Is different gasoline brand getting different mpg?

[2007Z6ALL-LED]

maybe it's just me? I noticed that if I use Premium gasoline Chervon, I got almost 48-50mph while Shell gives me about 44-45mpg.

The same happens to my Acura, 16.7 gallon tank of Shell I could drive up to 400 miles while Shell gives me 380 miles.

Just thoughts...!

 

[iviyth0s]

What about regular at both?

 

[major tom]

I don't live anymore in CA. but I've traveled there since and I'm sure you don't need premium and would get better MPG and power with regular even with crappy politically driven CA. gas. Just sayin................

 

[Dry Martini]

One brand may also have more ethanol added, than the other brand. This will affect you r gas mileage.


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[iviyth0s]

One brand may also have more ethanol added, than the other brand. This will affect you r gas mileage.


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+1, don't know why I didn't remember to add this! NJ is pretty consistent with their ethanol content that I've seen but don't know about out there

 

[FinalImpact]

One brand may also have more ethanol added, than the other brand. This will affect you r gas mileage.


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^^ +5 and good point!

FWIW: A modern cage stands a pretty fair chance of getting better MPG's on higher octane fuel because the increased octane allows more ignition advance from the ECU. i.e. engine knock sensor is not being triggered as early on so the ECU advances the ignition more on Higher Octane Fuels!
From this: the spark occurs earlier and the fuel air charge **can burn** more thoroughly; plus you get more power. An example might be it may stay in higher gears over mountain passes vs shifting down and have better acceleration when pushed.


- Unfortunately our bike (FZ6) does not have a knock sensor or know the difference in fuel quality its burning. That said, short of poor quality gas, most will not need or benefit from higher octane fuel but there ARE exceptions.
Higher ambient temperature and greater work loads **may** necessitate higher grade fuels (more octane) to reduce detonation or pinging.
- In addition; vehicles with the ignition advanced will want higher octane fuels to reduce risk of detonation under load (mitigate damage/increase performance).

My personal experience has found this: 06 V6, 6spd Auto trans gets 2.5 - 3.5 mpg further on Plus grade fuels. At 10 cents more per gallon, it pays to spend the extra $1.60 to fill the tank and travel an extra 80+ miles!

** NOT ALL FUELS ARE THE SAME ** Some simply don't burn as good as others. Cheapo chain stores hurt the performance and MPGs of 2 cars I own (Just as the OP mentions). That said, Chevron in these parts gets better MPGs than Shell. Driving 325 miles per week for the last 25 years I've had time to do my own impartial testing!

 

[2007Z6ALL-LED]

The Shell station which is close to my home is non-ethanol station (11004 South Street Cerritos, CA 90703) - that's what they told me , non-ethanol. I don't know if it makes any different in MPG but I guess non-ethanol is good for my baby then:rockon:

 

[iviyth0s]

The Shell station which is close to my home is non-ethanol station (11004 South Street Cerritos, CA 90703) - that's what they told me , non-ethanol. I don't know if it makes any different in MPG but I guess non-ethanol is good for my baby then:rockon:

Yeah, the engine wasn't really designed to really accommodate the ethanol and since ethanol has a lower chemical energy density than gasoline, it won't take you as far nor give you as much power unless you have a crazy built motor that runs straight ethanol for its much higher octane rating for high ass compression.

 

[FIZZER6]

My father is a plant manager for a major oil company, has been since 1980's. Over 5 different brands of gasoline come from the SAME tank farm in my area. The only difference is the detergent additives each brand may blend into the fuel prior to distribution. The Gasoline and ethanol content are IDENTICAL.

 

[FinalImpact]

That may be true - ^^

As a side note; my son is now driving one of the vehicles that **appears to care** about fuel quality. Not so much the octane but the quality if thats a fair term. Without me leading the witness and telling him what gas to burn in it, he reports the same thing.

From chain store X - the car will hardly get its 3.0L engine out of harms way to outrun a scooter. Yet on name brand fuel its very satisfied and gets ahead of harms way.​

I'm not making it up - just saying, apples may look like apples, but they don't all taste the same or give the same results. Hell, the state even says they "TEST THE SAME" but in real world use, they don't behave the same as "others" you pay a little more for. Take it with a grain of salt. Its why I advocate trying other blends before saying "its broke".

 

[FIZZER6]

Any brand of fuel can have a bad batch. Perhaps water got into the fuel or it sat in a storage tank for a year before the gas station switched to the reserve tank...lot of things can cause variation in gasoline quality at the pump. I usually fill up my bike on Shell premium but on trips it's usually whichever fuel station is closest. In 25,000 miles on my FZ6 I have never had the bike run noticeably worse on one tank of fuel that I could attribute to the fuel alone. Not to say that can't happen.

If you feel your machine runs better on X-brand of fuel than keep using it! Blah

 

[Hellgate]

My father is a plant manager for a major oil company, has been since 1980's. Over 5 different brands of gasoline come from the SAME tank farm in my area. The only difference is the detergent additives each brand may blend into the fuel prior to distribution. The Gasoline and ethanol content are IDENTICAL.

Word........

 

[FinalImpact]

IMO "Bad Batch's" don't last 10 years! :don'tknow:

The point here is that there may be a difference even though they "should be the same!"
Should one close their mind to the possibility that "things which are created equally" are not "exactly" the same in form, fit and function, you get stuck and never come up with solutions.

In this less than perfect world, be open to trying other sources. Just to see if it makes a difference. You might have a new experience! :thumbup: