Shell V-Power Gas

Hello TacomaWorld,
I wanted to take a moment before I start my work day to give Shell V-Power gasoline a good Stone Cold Steve Austin HELL-YEAH *crashing cans and beer chug*. I live in central Texas, and more recently at the edge of the Hill Country. My baby has a little over 67,000 miles on her and a few weeks back when I was moving, it was killing me climbing the hills and feeling her have a hard time kick into the next gear, and doing so a little rough. This is all after just giving my girlfriend a fresh dose of "I told you so" about the Ford she bought brand new, now having transmission problems (its a 2015 Focus in case you're wondering). Anyhow, I looked on this forum not long after leaving a Shell Station pondering about this damn V-Power stuff; Why the hell is it $2.60? Unleaded 87 in the area is around $2.15. As the next empty tank rolled around and after a week and a half of ramping the RPMs high enough at the bottom of each hill to avoid that heartbreak of a kick, I decided to nut-up and see what this V-P was about. $50 later I'm praying this shit makes a difference; I'm used to an easy $35 if I'm in the right area. At the turn of the ignition I instantaneously begin to lie to myself, "Yup, I feel it, it's better. Hell Yeah." First hill comes up and its "Fuck fuck fuck fuck, when's it comin'? Shit fuck." I'm not flooring it, as the habit was; I'm cruisin it like a grandma in an Oldsmobile, it has to happen; and nothing. So I stay skeptical and I've been waiting for it. I've kept the habit of normally (gradually) accelerating uphill, because I want it to fail. 5 days later, I'm driving thru these Tokyo Drift Hills on my way to work and my baby is huggin and chuggin along, Cadillac'in it, not even noticing the hills, and it gave me the biggest morning boner I've ever had. John Dillinger style. Those kind you used to get when you were 14. Holy shit it is a difference for my truck. I don't care what anyone tells me. I will however, begin to look around for the cheapest price. $50 for an erection? Come on now. Ha!

Have a good day y'all!

 

Lmfao!! Now that was a good read!
Kinda wished it didn't work for ya, just so I could read another story!

 

Nice dude! Good write up! Your truck a V6 or a 4 cyl? I try to get v-power for my 4 cyl whenever I can. Every little bit helps with a 4 banger!

 

V-Power for the V-Tec bro!

 

I'm gonna jump on this parade and just day that my 06 has 245K on her and I refuse to put anything other than V-Power in my tank. Noticeably more power, better mileage, and I swear she's smiling cuz she knows I'll only give her the best.

 

My Highlander needed "Super", haven't tried it in the Tacoma. Maybe I will.

 

I would highly recommend it.

 

When I got my '14 Taco last year, I thought I'd treat her well and started putting "super" in her a couple of months after getting her. After going through a couple of tanks, I actually had trouble starting her up after sitting all night. Thought, no way, can't be the super, low and behold I switched back to regular and no more problems on start up.
I never put ethanol in, that stuff is just nasty for your engine. I even learned that if a gas station has an ethanol brand at the pumps, the ethanol is in all the different brands of gas, so I stay away from those gas stations, of course I'm up in Canada so don't know if it would be the same in the US.

 

Not all "super" fuel is the same. 91 vs 93, different brands and such, but I'm in Massachusetts, everything has 10% ethanol in it. Also, it's always best to let your vehicle idle down after driving and before putting her to bed for the night. Only starting problems I've had with mine are quick shutoffs and restarts after driving a distance.

Also, to combat the lovely effects of ethanol as well as normal carbon buildup, I use a top of the line combustion treatment on all our vehicles.

 

Good point, the super I was using was 91. I always idle down once started before I put'her into gear but never idle down before shut off....good to know.
So do you use regular gas and just add the combustion treatment for carbon buildup?
If I throw in a tank/month of 93 or 94 octane, would that take care of the carbon?

 

I use 93 all the time. Nothing but Shell's V-Power. As for the combustion treatment, it's actually a service that I have performed every so often. Performance Plus is the name of it, small business that has grown to supply dealerships and other companies in my area. Owner of the company is a super nice older guy, very humble, but boy does he know his shit. He gave us a full chemical demonstration of his product and multiple competitors, completely blew us away how effective this stuff is. It's a three stage treatment. On bottle gets poured in the gas, one in the oil, and oil gets dropped into the vacuum line IV style. Exhaust smells like shit for an hour or two but after that everything improves. Throttle response, idle, mileage.

 

Shell is trying out new online marketing approaches I see lol

FWIW I almost always fill up with Shell 91 premium. That or 76.

 

Kind of the 21st century update to those old gas advertisement jingles. Haha.

I trust Exxon, Shell, and Chevron branded gasoline (dependent on the specific gas station). Only those three are used in my poverty charged 2014 and whenever possible in my PreRunner.

That being said, more Sunoco gas stations are being built or existing stations rebranded to Sunoco, so I may give them a shot one day. Valero has also introduced gasoline containing "Top Tier" gasoline additive (purchased through a third party and not developed in-house) at some of their gas stations. I'm not quite on board with that, though.

 

Shell V Power is ethanol free in Canada and I always get my best mileage when I use it .

 

It's extremely difficult finding EtOH free fuel in major metropolitan areas here in the States.

The Ethanol Lobby is a force to be reckoned with.

 

YouTube - search -
Premium gas vs regular. What's really better for your car? (CBC Marketplace)
Interesting.....thoughts?

 

Ha, appreciate the compliments y'all. Still waiting on a check from Shell...bastards. Weldo, I'm throttlin' a sixer; I've driven too many 4-bangers that made me wanna Flintstone the shit outta them after getting behind the wheel, doc says it's a heavy foot. Oooo, I'm gonna have to try out this Performance Plus, Masshole. I've just recently been thinking about tossing in an additive to help with my throttle response. My lady has always felt a little damp and sluggish when accelerating out of a red light, since she was brand new, but I think it's because I got used to an easy acceleration when I was driving my Equinox awhile back (shuddup). It just felt a lot lighter, but of course I don't think it had as much torque as the taco does, so that may just be the trade-off. Poppa J I only watched parts of the video, but in the end I feel like while they most likely provide the same output, there are cases where the Premium will triumph. In my case, I no longer feel the jerk coming out of a low gear when I'm trailing uphill (smoother ride) and, while not a lot, I do get more miles out of a full tank (~15-20 extra miles. That's about $2.60 saved...A fair date to the dollar cinema ). In the future I think I'll go back to being a cheap-ass when I get a new ride and then make the switch to premium gas as it ages in miles. I think that's the best way to go about it.