Miata Mailing List: December 1993, Message #209
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   From: "Alex M. Postpischil" 
Subject: Re:  RE>Re: Texaco - Ethanol vs. MBTE
   Date: Wed, 22 Dec 1993 12:06:32 -0500

About Al Jenab's post:
Regarding the mileage question:
I'm no engineer, but it seems like you'd naturally get worse mileage when
ambient temperatures are significantly lower, MBTE or no MBTE (in winter,
especially).  I would think that because colder air is denser, it would
require more gas for the right fuel/air mix.  Since the volume of the
cylinders aren't changing, your engine would therefore need to use more gas
per combustion cycle hence lower overall mileage.

Am I on track here?  Any combustion engineers out there?
-Al

***
That coincides with the figures I have tracked in my 42K miles. My best MPGs
were on cool spring days (~70F air temp). I also noticed reduced mileage in the
summer months, too.  I should also mention that I have always used regular
unleaded gas in my car (mostly AMOCO or SHELL).
-alex-