My question is when talking about premium gas with Mike Troyer he recommends 93 from Amoco, Sunoco and a few others. And at all costs to stay away from Exxon adn BP.

My question is this I live in Charleston WV, and all of our gas stations get their gas from the same refinery, Ashland KY. So other than the additive packages there's not going to be any difference, right?

I put a full tank of 93 Sunoco last time and I filled up again last week with the same, I'm wondering if their gas is any good. So far can't tell much difference with the chip. Any advice on good gas in my area would be appreiceated.

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97 4X4 Flareside
4.6 5-Speed
Superchipped
ASP underdrives
Airaid
Dynamax headers
Borla Cat-back
Clear corners
5% Tint
285/75/16 BFG All terr.
16x8 AR Baha's
Rancho 9000's

Soon to come:
3" Perf. Acc. body lift
w/lift lips
315/75/16 BFG KO's
4000K bulbs

 

I live in nothern VA. The rule-of-thumb is to stay away from no-name brands. My understanding is that Texaco, Citgo, Amoco, and Shell make the best and about that order. However, each vehicle runs differently at different times (seasonal). I would use the cheapest of the above and you should be fine!
Exxon does not give out as much energy when burned as the others. Hence, you get less HP for the same amount used.

I am finding that Citgo is giving me greater mileage and is the cheapest. Texaco has also given me good results.


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Rand

98 Ford Expedition 4X4 XLT
5.4, 3.73s, 17" wheels,
Homemade 3" "COLD" Air-Box
mod, SuperChip, Amsoil
everywhere but tranny, Perma-
Cool combo 6 pass trans/oil
cooler (FQR 5.4 @ 50K)

 

Hi Ole Blue,

As long as you're using a good quality gasoline of 92 octane or higher, you're getting the power gains from the Superchip, there isn't going to be a big difference in power gained based on gasoline brand among the best brand names, except in the case of really poor fuels. In other words, the brand of gas is not going to completely negate the effects of the Superchip, though there can certainly be some noticeable difference. Doorslammer69 posted something about his results when he tried running "Racetrack" brand gas (an offbrand that is widely available and very cheap!) as compared to Amoco in the thread titled "premium", and he noticed a big difference between Racetrack and Amoco, as I would expect.

Anytime you want to see just what the Superchip is doing for you, pull it out and disconnect the battery, then pull the headlights on for 5 full minutes to drain all residual voltage from the system so that the computers memory is properly cleared and you get a complete fresh program load. Shut the lights back off, re-connect the battery, and away you go. Then when you put it back in, do the same thing, and you'll see the difference.

If you do not use that technique for the battery disconnect & turning the lights on, you will not clear the computers memory, and consequently you won't get a complete fresh program load, and the changes will be much more gradual, taking days of driving to come in as the new program's instructions slowly overwrite the previous program sitting there in memory, and it is harder to tell the difference like that, because it comes in and goes away (when you take it out) *gradually*. So make sure to do the above procedure so that you can see the actual back-to-back differences. As long as decent quality fuel is used, you'll get the power gains from the Superchip, which are roughly a 10%-12% increase in peak horsepower, it's not going to feel like a supercharger, of course.

Here in Virginia, and in most areas of the country, Texaco, Amoco & Citgo are our favorite brands of choice, due to their excellent detergent additives, consistent octane numbers and consistent energy content more often than not. Those brands also still do their own refining for the most part, and that gives them far better control than when they outsource refining services, so that can be a factor as well.

There can always be variances in formulations from one geographic area to the next, as in some areas Chevron works well, and that is a brand that has a somewhat inconsistent energy content here in Virginia, for example.

We have also seen good results using Shell here in the East, while our customers out West don't like Shell at all.

If you want to do a "layman's" evaluation of your local fuel supplies, try 2-3 tanks of each brand of fuel, and do the same battery disconnect procedure each time you change brands, so that you start off with a clean slate, and can directly compare your mileage results; the fuels with the higher energy content will generally deliver the best mileage results. That's about the best we "laymen" can do to evaluate our local fuel supplies.

Sunoco is usually a decent brand, especially if you have their Ultra 94. I like Texaco, Amoco, & Citgo, in that order, due to their energy content and superior detergent additives.

Good luck!

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 11-20-2000).]

 

What about 76 Gas? A lot of our stations around here just got bought out by them and they're all switching over.

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2000 F-150SC 5.4L 4X4ORP
DEEP WEDGEWOOD BLUE
AUTO, 3.55LS, TOW PKG.
CAPTAIN'S CHAIRS,
REMOTE KEYLESS ENTRY
REAR SLIDER
PREMIUM SOUND w/ CD
RHINO LINER
STATE ISSUED UNIV.OF GA. PLATE.
UGA RECEIVER COVER
UGA LICENSE PLATE(FRONT)

WISH LIST:
FLOWMASTER DELTA 40
AIRAID FIPK
SUPERCHIP
TINTED WINDOWS
HOOD DEFLECTOR(PAINTED)
RAIN GUARDS(PAINTED)

A NATIONAL TITLE FOR UGA(FOOTBALL)

 

Hi wemjr,

Union 76, or "Unocal", is not one of our favorites, as the results we get reported back to us vary quite a bit. A few people have considered their results with 76 to be good, but more often than not, there are better brands available. That oo, can vary from one area to the next.

A lot of guys will try 76 because NASCAR Winston Cup race cars run only Unocal racing gas, as Unocal supplies it free of charge to NASCAR Winston Cup racing teams. But the quality of their racing gas, which is excellent, has nothing to do with the quality of the 76 gas coming out of your local pumps.

I'm sorry I can't give you better info on 76, other than to say if you want to try it, go ahead and see if you like the results.

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer