I see that Shell is claiming improved gas mileage when using their "new" gas,

Has anyone noticed a difference in mileage?

I am doing a 1200 mile road trip next well use Shell premium and see what happens.

Yea, I have seen that. I use my Shell card all the time so I use the "New" Shell gas. I don't know if it is just good advertising or if it is better milage or not. But I think I am getting better milage. I need to keep track better. Let us know your finding!

Want to save 3 cents per gallon?
The next time you are at WalMart, buy a WalMart Shopping Card. WalMart SuperCenters that have a gas station at them give 3 cents per gallon off if you pay with your WalMart Shopping Card. When you pull up to the pump, you select the Shopping Card as your mode of payment and when you swipe it, the per-gallon price on all grades of gas at the pump you're at drop by 3 cents.

Al, let us know if the new Shell gives better gas mileage over other brands.

I've always been told that gas is gas... but sometimes i do seem to get better MPG's when I buy name brand than I do with mom and pop gas. But then again, usually, when I'm traveling, i'm running name brand b/c they're close to the interstate. There are soo many variances in MPG's in X's that its hard to tell. and i keep meticulous records on MPGs.

My recent endeavors are sunroof and window visors so i can run with the windows open and not lose my mpgs. This is the first vehicle i've driven that gets better mileage with the AC than with the windows open. :rolleyes:

What are your MPG numbers?

Originally posted by Gimp
Want to save 3 cents per gallon?
... buy a WalMart Shopping Card.

ExxonMobil Credit Card gives back 3% as well plus the convenience of the Speedpass.

Originally posted by HokieBert
I've always been told that gas is gas... but sometimes i do seem to get better MPG's when I buy name brand than I do with mom and pop gas.
Well gas is gas but if you pay attention there's a little difference. I always noticed how Chevron and Exxon were always like a cent or two higher than like Go-Mart or BP, it's because they've got like 87 octane instead of 86 octane. (around here anyways) Now I'm not sure how big of a difference 1 octane makes but I've switched to Exxon gas because there aren't any Shells around here.

I can tell a diff with Amoco, the engine runs rougher. I usually always fill up at Citgo, its cheaper and seems to work better in my Ex than most other fuels.

Originally posted by aldive
What are your MPG numbers?

Was that to me Al?

Recently, i've been averaging 17.5-18.8 and thats pretty much all highway since I have a 17 mile interstate commute to work (i run cruise at 70-73 mph from on ramp to off ramp) and live 1.2 miles off the interstate. The one tank that I ran with my windows/sunroof open it was like 16.7 MPG. My windows/sunroof generally claim atleast 1-2 MPG if i'm driving on the interstate.

Hopefully when I put on my 265's I'll drop my highway rpms some and see a little higher mileage. (I've got 30" tires and a 4.10 right now). The best I've ever gotten in the X was driving home 4th of July weekend. 20.6 MPG with AC on/off and all speeds above 70. That was with 87 BP.

One thing I noticed with other cheap gas brands is that their gas counter is off. I once gassed up and filled up 22 gallons! I think the X only holds 21. :eek:

Originally posted by X-factor
ExxonMobil Credit Card gives back 3% as well plus the convenience of the Speedpass.
That sounds like a pretty good deal, too. The only problem for me would be that I don't like to use credit cards; I'm a cash & carry type of guy. (I know - a rarity in today's society where everything works off of a coded magnetic stripe.)

haha.. yeah, we put 22.3 in my dads '99 V8 XLT one time. I remember, b/c i looked in the manual and it said the tank was 21 gallons. "Geez dad, think you ran her long enough on the light?"

my lifters knock a little when i use cheveron or BP gas. I stick with mobil, exxon and shell

Originally posted by Gimp
I'm a cash & carry type of guy.

LOL... you're the type that has wad of cash wrapped in a rubber band. My 9-year old would be impressed. :D

I hate Exxon's gas. It makes the Taurus ping like mad. For some reason, only Exxon and RaceTrac 87 octane have caused pinging problems. Diamond Shamrock is good stuff, and Chevron's Techron is great stuff, but Chevron is too expensive for the small benefit of the Techron.

I ran Shell 89 Octane in the Taurus as a test, and noticed no change in mileage. It still got 23 MPG city which is where it's normally at. We were getting 20 with the Exxon :eek:

The Explorer honestly doesn't seem to care too much. It will run on just about anything you throw into it. I could probably put diesel in there, and it would keep running. I'm going on a road trip to the beach next week, so I'll let you guys know how well that goes. I'm filling 'er up with the Shell 87 and seeing if it works better on an older motor.

