I had an 06 base stick roadster that I put factory fogs and hood insulationon on. I got my 08 roadster with every option for the base and 8K last month.

 

GUYS,
Right now, at todays prices, it saves at most a penny per mile to run lower octane gas. How many miles must one go to pay for a new engine?

I think it is a fair question to ask, is it allright to use less than 93 octane if, perhaps, you stop for gas empty and the only thing available is 89 or 90, will it hurt the engine? But regular use to save a few bucks? Not in my baby.

I have two other Benz products. On occasion I have had to settle for 90 Octane(Caseys General store only sells the low grade) but topped off the tanks after a hundred miles or so with the good stuff. I may be nuts but have never had to replace an engine.

Clean fuel, clean filters and regular, timely oil changes. They run for ever.


roadster with a stick

 

I burn a top tier premium. I seem to get the best gas mileage with Shell. In fact, it usually evens out the cost differential with the cheaper fuels. I never let my tank get much below a half tank. I was told by an old mechanic that it reduces the chances of condensation in the tank because of the reduced surface area and it reduces the chances of sucking in sediment that may be at the bottom of the tank. Don't know if either apply to modern vehicles, but it seemed logical. He's the same guy who said based on his 30 years of experience working on carburetors (remember those?), the two best gasolines were Texaco and Shell. I see that both make the Top Tier list.

Interestingly, there are some prominent brands missing from the current list of Top Tier retailers (Mobil, Exxon, BP/Amoco). Who would of thought that filling up at my local Turkey Hill Minit mart would be better for my engine than at a Mobil station? Guess I'll save the Mobil for the crankcase.

Here's the list of current Top Tier retailers:
QuikTrip
Chevron
Texaco
MFA Oil Co.
Conoco
Phillips 66
76
Entec Stations
Shell
The Somerset Refinery, Inc.
Kwik Trip / Kwik Star
Aloha Petroleum
Tri-Par Oil Co.
Turkey Hill Minit Markets
Mileage Stations
Chevron Canada
Shell Canada
Petro-Canada
Sunoco Canada

 

In California you can only buy 87, 89 or 91 octane at the corner gas station.

 

[quote=mrphotoman]unless your car specifically calls for higher octane fue (such as the srt6).......quote]

The n/a Xfire also requires premium gas.

 

Here in the metro-detroit area, most stations have 93 octane (with the except of speedway having 92).. so I put 93 in.. usually I go to BP.. The Shell station around me is literally always 20-30 cents higher then any other place... it is ridiculous! They also have 94 octane though, which is a lot more expensive.

 

I have been using the premium from the 76 stations here in Oregon. It runs at 92 octane which is about all we can get. It also happens to be the cheapest top tier around here and that dosent hurt. (as much!)

MikeR

 

Just a question for all limited and base model owners out there. Not only does it say in the owner's manual to use premium gas, but on the inside of my gas cap there is a engraved plastic sign "PREMIUM GAS ONLY". I have an early '04. Does anyone else have this?

 

Also remember hare in the uk and most of the EU our 'premium gas' is between 93 and 95 octane our super is normally 97 to 99 octane.
Alot higher than in the states but believe me at $11.00 a gallon we pay for it!!

 

The quality of russian 92 gas - is bad. I am using 95.

 

Mine is a 04 and says the same thing. All I have to say is when it comes down to it here in the states, I think paying an extra 2 to 3 dollars a fill up really isn't a big deal for the benefit.

 

I bought my srt6 because of the performance, if I wanted a car that ran on 87 octane I would have bought a honda fit or some other little economy car. I think it would be silly to run anything less than premium in the srt6.

 

Trust me fellow Xfire lovers, the gas you buy gets pulled from the same tanks regardless of the brand. Top Tier gasoline is more of a marketing ploy than an actual "different" gasoline. Other than for winter & summer blends & octanes the gasoline you purchase at Exxon is no different than the gas you purchase at Shell.
At least here in the States........I can't vouch for Canada or Europe.

 

I ripped a big one into my tank last week and ran a 10 second quarter mile. The car however didn't survive neither did my shoes.

 

. Top Tier gasoline is more of a marketing ploy than an actual "different" gasoline. Other than for winter & summer blends & octanes the gasoline you purchase at Exxon is no different than the gas you purchase at Shell.
At least here in the States........I can't vouch for Canada or Europe.[/quote]


I can't argue this point with any authority. I know it was true at one time because my mom was a personal assistant to the president of Kerr Mcgee Oil for a while and told the same story. The only difference between Shell and Standard Oil or Texaco was the color they added to the blend as they filled the ground tanks at retail. It was, in fact ,the law that all fuels were the same.
But that was in the sixties. It doesn't explain why pumps have different Octanes ie: premium Shell is 93 but Mobil is 91. It futher does not explain why some have Ethanol and others do not and it surely does not explain why I get 5% to 7% better fuel economy with Shell vrs BP. Trust me, I have checked it more than once in seven different cars.

If it is all the same why the different ratings and why the different milage?

I suspect that distribution is more descrete now and the fuel formulas for each brand my very well be different. Further, there have been numerous tests by consumer advocate groups quantifying the differences as shown earlier in this thread.

Perhaps we should look into this more but I'm sastified that Quick Trip is what they claim and when I can't get it I go tho Shell.

I don't care how good it is, I won't buy Citco or "ZX" or any of the new names Chevas has given his company outlets, not even if he drops to $1.00 a gallon.

roadster with a stick

OK, Is someone having fun with us or did Chuck Norris just buy a Crossfire?

