Fuel economy variation with 91 octane no alcohol gasoline 2009 BMW R1200GS
With the Midwest flooding, in Joplin Missouri they must have had to switch refinery's. This spring I started getting 47 to 49 rather than my usual 42-44 which is a significant better than 10% improvement. I also noticed it smelled different. And it ran better when first started.
Originally I attributed it to keeping my winter 5W40 in longer, but after I put in the summer oil of 20W50 Valvoline there was no change. Still getting great mileage, which continued all summer. Well, the last 2 tanks the fuel economy went back to the historical average of 42-44. The gasoline also smells different. This weekend for fun I rode to Arkansas and filled up in Eureka springs. I did not check the smell. I cleared the MPG indicator like I always do. And guess what the economy went back to 47. It would have been 1/3 of the Joplin gas mixed in, but the mileage increased to 47.
So all us drivers in Joplin are getting substandard gasoline with a low BTU content. There is no regulation on BTU content, so we are stuck. The amount delivered is correct in that my gas can is full to the same level at 5 gallons. I wish I could take a 55 gallon barrel down there and fill it up. But with my luck I could get crashed into and crispy crittered.
Any comments
Rod
With the Midwest flooding, in Joplin Missouri they must have had to switch refinery's. This spring I started getting 47 to 49 rather than my usual 42-44 which is a significant better than 10% improvement. I also noticed it smelled different. And it ran better when first started.
Originally I attributed it to keeping my winter 5W40 in longer, but after I put in the summer oil of 20W50 Valvoline there was no change. Still getting great mileage, which continued all summer. Well, the last 2 tanks the fuel economy went back to the historical average of 42-44. The gasoline also smells different. This weekend for fun I rode to Arkansas and filled up in Eureka springs. I did not check the smell. I cleared the MPG indicator like I always do. And guess what the economy went back to 47. It would have been 1/3 of the Joplin gas mixed in, but the mileage increased to 47.
So all us drivers in Joplin are getting substandard gasoline with a low BTU content. There is no regulation on BTU content, so we are stuck. The amount delivered is correct in that my gas can is full to the same level at 5 gallons. I wish I could take a 55 gallon barrel down there and fill it up. But with my luck I could get crashed into and crispy crittered.
Any comments
Rod