Big mileage drop

[mj1angier]

Camera to see if kids are stealing gas, lol

Sponsored

 

[mrpkb]

There is a definite change in tune that are mileage driven, but its usually to get better performance not worse as limits were changed in my Focus RS which is also an ecoboost when it reached the end of the break-in

I’d be cautious making statements generalizing from Ford Performance vehicles to baseline Ford vehicles. Unless there is actual Ford-backed documentation or facts, the probability of there being a mileage-induced ECU tune is way way way lower than the other way around.

Performance vehicles sometimes have this, although more often than HP or TQ adjustments these are simply top speed and rpm limiters. A baseline eco boost is highly unlikely to have anything else but a single ECU map for its entire lifetime. Especially because there is officially also no break-in service required on base ecoboosts as per the manual - which would be the most likely opportunity for Ford to change the ECU map.

So no. I strongly recommend you to have the dealer look at it because while performance and mpg changes can be weather & fuel induced, they should be by no means so significant that someone in Washington state would sense it as strongly as the you did.

 

[WillB17]

Winter blend fuel uses more ethanol than summer blend and while some stations add a nominal amount, others are known to mix in the maximum allowed. Especially when oil prices are high.

Ethanol has a much lower energy density than gasoline and when combined with gasoline, there's a net decrease in total energy. Meaning that the combined energy of the blended fuel is less than that in the two components before they're added to each other.

Another possibility is a bad O2 sensor, which can result in extra fuel injected. It won't trip any codes unless it's really bad but hopefully the dealer ruled that out, since it can be checked with even a cheap OBD computer.

this doesn't really make sense in comparison to winter blended E85. In the winter, E85 has more regular fuel mixed with it due to colder weather conditions for easier start up. Why would they do the opposite for "winter blended" (never heard of a winter blended gasoline, just E85) regular fuel and mix more Ethanol in?

 

[Pedaldude]

this doesn't really make sense in comparison to winter blended E85. In the winter, E85 has more regular fuel mixed with it due to colder weather conditions for easier start up. Why would they do the opposite for "winter blended" (never heard of a winter blended gasoline, just E85) regular fuel and mix more Ethanol in?

It's because of two separate but related factors, evaporative emissions of the gasoline just sitting in fuel tanks and vapor pressure during combustion inside the engine. The added ethanol in winter isn't really for any benefit other than they can get away with adding more in during cooler weather, however; at a certain point it won't vaporize at all. Gasoline has a lower range of volatility, so in very cold parts of the country they add more to the E85 so engines can start. In summer, alcohol evaporates more quickly, so they can't add as much because it will cause pollution. When ethanol is blended with the other hydrocarbons in the fuel, it doesn't just evaporate out of solution; it helps all the more volatile strands of hydrocarbons evaporate too.

You're also right about it not making sense, there's so many interactions that it's crazy, each blend percentage impacts cars differently and the ethanol producers are constantly lobbying for more ethanol in fuel, automakers and oil companies are suing to make it less and an untold number of older cars have been damaged beyond economical repair because ethanol is a powerful solvent and turns rubber o-rings into black goo. It's also extremely hydrophilic and the water makes the gasoline go bad quicker and creates waxy build up that clogs fuel lines, pumps and injectors.

There's also some debate on if ethanol is even sustainable, with the question being if ethanol production uses more energy than the ethanol provides for the end user. The fact that corn subsidies, green energy programs and mandates forcing fuel makers to buy it is the only thing making it profitable kind of doesn't look good for the whole thing.

 

[EricR]

​

this doesn't really make sense in comparison to winter blended E85. In the winter, E85 has more regular fuel mixed with it due to colder weather conditions for easier start up. Why would they do the opposite for "winter blended" (never heard of a winter blended gasoline, just E85) regular fuel and mix more Ethanol in?

The EPA dictates additional ethanol in winter months for most urban areas.

​

Gasoline Winter Oxygenates​

Oxygenates are fuel additives that contain oxygen, usually in the form of alcohol or ether. Oxygenates can enhance fuel combustion and thereby reduce exhaust emissions. Some oxygenates also boost gasoline octane. The Clean Air Act requires use of oxygenated gasoline in areas where winter time carbon monoxide levels exceed federal air quality standards. Without oxygenated gasoline, carbon monoxide emissions from gasoline-fueled vehicles tend to increase in cold weather. Winter oxygenated gasoline programs are implemented by the states.​

​

https://www.epa.gov/gasoline-standards/gasoline-winter-oxygenates​

 

[Pedaldude]

If you ferret out all the weasel words in the EPA's statement, all that remains is "The Clean Air Act requires use of..."

After working at an environmental non-profit, where one of our biggest campaigns was helping to ban MTBE. I can't help being skeptical about when the government comes to the rescue and all its unintended consequences.

I really wish that there would be real studies, where results were safe from financial incentives and political indulgences.

Until then, you can rest assured that the gas stations will continue to adulterate their fuel with as much ethanol as they are allowed to by law when it suits their bottom line.

As for OPs problem, I would still try to eliminate other factors like the O2 sensors, because in a turbo engine the computer will try to throw a lot of fuel into the cylinders if there's a lean burn condition or the computer thinks there is because of a malfunction. There's at least one member here who had that problem in their brand new truck.

 

[Hambone]

I have 19k miles on my '21 3.5 EB and haven't experienced any significant mpg decrease. Performance is just the same as the day I drove it off of the lot. Overall I am getting 22.5 - 24 mpg consistently; it does seem to have dropped 1 - 2 mpg recently but our climate is now approaching freezing temps so that could be attributed to winter-blend fuels.

 

[Bexiga]

I have noticed a drop in my MPG since weather here in Ontario Canada is now getting colder. During the summer months, I was averaging low 10s now I'm in the mid 11 liters/ per 100kms. Same driving habits. fyi

Sponsored