Mixing fuel type and gas stations

[Nikhil Malhotra]

I have mixed regular and midgrade fuel. I often change the gas stations and so its sometimes Shell , ARCO , Chevron or even Costco.

I thought this would not make a difference since all US Gas Suppliers essentially have 99% same stuff - apart from detergent and additives.

Is that the reason my mpg never saw upwards of 33 mpg ever.

 

[EdP]

I have mixed regular and midgrade fuel. I often change the gas stations and so its sometimes Shell , ARCO , Chevron or even Costco.

I thought this would not make a difference since all US Gas Suppliers essentially have 99% same stuff - apart from detergent and additives.

Is that the reason my mpg never saw upwards of 33 mpg ever.

No, I doubt that any 2G Genesis ever got 33 mpg unless it was down hill.

 

[Nikhil Malhotra]

Sorry that was 23 (not 33)

 

[carguy75]

I have mixed regular and midgrade fuel. I often change the gas stations and so its sometimes Shell , ARCO , Chevron or even Costco.

I thought this would not make a difference since all US Gas Suppliers essentially have 99% same stuff - apart from detergent and additives.

Is that the reason my mpg never saw upwards of 33 mpg ever.

I use premium gas(93 octane) and have twin K&N air filters. My best average in mixed driving(city/hwy) has been about 26 mpg in ECO drive mode with light traffic in my area. If I do a lot of spirited driving in Sport mode then my mileage drops to about 16-18 mpg.

 

[EdP]

Sorry that was 23 (not 33)

That's better! It really depends on where you drive. On the highway I can get into the high 20s. Around town with short trips, it barely makes 20. When I lived in CT, a trip to the store in cold weather would be 11 to 12 for the 2 mile trip. Warmed up a little on the return it would be 14 to 15.

 

[Nikhil Malhotra]

Thanks , so it looks like its allright to mix fuel . No harm done .

Thanks . This makes refuelling troublefree .

 

[G-673409]

You are using tier 1 gas so you can mix any of them with no harm.

 

[Alfer]

I use premium gas(93 octane) and have twin K&N air filters. My best average in mixed driving(city/hwy) has been about 26 mpg in ECO drive mode with light traffic in my area. If I do a lot of spirited driving in Sport mode then my mileage drops to about 16-18 mpg.

Why are you wasting so much money on Premium gas? Just use 87 and try to get "Top Tier" stuff.

 

[Nikhil Malhotra]

Chevron folks say their fuel is superior with additives .

The gas station clerk also suggested me to add "Chevron Techron Concentrate Plus Fuel System Cleaner" - 20oz with a tankful . They have a discount deal going on . Is it any good ?

 

[Starflyer]

The gas station clerk also suggested me to add "Chevron Techron Concentrate Plus Fuel System Cleaner" - 20oz with a tankful . They have a discount deal going on . Is it any good ?

I have no idea as to whether Techron will give you better mileage/performance. However several years ago I had an outboard motor that was hard to start and ran very rough. I put a little bit of Tehron in the fuel and the engine then ran like it was a new motor.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[Nikhil Malhotra]

No not for mileage . I was thinking about using fuel additive for Carbon built up.

My Hyundai dealer just laughed when i asked if i can get engine cleaning for carbon built up at 45K . He said he wont do it before 75k miles.

 

[Alfer]

It's what, $6? Toss some in every 5,000 miles or so if you feel it will help keep things clean, especially if you use questionable gas.

 

[carguy75]

Why are you wasting so much money on Premium gas? Just use 87 and try to get "Top Tier" stuff.

I personal just like using 93 octane for more power and pretty decent fuel economy. My engine seem to run smoother with 93 octane also. Well worth the $3.00 a gallon I spend on premium.

I did not buy the 5.0 V8 model to save money on fuel.

Note: To the OP question; Running different gas brands should not be an issue if the fuel used are top tier fuels.

 

[Starflyer]

I personal just like using 93 octane for more power and pretty decent fuel economy. My engine seem to run smoother with 93 octane also. Well worth the $3.00 a gallon I spend on premium..

I'm kinda with you. Around where I live, the difference is about 30 cents a gallon. So if I were to put 15 gallons in my G80, it would be $4.50 more or just a tad over a Starbucks latte. Since I'm low mileage driver, (6000 miles yearly), I probably only fill up about every other week. With my previous cars (Acura RDX and my Mini S) both of which called for premium, that's what I used. And I started out with the same policy for my G80 Sport. However, lately I've switched to Regular at Costco and I don't see any difference in performance. My manual clearly in my 3.2T clearly says to use regular, but I think I read that the V8 should use premium.

I guess I should also note that I'm almost always in ECO mode and not in a hurry to mash my go pedal.

 

[TurtleBoy]

The gas station clerk also suggested me to add "Chevron Techron Concentrate Plus Fuel System Cleaner" - 20oz with a tankful . They have a discount deal going on . Is it any good ?

Since you are already using Top Tier fuels I would think there would be no need to use that cleaner.

