Hi
After watching Tom Charlesworth's video and listening to Pete at Hershey and their concerns about long term problems that may arise from using fuel with ethanol I wonder if I could get some advice about the best fuel to use. Up here the highest octane pump fuel is Sunoco 94 which is 94 octane but has ethanol added. The best fuel without ethanol is Shell which advertises itself as very clean and is 91 octane. Therefore my dilemma?
1. Stay with the 94 octane with ethanol?
2. Switch to the 91 octane with no ethanol but very clean.
3. Blend the two. This is not that difficult since both stations are across the street from each other.
4. Other
Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Steve
<!--quoteo(post=72086:date=May 18 2009, 08:02 AM:name=scaldwell)-->QUOTE (scaldwell @ May 18 2009, 08:02 AM)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Hi
After watching Tom Charlesworth's video and listening to Pete at Hershey and their concerns about long term problems that may arise from using fuel with ethanol I wonder if I could get some advice about the best fuel to use. Up here the highest octane pump fuel is Sunoco 94 which is 94 octane but has ethanol added. The best fuel without ethanol is Shell which advertises itself as very clean and is 91 octane. Therefore my dilemma?
1. Stay with the 94 octane with ethanol?
2. Switch to the 91 octane with no ethanol but very clean.
3. Blend the two. This is not that difficult since both stations are across the street from each other.
4. Other
Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Steve<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What about
4. Use Shell 91 and add an octane boost or other additive?
I've recently heard some reputable sources suggest Shell V-Power is the best gas available.
I was told Chevron with techron was the way to go, and that's what I usually try to use. Keeps the insides all nice and clean they say. Truth be told though, when gas prices sky rocketed, I was filling up at my local Costco. No idea if their gas is any good or not, but it was by far the cheapest around for me.
If you chaps can get Shell V power. Its 98ron .....+ good stuff...Its freely available over this side of the pond..[UK]...As are a lot of other higher octane fuels....
I have tried V-Power and I couldn't notice any change in power (although it might be better for the engine). You will have to optimize the software for V-Power to get the most advantage out of it. For newer cars, especially turbocharged, it can make a big difference but I guess our cars are a bit too old in the computer department.
Here in the US (in Central Texas, anyway), Shell V-Power's octane rating is the same 93 as the other stations' premium, so our engines shouldn't be expected to run any better on it. I've just been told V-Power does a better job of keeping engines clean, due ot its additive package.
I've purchased nothing (locally) other than Costco fuel for all of my vehicles for many years. They run fine, don't misfire, don't detonate, don't blow up, nor do I use fuel additives. They just run.
Low-tech Tom
Around here I have usually used Shell but for a while I was using Kroger or Sam's gas when it was so high (I put 100 miles a day on mine). A couple of times, for just a minute, I got a check engine light. Flashed the codes ansd it was knock sensor #2 - not sure if that was gas related or not, but... Recently I have discovered that all of the Philips 66 stations around here use ethanol free gas. I've started using that and gained 2mpg and no more CEL.
the v-power stuff here is still the same octane rating as the rest - that is regulated here - if 91 is your state's limit, then so is that - if you can get 93, then so is that (we measure by ron+mon/2 here)
i have always found that i get a bit more power from unocal (76), but get better cleaning from chevron - shell has always worked fine, but never noticed either feature standing out, and the cost has always been higher, with no apparent justification
i use costco in the denali and the M3 - no issues yet, but then i have not looked inside either
as a preventative measure, i will probably be doing a run-rite treatment on both vehicles
+1 on the Chevron and I run Lubro-Moly 2x or 3x /yr. If I go down South to L.A. I'll treat the car to a few gallons of 100 octane - she likes that! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif[/img]