Does winter rob performance?

[STEALTH2010]

My 2010 SS seems to have lost some of its "get up an go"? Could it be the weather, or the car sensing the p-zeros slipping and holding back a little? THis is my first winter, and it seems to not be nearly as fast as the fall. I bought this car in september and it really flew then.


6.2L V8 28000 miles P Zero tires.
??

[EvoWake]

Well, assuming the engine is at operating temps - it should run stronger with the cold, dense air of winter - BUT as you said, you're likely not grabbing the ground with cold rubber.

Wait until it warms up a few more degrees and go experiment with the gas pedal some more

Only other thing I can think of - I know some of the early cars had trouble with the fuel trim tables, and some people claimed that there were a couple fuses you could pull to reset all of that and allow the computer to re-learn.

Borrowed from Camaro5.com:

There are two specific spark timing tables housed in the memory of the vehicle’s Electronic Control Module (ECM). One is used for cars running high octane fuel and the other for when the vehicle is using low octane fuels. Whenever you drive the vehicle, the ECM is constantly making decisions based on the data it receives from all of the sensors in the engine and exhaust. Over time, the ECM will set your Long Term Fuel Trim (LTFT) to the low octane tables.

The problem:

If someone puts a low octane fuel into the tank, the vehicle can’t recover from the low octane table. Once in the low octane table the car will continue to use that information even if you are now using a higher octane fuel. Of course the side effect of this is sluggish performance, and we don’t really need to explain the benefits of running a higher octane fuel in a performance application. If you just purchased your Camaro you wouldn’t be incorrect in thinking that it isn’t uncommon that at some point the car was filled with a less potent gasoline, especially if it came from a used car dealership or from an owner who was uninformed of this problem and wanted to save a few bucks at the pump. The LTFT’s are, unfortunately, a part of the car’s non-volatile memory. That means the information is stored there, and doesn’t reset when the vehicle is turned off.

However, there is a way around this problem. Although the spark tables are part of the non-volatile memory and cannot be removed, they can be reset. A simple solution is to remove a couple of fuses from the fuse block in the engine compartment. Pulling the fuses will allow your Camaro’s ECM to reset itself to the high octane table. If you are running high octane fuel then it remain in the high table until the ECM again detects a low octane fuel.

The fix:

First, make sure the car is empty of the low octane fuel. Run the tank down low and refuel with high octane. You might consider running a tank or two through before attempting the fuse pull. Once you have better gasoline in the system, locate the two fuses shown in the diagram below. They are in the fuse box located on the passenger side of the vehicle’s engine bay. The fuses are in position #5 and #20. Remove each of these 15 amp fuses and allow the car to sit for a period of at least a few hours. There is a small, grey fuse pulling tool located on the fuse panel (In the diagram below it would be in the lower right corner area). That should make the pulling of the fuses easier. If possible, remove the fuses and allow the car to sit overnight. Once they have been out for several hours, replace the fuses. When started, the car will attempt to use the high octane fuel trims first, and if you keep high octane fuel in the car it should remain on the higher table permanently. Of course, lowered octane fuel in the tank means repeating the process.

[STEALTH2010]

Thats funny that you said that. I ran out of gas a few months ago and had to put in a gallon of cheap gas to get me to the station to fill up. I noticed the difference of cheap gas right away. It seems also like it never recovered from the cheap gas. I have not done the fuse pull yet. I think i will try it this weekend.

Thanks

[EvoWake]

Thats funny that you said that. I ran out of gas a few months ago and had to put in a gallon of cheap gas to get me to the station to fill up. I noticed the difference of cheap gas right away. It seems also like it never recovered from the cheap gas. I have not done the fuse pull yet. I think i will try it this weekend.

Thanks

no problem! let us know if it works

[SYCK SS]

It is true that our computers can compensate for lower octane, but have a hard time switching back afterward. So i recommend the fuse pull as well.

But anytime there is colder weather your car will NORMALLY produce more power once it is warmed up. Colder air is more dense, meaning more oxygen. More oxygen means you can add more fuel which means more POWA!!!!

[EvoWake]

[SYCK SS]

[Jcobra]

You need to add power and lose weight. The car isn't all that fast in stock form, and its fat.

[steveo9043]

Definitely do the fuse pull.

[swety1]

whats with pullin fuses ? just refuel with proper fuel go home,disconnect neg batt cable, about 1/2 hr. hook it up again and drive the ecu will reprogram it self faster this way, its like teachin a kid ,it learns fast. pulling fuses?,or jacks like masflow sencers with out battery neg. removed will only pull ck. engine lite try this and you will have no issues!! GO BLACK HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LadiesMan217]

The other issue could be is that we are all still using winter gas that has all the additives that keeps it from freezing. That alone will hinder a cars performance. The good news is that spring is on the way and so is the summer blend gas. I'm sure the car will have that get up and go, with the better blend.

[swety1]

gm preformance told me dis neg battery cable 1/2 hr start & drive, pulling fuse may work? but ecm. will take longer to reprogram been there done that, so lets flip COINS!!

[swety1]

YA! try a octine boost to you fuel

[priz23]

The other issue could be is that we are all still using winter gas that has all the additives that keeps it from freezing. That alone will hinder a cars performance. The good news is that spring is on the way and so is the summer blend gas. I'm sure the car will have that get up and go, with the better blend.

Never heard of anti freezing additives before, I don't think there's a whole lot of truth to that one. I thought the seasonal differences has to do with pollution, not performance.

Also, no way the bad gas is still that noticeable. Wait for the temps to increase an your pirellies to turn back to tires from hockey pucks and let'er rip.

[SYCK SS]

Never heard of anti freezing additives before, I don't think there's a whole lot of truth to that one. I thought the seasonal differences has to do with pollution, not performance.

Also, no way the bad gas is still that noticeable. Wait for the temps to increase an your pirellies to turn back to tires from hockey pucks and let'er rip.

gasoline technically cant freeze. BUT there can be condensation form inside your gas tank and thats why they add alcohol to gas now "up to 10%"... the alcohol absorbs the water basically.