Gasoline quality/octane rating in the GTA

I use that gas exlusively in both my F and the M5. Never had any problems.

I am not aware of any higher octane gas widely available in the gta.

 

I feed my Pcar the same constant diet. No issues.

Ian

 

I use Sunoco 94 too, with no problems, BUT, the boys at Lambo told me that Shell has better additives for their V12 engines.

 

Steve,
I personally made the switch to Shell Super about 5 yrs ago. I also heard that it was better for 12s than the Sunoco. Dont get me wrong, I still use the 94 a few times a year.

Though I noticed something in you're message.....you use a claner, this may be the source of you're problem. The gas is already pretty clean in the 94 from Sunoco, plus it has ethonol in it already it maybe overkill to add a cleaner causing you're censor to act wacky. You know like too much grey goose and red bull !! lol !! (Nothing worse than a wired drunk)

Try the shell every other fill and ditch the cleaner for the rest of the year and see what happens, you maybe surprised.

 

goldy....They just told me that the additives used in Shell were best suited for the V12's...I really didn't get into the technical end of it...but I can ask them to elaborate if you like? Also,...my brother has the F430 and he was told by someone in Remo's service department that they recommend Shell for all their cars.

 

This may be a stretch, but perhaps it has something to do with Shell being a sponsor of the F1 team?!?!

 

Hmmm....good point....but it still doesn't explain why Lambo recommends Shell for their engines.

 

I never thought of that....this is a good point.

 

Just as an aside re: Ultra 94...

Unless you're running a force induction application, ie supercharged or turbo'd engine or a high compression engine and need that extra level of protection, you should stick to the octane recommended by your manufacturer.

Contrary to popular belief, higher octane fuels don't provide any additional power. Rather, higher octane is slower burning and less likely to spontaneously ignite due to compression rather than controlled via the spark plug. You can hear this detonation as pinging/knocking. Your ECU will automatically retard timing based on the grade of fuel being used, but unless you're running higher compression or experiencing detonation, it's most optimal for your engine to run at the octane the car is designed for.

I'm not really sure about detergents or lack thereof and how it impacts the O2 sensors. Since I'm running FI, I stick with Ultra94 for that extra peace of mind.

 

I did 4 months of testing fuels between Shell and Sunoco (V-Power and Ultra 94). I used each for a month but started with a complete fuel injection cleaning (professional garage products that are not accessible to the regular public). One can of this stuff usually does the job very well but I used 2 to make sure on the first initial cleaning. Smoke came out for about a minute (both cans combined).

I first used Shell for a month and noticed a change in the first tank of Shell, about 20% and consistency all month as well as better gas mileage, almost increase a quarter more. Then I used one can of cleaner and a little smoke came out for less than 5-8 seconds (it was regular for this type of cleaning with this product).

The next month I used Sunoco, and immediately notice about a 5-10% difference from Shell. Now my mileage was back to the original use. But, the % difference only lasted less than 2 weeks then I noticed the car becoming a little sluggish (by the standards of the first 2 fuel tanks). Then I used one can of cleaner and lots of smoke came out, now almost 15-20 seconds (not normal for this grade of fuel).

So my deductions were that Shell keeps the chambers cleaner thus not needing cleaning and always burning the fuel to its maximum potential. I also added almost 100 kms more to my tank of a 100L (almost 2 extra days of driving for me). Now Sunoco might have higher octane but that does not mean the better gas of the two and in the long run.

The 3rd month I tried Shell again but this time I added a bottle of Octane Booster from Canadian Tire (Prestone 0 to 60) and wow, better than I imagined. Tried this for the entire month and an increased in power of about another 15%. Then I used one can of cleaner and a little smoke came out for less than 3 seconds. The fuel ran hotter and the cleaning agents in the fuel did an excellent job.

The 4th month I used Sunoco with the octane booster and saw a little difference maybe 5-10% but no more. Tried this for the entire month and two weeks later back to the same results, a little sluggish (by the standards of the first fuel tank this time). Then I used one can of cleaner and smoke came out, now only about 10-15 seconds.

I didn’t monitor the mileage on the testing done with Octane Booster because I did slam the gas a lot more then usual. So these were my findings, take it or leave it but my friends, after reading my findings and numbers all switched to Shell and their result, as they said were “very positive including increase gas mileage”.


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“I dont sell cars, I sell engines. The cars I throw in for free since something has to hold the engine” - Enzo Ferrari

 

Nice write up Mario, always nice to see people share there experiences. I personally liked the Shell myself, noticed the car ran nice on idle...less vibration in the cabin. Glad to see that I wasnt just imagining it.....now if only i can get that gas mileage up.

 

Thanks Red, by the way, you are getting max mileage out of Shell, you want to see how good ? buy Petro Canada premium for a month and keep an eye on the mileage.....you will see it’s less.

I kind of have these obsessions about data and analyzing things. I figure my money is hard to make so I might as well buy the best product for my money. I did the same with car waxes. I bought almost everything Canadian Tire has on their shelves and did lots of comparisons in 2 summers and one winter.

I had found this wax a few years ago in a racing shop in the corner. Was expensive and the bottles were old and dusty. I offered the guy half price for his whole lot and he agreed thinking I was crazy because he hadn’t sold any in almost a year and it was amazing. I had done my uncles 78 308 with it, took me a day because it really needed it. He had tried everything and nothing brought it back. He was going to paint it but I told him let me give it a try. After I was done, he freaked ! all his buddies thought he had repainted his 308, same with the father in law’s F150, his neighbors also thought he had repainted his truck . The name of the wax was “The Best” and truly was but never found it again.

Now I found another one but can only get it through a contact at a dealer, it’s called “No.20” you do everything except black plastic, for me it’s my mirrors on my 04 Sierra and door handles. It does chrome, windows/glass, trim, clear plastic headlights, complete front grills everything. This stuff is freaky, The more the car is in sunlight, the more the wax “works”. I wash my truck twice a week but with this once a week or none if it rains. When it rains it’s clean and spotless if I go for a 5 min ride. Anyways, im babbling too much and giving away all my secrets……..hahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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“I dont sell cars, I sell engines. The cars I throw in for free since something has to hold the engine” - Enzo Ferrari

 

Mario, when you were experimenting between Shell and Sunoco, were you using different Octane gas? eg. 91 vs 94? or 91 vs 92 (I believe Sunoco was the last holdout at 92 before they eventually went to 91 as well for premium). That can obviously impact mileage as your ECU will use feedback from the knock sensors to adjust timing and thereby give different levels of efficiency depending on the fuel.

 

91 vr 94 and my finding showed me 94 was not worth the little difference for the dollar and sludge.....

Today’s sports cars and older ones we not designed with gas other than 91 because it was not available at the pumps. So this is probably why Sunoco's 94 is probably not the most efficient fuel to go with. Since the petrol companies just make fuel to make fuel and Shell makes fuel with Ferrari’s findings on performance and efficiency to continue to be the best on the market, to me this meant I had to check it for myself and not take just anyone’s word on it. If Sunoco would have been better in my findings I would of dropped Shell. Also since all automakers specify in their owners manuals of every sports car to use 91 grade octane, it means they were designed around this and I wanted to see for myself. Most people don’t care as much as I do and use what they want and have their reasons like I have mine. Im not saying Sunoco is crap…just the 2nd best in my book.

I go out of my way to fuel with Shell and until I find something better, im not switching because some guy has a 200K or 300K sports car and says so !!!!!!


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“I dont sell cars, I sell engines. The cars I throw in for free since something has to hold the engine” - Enzo Ferrari