Chevron 93 better than shell vpower 93??

[Russell]

I have been switching back and fourth between shell v power and Chevron 93 just to see if v power is better than chevron. My very casual "seat of the pants" observation indicates that chevron is better in my car. BTW, I am also using fuel Power at a rate of one oz per gallon. The car has a computer chip which requires at least 91 octane.

Using chevron 93, my car has a little more pep and seems to get better gas mileage as compared to Shell V power.

 

[JHZR2]

Ive found that in my chipped 91 BMW, there is no seat of the pants change, regardless of which fuel I use. The only difference I felt was when I used wawa gas (guaranteed at a certain additive level, but convenience store branded) from a VERY high turnover station, that it seemed to be peppier,and I figured this was due to the gas being less stale, which can occur especially in premium fuel tanks.

However, shell vpower top tier fuel does seem to give better mileage than conoco top tier mileage. This may be irrelevant though because I got the shell in DE, and conoco in NJ, and so the NJ fuel MAY have more oxegenate in it.

In my saab, it is very mixed... Id say that seat of the pants rats conoco the best by a longshot, but it is with mixed overall experience; sometimes the difference can be felt other times it cant. Shell seems to give the best MPG overall, though amoco ultimate is doing pretty good by me as well. conoco and mobil tend to trail behind, though I have gotten my record best MPG using it.

All in all, I think the key is that a certain octane can be obtained a few different ways. and depending on the blending to obtain a certain octane, I think the fuel can have a bit more energy content, and 'quality'. Oxegenate adds, cleaners, etc can also effect the combustion properties/energy and overall feel.

Ive never used chevron so I cant really compare, but all in all, I think that its hit or miss for any company, depending on what crude was used, how they actually blended to get a certain octane, how long the fuel has sat in the tank, etc.

JMH

 

[kang]

I have one car that runs significantly better (via seat of the pants) on Shell compared to Chevron. I’ve had other cars the other way around, but that was before V-Power came out.

I’ve heard a rumor that V-Power has slightly higher octane than 91 (here in CA all we get is 91). That could explain why my one car runs better with V-Power. It’s rated for a minimum of 93. If Chevron was 91 and V-Power were slightly higher, I’d get a little more timing advance (or to be precise, less timing retard) with V-Power than with Chevron (I’m thinking the ECU is retarding timing with 91, as the car requires 93).

I can’t speak to any mileage increase. I think the better running with V-Power causes my right foot to be closer to the floor board….

One thought that came to mind when V-Power first came out was perhaps they upped the octane for the first few months to get you hooked, and then dropped it back once you got in the habit of getting Shell gas. Perhaps they increased the cleaning agents as well. Most people who don’t run additives need a good cleaning. If they got this with their first tank(s) of V-Power, their cars would run significantly better, and they’d be hooked on Shell. Shell could then drop the amount of detergents.

I also wonder about the “5 Times the minimum about” of cleaning agents. What multiple of cleaning agents does Chevron with Techron have? Exactly the minimum amount? Double? Triple? Ten Times? Or perhaps less than the minimum? Shell’s claim of “5 times” is kind of meaningless without comparison to other brands.

 

[robbobster]

Not sure if you've seen this thread:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=002231

There are several fuel distribution facilities around where I live, and I see tankers from all different brands all filling-up at the same place.

I've had my truck on the dyno several times with several different brands of 91 octane. Have never noticed a difference, but I do use Fuel Power in all tanks of fuel on my truck.

 

[Russell]

All I know is here in Kentucky, Chevron "seems" to perform better in my car than other gasolines.

keep in mind we are "supposed" to have 93 octane which may make a difference.

 

[kang]

quote:

---

Originally posted by robbobster:
Not sure if you've seen this thread:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=002231

There are several fuel distribution facilities around where I live, and I see tankers from all different brands all filling-up at the same place.

I've had my truck on the dyno several times with several different brands of 91 octane. Have never noticed a difference, but I do use Fuel Power in all tanks of fuel on my truck.

---

That might dispel the slightly higher octane rumor, but not necessarily the additives. As I understand it, each vendor adds their own additives to the tanker.