Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

[Kornercarver]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

I use Premium in my 350Z and Regular in my Dodge Minivan.

[tcope1]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

First, octane rating is not a power rating... it's a measure of the gasolines ability to avoid autoignition. Running higher octane then needed can actually reduce power.

Second, can't vote as the poll does not include the 85 octane in the Mountain states.

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

I use regular, but I use Top Teir Gasoline , which in my case is Shell.

The top tier refine all gasoline used in this country in a handful of refineries, then sell their product to smaller distributors. Since refined gasoline is strictly monitored and regulated by the federal government (I forget which agency - something like weights and measures) there is very little variance between gasolines refined by Shell, British Petroleum, Mobil, et al.

Therefore, the gasoline you purchase from 7-11, Valero, or your local convenience store is from Shell, ARCO, or any other major refiner.

[tcope1]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

Therefore, the gasoline you purchase from 7-11, Valero, or your local convenience store is from Shell, ARCO, or any other major refiner.

While not completely correct (additives are what make them different) TTG is really nothing more then a marketing tool. It gives the impression that TTG is better then other gasoline... which is _completely_ unsubstantiated.

[Fly Bye]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

First, octane rating is not a power rating... it's a measure of the gasolines ability to avoid autoignition. Running higher octane then needed can actually reduce power.

Second, can't vote as the poll does not include the 85 octane in the Mountain states.

repost

[Andrew C.]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

The top tier refine all gasoline used in this country in a handful of refineries, then sell their product to smaller distributors. Since refined gasoline is strictly monitored and regulated by the federal government (I forget which agency - something like weights and measures) there is very little variance between gasolines refined by Shell, British Petroleum, Mobil, et al.

Therefore, the gasoline you purchase from 7-11, Valero, or your local convenience store is from Shell, ARCO, or any other major refiner.

While not completely correct (additives are what make them different) TTG is really nothing more then a marketing tool. It gives the impression that TTG is better then other gasoline... which is _completely_ unsubstantiated.

Clearly and tcope are right on who you buy gasoline from. My Uncle is the VP of Manufacturing at U.S. Oil and I have asked him about the whole issue of what station you buy your gas from and how chevron has "technron" and all the fancy perks.

He told me the same thing clearly said about it all ultimately coming from the same places and the "additives" that certain stations have don't really distinguish them at all because gasoline already contains those products. I believe technron is some sort of nitrogen additive, which is already in our every-day fuel, and chevron puts it in as overkill and does nothing but serve as a marketing tool.

Take it for what its worth, but why pay more at one station when the one across the street gives you the same fuel for cheaper.

[hacker-pschorr]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

I use aviation fuel.

What kind of car do you drive that runs on variations of kerosene?

Since I drive a Porsche Cayenne, I get better gas mileage from the Premium grade stuff. It does have the ping adjustment, but I've tried both Super and Premium and the higher octane goes farther (and faster!).

I've gone round and round with people about this, especially with boosted (turbo / supercharger) cars.

I'm not picking on you, just using you as an example

Just because your vehicle has knock detection that can "adjust" for low octane fuel, doesn't mean it's a good idea to do so. The knock detection goes off after the event, which is not something that's good for your motor. Most engines pull back ignition timing to reduce the knock, some systems are clever enough to also cut back boost, or both. Which lowers overall efficiency (which is why your experienced lower fuel mileage).

People who insist they can run 87 octane in a car that "prefers" high octane because it will "self adjust" are doing damage to their engine.
There is no such thing as "a little knock" to an engine.

The ECU is constantly trying to restore full timing and / or boost, to the point of knock then pulls back again. Over and over and over..... The reason these types of vehicles say in the manual it's OK to run lower octane fuel "in perfect condition (watch the verbiage) is purely sales and a bit of politics. Sales people do not like having to say: "You must run the most expensive fuel on the market with this car" so this gives them an out because technically they are right. But that doesn't make it a good idea, especially for long term use.

The knock detection is there in case of bad / old gas, system hick-up etc... These safety systems were never designed with the intention of allowing you to run lower octane gas. If this was the intent of the designers, they would have a selector switch. Something Porsche did with the 928 back in 1985, there is a "low octane" connection down in the fuse panel. I cannot say I've seen any other cars with this kind of feature.

[Bill Davidson]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

OK to run lower octane fuel "in perfect condition (watch the verbiage) is purely sales and a bit of politics. Sales people do not like having to say: "You must run the most expensive fuel on the market with this car" so this gives them an out because technically they are right. But that doesn't make it a good idea, especially for long term use.

We've all probably seen the movie Super Size Me. We've seen that you can run on McDonald's food for a month, but look at the results.

[akimel]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

My understanding is that top tier gasoline has more detergent additives than the gas one buys at the local convenience store. Is that inaccurate?

Anyway, I use hi-test in my S2000 and I usually buy my gas at the Kroger gas station. Once a year I pour a can of fuel system cleaner into the tank. Heck if I know if my engine needs the treatment or not.

[SSMUFF]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

use good old regular in both of my cars. Usually when I change the oil I will buy some mystery oil an add it to the fuel.

[Fly Bye]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

What kind of car do you drive that runs on variations of kerosene?

My car flies

[roushstage2]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

I have to use a min. 91 octane in my Mustang. I'm "supposed" to be using 93, but I only run Chevron or 76 so I've never had a problem.

Everything else gets 87 octane from wherever is nearby when I need it.

[FinalTouchDetail]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

My vette would detonate like crazy if I ran under 93. It's tuned pretty aggressively.

FWIW, I haven't run anything other than 93 in any car I've ever owned, lol. They've all been high horsepower cars running lots of timing.

[Larry A]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

If all gasoline is the same then why do I get 18.5 mpg on Mobil gas , 18.0 on Shell gas and 17.0 on BP. This is all stop and go city driving. I check my mileage after every fill up, and this testing took 4 months.

[Ravi_1992]

Re: Which Grade of Fuel Do You Use?

I used 87 for awhile but my car says use 91 octane on the fuel door so thats what ive been using lately , Ive noticed a significant power increase but I don't know weather I get more milege or not