Gas premium or regular

Unless you fill the tank right to the neck each time the error is great enough to make you think there is a difference it takes a lot of fill ups and and careful math to do this correctly many time people wishing they get better mileage drive differently. The difference per tank between 18 and 20 mpg in 400 miles is a half a gallon.

 

Certainly not recommended. I fill at the same pump and at the first click every time for the last few years. I'm gonna step out on a limb and say my mileage is pretty accurate at 22+.

For shits and giggles the UG has always been within +/- less than 1 MPG








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No thanks. I know what I learned in school. You guys can keep buying premium fuel if you want, idc. I'm just telling him what I know.

 

Ignorance is bliss I suppose

 

I had my own (accidental) experiment with higher octane gas in my tacoma. For a while my cel light was on for a o2 sensor. I was at the gas station with the wife filling up both of our cars. Our other car takes 89 or 91. I wasnt paying attention and after filling up the other car with 91 i filled up the taco with 91. After running about a quarter of a tank of 91 my cel went off. My cel stayed off until the tank of 91 ran out and i filled with 87, after a day running on 87 the cel was back on. So for the last few months ive been filling up with either 89 or 91 and my cel stays off. I had it scanned when it came back on and it is still coming on for an o2 sensor. I have no idea if the gas octaneis helping the o2 sensors but that is the only thing ive done to keep the cel off.

 

This is a question that has been asked for years. It has been answered the same way, but some folks just don't want to listen to science.

For those of you who would like to be educated, I'll just leave this here:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/regular-or-premium

If your car calls for 87 and you buy 91, you're wasting your money. If it calls for 91 and you buy 87, you're asking for trouble. That said... it's your car, do what you want.

 

Some newer cars that call for 91 or 93 will run in a reduced power mode if you put 87 in it. Then you have to go through some steps to get it running full power after filling up with 91/93

 

Between 87 and 93 octane I went from 18.5 mpg to 19.7, however my cost per mile was still higher with 93 so I still use 87. About one tank every 1000 miles I use 93 again.

 

Everything that was listed in that article has been discussed. In fact it even backed up the video I posted.

Most interesting part of the artical:

Mind you, premium fuel does not necessarily pack more energy content than does regular. Rather, it allows more aggressive engine designs and calibrations that can extract more power from each gallon of gasoline.

That said, each individual test on so called "posh" fuels tend to yield better results than the cheapest supermarket fuel. Does that mean it will do damage to your engine if you run the cheap stuff? Not at all. If it is designed to run on 87 and you put 87 in it, it "should" run just fine.

My opinion is this. I run strictly 93 octane Shell V Power with no ethanol added. Does it give me more power? All the independent tests say so but I couldn't tell you because I drive like a grandpaw. Does it give you better mileage? Maybe? Not enough to offset the cost of the fuel. This is how I look at it. It is the best fuel that I can buy for my truck. I have a truck that listed for $36000 and I am going to put the best of everything in it that I can. I run Mobil 1 full synthetic when regular quality dino oil would be just fine but I've bought into the hype of synthetic and I have used it for years with no issues.

In the end... I can afford it and it makes me feel better. And That's really it in the end.

 

^^Which is why I said... it's your truck, do as you will. If it gives you peace of mind, do it.

I also use Mobil 1, but it's the best oil out there... which is why I use it.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-106/

The science is there, and Bob says Mobil 1 0W-30 is the best oil for 30 weight applications. So I use it.

Octane rating is just that... an anti-knock rating. It isn't cleaner, it isn't better, it doesn't give you better mileage, it isn't anything other than a higher octane for engines with higher compression ratios that require it. Our engines do not require it.

It's your truck. If you want to put Shell V-power in it... knock yourself out. It can't hurt it, and if it gives you peace of mind... all the better.

 

18.5-19.7 is within the normal tank to tank margin for driving and weather conditions.
My 5-lug pulls anywhere from 23 to 25 under normal day to day conditions. Same fuel, same station, same pump... and has done as poorly as 20 and as well as 27.

One tank, or 3 tanks, is not enough to positively say the 93 was the reason for the MPG change. You need to pull a trend line over 10+ tanks before you can say that. The less difference there is, the more tanks needed to establish the trend.

 

You are comparing _____________ with no ethanol added to the ethanol-contaminated excuse for a fuel that most of us are forced to use.

Your results are not because the fuel is 93, but rather because it is not made up of 10% a fuel that has only 80% of the BTU content of gasoline.
If you used non-ethanol 87, you would have the same results.

 

I put 87 octane in my first fuel up and got 19mpg then switched to 85 and got 19mpg on the other 20 fill ups and didn't notice a pinging or anything else so i'll stay with the cheaper stuff. Unless the manufacture recommends higher octane i'll stick with whats recommended.

85 octane in these parts is 87 because the elevation in case you were wondering

 

Hurts the wallet though!

 

I run 87. If they sold 85 here and it was cheaper, I'd buy that! Never heard my engine knock, not once, even towing which I do frequently.

 

Midgrade is pumped by mixing high test and regular fuel 50/50. There is no more tanks for midgrade.

 

THIS

Here. My data, let me show you:

https://www.fuelly.com/driver/xaks

I've got about 100,000 miles in two basically identical Tacos. I have a similar driving profile for both over that span as they are my work daily drivers. The couple times you see a dip of more than one or two tanks at any given time is that those are the times I was unemployed and not daily commuting. With a tank-average high of 27.7 when on a road trip...that's what each of these numbers is, an MPG average over a full tank, as a control.

Between them, almost 5 years ... and a by-tank average of 23.8 and 23.9 respectively.

Did I mention 100,000 miles of every gallon burned?

Every single one of those miles was on mobil 87 regular grade.

 

I run 87. I have a V6 4.0. I get about 20.5 mpg.
I don't have any intentions of running anything higher unless there is a need.

 

Actually, that is not completely true. The altitude you live at has an effect. I had a 2002 Nissan Maxima V6 and the owners manual said to use 91, except if you lived over 4000 ft., then 85 was cool.

From the manual:

Octane rating tips
In most parts of North America, you should use unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of at least 87 or 91 AKI (Anti-Knock Index) number.
However, you may use unleaded gasoline with an octane rating as low as 85 AKI number in these high altitude areas [over 4,000 ft (1,219 m)] such as: Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, northeastern Nevada, southern Idaho, western South Dakota, western Nebraska, and that part of Texas which is directly south of New Mexico.