Which one is the Good gas?

[RyanHeo]

Hi.

I've heard that there are some gases such as the Shell, BP, and Chevron etc. But I've never heard that why they are good and what the differeces between good and normal(or bad) gases is. It makes me so confuse whenever I feed my car required above 91 octain only.

Thanks.

 

[ZZman]

Many of the name brand gasolines are called "top tier" gasolines. These are called that because they have a higher amount of detergents in them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Tier_Detergent_Gasoline

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/05/10/073226.html

 

[Eddie]

Some fuels, even top tier seem to run better in different engines. I've never been able to tell any real difference in any of the brand name fuels. Some people claim better mileage with one brand but, I don't believe it. JMO. Ed

 

[Warstud]

I swear by Mystic/Citgo gas in my Xtreme. No spark knock with the 87 octane.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

I have been using Exxon/Mobil for well over a million miles now so I have no plans on switching anytime soon.

My sister has been using Chevron since the early 70's and also has no issues with it.

A friend of uses Cosco gas and his car runs very rough and hesitates allot..But since Cosco is about 4 cents cheaper then the rest he uses it.

Its always best to get gas from a busy station that has a big turnover..Most stations near the interstate or near a busy intersection get that big turnover.

 

[StevieC]

I get much better performance out of my truck with Shell Top-tier. Haven't noticed much of a mileage difference that I couldn't attribute to driving differences. When I go visit my friends in Kentucky they have lots of BP stations around and I fill up there. I get noticeably better mileage and the same performance as with shell. Wish we still had BP here in Ontario.

 

[SilverGGA]

I prefer to follow the Top Tier certification. But many others prefer to trust their butt dyno and imagination more.

 

[StevieC]

I trust my scan-gauge!

 

[chevrofreak]

I set up the Horsepower X-Gauge for the Scangauge II and it reads 2hp more than the factory rating (wasn't expecting it to be THAT accurate). I bet I could tell if different fuels gave me different power.

 

[StevieC]

My Scangauge is very accurate... I kept track of my mileage manually and with the scangauge and it was dead on!

I have the gauge showing me how many Litres/100KM I'm using and it calculates on the fly and it's made me easier on take-off's and passing and I'm seeing the results in my fuel economy and UOA's!

Also my ECU shuts off the injectors when the engine isn't under load and coasting at a fast enough wheel speed and RPM's to do so. I have learned to downshift with my Shift-tronic shifter when going down hills/mountains and you can see the injectors turn off and the water-temperature fall. It's superb information!

I don't think any car should be without it.

I put on the X-Gauges too so I can monitor my 2 upstream O2 sensors for laziness.

So many good things it can do eh?

 

[chevrofreak]

I switch between gauges, but usually in the upper left I have RPM, lower left is instantaneous fuel economy, upper right is the average for the tank, and lower right is average for the trip. I'll sometimes change the upper right on to read something else that I feel like monitoring for a while.

I verified my Scangauge speedometer with a GPS unit the other day and it's accurate to less than 1% all the way from 35mph to 75mph (ex police car with a calibrated speedometer). Interestingly, the scangauge displays slightly different readings at 35mph than my analog gauge does (analog reads 36-37 when Scangauge says 35), but the scangauge is the one that's accurate. The analog gauge starts at 10mph, but the distance between 0 and 10 is the same as between 10 and 15, so I'm not sure how accurate it can be at that low of a speed. Maybe I should buy another scangauge so I can display more readings?

 

[Durango]

Originally Posted By: RyanHeo
Hi.

I've heard that there are some gases such as the Shell, BP, and Chevron etc. But I've never heard that why they are good and what the differeces between good and normal(or bad) gases is. It makes me so confuse whenever I feed my car required above 91 octain only.

Thanks.


RyanHeo,

Generally speaking all gas is about the same except for the brand names own additives that are advertised to do better than the competition. My newly bought 08' Chevy Impala SS asks for 91 octane also and use it as long as my wallet will allow. I also even use Cosco gas tooand have noticed in reality no difference in performance as long as I use the proper octane requirement. Every two or three months I like to add a large bottle of Techron to supplement the additives. Most of the time I use either Cosco or Arco gasoline.

Durango

 

[StevieC]

I fiddle with mine too... Can't just leave one set of gauges showing.

I like to know whats going on under my hood so I play with it in traffic... I'm the one with the scan-gauge and the scuffed bumpers!

(J/K)

My spedo isn't accurate at all the speeds, sometimes it shows 5km/hr more and sometimes less, but the SG is always 100% accurate.

I always have my GPS running and it tells me my speed, so when I'm approaching a known speed trap I just glance at the GPS to confirm my speed. They (cops) have "warned" be about being 7km/hr over!

(4.4 MPH) on a back country road with no schools or houses anywhere close to the road!

There is one officer that sits on the back country roads up here trying to catch me... I know his spots and I always make sure I'm doing exactly the limit when I go by, and I wave!

He nabbed my sister doing 20 over in an 80 zone. She got 3 points and he wouldn't downgrade the ticket. She tried to fight it in court and he was a real jerk about it.

 

[chevrofreak]

The nice thing about my Garmin 255W and the Scangauge is that they both record my maximum speed, which I can use to convince a cop that it was in fact NOT me that was speeding, it was someone else that they failed to identify (useful only if I haven't been driving on the highway prior to driving in the city).

BTW, I've actually been getting better fuel economy from Costco gas than Conoco gas. The Conoco pumps say "may contain up to 10% ethanol" and I can actually smell the alcohol in the nozzle. No more Conoco for me...

My 500:1 ratio of TC-W3 should help keep things cleaned and lubed.

 

[StevieC]

I never thought about using that feature in my GPS/SG! Thanks for the info... Will be sure to use it next time I'm pulled over and warned about my excessive speed of usally 5km/hr over the limit!

I haven't seen our Costco's selling gas up here, and we don't have Conoco stations here, at least not in this province.

If I fill up with Shell V-Power 91 Octane which claims to have no E-10 in it, I get worse mileage than with the 87 containing up to 10%.

I use FP+ and Renewable Lube Fuel System cleaner at every fillup to keep my engine clean. (alternating) Engine starts/runs like it did day one and really wants to fly on the highways.