On my 07 Aveo, I get 34MPG with EXXON or Mobil, and 28MPG with shell. Is this normal? I only buy shell because its the only top tier station in the area.
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Poor gas mileage with shell gas, is this normal
- Thread starter HACCOFFICER
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No. All are under fed guidelines and the only difference is basically a very small proprietary add pack. So the answer is no...you should be getting the same as other top tier gasolines. Now as you know they change from the summer blend to winter blend etc. at various times of the year...also there are so many variables in MPG outside of the brand and octane of gasoline it is difficult to point a finger at a particular brand and say BAD MPG. Also some stations utilize a blend of ethanol and sometimes it is not very well communicated that your really getting a blend of corn and dinasaur....I don't know what the specific cause is here...but raise a few questions for you that maybe will shed some light on this phenomenon.
HACCOFFICER
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Its a strange problem, I have has several fillups of both shell and exxon, and everytime the exxon gets better MPGS. Not a major problem. I can just fill up at EXXON. Just wondering why this is. Maybe it is the switch from winter to summer blend. Who knows. The only thing about EXXON though is that its not listed as top tier, and I want to do whatever I can to keep my new car running new for as long as possible.
Maybe the Shell station has some water in his tanks. All things equal...both should be exactly the same.
HACCOFFICER
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I also see a drop in MPG running shell. Mine is not as big, though. My 2006 Mazda6i gets about 31mpg running BP, QuickTime, or Phillips66. Shell gets me about 28-29mpg at best.
Its good to see I am not the only one who notices this.
The particular station your using might have poor turnover. Chevron usually gives me excellent mileage, but one station down south of me drops my mileage by 2-3mpg. That particular Chevron station doesn't do much business, so I suppose some of the gas is "stale" (old). Have you tried another Shell station with high turnover?
Try another Shell station in your area and see if that changes your mileage?
I noticed the same problem with a Chevron station. Tried a different station and got different results.
We use Shell or Chevron/Texaco most of the time with good results.
I noticed the same problem with a Chevron station. Tried a different station and got different results.
We use Shell or Chevron/Texaco most of the time with good results.
Any of them have ethanol without you knowing it? Around here they state (in small writing) that the gas MAY contain up to 10% ethanol.
If some stations are blending 10% ethanol into their fuel while others are giving you 100% gasoline that would explain it. Trying to find out what they are actually selling is rather hard. Also, it varies by location, time of year, etc.
Another nuance to the alcohol thing is the possible moisture in the tank. Generally pure gasoline doesn't absorb water, but alcohol does. So if a service station tank has some trapped moisture and has been getting pure gasoline, then the blender ships in a gasoline/alcohol blend the alcohol can absorb the moisture and make the pumped blend into something even worse, say 85% gasoline, 9% alcohol and 6% water. If so, the water has no energy value at all.
Without chemical analysis you just don't know!
Another possibility is that the Shell octane rating might in reality be lower than what other stations are selling and your vehicle might be one which uses a knock sensor to advance or retard the ignition timing and/or make other adjustments based on the knock resistance of the fuel in the tank. This is all become so complex these days that the old rule of thumb that said all gas is about the same isn't always true anymore!
Another nuance to the alcohol thing is the possible moisture in the tank. Generally pure gasoline doesn't absorb water, but alcohol does. So if a service station tank has some trapped moisture and has been getting pure gasoline, then the blender ships in a gasoline/alcohol blend the alcohol can absorb the moisture and make the pumped blend into something even worse, say 85% gasoline, 9% alcohol and 6% water. If so, the water has no energy value at all.
Without chemical analysis you just don't know!
Another possibility is that the Shell octane rating might in reality be lower than what other stations are selling and your vehicle might be one which uses a knock sensor to advance or retard the ignition timing and/or make other adjustments based on the knock resistance of the fuel in the tank. This is all become so complex these days that the old rule of thumb that said all gas is about the same isn't always true anymore!
There should not be that large of a difference, if any.
Possibly the Shell gas has alcohol, and the other doesn't?
That would account for less power and gas mileage, [but not that much].
Possibly the Shell gas has alcohol, and the other doesn't?
That would account for less power and gas mileage, [but not that much].
Don't have many Shell stations in our area.
However, I just made a 2,500 mile trip to the midwest and back. During that trip I filled with Shell twice and saw little difference. What difference I did see was when I filled with 10% ethanol mix, which is understandable and my drop was about 5%, which again is near normal parameters.
However, I just made a 2,500 mile trip to the midwest and back. During that trip I filled with Shell twice and saw little difference. What difference I did see was when I filled with 10% ethanol mix, which is understandable and my drop was about 5%, which again is near normal parameters.
I have always noticed the opposite. Shell gives the BEST
mileage. You are either getting winter blend or your shell
station is blending in ethanol. Here in Cleveland I notice
about a 4 MPG drop using the winter blend. My Shell station
is alcohol free while Mararthon and Speedway are 10%. BP
uses as much ethanol as they want because Ohio doesn't
regulate it's gasoline. BP give terrible mileage and you
can actually smell the alcohol while you are pumping it.
