Thanks MarkS.

But, many, if not most, local stations "blend" at the pump. We have choices ranging from 87 to 93. Almost every pump has two hoses to the nozzle. The tankers pump in (I'm assuming) 87 and 93 to seperate underground tanks then the stations "blend" to get 88, 89, 90, and 91 octane levels.

I agree with staying away from the blends. That's why I buy 93. It is the only pump that has one hose. Unfortunately, around here, there are only 4 types of gas: Citgo, Phillips, Texaco, and "other". I guess living 30 miles from Phillips headquarters, I'm lucky to have that many choices.

Neal

 

How about doing your own "blending" at the pump to get the octane number you need. I do this all the time with my car 10 gal 93 with 10 gal 105 to get the 99 I need.
Why not blend 87 with 93 to get your needed 91? Or is my thinking out of wack?

 

--Thanks for the help BJohnston! That was a much better explanation than I would have given, and it is right on the money.

--gearhead, blending gasoline yourself will work just fine, however, I don't do it because 89 octane works just fine for me.


------------------
MarkS
1999 F-150 XLT 4x4 ORP SC SB
5.4, 3.73, & Superchip.

 

Dear BJohnston,

Thanks for your explanation. I too, was in the oil business years ago, and have been in virtually every refinery in this country, along with all of the tank farms of any size, and even some of almost no size!

One of the things I noticed was that Exxon's facilities were head and shoulders above everybody else in the industry, meaning much cleaner, and usually safer to work in and around. It's ironic, because their gasolines are among the worst I've ever seen and used.

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com

 

Does anyone know where Gas America gets there fuel from? Is it comparable to Mobil, Shell, Exxon etc.? Is it all pretty much the same then (I hope) because thats what I have been using to break my truck in with. Thanks,
Todd (99 4.2L 5-speed)

 

I live in Colorado, where the elevation is about 5000 feet. The octane ratings most available are 85, 87, and 91. I have not seen any numbers greater than 91 here locally.

Will the SuperChip run okay with 91 at this elevation? Does the knock sensor and spark advance adjustments eliminate the chances of damage due to detonation?

------------------
94 F-150 XLT SC 4x4 5.8L

 

gearhead,

did you say 105...as in 105 octane? Ive moved up and down the east coast and have never seen this.

Does anyone know the compression ratio of our engines? (4.2l, 4.6L, 5.4L)?

What is the best gas brand that BJohnson was eluding to?



------------------
The Truck: 1997 Black F-150 Flareside. Regular Cab ORP and Towing Package
The Mods: K&N Filter, Eurolid Hard Tonneau and Ford Bug Deflector.
The Site:
Triton's 4.6 Liter Web Page
www.mindspring.com/~acbradley/index.html

 

Dear 94F150,

You will be fine with your 91 octane. On the off chance that you encouter any detonation, the Superchip can always be adjusted to compensate for this. These vehicles are programmed for about 90.5 or so octane, precisely because in some areas, you can only get 91 octane for premium.

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com

 

I am posting this to put this topic back to the top.

------------------
MarkS
1999 F-150 XLT 4x4 ORP SC SB
5.4, 3.73, & Superchip.

 

Triton46,
There is a gas station in my town that sells gas somewhere in the 100's octane level. They call it "racing gas". I think one of the reasons they sell it is because there is a speedway (racing) track here.

 

Well I am waiting for my superchip to get here (kinda wish UPS had some superchips so they could get here faster) I ordered it through Mike on 7/5/99 and I cant wait! I do mostly highway driving (about 135 miles a day) and get about 12 miles to the gallon at higher speeds

Did I mention that I cant wait for the superchip? Im like a little kid staring out the window for the big brown truck!

------------------
Tom Davison
Web Development
Graffitiland
tom@graffitiland.com
98 White F150 4.6 Off Road & Towing Pkg.

 

Just an FYI. All the pump gas you buy is initially the same octane. The only difference is that premium is tested and guaranteed to be at least 92 or 93 octane. The 89 is tested and guaranteed to be at least 89 octane. The same for 87 octane, it is tested and guaranteed to be at least 87 octane. The way they get that guaranteed octane is the treatments they add once the fuel is in the station tanks.
However, take notice of when the tanks are filled by a truck at a station. They all use one hose and they never switch any valves, etc going from filling the 87 to 89 to premium octane tanks.
In other words, you could very well run 87 octane gas that has an octane rating of 92 octane. It is all a huge money game. I have personally known many a gas station owner and its true with all of them, they just don't want the consumer to figure it out.
This doesn't mean that you will ALWAYS get premium a octane fuel everytime you fill with 87 or 89 octane, but only to say that by purchasing the premium, you are only buying a "guarantee" of the octane rating.

I have been called a liar on this, but later their apologies were accepted.

Take care.

[This message has been edited by BassCat (edited 07-12-1999).]

 

Years ago I worked for a company that installed gas station equipment. Most stations had either 2 or 3 completely separate fuel storage systems, one for each 'product'. 'Regular' would be in one (usally the biggest as sales are highest), 'mid-grade' would be in the second tank(s) if provided, and 'Premium' would be in the other tank(s), usally the smallest as sales were generally lowest. The dispensor (the actual pumps were usally submerged in the tanks) would ony filter, deliver and meter the fuel. I never saw anything added at the dispensor. Not to say it doesn't happen, but I didn't see it.

I was never involved in a SUNOCO station, but, I understand that they generally had two tank systems, one holding low (87) octane product and the other holding high (94) octane. These two would then be mixed at the dispensor during delivery. If you wanted the low end, you got 100% from the 87 octane tank. If you wanted mid-grade, you got a percentage (75/25% ?) mixed from both tanks.

 

Dear Basscat,

If you are trying to say that all gas is the same, or even the same octane, until it is pumped into the storage tanks at the actual filling station, that is incorrect as a blanket statement, sorry. I'm not calling you a liar by any means, that's a very harsh thing to say about anyone. I simply mean that you apparantly have an incorrect understanding of the process, perhaps.

For example, one of the major ingredients of premium gasoline is tolulene, with contents of 40% or greater by volume, and no "gas station" has the ability to add tolulene, though a few stations will blend at the pump to get a mid-grade.

There are a *very* few that blend octane at the pump, I.E., Sunoco is probably the most famous of those that do.

But the gas in the ground at your local filling station, gas station, convenience store, etc. is separated into the three grades, as a general rule. Or at least into two. It isn't a situation where the same truck delivers the same thing with no switching of hoses or valves, sorry. I've seen this too many times, in person. I've ridden tanker trucks, driven by friends, and I have helped connect the hoses, and switch the valves, in person. As a matter of fact, I just went up to my local Citgo, where the owner is a good friend of mine, to observe his tanks being filled, which happens 3-4 times a week at this location. Each grade came from a different storage compartment on the tanker truck, and each storage tank underground is in fact only holding one grade, IE, one tank for 87, one for 89, and one for 93, and they are *not* mixed, blended, etc., and there are no additives whatsoever introduced by the gas station.

Many station owners would be delighted to only be using one tank underground, simply because of the EPA's monitoring of unburned hydrocarbon release into the atmosphere, and the ground. The 10 year deadline has just recently expired, which allowed station owners 10 years to get into compliance, with either an in-ground testing system, very expensive, or with manual testing for leakage. With only 1 underground tank, they would have saved a tremendous amount of money, and I mean each individual station owner, due to the large expense of these monitoring systems.

We have a few members here in the business, who have explained this before.

Or have I misunderstood what it is you're saying, perhaps?!? That's entirely possible, and if that's the case, then by all means, please straighten me out!

Cheers,

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com

 

We, too, have a local station that sells "Racing Fuel" rated at 102 octane. I used to put it in my Honda CBR600-F2 every now and then.... I haven't attempted to use it in my truck.

I just placed my Superchip order today, so I may try running my tank out and buying a half-tank of 102 when I install it..