Hello, i noticed my gas mileage is not as good as it used to be. It runs great & i put in a new air filter. It seems after the new air filter it gets less mileage. Could it be because i live in Minnesota & it's -2? I'm sure that affects the gas mileage.

Thanks,
Scott

 

What milage are you getting? Cold weather does effect milage. Do not let your car sit and idle to warm up. Start it, let it sit for about 1 minute and drive it modestly until it warms up. It is getting all the way warm correct?

 

Hi

I also want to know if your car is getting up to temp.

I just bought a volvo 740, that with a stuck open thermostat. It would never get up to proper operating temperature. I probably was getting 10 mpg until i replaced it. Now I am getting much better gas milage because my engine actually warms up! I'm not sure how much though, as I haven't refilled yet to calculate...

Good luck and best wishes

 

I'm not sure on the mileage,but i know it's getting a noticeable difference less. Steelheaddan, my car is getting up to proper temp.

 

Well, when I had a 740 GLE, back in '87 through '04, the car got 24 mpg. No matter how I drove, where I drove. Check your milage before you think it's not right. And again, cold weather usually causes milage drop 3 mpg.

 

Thanks for all your replys! It's supposed to warm up here so i will see if it makes a difference.

 

MNwild, I drive a 89 740T M46, OD, with 295k on it and I get an average 24 mpg. I recently last fall got an unbelievable 29 mpg on a trip (65-70mph) but I bet it was the cool, dry weather I was driving in. In the summer here (Cincinnati, OH) I flip on the AC and I can drop to 18 in the city.

As cold as it gets where you live, yes, it will seriously drop your mileage. Dirty injectors will, crappy gas will, low tires (-2 from 40F) will flatten your tires, etc etc, so check it all. Make sure your warming hose is there. You need it in MN.

One other thing I did (disclaimer: I am suspicious of anything your just pour into a gas tank) I ran a full tank of BP 93 with the Gumout "2x Regane" injector cleaner, followed by two full tanks of the same gas with the Lucas Oil injector cleaner/upper cylinder lubricant. I have to believe it worked....well, in fact. I had measurable difference of about 15 miles per tank. Another thing you can do is run full synthetic in your engine, tranny, and diff. That will add up too.

And how are your spark plugs?

 

Wow! 29mpg on a turbo motor? Ever checked your afr's? Brand new epa mileage estimates were not near that good. More like 16 in town and 20-22 highway. I'd be wanting a wide band to check that if you run much boost. Especially on an 89 motor.

 

The record for my car (turbo as well) about 8 years ago was 27mpg on I-95 and I-81 from WV to FL. I've never seen it that good since then. That was pretty unbelievable. 29 is awesome.

 

KY740, The car runs great but i probably should check the plugs even though it's running smooth. It did warm up here in MN & i did notice an increase in gas mileage. Thanks!!

 

Hello again Swift. yes 29 was astounding, and I checked it twice upon arrival. My TD05 turbo is stock, rebuilt for longevity, and provides a simple, low 7 psi. And I don't drive the car hard. In fact, with the manual, I spend as much time in neutral as possible! I am also very careful about tire inflation because I believe that is probably the single biggest factor after driving habits.

Again, after changing everything over to the thinnest synthetics I could use, lots of injector cleaner, good gas, tweaked tire pressure, and driving on that super low humidity 60F October day, 29 is what the numbers said.

But the original numbers, like you point out, are not good. And I have indeed noticed mileage in the 17-18 range on 95F days, in bumper to bumper traffic. But when I switched the car to 134a for AC, city mileage ticked up a hair. Go figure.