Different Gas Station.. More Power?

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crunchie12268

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Aug 4, 2004

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Manhattan, KS

Oct 3, 2004

#1

• Oct 3, 2004

• #1

I have been going to Dillions to get my fuel because it is cheap. I get 91 octane every time. Two days ago I was almost out and just decided to pay the extra 17 cents per gallon. I put it in and notice more power, then over the next day I noticed my car would start easier and it just feels really nice. Is this possible, maybe Dillions has diluted fuel so it is cheaper??

 

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end

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#2

• Oct 3, 2004

• #2

I've never heard of the place you're talking about....maybe it's a KS thing....but i swear by Sunco 94 octane.

Oh yea....the octane thing really depends on how much timing you have and how strong your ignition system is. You can actually run too high octane gas, and if your ignition isnt strong enough, it won't burn it all and your car will run super rich. I'd start buy checking your timing to see if it's advanced....if it is, 93 or so would be ideal for your car, but these cars were actually engineered for 87. The higher octane will definately clean things out and make your car run a lot better though, but it may be a waste in the long run if you've got stock timing and stock ignition.

My car runs like crap on anything less than '93, but i've never had the chance to check the timing and i've got stock ignition. In the end, just run whatever your car runs best on.

 

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crunchie12268

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Manhattan, KS

Oct 3, 2004

#3

• Oct 3, 2004

• #3

Yeah in KS, you can get anything at Dillions. They even have a gas station, and if you use your dillions plus card you get 6 cents off of 91 octane. but my ignition is MSD 6AL with a Blaster 2 Coil, and my timing is at 14

 

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end

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#4

• Oct 3, 2004

• #4

crunchie12268 said:

Yeah in KS, you can get anything at Dillions. They even have a gas station, and if you use your dillions plus card you get 6 cents off of 91 octane. but my ignition is MSD 6AL with a Blaster 2 Coil, and my timing is at 14

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You definately want to run at least a 92-93 octane then. You probably got some detination with the lower octane.

 

StangYellow

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Oct 3, 2004

#5

• Oct 3, 2004

• #5

I have heard good things about that V-Power gasoline. I think its Shell gas stations that carry it. Supposedly there are additives that clean out the fuel system, and i believe its 93 octane. I dont normally care what gas goes into my car as long as its 93 with my advanced timing. But check out that V Power gasoline, and see what you think of it.

About your gas situation.... I dont know what a Dillons is, and I am not sure if it is a popular gas station in your area. But you dont want to be filling up at a gas station that nobody goes to. The gas will be sitting in the underground tank for awhile and possibly become "stagnant" for lack of a better word. I never noticed it in my car, but ive noticed that if i put gas from a poor gas station into my dirtbike, it loses throttle response and power.

 

FrdMustangCpe

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#6

• Oct 3, 2004

• #6

they dont charge 17 cents extra for no reason IMO. I use name brand wherever i get gas. and about every third tank i get high octane Shell with that 'good stuff' in it. Shell has been around awhile and i think there is something to the way they do their gas. them and chevron too. the only time i will ever get gas from a 'no name' station will be if i really need it. just my 2 cents.

I noticed in my old car (69 Mustang 250 6cyl) that I used mobil because it was convient at the time and it ran rough and just wasnt right. well, i went to shell and put high in there and it ran right. cuz the gas?? was it just a coincidence?? i have no clue

 

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crunchie12268

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Oct 3, 2004

#7

• Oct 3, 2004

• #7

Man... I can't believe you guys haven't heard of Dillions, you can get 5.0 Mustang Magazine, chinease food, gas, cash your paycheck, get a movie and grocery shop at the same time. But we do have a shell, so I will go to that and check it out, because I did notice a throttle response difference with the fuel.

 

Pushrod

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#8

• Oct 3, 2004

• #8

sorry off topic, crunchie i'm in Manhattan too this is my car, i've probably seen your car around

 

RacEoHolic330

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Oct 3, 2004

#9

• Oct 3, 2004

• #9

I'm not a big fan of Shell. I don't seem to get great gas mileage with their gas. I get the best gas mileage with BP (Amoco) and Sunoco. However, the sunoco gas stations around here are really expensive so I just sick with the bp. By they way, I think Exxon is the crappiest gas ever. That stuff must be a 50/50 mix of water and canola oil or something, because my car runs like crap with exxon. My dad has had the same problem with his '04 Yukon and exxon gas. He said his truck idles really rough with exxon and it takes about 4 tanks of another brand gas to get the smooth idle back. Just my .02

-scott

 

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crunchie12268

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Manhattan, KS

Oct 3, 2004

#10

• Oct 3, 2004

• #10

'Pushrod' I don't know if I have seen yours, but it is nice I like the Cobra R's. You know what I am talkin about, about the Dillions. There is a lot of nice cars in Manhattan now that school is back. I have seen like 4 SVT lightnings, 02, 03 cobras, some SRT 4's, tons of camaros. But, I am going to try the shell because I have heard good things about the cleaning out the system and all.

