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The Gasoline Experiment

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C.R.E.A.M
Posts: 2987 - Karma: 4,575
Well Newschoolers i have some interesting news, i will try to keep this brief, i know that most of you don't have that great of an attention span, and need to get back to business in the "u like scene girls" thread

Over the last 2 months, as part of a bet with my father (who thinks he knows everything, but im beginning to think he does) i have been conducting an experiment to see which makes more economic sense, supreme gas, or the cheap stuff.

So my whip happens to be a 2008 chevy cobalt (great around town car, but thats about all its great for), with about 22xxx miles on it, and it has this neato feature where it calculates your average gas mielage, and just to make sure, i set the trip meter, and began keeping track of how much gas i used, and how far i drove. I commute to my job m-f usually coming home for lunch, and im lucky enough to only live 3 or 4 miles away and the speed limit in cali is pretty fast, average around 50 wherever i go (average of 28 mph from stoplights)

so the first month i used arco cheap 89 grade fuel, my car got the shudders when it started and its performance was sluggish, its tanks capacity holds around 11 gallons, and the $.20 difference does not save me much at the pump.

the second month i put in chevron 97 with  "techron" (oohh rad!) i noticed after the second tank of gas my car was a little more livley, but being a cheap 4 banger its not all that spectacular. the car has no problems, and seems to be a little more responsive. the gas is more expensive, but not much really, a dollar, maybe 2 at most to fill up.

so...

i have found that the techron DOES burn better, and help my cars performance, and i also discovered that i got about 3 or 4 miles more per gallon! which was a shock to me! no wai!!11!1

well i lost a 100 dollar bet, but its cool cause my dad forgot about it and i dont have to pay him! and i guess from now on i will be fillin up with the good shit!

my expination with a small ammout of resach and undergraduate physics and chem classes leads me to believe that the 97 fuel has more conbustive agent, basically more bang for your buck, literally, where the 89 has less burning agent, and a ton of other shit that slows your car down.

simple math

89 vs. 97 is a 8% difference

29 mpg vs 32 mpg is about a 10% difference  (the other shit that is in the 89 grade slows down your car too)


so

myth busted!!!




Jan 16 2009 2:12PM
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C.R.E.A.M
Posts: 2987 - Karma: 4,575
ohh and for $2 a gallon for the cheap shit, and 2.20 for the expensive shit, the price difference is 9% so there is a SLIGHT financial advantage too :) besides the performance
Jan 16 2009 2:14PM
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Edew19
Posts: 365 - Karma: 13
hmm thats pretty cool.  I wonder if you would get the same results for an older or shittier car though.  I thought I heard somewhere that filling a shit-mobile with premium doesn't really help anything.  Maybe ill try it.
Jan 16 2009 2:19PM
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C.R.E.A.M
Posts: 2987 - Karma: 4,575
yea man give it a shot, as long as your car doesn't have any leaks around the pistons, the same concept still applies. id like to know if anyone else tries this with other cars, my dad was saying the benefit is even more in cars with larger engines, like v8's.
Jan 16 2009 2:22PM
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jedi.Jim
Posts: 1133 - Karma: 13
Go biodiesel. It gets even better.
Jan 16 2009 2:22PM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
Well, not busted yet.  We need to try this with some bigger engines to see if the larger explosions help the gas mileage or just give it great acceleration, etc.  Very interesting though, thanks for the post.  This should be on Mythbusters for sure.
Jan 16 2009 2:24PM
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C.R.E.A.M
Posts: 2987 - Karma: 4,575
yea man, my dad tried it with his suburban when he got it, he used the middle grade tho, and he still says the best grade is most cost effective
Jan 16 2009 2:25PM
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MangoSteeze
Posts: 793 - Karma: 48

Many high-performance engines are designed to operate with a high maximum compression and thus demand high-octane premium gasoline. A common misconception is that power output or fuel mileage can be improved by burning higher octane fuel than a particular engine was designed for. The power output of an engine depends in part on the energy density of its fuel, but similar fuels with different octane ratings have similar density. Since switching to a higher octane fuel does not add any more hydrocarbon content or oxygen, the engine cannot produce more power.

However, burning fuel with a lower octane rating than required by the engine often reduces power output and efficiency one way or another. If the engine begins to detonate (knock), that reduces power and efficiency for the reasons stated above. Many modern car engines feature a knock sensor – a small piezoelectric microphone which detects knock and then sends a signal to the engine control unit to retard the ignition timing. Retarding the ignition timing reduces the tendency to detonate, but also reduces power output and fuel efficiency.


THE WIKI HAS SPOKEN.       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

Jan 16 2009 2:44PM
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gmack24
Posts: 4636 - Karma: 31
OK, I have a 99 Audi A4....Although my car reccomended premium gas, some people use the cheap stuff. I have tried both. When using 97 my car is noticeably more powerful, and get way better gas mileage...I am not even talking 3 or 4 mile / gallon more..but like 7-9...Way better... PS, this doesn't work for all cars, if you have a hoopdy it might not work.
Jan 16 2009 2:52PM
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hellomynameisjef
Posts: 5794 - Karma: 167
i love wikipedia so much
Jan 16 2009 3:29PM
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C.R.E.A.M
Posts: 2987 - Karma: 4,575
ok so the first paragraph kinda contradicted the second, the engine cant get more power, however with cheaper gasoline the efficency and power is decreased?
idk all i know is i get more power/mileage with higher octane fuel.
Jan 16 2009 3:46PM
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Horizon
Posts: 368 - Karma: 21
Your experience probably has nothing to do with the techron additive (pretty much all gasoline has the same amount of additive that helps clean the injectors and valves), but the actual octane rating.   There is a problem with experimenting with reg, plus, supreme though.  You are ignoring that little book in your glove compartment that has the octane rating your engine was designed for.  A lot of people make the mistake of using higher octane thinking it'll actually help their engine perform better (when there is no added benefit).  In reality they could be damaging the engine.  People used to use higher octane to stop engine knock when cars used carburetors to regulate the air/gas mix, but now cars use computerized fuel injectors that do a better job regulating the mix and don't require all the maintenance adjustments that the carburetors needed.

When you use a fuel with a higher octane rating than your vehicle requires, you can send this unburned fuel into the emissions system.  It can even collect in the catalytic converter.  You are just stressing the system for no reason and it could bite you in the end.

Now too low of an octane for which your engine is rated for will cause engine knock that will also cause damage.  If your book says use regular.......well use regular.
Jan 16 2009 3:58PM
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