Gas mileage

[omnisap]

Guys,

I have this 2014 Ram 1500 AR 5.2. Usually i put full tank of gas and my gas mileage was 12 or 13L/100kms. But last few times, i only put quarter tank of gas and gas mileage droped to 16L/100km. Today i noticed as soon as i put quarter tank of gas again, the mileage went back to 12.5L/100km. Does gas mileage increase when the gas reaches empty to quarter tank which in turn triggers any sensor or anything? Any ideas?

AG

 

[68PowerWagon]

I would guess it is the gas mixture itself. Right now they are doing the "winter blend" so maybe the formula was off on one of their shipments. But I have also found that you can tell a lot about how well your engine is running by keeping a close eye on fuel mileage. If it keeps bouncing around I would have a shop hook it up to a computer to see if all is good.

 

[omnisap]

It was constantly around 12L/100KM when i fill upto full tank. When i fill quarter tank, at first it drops down to 12 - 13l/100km and then increases to 15 or 16. Am confused.

 

[htwo]

There are a lot of factors involved with mileage. I can't see tank volume affecting mileage the way you described. It's warmed up in my area so my 5.7 Ram sees a lot less idling time. I average 18L/100km in the city on a good day. I can see upwards of 10.5L/100km at 90km/h when I head north in the warmer months. The fuel pump uses the fuel in the tank to cool/lube itself, which isn't overly necessary in the winter months.

Several causes affect mileage, from fuel temperature, atmosphere temperature, elevation, weight in the vehicle (a few passengers can add a few hundred pounds easily), axle gearing, fluids used in the engine/axles, idling time/traffic, tire type and pressure. I run my tires in the mid 30psi range in the winter and bump them back to 40psi in the summer months.

Don't let 'winter gas' fool you. I was in the petrol industry for years and despite gas stations advertising 'winter gas' and 'up to 10% ethanol' on the pumps, I've never seen a fuel sheet pass my desk where the fuel contained more than 4.38% ethanol. Most vehicles on the road still can't handle more than 5% so fuel suppliers won't risk being held liable for engine damage. Gas stations merely advertise "Up to 10% ethanol" for pure marketing purposes to make people feel better that they're helping the environment... Winter gas often adds a hint of antifreeze to lower the fuel freezing point which is already extremely low and in most cases acts like burning cheap alcohol, or ethanol which isn't always accounted in the ethanol percentage of a fuel delivery as it's such a small amount it probably wouldn't even register; maybe 0.001%.

 

[omnisap]

Great hint.. Thanks Htwo...

 

[West27]

There are a lot of factors involved with mileage. I can't see tank volume affecting mileage the way you described. It's warmed up in my area so my 5.7 Ram sees a lot less idling time. I average 18L/100km in the city on a good day. I can see upwards of 10.5L/100km at 90km/h when I head north in the warmer months. The fuel pump uses the fuel in the tank to cool/lube itself, which isn't overly necessary in the winter months.

Several causes affect mileage, from fuel temperature, atmosphere temperature, elevation, weight in the vehicle (a few passengers can add a few hundred pounds easily), axle gearing, fluids used in the engine/axles, idling time/traffic, tire type and pressure. I run my tires in the mid 30psi range in the winter and bump them back to 40psi in the summer months.

Don't let 'winter gas' fool you. I was in the petrol industry for years and despite gas stations advertising 'winter gas' and 'up to 10% ethanol' on the pumps, I've never seen a fuel sheet pass my desk where the fuel contained more than 4.38% ethanol. Most vehicles on the road still can't handle more than 5% so fuel suppliers won't risk being held liable for engine damage. Gas stations merely advertise "Up to 10% ethanol" for pure marketing purposes to make people feel better that they're helping the environment... Winter gas often adds a hint of antifreeze to lower the fuel freezing point which is already extremely low and in most cases acts like burning cheap alcohol, or ethanol which isn't always accounted in the ethanol percentage of a fuel delivery as it's such a small amount it probably wouldn't even register; maybe 0.001%.

Cool. I was always curious about the winter fuel and what it consists of. Is there a big different from different gas company’s say shell vs Chevron or Costco?

 

[huntergreen]

I have a 32 gallon tank. When I first fill it, my mpg drops. I attributed this to extra weight of a full tank.

 

[RLJ10X]

For what ever reason, this year, I have not experienced a big drop in mpg, like I have other winters. Weird....

 

[blackbeautyhemi]

Cool. I was always curious about the winter fuel and what it consists of. Is there a big different from different gas company’s say shell vs Chevron or Costco?

I’m not sure what the difference is but hemifever could tell a difference from when I was running gas from a chain store compared to when I switched to Sunoco gas in my data logs. It was a improvement going to the Sunoco FYI.

 

[West27]

I’m not sure what the difference is but hemifever could tell a difference from when I was running gas from a chain store compared to when I switched to Sunoco gas in my data logs. It was a improvement going to the Sunoco FYI.

He probably just looked at the difference between your st knock. Running better gas or colder intake air temps will help this.

 

[blackbeautyhemi]

He said I wasn’t getting to my full power potential running ****** gas basically. Just saying there must be a difference between the brands and quality.


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