Diesel car owners winter MPG

Hi

I have been driving diesel cars for about 15 years and in that time we have had some very cold winters, What i have noticed this winter is, i am not getting the same MPG as i do in summer its running about 10% less:o, has anybody else noticed this?

I have searched Google and apparently this is normal with some very technical reasons why.

yes its due to the additives put in diesel in winter months

i have read that, the anti gel what they put in the diesel thins it some what, which by all accounts take some energy out of the diesel.

Air is denser in winter months by about 10-12% as cold air is naturally more dense. This increases air resistance proportionally which is by and large the biggest force to overcome in a car - ergo colder weather, more power and fuel needed to move it.

I was told that with you having all your electrics working i.e.wipers ,air conditioner defrosters and suchlike,that takes extra fuel,dont ask me why.

Because those ancillaries load the alternator and the engine has to work a bit harder to keep it turning, so using a bit more fuel.

Thanks for clearing that up.

I was told that with you having all your electrics working i.e.wipers ,air conditioner defrosters and suchlike,that takes extra fuel,dont ask me why.

That is all very true.

Because those ancillaries load the alternator and the engine has to work a bit harder to keep it turning, so using a bit more fuel.

That is all very true.

i am interested in this, how is it that, it affects diesels more, which it does, Petrol does not gel or get thicker like diesel does, which by all accounts has an affect on a diesels compression.

but i would like to know how much, the MPG alters in winter with other drivers?

Diesel is an oil, it thickens up at lower temperatures.

At a certain temperature it turns into a sort of jelly like substance, hence the 'gel point' bit.

To stop that happening in the winter months they shove in additives to keep it fluid at colder temperatures, stuff like Kerosene works but I'm not sure what blend they use in our fuel.

Petrol doesn't need any additives in it for winter use in our country, it's freezing point is much, much lower than diesel.

On certain forums they advise adding 2 stroke oil to diesel never tried it but they say it helps mpg and how the engine runs.

Yep, a few people on the Peugeot forums use 2 stroke and there's been a long running experiment on it. It all seems quite positive

http://www.peugeotforums.com/forums/307-38/2-stroke-29369/

As for my diesel (a 2003 Pug 307 2L 90bhp) I find I'm getting around 500 miles out of a full tank, compared to 550+ in Summer.