V-Power sucks!

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I had to drive over to Oconee county today, about 100 miles one way. We don't have any Shell stations around here so on the way I stopped and filled up with V-Power. What a mistake. There is no way this gas was 93 octane. The tanker must have mixed up and put 87 in the premium tank. I can tell when I have run 87 in my engine because the knock sensor cuts back the timing and performance suffers. My normally peppy 300M ran like a dead dog the whole way there and back. It was like driving a 4 cyl car. No more V-Power for me.
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maybe its the 30wt kicking in
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naw just some trans mix that mucked up the octane sensor
sometimes diesel gets in the line and is suposed to be
disposed of as trans mix but?? who knows i'd say a fluk.
bruce
 
Had something similar happen today. I filled the Neon with 87 octane at the local BP station. Tank was nearly empty and I noticed it acting sluggish with the BP fuel. Ran Casey's General Store before that with no problem and Conoco before Caseys with no problem.

Really wonder where some of the stations in town are getting their fuel supply? Do know for a fact that a local gas station chain in town owned by a certain family was buying bad gas and they got caught by the state. Their 87 octane turned out to be like 83 octane or worse. I wouldn't go to the local Shell station since I highly suspect the new owners are selling junk gas to the public.
 
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maybe its the 30wt kicking in
laugh.gif

naw just some trans mix that mucked up the octane sensor
sometimes diesel gets in the line and is suposed to be
disposed of as trans mix but?? who knows i'd say a fluk.
bruce


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My BMW does not like 93 V-power. Every time I switch to it, no matter which Shell station, i get random stalling when I come to a stop and also get the CEL from the O2 sensors behind the cats. I can switch to Shell 89 and problems go away and the rear O2 CEL doesn't come back. I have a thought that the "5 times" the amount of detergents may be a detriment to a clean burn even though it is cleaning the deposits.

I've even noticed lately a fluctuating idle in the Z06 while using this gas. I think I'm gonna stick with Amoco/BP 93.

Hammer
 
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Just curious, what octane rating does Chrysler recommend for your 300M?




Manual says 89 but will run "satisfactorily" on 87. I guess if your definition of "satisfactory" is broad enough, that's true.
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My gas milelage is worse on shell gasoline. I started buying it because of the 5% rebate on the card. I was using Chevron before,gas milelage in both vehicles, a Lincoln and Dodge both dropped about 1 to 2 miles a gallon and can see now other reason. Iam going to switch back to Chevron or try a new BP station and see if it returns.
 
I like Chevron Supreme much better than Shell v-power in my chipped BMW. Just smoother and more power. If you add Lucas UCL, it runns even better per my "seat of the pants" dyno.
 
I simply don't use it because around here, it is usually the most expensive gas in town, by about 5 to 10 cents per gallon.

So much for more advanced as well...
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I find NO difference (seat of the pants/placebo OR statistically MPG wise) between any of the brands of fuel I run here. I use Shell mostly now, as it is the cheapest after the 5% CC rebate.
 
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What about oil analysis differences?




I've only had a couple UOAs on this engine, not enough to test fuel differences; plus I have no fuel dilution (90% hwy) and don't loose/burn oil, so I don't see how the fuel brand would affect my UOAs. Switching fuel brands during the OCIs would also negate the validity of the test.

Unless I find a shady gas station owner, I don't see any difference between brands here. Heck last week I even filled up while a tanker was delivering!!!
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G-Man: Terry had made a couple posts about how great the new Shell blend of gas was a couple months ago.
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I had been using Chevron 93 for several years due to all of the marketing concerning Techron. I found out from two former Chevron employees that many other gasoline producers purchase Techron and use it as the additive in their gasoline. These companies cannot use the Techron name to advertise their gasoline though, as it is proprietary to Chevron. Shell was specifically mentioned as being one of the companies that purchases Techron to add to their gasoline.

I tried V-Power and noticed that my 2007 Civic appeared to have more power and attain speed with less effort. There was no real difference in the mpg when comparing 93 octane gasoline from Chevron and Shell. I then began to use V-Power and Lucas UCL, which seems to be a good mix for my car.

Shell operates their massive Deer Park complex about 10 miles from my house. I surmise that the gasoline sold near my home is relatively fresh accordingly. Chevron has a refinery nearby as well, though not as close as Shell.

I have long suspected that many gasoline stations fill their underground 89 and 93 octane tanks with 87 octane gasoline. This is what prompted me to switch from Chevron to Shell initially. The Chevron station near my home seemed to either be selling bad gasoline, or gasoline that was being misrepresented as being 93 octane. Perhaps there are some unscrupulous gas stations out there that use unbranded gasoline to top off their underground tanks in order to boost profits. Naturally I cannot prove this, but it does seem to make sense. To reduce the chances of this happening, you may want to ask if your local gas station is company owned or franchised. A company owned gas station is probably less likely to monkey around with their gasoline. JMHO
 
I got my best mileage on Shell 87... and it runs just as well as any for me. Same economy, same pep, no problems. I happen to like V-power too.
 
My gas gauge finally got down to 1/2 a tank today and I filled up with Amoco Ultimate. Within five miles she's running a lot better but still not completely back to normal.

Could the tanker have screwed up and put E85 in the V-Power tank? Even on the worst 87 regular my 300M didn't run as poorly as it has on this tank of V-Power.
 
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