Originally posted by X-factor
LOL... you're the type that has wad of cash wrapped in a rubber band.
OK, maybe I should have said that I'm a 'Debit Card/Checkbook & Carry' type of guy. ;) I know the wad-of-cash types of which you speak but I seldom carry more than a $20 bill in my wallet. I use my debit card for most purchases. I will try to be more clear the next time. :)

Gasoline is gasoline, 98% of the gasoline used in America is transported by common carrier pipelines. When you go to the bulk distribution facility there are Shell trucks, Exon trucks, BP trucks, and no name trucks, all loading out of the same tap. When you pay extra for a brand name gasoline you are paying for advertising.

How do you know this? Do you have the inside scoop or proof?

Originally posted by unclemeat
Gasoline is gasoline, 98% of the gasoline used in America is transported by common carrier pipelines.

When you pay extra for a brand name gasoline you are paying for advertising.

Yes and no. The base gas is transported by pipeline, however, each seller ( eg Rexaco, Mobil, Shell, etc ) used a different addative package.

There is definately a difference in the various brands.

The brand specific additive package each company wants added to the base bulk fuel is blended in during the off load into the delivery tanker. A keypad is used by the transport driver to enter the specific vendor code of whoevers fuel he will be hauling and dropping on that run. It's an automated process. Thats how it's done here in Tennessee.
In the real world, Ma and Paw at the gas&go/fireworks stand don't automatically get proprietary Techron technology for free.
Sorry to disappoint.

I just use Conoco b/c they are everywhere here. Woodland Park, out of the 6 gas stations there, they have 4 Conocos, there is one right next to another which is kind of wierd.

Anyway, I save 3 cents per gal. by using my King Soopers card.:D

TopFuel, welcome to the forum.
Judging from your handle, you must be a fan of drag racing. I was a big fan of Big Daddy in the earlier days (still am even in his retirement).
Again, welcome

in mn its illegal to put 93 octane in my car while on the street---- how fricking foolish is that? especially since its tuned to run only on 92 and up and it needs it to get above the stock red line by the 400 rpm i try to utilize.

Thanks for the welcome Gimp. I'm a Garlits fan too. Check out his museum if you're ever around Ocala, Florida. If you're a serious gear head plan on at least half a day to go thru it.

Gas is gas. I am an occasional consultant to the industry. I have a buddy who sells bulk petroluem. In Virginia, there is no difference. The gas comes out the pipe goes into the truck and that is it. Most additives are blended during the distillation process. I have heard the stories about addition additives, but do not see it in practice. These additives are simply detergents, they do not make the gasoline product better. There is a difference in products when they leave the refinery. Summer blend, winter blend, reformulated (oxyegenated) these are the differences in gasoline. The reformulated gas will cause you to loose 10 to 15% on mileage, and are about $0.10 a gallon more.

Hay, if buying one brand of gas make you feel good, go for it. But you car won't know the difference.

Originally posted by unclemeat

Hay, if buying one brand of gas make you feel good, go for it. But you car won't know the difference.
Tell that to my Taurus when it only pings on Exxon/Mobil gas ;)

Originally posted by Majisto
Tell that to my Taurus when it only pings on Exxon/Mobil gas

Hey, that's the gas I use. ;) They are up there in the well known, top gas stations. What do you use better than Exxon/Mobil? Amoco? I would say they're comparable.

Yeah, all motor oil blends are exactly the same too. I shouldn't have bothered to waste my time.

Originally posted by TopFuel
Yeah, all motor oil blends are exactly the same too. I shouldn't have bothered to waste my time.

Oh, Come on! You mean I've been wasting my money on Castrol instead of Generic Brand?

Originally posted by TopFuel
...I'm a Garlits fan too. Check out his museum if you're ever around Ocala, Florida. If you're a serious gear head plan on at least half a day to go thru it.
I might have to include that in next year's vacation plans. Too late this year - kids' school starts in 1.5 weeks and sports practices begin Monday (tomorrow). I've seen it on TV and I'd love to visit it (and Floyd Garrett's musclecar museum, too). I'd love it if we could get there when ol' Big Daddy himself would be there. I suppose I should start preparing the old lady now for our going there. ;)

Here I was out of town and missed chiming in on the gas discussion lol.

I personally always use Exxon or Mobil. Mainly because my office pays for all my gas, so I have a corporate Speedpass on my keychain, and they're the only people who support it. I've never had any problems, in the Lexus, the Explorer, or the Sequoia. Before I got the Speedpass I always used Chevron or Shell, and honestly noticed no difference when I switched.

I have however had enough bad experiences with gas to know, gas isn't just gas. In my opinion, you always want to get a high quality gas, one from a top name distributor. It just saves you hassle with pinging engines and stolen performance, and saves you issues like carbon buildup and water buildup in the tank.

I believe in using higher quality gasses, but to think one particular gas will improve your gas milage enough to notice is ludacris.

Originally posted by X-factor
Hey, that's the gas I use. ;) They are up there in the well known, top gas stations. What do you use better than Exxon/Mobil? Amoco? I would say they're comparable.
I use Diamond Shamrock or Amoco usually. Chevron isn't worth the extra money, and Shell didn't seem to do much either. The X is going on two big road trips this week. Will turn over 100K on the 2nd trip to the beach *Cheers* I still plan on trying Shell 87, and I will report back next week on how that goes. I just wish the X's gas guage would work a bit better when the gas got lower in the tank. :rolleyes:

If you don't belive me go to the local bulk distribution terminal. You will see all kinds of tank trucks filling up off the same pipe. Perception is reality?

Count how many smaller holding tanks there are than the main bulk tanks. I wonder what's in them?? Why are they plumbed into the main loading zone???

Gimp, go on a weekend that there are no Super Chevy shows or one of the limited number of NHRA events that Don is going to compete in for Summit Racing this year. He spends a lot of time at the museums. (There are two of them.) His personal residence is located on the property and he's in and out all day long. Good luck and I hope you get to visit and chat with "Big Daddy" personally.

I hear a lot of opinions so far, but not many numbers. Shell just recently bought out Texaco here in Alaska, and has reopened the stations as Shell. I usually got about 220 miles between fillups (around town) from the only independent station on Anchorage. They just sold to new owners, so I decided to try the Shell gas. So far, I have gotten 245-250 miles per tank (again, around town) using Shell. Those are noticable numbers. My explorer is mostly stock, except for Bilstein shocks all around and a K&N filter in the intake system. So far, the prices run with the lowest in town, although this could change once they build a steady customer base.

That still seems kinda low. I get around 290 a tank around town and around 325 on the highway with any gas I have used, Chevron, Shell, BP, Speedway, and even Wal-mart

X-factor. I was being sarcastic about motor oils to reinforce the factual nature of my first post on this thread. The extra money you spend for Castrol is money well spent.

im not that interested in what fuel is better than another i assume bp and shell dont put alchol or paint thinner or what ever in theres, but mostly i buy what evers cheaper

I've had a couple problems in the past with "cheap gas" (read Sheetz, etc.) vendors versus more name brands, if you will... I'm not buying the theory gas is gas either. I tend to lean towards the gas chart, in not supporting foreign oil/gasoline. :us:
The companies that buy the most from foreign markets are:
Shell................205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco.......144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil.........130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway....117,740,000 barrels
Amoco................62,231,000 barrels

The ones to patronize:
Citgo..........0 barrels
Sunoco.........0 barrels
Conoco.........0 barrels
Sinclair.......0 barrels
BP/Phillips....0 barrels
Hess...........0 barrels

Personally, I think the X performs the best with BP... though it's a lil out of the way, I'll get a tank there every ouple weeks. Fortunately Hess is also just down the street, has competitive prices and the X runs well on that as well.
That's my $0.02 worth.

Hey all, just to let you know the gas that comes out of the refineries is the same for each store. My dad is a trucker and he loads for many different types of stores. He uses one card to get his truck filled and that card is just to bill his company. The real difference in most gas stations is the tanks in the ground (how old, how dirty, how much moisture is in them, stuff like that. There are some additves but not much to differ from each store.

Originally posted by TopFuel
X-factor. I was being sarcastic about motor oils to reinforce the factual nature of my first post on this thread. The extra money you spend for Castrol is money well spent.

Oh yeah, that's a relief. We're talking serious $$$ here. :D

Sunbum, BP stations now have Amoco fuels. ;)

YA DAMN TERRORIST! :D

Back from the road triThe first leg was 560.7 miles and netted 30,29 MPG ( this is one 1 tank (, Average speed was 70.3. This was using Shell premium. The return trip used Amoco Gold and I have not refilled yet to report the mileage on that leg.

Al are you still getting the MPG readings from a GPS?

Originally posted by Hartman
Al are you still getting the MPG readings from a GPS?

