Chevy & GMC Vans

Let me first say that this is my story. Your mileage may vary.

In 3 years of ownership, I have driven over 85,000 miles, used over 4,700 gallons of fuel at a cost of over 13,000 dollars.

I have for the first 2 years (over 58,000 miles) used only Shell Gasoline, in both regular and premium grades. During this time frame my overall MPG Average was 17.97. (Not Bad)

But, I will tell you that my last run on Shell Regular (4/2010 - 12/2010) was 17.46 mpg over 19,000 miles, and falling. Slowly, but steadily and surely falling. (Plus it cost about .10 cents a gallon more than Wawa)

So, In December of 2010, I decided to try something different. I began to use gas from a large chain store named Wawa. They are a well dispersed fueling point found throughout my area. They receive a gas shipment everyday, and have the best gas station coffee around. (Ha, Good gas station coffee???)

So then, from 12/19/2010 thru 06/30/2011 my miles driven were over 14,000 with an MPG Average of 17.74, an increase that I was pleased with.

To go on further from 06/30/2011 thru 02/03/2012 (current day) my MPG Average is 18.13. Not bad for the Local Gas Station.

I guess my point here is... Fresh Gas is Good Gas, especially if it saves you enough to buy a cup of coffee every now and again.

It is my understanding or misunderstanding that almost all gasoline is the same no matter where purchased. WaWa or Hess or the guy down the street may be selling major brands at any time. It depends on the shipments from the supplier.

I also believe that having the ethanol additive reduces mileage. I don't get why we reduce our food supply to make ethanol that takes more energy to produce with that kind of result.

While I do not believe that all gas is the same, I still wonder... For years I avoided Shell, and favored Chevron.
Do you think the gradual decline at first could have been from your van and tires and everything else aging?
Then when you noticed that mileage was dropping, you started doing and trying new things with tires and additives and so forth.
So now you have been actively trying to improve the mileage, and succeeding it appears?

Such tiny variations are just coincidence. There are too many variables to ever track down. Just keep your vehicle in good running order and fugetaboutit!

I tried to do the same test on my truck last spring/summer but due to mostly independent stations around here, you can't find enough of the same store without driving way out of the way. With an average of 10.5 mpg, it just wasn't worth driving more than 5 miles out of the way for better gas. My data didn't show much of a difference but the testing wasn't run long enough be conclusive.

What would be nice is to know what each station has for an additive package and then compare it that way. I think that is the only true difference in the gas at each station.

All gas cannot be the same. No more than, all bottled water is the same.
There can be differences in gas from the same tanker truck compartment... I.E. Fresh vs Stale.
It is a chemical mixture after all, and does break down.

Yes, I have kept up on regular maintenance, with a fine tooth comb.
And also tried various things along the way.
My driving consists of 70% city, and 30% highway.

As far as the results being too miniscule to worry about, I would beg to differ.
Now, Let's do the math together...
Figure just 1 MPG difference throughout the 85,000 miles, using 3 dollar a gallon gasoline.
I think you will be surprised.

Just an FYI Add on... This info gathered includes over 320 fueling entries.
I can say that at least 90% of these were performed at one of the brands stations and at the same pump.
Variations were minimal.

Here is the link http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... =firefox-a

Believe it or not

Is One Gasoline Brand Better Than Another?
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: energy

comic 60 - favorite gas

Like many bargain-hunting Americans, I can’t say that I’m particularly loyal to very many brands. I’ll buy Ragu spaghetti sauce if it’s on sale, Prego if it’s not, or just eat a tomato if they’re both too pricey. Heck, I don’t even favor one particular supermarket! I’m even less brand loyal when it comes to clothes, cars, and computers. But if you look back over my expenses over the last five years, there’s one name that’ll keep popping up every couple of weeks without fail. That name is Shell, as in multinational oil company Shell.

But here’s the weird part: I don’t even feel particularly loyal to Shell. Probably the only reason they still have a monopoly over my gasoline dollars is because my mom insisted on only using Shell gasoline as I was growing up. That, and after I got my first car, the three closest gas stations to home were all Shells. Now that I live in a different city from where I grew up, I still get my gas exclusively from Shell. And the other day, as I passed a nearby Texaco station that was selling Regular for 10 cents less than the Shell station at which I’d just refueled, I asked myself a startling question: Why am I still buying Shell gas?

