Pointless rant about regular vs premium fuel
 

I am going to say a little something about regular gas here.
Not directed to anyone on this site.
I have friends to are all over me about driving a car that takes premium fuel.
I am fairly lucky in that on an average week I go thru around a tank of gas.
Now, on a full tank that would be $ 3.60 more than a tank of regular... I only put 14ish in it on fill ups but I will go from an empty tank.
This means that it costs me $.51 a day to enjoy the smoother performance over regular unleaded.
To me this is a VERY small premium to pay for driving my SVX at its fullest potential.
If the SVX is like a lot of cars I have dealt with that require premium, it will drop a couple of MPG on regular. This means that it would use over a gallon more to go the same mileage it would go on premium.
At todays prices that means you save less than $1 a tank running regular.

I know... pointless rant out of nowhere...


Jim

I get better gas mileage on regular with the ECUtune, but I fully understand where you are coming from. If I had the money at all, I would be fixing up my car and driving it with premium and enjoying the ride, but I am not in the position to even fix the problems with mine, so if I can use regular without knock, I will use it.

switch to regular about 6 weeks ago and blackie didn't even know the difference. i've been talked into continuing to use premium in greenie.

Every time I tell her she's getting regular, she pouts at me. She's got a face that I just can't resist... :p

half super/half regular
 

90 octane for less than 89.

I generally alternate between 87 and 93 octane (rarely getting down to a half-tank actual) and my cars run great. (I've forgotten factory spec, anyway... 91?) Recorded 27 MPG on a 260 mile trip last Sunday, roughly three-quarters Interstate and one-quarter stop-and-go, and loaded 9.61 gallons of plain ol' Marathon regular, the cheapest stuff in town, this morning. Using higher octane than necessary is like finding a couple of bucks on the ground beside the gas pump and not bothering to pick it up.

Why not just run 89 octane midrange? Umm, well... good question. I'm a creature of odd habits.

dcb

90 octane costs less than 89
 

fill half 93 and half 87 at the same time=90 for less than 89

85 octane FTW!

I fill with 93 but at Ultramar it's the same price as 87 on Thursdays.

I'm kind of hesitant to test out 87 on my car. I don't want to get a tank worth of 87 and then it knock and what not all around - I don't want to waste that kind of money.

There will be no pre-ignition and the engine will not knock. The ECU will adjust the timing based on any signal from the knock sensors. :)

I run my car on standard grade fuel without a problem.;)

What little I've driven mine so far, about 700mi, I've noticed an increase in power & economy with 89oct. In fact, it gets enough better mileage on 89 to make running it cheaper than 87.
So yeah, assuming all ecus are set up the same, it's cheaper to run mid-grade, than low grade. I haven't had the opportunity to test premium ...yet

Here is some food for thought. My wifes uncle is a retired scientist for Chevron. Every family gathering, I try to pry a little more info from him about the differences in fuel. Without writing a book, he has explained to me that the Ron rating is not all that accurate. Also states that for the best fuel economy usually the name brands will give you more per mile than the discount stations.
His explanation:
1. varying state to state, the fuel companys are actually mandated to lower the octane in fuel during the summer months to prevent vapor loss.
2. He states that most of the base fuel is actually the same, and the major difference is the government mandated additives. Each additive is proprietary to each brand, as well as the amount of additive in the fuel.
3. The Ron rating is tested after all additives have been added to the base fuel. This is where the rating can be deciving. As most of the additives for the major brands are scientifically engineered to help increase the efficiency of the burn, and remove carbon and deposits. The discount fuels will generally only add ethanol to the base fuel. This adds false octane. The increased amount of ethanol is also suseptable to absorbing large amounts of water, but that it wouldent be a major problem in most cases.
4. He then states that gas mileage is generally better with the major brands, because as much as %15 of discount fuels can be ethanol, although the law is %10. This plays an important factor because it generally takes about %30 more ethanol per mile, than gasoline. If you do the math(IM too lazy right now), Im sure there is a substantial amount of savings.

There have been many conversations, and lots of info exchanged. Dont quote me on all the facts, Its just bits and pieces of conversations that I can remember right now. Also, he is a huge supporter of renewable energy. He drives a hybred Camery, just in case some of you would like to say he is all about gasoline:

When I asked him about the best brands of fuel to use, he says without bias, Chevron or Shell. I agree:)

Pump 95 octane FTW. It is only about .11-.15 more per gallon than premium(93).

What station?


Jim