More fuel used in the cold?
#1
10-15-2013, 11:00 AM
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Kansas
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
More fuel used in the cold?
I'm pretty new to owning a diesel pickup. I recently bought a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins, and I was wondering what the cold will do to my fuel economy. It seems as though when it's cold, it uses more fuel. What can I do to improve my fuel economy in the winter time?
#2
10-15-2013, 04:21 PM
yes, this is quite true. the 98.5 and newer diesels will use more fuel in cold weather to compensate for the cold kind of like a gasoline using the choke..
diesel auto power is taking pre-orders on a IAT fooler that features a MPG mode for winter time.
you will need to start the truck with the MPG mode disabled so your grid heaters will run to help get the truck started. but after it is started and you are driving, you can switch to the MPG mode which will fool the ECM into thinking it is HOT outside. (changes the IAT temp reading to 140*F instead of whatever the actual air temp is)
thus tricking your engine into thinking it is summer time and it will run and use the fuel amounts it normally uses in hot weather....
you may still notice a slight mileage drop in the winter vs summer if temps are close to or below freezing as they will switch to winter blend fuel which is more alcohol and kerosene rich to prevent gelling. alcohol and kerosene reduce the amount of energy in the fuel thus needing more fuel to produce the same amount of power.
the IAT fooler does work though...it will make that mileage drop far less severe and have the truck acting like a 12v that doesn't care if it's hot or cold out because it is all mechanical where the 24v's all have computers that try to automatically compensate for changing conditions.
diesel auto power is taking pre-orders on a IAT fooler that features a MPG mode for winter time.
you will need to start the truck with the MPG mode disabled so your grid heaters will run to help get the truck started. but after it is started and you are driving, you can switch to the MPG mode which will fool the ECM into thinking it is HOT outside. (changes the IAT temp reading to 140*F instead of whatever the actual air temp is)
thus tricking your engine into thinking it is summer time and it will run and use the fuel amounts it normally uses in hot weather....
you may still notice a slight mileage drop in the winter vs summer if temps are close to or below freezing as they will switch to winter blend fuel which is more alcohol and kerosene rich to prevent gelling. alcohol and kerosene reduce the amount of energy in the fuel thus needing more fuel to produce the same amount of power.
the IAT fooler does work though...it will make that mileage drop far less severe and have the truck acting like a 12v that doesn't care if it's hot or cold out because it is all mechanical where the 24v's all have computers that try to automatically compensate for changing conditions.
