Best Brand Gas for Max FE

[Iceberg]

I have be running Safeway gas in my new Honda Hybrid and have recently been getting very poor fuel economy (35 mpg/freeway). I switch to Chevron and my milage jumped to over 45 mpg/freeway. I always thought that all the gas in an local area came from the same refineries; so I bought the cheapest stuff (no ARCO). I have been running premium Safeway fuel in my smart and have been getting 43-45 mpg on the freeway. Has anyone else seen a sigificant difference in FE with certain brands of gas? I talked to my Honda dealer and they told me not to use cheap "discount" gas; they recommended running "name brand" gas in my car. Thoughts?

[factor9]

Originally Posted by Iceberg

I have be running Safeway gas in my new Honda Hybrid and have recently been getting very poor fuel economy (35 mpg/freeway). I switch to Chevron and my milage jumped to over 45 mpg/freeway. I always thought that all the gas in an local area came from the same refineries; so I bought the cheapest stuff (no ARCO). I have been running premium Safeway fuel in my smart and have been getting 43-45 mpg on the freeway. Has anyone else seen a sigificant difference in FE with certain brands of gas? I talked to my Honda dealer and they told me not to use cheap "discount" gas; they recommended running "name brand" gas in my car. Thoughts?

I've also tried to stay away from particular discounted companies, but after testing several gas companies, I've found Shell premium to give me the best performance to date. But, I still have at least another six or more to test. And, yes, I know that it is virtually impossible to duplicate conditions that would be needed to do a real empirical analysis. However, I'm interested in what you get back from the experts out there, knowing that there different companies that dominate various regions.

[Big Panda]

i try to use BP whenever possible. my Jeep Compass seems to run better on it and during the week, back and forth to work, i get about 24-26 mpg. when i used Speedway, the best i got was 22. Sam's Club was somewhere in between. of course this is all on 'regular unleaded' and not the 'premium unleaded' that smart owners should use.

can't wait to get my OWN smart and see how i stack up with all of YOU!

[angel]

Top Tier Gasoline.

[SuperGeek]

I swear by Chevron 93. Chevron vs. another brand made a tangible difference in my other cars, and now it's my first choice. It's one of the Top Tier gas producers, as is Shell.

I'll never go with Phillips 66, after a couple of tanks of bad gas from there caused me some problems. Likewise, I've written off all discount gas companies because Chevron gas proved to me that not all gas is the same.

And Chevron Techron, used in a 1969 Oldsmobile, really shows its proof... in one tank I got the beast from 6mpg to 12mpg.

[Iceberg]

Originally Posted by angel

Top Tier Gasoline.

I've had others point me toward that website. However, who runs that site? There is very little information listed and I'm not sure that there is any value in the info that is provided. I would sure like to see Consumer Reports, or one of the auto rags run a true scientific test.

[Fredvon4]

I am using Chevron 93 in mine... too new to tell.... and of course I will need to experiment with other Name brands later....

I use Chevron because in my Ford Trucks and cars it runs best... power and MPG wise

One or two of my bikes and cars do not care what I feed them...BUT MOST of my vehicles are fairly sensative to any of the discount fuels and prefer the top tier stuff... be it Shell, BP, or Chevron/Texaco

[Karl Roth]

So I read the sheet to see what makes a top tier fuel and para. 1.3.12 Base Fuel (1.) tells me they add 8 to 10 % ethanol to the base stock...Royal Dutch Shell or British Petroleum wait an American Company Chevron/Texaco are the same company Why do I feel like smoke is getting blown somewhere.
Gasoline is a fungible product. The station where you buy it has more to do with quality than the brand. Does the place with clean rest rooms also worry about changing the filters on the pumps?
The place I go has clean toilets...
karl

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by angel

Top Tier Gasoline.

can we say "Marketing Tool"?

if you notice, the word "retailer" appears several times. all this "Top Tier" crap is, is a list of Auto Manufacturers (notice the absence of Daimler or MB....remember them?) and fuel suppiers (oil companies and retail outlets) that have banded together to tell US, the consumer, that unless 'THEY' approve it and put it on 'THEIR' list, it must be sub-par.

of course if you reverse this "Top Tier" propaganda, then you have all these oil companies and retailers telling us that unless you own either a Honda, Toyota, BMW or GM product (the inclusion of GM in this 'Top Tier' thing just blows me away in itself ) then in fact you own an inferior vehicle. don't fool yourself, it's all about $$$. including GM with these quality manufacturers pretty much proves it for me.

bottom line: buy what fuel works BEST for YOU. don't let me or anyone else tell you any different.

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by Karl Roth

Royal Dutch Shell or British Petroleum wait an American Company Chevron/Texaco are the same company Why do I feel like smoke is getting blown somewhere.

Originally Posted by Karl Roth

The place I go has clean toilets...
karl

.....and then they MUST have clean fuel, right? doesn't every station change the pump filters each time they scrub the toilet and replace the 'tp'? and lets not forget the little 'hockey puck' in the bottom of the urinals......