And how on Earth would one do such a thing?

Not sure, I just thought I remember you mentioning something to that effect a while back...

The GPS does not calculate mileage' it accurately measures average speed and distance, You gotta do the division.

Yes, all my data is obtained by using GPS.

Was this highway only or combined highway/city? If combined, what was the percentage of each, please?

Later,

99 % highway ( I75 ).

Aldive, are you running skinny tires to get the best mileage on the highway? Any other sacrifices just to get to 30 mpg?

Originally posted by X-factor
Aldive, are you running skinny tires to get the best mileage on the highway? Any other sacrifices just to get to 30 mpg?

I run stock tires on stock 15" wheels. However, I ofter rin 40 psig in them.

See the thread called My Quest for 30 for more details ( http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=44372&highlight=my+quest+for )

Just filled up from the return trip. Wemt 561 miles and the MPG was 30.31. This leg was with Amoco 93.

Based on this test, albit, no stastically valid, there appears no difference in the mileage yield of Shell and Amoco.

Aldive,
Since you are our guinea pig in this :) , how about a comparision between the two fuels in a city-only or combined (50/50) city/highway fuel run.

Originally posted by Gimp
Aldive,
Since you are our guinea pig in this :) , how about a comparision between the two fuels in a city-only or combined (50/50) city/highway fuel run.

I might not be the best for this type of test since I do most all my driving on the highway. However, I can see what happens.

Texaco gas is my thing, i seem to get 3 or 4 mpg when i use their gas, whether its in my expl, honda or dodge.

Originally posted by jeff96
Texaco gas is my thing, i seem to get 3 or 4 mpg when i use their gas, whether its in my expl, honda or dodge.

That's it? I get 16+ with Exxon. ;)

LOL i guess i did'nt make that very clear, I get 3 or 4 more than normal so i get about 19mpg city with texacco gas.

im buggered if i can figure this mpg? i get about 750km to 150 litres of petrol around the village a lot better on the high way .is that good? thats about 5k to the litre you get about 5.6

Originally posted by matey
im buggered if i can figure this mpg? i get about 750km to 150 litres of petrol around the village a lot better on the high way .is that good? thats about 5k to the litre you get about 5.6

Yeah Matey, you should come and live here so you don't have to deal with Metric system. ;)

jeff96, LOL, I knew what you were saying. I was just kidding with ya. Sometimes I can't pass up a good laugh. :D

Originally posted by aldive
The GPS does not calculate mileage' it accurately measures average speed and distance, You gotta do the division.

Yes, all my data is obtained by using GPS.

Hi Al,
Is the distance obtained from the GPS the same as if you were to record the distance by hand (odometer readings?)

How do you calculate the MPG? Did you take the mileage reading at the gas station minus the mileage from the last visit? Then, divide by the gallons filled?

When you pump at the gas station, do you let the pump shut itself off and put the pump back? Too often I see people continue to fill up to "even" up the price.

Thanks,
Shane

Originally posted by 98EBV8
When you pump at the gas station, do you let the pump shut itself off and put the pump back? Too often I see people continue to fill up to "even" up the price.


Whats wrong with that? The Ford factory manual states that you should allow the pump to shut off 3 times when filling.

Originally posted by 98EBV8
Hi Al,
Is the distance obtained from the GPS the same as if you were to record the distance by hand (odometer readings?)

How do you calculate the MPG? Did you take the mileage reading at the gas station minus the mileage from the last visit? Then, divide by the gallons filled?

When you pump at the gas station, do you let the pump shut itself off and put the pump back? Too often I see people continue to fill up to "even" up the price.

Thanks,
Shane

Yes.

Divide miles covered by quantity used,

Fill till it shuts off.

Ok you guys...first as for using Shell gas ,....not anymore for me..!! over here in Quebec...Shell is having prob with a massive group who are suing Shell for destroying yes destroying there gas pump in brand new cars !! it has been proved that Shell as had a shitty additives in their gas from jan 01 2001 to marsh 2003 and brand new cars (any brand) were burning their gas and filters which could cost up too $800 to get fixed !! and now all majors dealers here are aware of this prob and are not honoring the waranty ( why should they ). Now Shell as accepted their responsability but are offering only $200 (each claims) to gat the prob fixed !!! So for a company who`s making billions in profit !!!! real profits clear after all deductions and incom taxe ( which they are not paying much) I think they are laughing at all automobile users in the world !! they are just a bunch of bullshitters. !