 

Hi, Franc!
The octane in our various fuels are mixed at the pump. Ethanol is blended in certain brands (& rarely in premium fuel) at the distribution tanks. The Ethanol is kept in separate tanks (duh!) & blended before it's carried away in the compartmentized (I don't think that's actually a word but I'm having brain lock) tankers. I cannot explain why you would get better mileage with one brand over another though I doubt if any mileage is strictly a byproduct of the gasoline you use especially if you receive gains in the single percentages. It could be anything, Franc, who knows.

Let me explain why I know this & maybe it will go down easier. The company I work for presently owns 23 C-stores branded Citgo & Mobil. All of our gas is pulled from whatever distribution terminal is closest to whatever store, usually out of Green Bay or a tiny bump-in-the-road town called Junction City. No one brand has separate tanks, only premium or regular exists in the tanks (plus other odds & ends like diesel, kerosene, etc.). In addition we own a terminal in Madison that stores only ethanol. We own a fleet of tankers that pulls this fuel & is distributed to any branded store we own, matters not if it is one of our Citgo or Mobil stores, all the same stuff gets dumped underground.
By the way, we are presently in the process of dumping the Citgo brand & going brandless at those stores. Our CEO's felt exactly the same way: as long as Chavez keeps shooting off his mouth Citgo is damaged goods & we will not deal with them no mo'. Everytime he makes the news our sales fall off at our Citgo stores. It isn't worth the hassle anymore.


I don't know who this guy is but I'm enjoying his posts! If only eating beans would get our cars to go I'd buy stock in Bush's!

 

Kurts,

Sounds like your on the inside and your info is current. Can't argue with that. My opinion, and it is just that, comes from experience and the likelihood that it may be generally true that it is all the same but surely, some differences exist. 45 years of driving experience has formed some conclussions. They are not out of thin air.
Glad to hear your company is dumping Chavez. The guy is off the rails and uses our inescapable need for his product to suppress his people and buy weapons from our friends in Russa and China to threaten our security.

He can do this because he "nationalized" the private oil industry, the companies that invested the capital and took the risks to develope the petro industry in the first place are just out. In other words, he stole it legally.

Are many people aware, that when they fly, most of the Airlines use Citco products? Or has that changed?



Finally. Oh yes, compartmentalized is a real word. What you said makes sense to me.

thanks for the input.


roadster with a stick


Roadster with a stick

 

Okay.. If I may pelase allow me to put the "different" gas theories to rest.

What I speak of is for gasoline only (Petro as its called in other parts of the world) and not diesel.


1 - All gas that you purchase from any brand are made from the same base gas. Base gas is as the name suggests, a base product that is then used to make the different formulas for each brand.


2 - The difference between the gas of different brands is made up of "ONLY THE ADDITIVES" for that brand. What this means is that the only difference in the gas that you purchase at different brands is the additives added to the base gas.


3 - All different gas companies (Shell, Exxon, BP, etc, etc) can fill their tankers from the exact same tanks from the exact same refineries. Yes, they all fill with the exact same base gas. Then, they differentiate it by ADDING their own additives to the gas. I'll give you an example.. Chevron has a refinery in California while Shell has a refinery in Texas. To save on transport cost, Shell will trade gas with Chevron in the respective regions. Yes, a Shell tanker will pull into a Chevron refinery and fill up with base gas from Chevron. Then it pulls into its additive area (in the same refinery) and adds its Shell additives to the base gas from Chevron to make it "Shell" gas.. The same is true for a Chevron tanker that pulls into the Shell refinery in Texas. What this does for both companies is save on the cost of shipping gas form its refinery to other regions of the country. Hence Shell does not have to ship its gas to California and vice versa for Chevron to Texas. Both companies save money. This is performed among all the gas companies, even the unbranded ones. And yes, the refineries


4 - There are only two grades of gas. Regular and Premium. The mid -grade or plus grade or what ever its called in your area, is a blend of the regular and the premium. Both products are filled into the compartment of the tankers and then it is "splashed mixed" as the tanker gets to its location and becomes "mid-grade" gas..


So the short answer is, yes the gas that you buy from different brands all are made of the same base gas, but the additives in each brand are different, hence each product is different. If you want to go into the difference and effectiveness of each brand's additives, we can discuss that in another thread.


Also, people complain about high gas prices. But in reality, it is really not a big issue at all in the grand scheme of things. Besides, higher gas prices are good for thos eof us in the oil industry..

 

Hangman,

Thanks for the clarification. What you descrbed fits both what I felt and what Kurts was saying....I think.

Additives could likely make the differences, seems logical. I know my milage computations were accurate, 1100 mile trips to New London CT four or five times a year, compared in both directions keeping conditions as similar as possible. Then repeating the same test in the same vehicle to compare data. Shell beat BP everytime.

As to the higher gas prices, most of us are burning a bit becouse we have no choices. It's good for those in the business but hurts the rest. The devalued dollar hasn't helped fuel prices but then manufacturing, where I'm from, is now competing better with offshore sources. I just beat a Chineese company on a contract they killed me on last year. The devalued dollar was the reason. So now I can afford the premium gas for my new toy. And put ten people to work.

This tread has kinda gotten off the subject, "what do you use in your crossfire?" But it has been informative.
Thanks all


roadster with a stick

 

Thanks for the clarification, Hangman!
I did manage to snare my CEO this morning & asked him just what the heck Top Tier gas is. He mentioned that it is a "standard" that gasoline refiners use, basically a certification that the gasoline is refined in a certain manner & meets whatever standards refiners use to measure their product. Since all gasoline must meet the same standards, Top Tier is indeed based more on marketing than fact kinda like how Microsoft would "certify" that a piece of hardware will work with their operating system.