 

Pushrod

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KS

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#11

• Oct 3, 2004

• #11

If you're looking to clean your system, i've heard good things about Lucas Oil gas treatment. It's an injector cleaner, cleans up combustion chambers and valves.

You're right, lots of nice cars around here but most of the time all i see is imports with coffee can size fart mufflers

 

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custom89stang

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Dec 9, 2003

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Seattle, WA

Oct 3, 2004

#12

• Oct 3, 2004

• #12

umm i have 14 degrees timing and run 87 octane....it doesn't matter power wise at all, even w/ 2-3 extra hp not worth the extra 17 cents a gallon

 

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crunchie12268

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Manhattan, KS

Oct 3, 2004

#13

• Oct 3, 2004

• #13

I have used Lucas oil treatment, and I just did an intake swap and my injectors are all clean. The heads are almost new, I really need a good tune. I have had it tuned but about a week later it started to go downhill. I need someone with some good skills, can't find that in Manhappenin.

 

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HighMileage

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Aug 7, 2004

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#14

• Oct 3, 2004

• #14

I once pumped gas at a cheap gas station. Got lots of detonation on part throttle, at no extra charge. Thought I broke the engine for sure. If I had gone to WOT, I probably would have done real damage! That gas station gets business like no other. Me? Never again.

 

Michael Yount

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Apr 10, 2002

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Oct 3, 2004

#15

• Oct 3, 2004

• #15

I run 18 degrees initial advance, with 34 degrees total all in by 2800 rpm - with AL heads. I run 87 octane regular gas - no detonation whatsoever.

Higher octane fuel resists detonation because it is harder to ignite and actually burns slightly slower than lower octane fuel. You should run the lowest octane fuel you can without detonation. If you don't change anything at all (timing, mixture, etc.) and just push the octane up, it should make virtually no difference at all. Your performance improvement is likely a figment of your imagination.

Several months back Car & Driver magazine did a test on a bunch of different cars running regular and higer octane fuel. There was absolutely no difference in performance between any of them. The only ones that ran better on higher octane fuel were those with knock sensors that allowed more timing with higher octane.

By the way, it's very likely that the off-brand fuel stations are buying their 'cheap' fuel from one of the big brands. It's not like there are 'off-brand' refineries out there blending it for them. Also, the EPA requires certain formulation changes in different parts of the country with the changing seasons/temps. Sometimes when we're heading into winter or summer there's a formulation change that can affect drivability a bit.

 

giddyup306

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Oct 22, 2002

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#16

• Oct 3, 2004

• #16

Michael Yount said:

just push the octane up, it should make virtually no difference at all.

Click to expand...

Here you have it folks. Michael is right on the money. Our EEC-IV's don't advance or retard timing according to detonation hence no improvement in power output.

 

squeeeg

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#17

• Oct 3, 2004

• #17

I work at a gas station, and something i have learned is that no matter where you go you can get the same gas. My company owns 7 stations, Mobil and Citgo. The company that fills my tanks also fills many other branded and non branded gas stations. My station sells 87, 91 ans 93 octane but we only have 2 underground tanks. For midgrade all the pumps do is mix 87 and 93 octane gasoline.

 

Michael Yount

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#18

• Oct 3, 2004

• #18

Now, here's a wild one. I've checked this carefully during all seasons of the year and in two cars - my 5.0L powered Volvo, and my wife's BMW. Both cars seem to get about 1.0 to 1.5mpg better highway mileage (all tests on extended trips - at least 250 miles/tank ) when a bottle of fuel system cleaner (STP, etc.) is added to the tank. Coincidence? Anyone else had similar/different experiences?

 

giddyup306

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#19

• Oct 3, 2004

• #19

Michael Yount said:

Now, here's a wild one. I've checked this carefully during all seasons of the year and in two cars - my 5.0L powered Volvo, and my wife's BMW. Both cars seem to get about 1.0 to 1.5mpg better highway mileage (all tests on extended trips - at least 250 miles/tank ) when a bottle of fuel system cleaner (STP, etc.) is added to the tank. Coincidence? Anyone else had similar/different experiences?

Click to expand...

Only reasoning I can come up with is that the fuel is being atomized better after the cleaner is added (cleaning off build up on the injectors). Or maybe your lowering the octaine rating enough that it speeds up combustion (STP as well as most fuel injector cleaners are mostly heavy ends such as kerosene or diesel) I'm sure you have a therory. Let's hear it.

 

Michael Yount

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#20

• Oct 4, 2004

• #20

No theory on this end - I'm at a loss. At first I chalked it up to coincidence. But when it showed up a second time, I started playing with it. The 'cleaning the system' thought has some merit -- but you'd think if that's what was going on, that at least the next tank after the one with the additive would achieve similar mileage/benefits - right? And the BMW has 93 octane requirement/knock sensor adjusted timing. So you'd think that lowering the octane would cause the engine to pull timing making things less efficient, not more. Probably just coincidence....