Better Gas Mileage??
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 9,913
Likes: 1,867
From: Hot Springs AR
My experience has been that brands of gas act pretty much the same, with one major exception:
If you buy "blended" fuel (10% ethanol), you will get about 10% worse mileage. I've personally experienced that on the three family cars that I drive and keep records on.
The rule of thumb concerning octane ratings is to run the lowest you can without experiencing knock (i.e. detonation). The problem with our LS-x engines is that they all contain knock sensors, which will pull timing (and therefore efficiency). Our engines have pretty high compression ratios, and will experience knock retard with anything lower than 93 octane (and even some there, but 93 is about the best you can find in general).
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
If you buy "blended" fuel (10% ethanol), you will get about 10% worse mileage. I've personally experienced that on the three family cars that I drive and keep records on.
The rule of thumb concerning octane ratings is to run the lowest you can without experiencing knock (i.e. detonation). The problem with our LS-x engines is that they all contain knock sensors, which will pull timing (and therefore efficiency). Our engines have pretty high compression ratios, and will experience knock retard with anything lower than 93 octane (and even some there, but 93 is about the best you can find in general).
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,130
Likes: 3
From: Winter Park FL
A few years ago Shell advertised better gas milage with their gas. I tested it out on my Saturn. 3 full tanks of all the gas stations around my house. Ran them all from full to empty and averaged them out. It turned out that they were all pretty mcuh the same except for Shell. I actually did get better gas milage back in 2003 when I did this. Significant difference too, 5MPG. However this was just my little test and not some big scientific study but it made me happy enough to keep going to Shell.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 16,795
Likes: 62
From: Lake Havasu City, AZ
Each refinery produces a different mix of hydrocarbons which are blended to create a broad spectrum product called gasoline.
Since raw gasoline is swapped between producers the only real difference that the consumer may notice is additives.
If you can be sure that all the gasoline from one brand comes from only one refinery and no other brands are serviced by that refinery, you might be able to detect mileage differences...
However additives do create bette driveability, smoother idle, less hesitation and cleaner engines ( less deposits = more horsepower and less knock)
I can notice the difference in driveability between brands. I stick with Shell V-Power where ever it is available.
Since raw gasoline is swapped between producers the only real difference that the consumer may notice is additives.
If you can be sure that all the gasoline from one brand comes from only one refinery and no other brands are serviced by that refinery, you might be able to detect mileage differences...
However additives do create bette driveability, smoother idle, less hesitation and cleaner engines ( less deposits = more horsepower and less knock)
I can notice the difference in driveability between brands. I stick with Shell V-Power where ever it is available.