After that, I considered the following facts about the Shell stations in my city:

Shell gas is consistently a few cents more expensive than Exxon, Texaco, and the no-brand gas stations like Free State.
The three closest Shell gas stations are actually a little bit out of my way now. The closest one to “my way” is generally the pricier of the three.
The Shell gas stations are not as well maintained as those of the other brands. Frequently the windshield squeegee liquid is empty or really dirty at the Shells I frequent, and either the air or vacuums are out of order half the time.
If I ran a gas station, I would call it “Cheap Ass Gas.” But that’s beside the point.

Perhaps another reason I still maintain my Shell “loyalty” is because I thought it was a superior gas back when I first purchased my MINI Cooper. That’s because many MINI drivers on the internet recommended Shell’s V-Power premium gas over other brands and grades. Now that I drive a Mazda3 that only needs Regular, do I still need to get that Regular from Shell?

After presenting myself with these questions, I did some research on gasoline brands to see if other folks had thoughts or scientific evidence as to which gasoline brand was the best. About five minutes into my research, I stopped being an idiot and remembered that all major gas brands share refineries and pipelines. So while Shell might be refining that oil, Exxon and Citgo may be the ones selling it. And in the next state over, the reverse may be true. When it comes to gasoline, gas is gas.

What may make a difference, however, are the additives that each brand adds to its fuel. You may have heard of Chevron and Texaco’s Techron additive. In fact, some people seem to swear by Techron. Others favor Shell’s additives, and still others can be found who prefer virtually every other brand of gasoline because it’s supposedly better for their vehicles. And while I couldn’t find any scientific studies to confirm my hypothesis, I found no general consensus that one brand of gasoline performed significantly better than others.

I did, however, find several brands referring to themselves as Top Tier Gasoline because they use more than the EPA minimum recommended amounts of detergents to help keep your engine clean. But again, I found no scientific proof that more detergent keeps your engine more cleaner.

The only real difference between gas formulas that I found is that, quite consistently, those which are 10-15% ethanol provide much worse gas mileage that those that are 100% Made in the Middle East or Perhaps the Gulf of Mexico gasoline. Unfortunately pretty much all of the fueling stations around here have switched to some blend of ethanol.

Will I keep using Shell gas after discovering all this? Possibly, though mostly out of habit. I may experiment with other brands to see if there is any noticeable difference in performance. Don’t worry, I know not to buy from Citgo since the only additives they put in their gas are communism and anti-American sentiments.

astroturf wrote:All gas cannot be the same. No more than, all bottled water is the same.

Water is water. There may be different things in the water but it is still water. Most "bottled" water comes from a tap somewhere. It is just labeled, colored or flavored differently.

MrJames wrote:Here is the link

What kind of garbage is this? Is Nick a member here?

This would have been much better had it included your own experiences.

NOTE: Edited ALL of the cut and paste junk out of the above quote.

MrJames wrote:

astroturf wrote:All gas cannot be the same. No more than, all bottled water is the same.

Water is water. There may be different things in the water but it is still water. Most "bottled" water comes from a tap somewhere. It is just labeled, colored or flavored differently.

Ha, That is just like saying that ALL Mid-Sized Vans are the same...

Think about it.

astroturf wrote:What kind of garbage is this? Is Nick a member here?

This would have been much better had it included your own experiences.

No, Nick is not a member here but has posted his report found on Google. I am sure that there are many more like his report.

I am a member here so does this make my data any better ?

From my "personal experiences", near the Major oil dock, I can relate to you my observations. Constantly tanker trucks fill at the depot. They then drive to various filling stations, branded or not. They dump their load and refill over and over again all day long. Maybe they add something different at each station but it is the same stuff that was initially loaded on their rigs that is delivered.

H2O is H2O and that is a fact as is gas with or without impurities.

MrJames wrote:I am a member here so does this make my data any better ?

Much much better...

I can and do research the web for information. But, To interact with the members on this board is why we are members of this board.

Take care, Jim

I think the two most important points have been hit on:

Freshness of gas: Gas sitting in an undergrond tank for long periords of time can pick up water and the chemical reactions will change. The busiest stations... around here, that would mean the cheapest (Arco)... probably have the freshest fuel.

Amount of ethanol in fuel: While the law allows up to 10%, not all fuel contains that much. A few stations around here boast being "ethanol-free". Ethanol-laced fuel provides for worse mileage due to an inherent lower energy content. The problem I see is you don't have any easy way of figuing out how much ethanol is in each gallon you pump.

I believe that the 10% figure is a safety factor to allow for changes from the 6% number currently allowed.

I would pay more but maybe less without that stuff in my tank.

http://pure-gas.org/

Is a web site dedicated to pointing out where in your state you could find ethanol free gasoline.

Perdy neet site. I only wish we had more 100% gas stations in my area.