 

[QuantumRift]

The deal is that if an engine is designed for regular fuel, using midrange or higher fuel is a waste of money. Used to be that many gasoline purveyors controlled their fuel from the refinery to the pump. Not so any more. All gasoline, whether it's Shell, Exxon, Costco, Sam's, Texaco, or that no-name crap down on the corner, comes from a distribution point. A lot of our gasoline used in this country is refined overseas, since there's not been a dearth of refinery construction in the US in the past few decades. The gasoline truck goes into the distro point, and gets it's load of fuel (regular, mid-grade, etc). Ethanol is mixed in at the fuel terminal (or 'distro point, if you will). Just before he leaves, he goes to the 'additive' station, where, depending on the final destination of the fuel, it gets its appropriate additives and detergents. The EPA required, decades ago, for fuels to contain additives and detergents to keep engines clean. However, since then, 'cheap' gas really is 'cheap' gas. It contains the least amount of mandated additives (additives cost money), and there's a reason that cheap gas station down on the corner is cheap. Top Tier Gasoline, such as Shell, Exxon, BP, etc all contain GOOD cleaning agents and detergents to keep engines clean (of course if you have a GDI engine, you haves to clean your intake valves by some other method than fuel additives as the fuel does not touch the intake valves).

You can use cheap gas, and every two or three tanks, pour in a bottle of Techron, etc. Or you can opt to use a Top Tier Fuel, and even with regular, you will get good results with the fuel. You can pay 25, 30, or 40 more cents per gallon, for premium top tier fuel, to get the additional benefit of the premium additives.

Using premium fuel in a regular or midrange engine won't improve your fuel economy or performance, but it might keep the engine clean(er). But so will using a good bottle of additive. And Top Tier fuels are not always more expensive - around here BP and Shell have has good a price as any of the cheap stations (Sam's and Costco excluded as their low price is generally a result of a good fuel contract)….




https://www.toptiergas.com

 

[EdP]

The deal is that if an engine is designed for regular fuel, using midrange or higher fuel is a waste of money. Used to be that many gasoline purveyors controlled their fuel from the refinery to the pump. Not so any more. All gasoline, whether it's Shell, Exxon, Costco, Sam's, Texaco, or that no-name crap down on the corner, comes from a distribution point. ce is generally a result of a good fuel contract)….

The cheap crap is a crap shoot. I knew the owner of an independent station. The tanker would drop gas at the Shell station down the road and they drop the same stuff in his tank. Another time it may be from the Gulf station around the corner. Another time it could be the cheap crap.

 

[carguy75]

The deal is that if an engine is designed for regular fuel, using midrange or higher fuel is a waste of money. Used to be that many gasoline purveyors controlled their fuel from the refinery to the pump. Not so any more. All gasoline, whether it's Shell, Exxon, Costco, Sam's, Texaco, or that no-name crap down on the corner, comes from a distribution point. A lot of our gasoline used in this country is refined overseas, since there's not been a dearth of refinery construction in the US in the past few decades. The gasoline truck goes into the distro point, and gets it's load of fuel (regular, mid-grade, etc). Ethanol is mixed in at the fuel terminal (or 'distro point, if you will). Just before he leaves, he goes to the 'additive' station, where, depending on the final destination of the fuel, it gets its appropriate additives and detergents. The EPA required, decades ago, for fuels to contain additives and detergents to keep engines clean. However, since then, 'cheap' gas really is 'cheap' gas. It contains the least amount of mandated additives (additives cost money), and there's a reason that cheap gas station down on the corner is cheap. Top Tier Gasoline, such as Shell, Exxon, BP, etc all contain GOOD cleaning agents and detergents to keep engines clean (of course if you have a GDI engine, you haves to clean your intake valves by some other method than fuel additives as the fuel does not touch the intake valves).

You can use cheap gas, and every two or three tanks, pour in a bottle of Techron, etc. Or you can opt to use a Top Tier Fuel, and even with regular, you will get good results with the fuel. You can pay 25, 30, or 40 more cents per gallon, for premium top tier fuel, to get the additional benefit of the premium additives.

Using premium fuel in a regular or midrange engine won't improve your fuel economy or performance, but it might keep the engine clean(er). But so will using a good bottle of additive. And Top Tier fuels are not always more expensive - around here BP and Shell have has good a price as any of the cheap stations (Sam's and Costco excluded as their low price is generally a result of a good fuel contract)….




https://www.toptiergas.com

The 5.0 V8 engine is design to run both premium and regular gasoline. The engine is rated to make about 400HP when using 87 octane and the advertised 420HP with 91 octane. 93 octane makes even more horsepower supposedly around 430HP.

You octane theory is more for older low compression engines that could not advance the timing or valve lift like modern engines. Most direct injection engines run stronger with 91 or higher octane, but runs fine on 87 octane as well. It is matter of choice if you want to use premium fuel for a stronger running engine or just use 87 octane for reduced power and lower fuel expense.

 

[carguy75]

I'm kinda with you. Around where I live, the difference is about 30 cents a gallon. So if I were to put 15 gallons in my G80, it would be $4.50 more or just a tad over a Starbucks latte. Since I'm low mileage driver, (6000 miles yearly), I probably only fill up about every other week. With my previous cars (Acura RDX and my Mini S) both of which called for premium, that's what I used. And I started out with the same policy for my G80 Sport. However, lately I've switched to Regular at Costco and I don't see any difference in performance. My manual clearly in my 3.2T clearly says to use regular, but I think I read that the V8 should use premium.

I guess I should also note that I'm almost always in ECO mode and not in a hurry to mash my go pedal.

The V8 can use both 87 or 91 octane fuel. If you do not drive your engine hard then you will not notice the different from 400HP(87 octane) or 420HP(91 octane). To be honest your Genesis is still making 400HP on 87 octane which is still a strong running engine. 20 more horsepower is not going to pin you to your driver seat when you accelerate much more than 400HP.

 

[carguy75]

Here is what both the 3.8 and 5.0 is rated with regular fuel and premium fuel. The 3.8 seem to only be rated for regular while the 5.0 has a rating for both fuel types.

Genesis Newsroom