Shell=29 MPG (350 miles per tank) I'm back to a fresh load of the Chevron to see if the only fuel to surpass everybody elses 29 MPG (32) is consistent. This is since I noticed there was a difference in brands. Still looking for the 35 MPG stuff
Its interesting to see this thread. Back in college i had a Ford Escort (2.0L) that had all the usual upgrades (intake, exhaust, adv timing) -- before I sold it -- I was able to get consistantly above 35mpg off of chevron gas -- without the need for a chip. The only issue I noticed -- is that when I came off chevron -- the thing would run like a dog. Now Ive always grown up with the addage that gas is gas and the only thing that seperates Chevron from ARCO/Thrifty is the amount of H2O in the tanks. Or sand for that matter (Pops used to tell me never to let my tank go below a 1/4 as it would suck up gravel into the filter -- though i always believed that to be a wives tale)....But I did an expiriment with a set of plugs (actually 2)...swapped in a new set ran for about 10k mi (3 oil changes @ 3k a piece)...pulled the plugs...On 76 methanol added (10% Methanol, 90% Gas -- sold in the late 90s early 2000s -- probably still sold today @ 76 stations)...The plugs were indeed in worse shape than the corresponding chevron plugs... So do I believe Techron is magic? Sure. Does the average person care? Probably not. Should I have developed some sort of additive that I could sell over the counter to promise an "increase of gas milage up to 150%"...sure - I'd be a millionaire right now....All I know, is that Chevron gas is different...its probably the best gas around for keeping your engine clean -- it does infact live up to its claims...I'm just wondering if its sister company Texaco uses the same products? Or do they infact use "mothballs"....
No more "Texaco" stations in south Texas; they are all Shell now. Tried another tip on my daily beater (2000 F150) that i commute about 90 miles a day in and had some surprising results. I changed the oil (cheap Walmart job) and tried to remember how long it had been since the air filiter was changed. Couldn't remember, so I figured it was probabaly ready. I also added a can of "Sea Foam" to the tank of gas and drove. Now this beast will usually eek out 16-17mpg mixed pretty regularly. After the oil, air filter change and sea foam mixed mileage is 18-19mpg. Coincidence???
Inconclusive so far. About 10 tanks of various brands netted me 29MPG and 350 miles. Two tanks of Chevron netted me 32 MPG and about 380 miles. The 35MPG and 400 mile brand will remain a mystery for now. However, it did happen.
99% right. But, since underground temperature does not swing during the day, time of day doesn't matter. Driving style and path are the biggest factors. Fill level can be significant, too, depending on how low your tank goes. Half a gallon on a 25 gallon fill is small, but on a two gallon top-off, it's a big deal. Some pumps click-off permaturely, so that may affect things, too. SAE had a technique where you give it full trigger till it clicks. Then half until it clicks again. The quarter trigger until it clicks off one more time. This method isn't perfect, but it's closer to consistent. It used to be that premium gave you better fuel economy, because they used heavy aromatics to up the octane. Then they would put more MTBE in the premium because it had such great octane. Now with ethanol, I've been away from that for a while, so I'm not sure if it's higher in premium -- it used to be. I mention this because any time you add oxygenates (MTBE, methanol, ethano, and other alcohols) your fuel economy goes down. They are great for octane, but MPG suffers. Your vehicle sounds fairly new, so injector deposits are probably not much of an issue yet, but there was an SAE paper by Lubrizol (probably at least 20+ years ago) that showed a 35% drop in fuel economy if one of your injectors was plugged. Only Chevron and Texaco (in all of their grades) and Shell (in their premium only) have a healthy dose of detergent. The other Major brands have a so-so amount of detergent. And the no-name, big-box discount places have the bare minimum to pass EPA requirements. Those have a chance of getting your injectors into trouble. That's why many of the automakers (GM, Honda, BMW, and Toyota) endorse the "Top-Tier" voluntary standard for gasoline detergent. EDIT: Here's the link to Top Tier: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Tier_Detergent_Gasoline
Sounds like you should be only running Chevron from now on, right? Please let us know your mileage average after another 5 or so tanks of Chevron.
Fo sho. I'm "over" with the search. It wasn't all that important to me how good the mileage was, since I just knew it'd be much better than what I'm used to. It's just that 400 miles to a tank that averages 350 miles is huge. On the lighter side? The sticker on this car claimed 25 MPG city, and 31 MPG hiway. I'm getting the higher MPG in ALL conditions! City/hiway/AC on/AC off. If I stumble on to anything, I'll sure to post it. But for now............
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