20 percent, similarly my mileage increases normally when we return to the "Winter Blend." What is interesting to me this year is that I never realized those increases with the switch back to Winter Blend. I am unsure if after the mandated 10 % ethanol additives if the percentage of gasoline never increased again as it traditionally had during the winter months or if there are some other factor(s) at work here that I don't know about or understand. What I have noticed definately though is that the commute speeds have increased dramatically with the drop in fuel costs locally.

[cee]

..say bates: maybe the increase in commute speeds has something to do with the downturn in car/gas usage that's being reported in the news..seems like we, as a nation, are reducing our car traveling ever since the $4.50/gal gas prices..and it hasn't slowed down, even with the recent lower-cost gas prices, is what i understand..

..maybe Cali drivers are driving less, resulting in better commute-ability..??

just a thought, there..

--c.

[owner of T'Pal; 2k2 Subaru Legacy Outback]

[bates]

cee,

I think you may be on to something, while commute speeds are definately up again, I think that it may have some to do with a few less cars on the road. Less cars makes for less traffic which in turn allows for higher speeds. All I know is that today on my way to work I was being pushed along at better than 75 MPH and still being passed like I was standing still. I'd like to get back to late July when I could meander along down the freeways at 55-60 MPH and not be an impediment to traffic since most drivers were staying below the 65 MPH speed limit in order to increase mileage and save gas. But I'm not looking to going back to spending $4.79 a gallon to get there either. So I guess I shouldn't complain, it is just frustrating and I was wondering if others were observing similar speed increases in other parts of the country.