when I put in Petro's Ultra 94 no ping at all and poor gas mileage. I switched to Shell 91 and this time tried a brand new gas station and the car pings on initial acceleration and better gas mileage. Now I am wondering which gas to use in terms of better engine life?

 

Shell Vpower 93 and BP 93. Gotten some crazy high MPG driving cross state using V power

 

Ethanol has higher octane but lower power output for the amount used in the combustion process hence worse gas milage if the fuel was 11-14% ethanol.

 

After a month with Shell 91 I switched to Petro 94 last week.No particular reason just wanted to try it. I have noticed a drop in fuel economy, but I haven't been driving very conservatively the car just felt a little peppier. Yesterday I filled up again with 94 and have done 110km already. Computer is showing Avg 9.4L/100km and range of 624km very similar to Shell numbers that I was getting.

The computer will retard the timing as necessary for (slightly) lower octane to prevent knock. As long as you fill it up with premium the engine should be ticking like a Swiss watch for many years to come.

 

I am going to try with full tank of Petro 94 and see what my range is. How does our engine behave with this ethanol I wonder? Will 94 leave more carbon than 91 or vice versa?

 

i filled up with shell the first two times i got gas and i had hesitation from 0 mph sluggish start. i switched to mobile and other gas stations and have had zero problems.

 

My last 3 fill ups with Petro's Ultra 94 gives me no more engine ping

 

Shell, Sunoco, BP, and Chevron 93 only for me

 

i live in jersey and ive never seen a chevron where do you see these chevron stations? @CJBERNUA8

 

Shell premium (93) and got 30.2mpg in my 2012 3.5tl on my last 90 mile round trip to the inlaws. Not too shabby.

I run Pennzoil Platinum 5w-20, and Michelins with 32 psi in all 4.

 

best ive seen was 32mpg from a 60mile round trip from east stroudsburg pa forgot what my psi was maybe 35 all around stock wheels by the way
i dont remember if i had the cc on or foot on the peddle this was again "Hess" gas.

 

what worries me is the ethanol? what damage does it do on the engine over time.

 

I don't believe ethanol does anything bad to the engine, it actually keep the head cleaner. E85 is used in many vehicles in USA, I remember the tuner of my previous car who pulled the valve cover of his engine who ran many miles with high-ethanol fuel and it was soo clean.

"Yes ethanol is corrosive, but not very much. Gasoline is corrosive too. Ethanol is biodegradable in water. So it has a tendency to contain and attract water. It is not the corrosive properties of ethanol that can cause damage to your vehicle; it is the water which can rust a vehicle’s fuel system from the inside out. Today’s vehicles (since mid 1980s) have fuel systems which are made to withstand corrosive motor fuels and rust from water. Also today’s distilling processes are superior to way back when. We now have better techniques for drying out ethanol or reducing the water content.

On side note, gas contains water too. Ever hear of dry gas?"

 

On my 3.5L FWD running Mobile 1 oil and Chevron 91 octane and I took a drive to San Diego which was 195 miles round trip and got 33MPG. This varies based on driving however I was doing 70MPH with OEM 18" Michelins. Stop and go driving in traffic is dramatically different.

 

I try to stick with 93 or 94 octane in both my TL and RDX. The TL SH-AWD gets an average of about 22mpg. 27mpg in the RDX AWD.

I find both are pretty good for being V6's and AWD. My 2012 Jeep i traded in for the RDX, when it wasn't broken, use to be around 16mpg.

 

I stick with 93 usually at either Costco or the CITGO!

 

Shell 93 for me!

My tuner for my S2000 is a petroleum engineer and suggested sticking to BP and Shells for the most part in my area.

 

OP, I used to be like all these guys on here being very specific with the gas companies I use... After 2 kids, 2 car payments, and a mortgage later I just pump whatever is cheaper Costco, Shell, Chevron, 76, Safeway, Fred Meyers. As long as its 91 and not some small Bob's Corner Store and gas.

 

definetly see where you are coming from

 

also, you want to go to gas stations that are busy!!! they will clean their tanks more often than lower traffic stations. Cleaner pipes/tanks, better gas.

 

yes someone did mention that in a earlier post ..make sennse

 

Get your valves adjusted I find it hard to believe that you, or any 4G pings on shell. If your engine was constantly pinging on brand X gas, there'd be a whole hell of a lot of failing engines. Premature ignition will end in premature wear, and I haven't heard of many engine failures.

It seems this report was more about brand recognition and perception, more than anything else.

 

Shell 93 for me as well.

 

FYI, the J32 and J35 ping under heat and is well documented with 2004+ TL's. That's why there's the ultimate cooling mod!

 

Shell 93 whenever I can... seems to usually yield me an extra mpg or so.

 

Shell 93 and Sunoco 93 works best on mt AWD TL

 

I only use Top Tier Fuels. I used to be a Chevron only guy, but have started filling up at Costco more and more. Yes its true that all gas stations in the US have to have some form of additive/cleaner, but they all aren't top tier either. More info at this link.

Top Tier Gasoline

I like the Costco route because it has a ton of traffic, the pumps are all maintained, and heck it's on average 15 cents cheaper than everywhere else.

I wouldn't stress about the ethanol debate if you are driving your car on a consistent basis. However I wouldn't be caught dead putting that ethanol crap in my mower or classic Volvo.