Re: Worst tank ever!

From: Jon (jonsdak@midmaine.com)
Date: Mon Dec 09 2002 - 18:58:01 EST


Yeah, it's been hovering right around 0 when I get up in the morning, so
most days, the truck will run around 20 minutes while I get ready to go to
school.
There's been a fair bit of snow on the roads, maybe two days on this tank.
Regarding aerodynamics, I think that brick you mentioned beats our trucks
:-)

--
-Jon
jonsdak@midmaine.com
http://jonsdakota.tripod.com
1996 Dodge Dakota Sport 4X4, 3.9L V6, 42RE, 3.92:1 8.25 axle, "BackRack"
Headache Rack,  Dodge Motorsports decals, steering wheel cover, and front
license plate, diamond-plate bedrail covers, Lund VentVisors, Lund
BugShield, Jensen MP-3310 CD/MP3 Receiver, Pioneer TS-G1347's in front,
TS-A5713's in rear

<jon@dakota-truck.net> wrote in message news:at193l$2cn$1@bent.twistedbits.net... > > "Jon" <jonsdak@midmaine.com> wrote: > > : I filled my Dak today, and was dismayed to find after running the > : calculations twice, that I've just run through my worst mileage ever on a > : tank! 1781 miles on nearly 18 gallons, or 12.24 MPG! > : That's with mostly city driving (on tanks of which I usually get 14-15 MPG, > : 15-16 MPG mixed, and 17 MPG highway only) > : It has been really cold here (hasn't gotten above the teens in days), but > : other than that, no difference. My battery does seem to be on it's last > : legs though, but I don't think that would do anything to the mileage. It > : has been really windy, but a 2.5 MPG drop for wind? > > > Bill gave a good explanation elsewhere in this thread regarding > the effects of cold weather on gas mileage (cold air = dense air = > more fuel used by computer to keep the air/fuel mixtures the same). > Another factor that can come into play is the different formualation > of gas in many areas during the winter. I don't know the > technical specifics (no doubt a google search would turn them up) > but from what I have been able to gather, winter gas is crap. ;-) > > Another factor is that your fluids (tranny, rearend, etc.) are going to be colder than normal when the truck is sitting, and will take > longer than normal to get up to temp, and may not reach the same > temps you'd see in the summer. In general, the colder these > liquids are, the less viscous they are, and there will be a > resultant increase in friction compared to summer. (Granted, > probably not a whole lot, but this is one of those deals where > a little here and a little there starts to add up.) > > As far as the wind goes, yes that can definitely have a big > effect! Our trucks are about as aerodynamic as a brick, so when > its windy, gas mileage will certainly suffer. (Unless you > manage to get a tailwind of course.) ;-) > > You didn't mention if there was snow on the roads or not, if > so that will reduce gas mileage too. > > Have you been letting your truck warm up longer than usual > before driving it due to the cold? If so, there's a little more > gas consumed with no miles traveled. (You really should let the > engine warm up before driving though; at least a little bit...) > > Probably your poor gas milage is just a combination of some > or all of the above factors - each one alone responsible for > only a small decrease in MPG, but when they are added together, > can create a most noticable difference! > -- > > -Jon- > > .---- Jon Steiger ------ jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com ------. > | I'm the: AOPA, DoD, EAA, NMA, NRA, SPA, USUA. Rec & UL Pilot - SEL | > | 70 Cuda, 90 Dak 'vert, 92 Ram 4x4, 96 Dak, 96 Intruder 1400, 96 FireFly | > `------------------------------------------ http://www.jonsteiger.com ----'



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