It is Shell for me.
mileage. You are either getting winter blend or your shell
station is blending in ethanol. Here in Cleveland I notice
about a 4 MPG drop using the winter blend. My Shell station
is alcohol free while Mararthon and Speedway are 10%. BP
uses as much ethanol as they want because Ohio doesn't
regulate it's gasoline. BP give terrible mileage and you
can actually smell the alcohol while you are pumping it.
It is Shell for me.
At this exact time, I've noticed a huge difference in mileage between Shell and Esso (Exxon) in my area. I usually use Shell for a variety of reasons but I had occasion to purchase fuel at an Esso and my mileage increased substantially. I then topped up with a half tank of Shell and it dropped again so I don't think it was just weather conditions or psychological.
My local Shell has placed stickers on the pump indicating that V-Power (at that station anyways) contains NO ethanol. Esso has a non-grade specific sticker stating that all fuel may contain up to 10% ethanol. The Esso I used is not in my local area so I could not confirm if it was 91 or 92 at that station, but my local Esso and Shell stations are all 91.
I find I very rarely get fuel economy numbers like I used to routinely 5 years ago (same car) but it will sometimes happen on a particular tank of gas and ends abruptly at the next fill up. This leads me to conclude that it's a fuel quality issue. My vehicle is in excellent tune, O2 sensors are replaced etc... Just two years ago I bought a tank of Esso while on vacation about 300km from home. That tank ran forever with excellent economy and performance in both city and highway driving. Same thing was observed in a friend's car travelling with us. First fillup back home saw a significant drop in economy and some drop in performance.
Another car I had was high compression and sensitive to fuel. I could actually sense it idling differently from tank to tank and could judge the quality of the fuel. It called for AKI 93 so I pretty much always used Sunoco 94. During the 5 years I had that car I had only *FOUR* exceptional tanks of gas, purchased from four different Sunoco stations. Those four tanks yielded a double-digit increase in horsepower and huge increase in fuel economy. Next fill up....poof, back to normal. There was no knocking on Sunoco 94 so it wasn't a simple knock sensor/timing retard issue.
I wish they'd tell us what the heck they're doing to our fuel.
My local Shell has placed stickers on the pump indicating that V-Power (at that station anyways) contains NO ethanol. Esso has a non-grade specific sticker stating that all fuel may contain up to 10% ethanol. The Esso I used is not in my local area so I could not confirm if it was 91 or 92 at that station, but my local Esso and Shell stations are all 91.
I find I very rarely get fuel economy numbers like I used to routinely 5 years ago (same car) but it will sometimes happen on a particular tank of gas and ends abruptly at the next fill up. This leads me to conclude that it's a fuel quality issue. My vehicle is in excellent tune, O2 sensors are replaced etc... Just two years ago I bought a tank of Esso while on vacation about 300km from home. That tank ran forever with excellent economy and performance in both city and highway driving. Same thing was observed in a friend's car travelling with us. First fillup back home saw a significant drop in economy and some drop in performance.
Another car I had was high compression and sensitive to fuel. I could actually sense it idling differently from tank to tank and could judge the quality of the fuel. It called for AKI 93 so I pretty much always used Sunoco 94. During the 5 years I had that car I had only *FOUR* exceptional tanks of gas, purchased from four different Sunoco stations. Those four tanks yielded a double-digit increase in horsepower and huge increase in fuel economy. Next fill up....poof, back to normal. There was no knocking on Sunoco 94 so it wasn't a simple knock sensor/timing retard issue.
I wish they'd tell us what the heck they're doing to our fuel.
This is cut from the top tier gas site, and it would explain why we get worse gas milege......,
requirements for top tier gas :
-Contain enough denatured ethanol such that the actual ethanol content is no less than 8.0 and no more than 10.0 volume percent.
-Contain no less than 8 volume percent olefins. At least 75% of the olefins shall be derived from FCC gasoline as defined by CARB (advisory letter, April 19, 2001).
-Contain no less than 28 volume percent aromatics.
-Contain no less than 48 mg/kg sulfur. At least 60% of the sulfur shall be derived from FCC blend stock.
-Produce a 90% evaporation distillation temperature no less than 290°F.
-Produce IVD no less than 500 mg averaged over all intake valves.
requirements for top tier gas :
-Contain enough denatured ethanol such that the actual ethanol content is no less than 8.0 and no more than 10.0 volume percent.
-Contain no less than 8 volume percent olefins. At least 75% of the olefins shall be derived from FCC gasoline as defined by CARB (advisory letter, April 19, 2001).
-Contain no less than 28 volume percent aromatics.
-Contain no less than 48 mg/kg sulfur. At least 60% of the sulfur shall be derived from FCC blend stock.
-Produce a 90% evaporation distillation temperature no less than 290°F.
-Produce IVD no less than 500 mg averaged over all intake valves.
At one time, I thought I noticed slightly better gas mileage with Exxon vs. Shell or Chevron, but I'm talking 1 or 2 mpg, according to the DIC, which is slightly off but not wildly inaccurate.
"top tier" does NOT require EtOH. The tests require that detergent package must work with EtOH and therefore the test fuel must contain EtOH. I recognize that language is confusing, but if you read the entire document, it is actually clear. Below is one of the more recent threads on the same subject.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...part=2&vc=1
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...part=2&vc=1
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