This reminds me of the expression, "Cutting off your nose to spite your face." I read an article about how to improve your gas mileage in the winter. Since it takes longer for the engine to warm up, and everything on the car that moves is fighting thicker lubricant, gas mileage drops in the winter. How can we overcome that? Simple! Use heat!

So, you use an engine heater and an electric heater to keep the transmission warm, and your MPG will be better. How about your electric bill? Unless you live in an area where you don't pay for electricity, this is a self-defeating technique. There are various ways to heat the engine oil, but you'd have to consider how much electricity they use.

 

Driving a fuel efficient vehicle is the best way to improve your mileage. It's like buying a Hybrid and paying a premium for it. You'll get better fuel economy, but unless you drive alot of miles you'll spend more money overall. I refuse to use any type of remote engine starter and minimize idling prior to driving.

 

Also, winter blend fuels seem to yield lower MPG than summer blends, at least around here. Not much you can do.


The Fit is already very fuel efficient, and I have more important things to worry about than losing a couple of MPGs in the winter.

 

Right. That's the other side of the coin.

 

I stopped using a remote start years ago, modern engines warm up/create heat better under load. I could idle my Skyactive Mazda for 20 minutes and the heat was barely warm, drive it for 5 and it was making heat. Idling the engine had a noticeable negative impact on my MPG as well. Now it 30-60 seconds and off we go.

 

Right on all counts. I used to have a neighbor who would start his car and then rev the life out of it. Very bad idea.

 

Aside from parking your car in a garage (at least partially heated) you've covered all the bases.

I NEVER had the luxury of a garage until a few years ago. IT ROCKS!!!!!




Not only do you get to jump right in and go, without freezing your a** off, but you save time every morning because you don't have to remove snow or frost.

Our garage gets pass through heat from the house. It's always 25 degrees F. above ambient in winter...

 

And I bet he tries to overpower the snow and ice on the road too. It cannot be done. I live in Middle Tennessee. Nashville, like Rome, is built on 7 hills and I learned more than 5 decades ago, slow and easy will make more headway than brute force. Never got stuck or spun my 1964 GTO, at least not in the snow.

Warm up simply isn't necessary with modern engines using the proper multi-weight oil. At idle, the car gets ZERO mpg and revving it is even worse (if possible). The AC in the Fit has NEVER been off because the weather has been consistently very hot and humid since I bought it May 2, 2015. I expect better mileage starting, say today. Get in the car, start the engine, belt up, adjust mirrors if necessary, settle buttocks in seat, put car in gear and drive away slowly. Blue cold light will most likely be off in less than half a mile.

Driving in snow and ice is an acquired skill, one that should come early in the Northern states. Here in the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee, not so much. My sister, who teaches school in Ft. Myers, FL, taught a neighbor there a winter skill, only mildly related to driving in the winter. On one of those rare days in Ft. Myers, there was frost on the guy's windshield. He didn't know what to do, apparently never seeing that before. Jeanie taught him a new use for a credit card. A CD case works pretty well too.

 

That's funny!

 

In addition to helping with aero, a grille block helps the car warm up sooner. I did mine this spring and can't wait to be able to take my hat and gloves off before I get to work on the cold mornings.