Gas Question (Not sure where else to put this)

Matt09Silver · Mar 24, 2009

So I've had my Patriot for about a month now and I've filled up 4 times and just passed 1000 miles. I've been keeping track of my gas mileage and everything and its averaging about 24.5 mixed driving with 27.1 as a high with mostly highway.

So here is the actual question...what type of gas do you use and from what station? I know BP is now putting something in the gas they sell as is Shell with nitrogen (I think). I've mostly been filling up with Exxon (its the cheapest in my area at about -0.03 compared to all competition). Shell is by far the highest (usually +0.13 over Exxon). I'm also using the lowest grade that we have in the US (I believe it is 87). I wasn't sure if using the "richer" gas would have a positive effect on MPG in the Patriot or if anyone else had tried anything like this.

Also, do you normally go to the same station (unless traveling obviously) or do you go to wherever is cheapest (its tough with the economy the way it is) and do you notice any change in performance based on what type of station you go to?

Thanks for all the help!

APT · Mar 24, 2009

87 Octane from Costco. It's cheaper than everyone else's cash price yet get my 3% cash back and get the same FE as any other fuel I've used. This has been my experience over multiple vehicles .

Alec · Mar 24, 2009

Not sure about the states, here in Toronto, all the stations get their gasall from PetroCanada refinery Plant.

jepstr67 · Mar 24, 2009

The oil company competition with fuel blend boat sailed back in the 1970's. I just fill up at the first station after the low fuel light comes on. I use 87 octane and generally get 28 to 32 on the highway. If I can find gas without any ethanol content my mileage will be much 30 to 32. The Patriot is designed to run on low 87 octane fuel. The only times I have ever purchased high octane fuel is when there is no ethanol in the high test pump, only to find out is doesn't really make much difference. No where near what it would take to offset the additional cost.

DM6156 · Mar 24, 2009

I used to get gas at BP station because it contained no ethanol and I saw improved fuel economy. Now every station I stop at has a sticker on the pump, contains up to 10% ethanol by volume.

I get it where it's cheap and/or convenient. I usually get gas at Kroger because I grocery shop there and get $0.10 discount for every $100 purchase. And there's 2 kroger gas stations within 5 miles of home.

If I am out and about and am in need. I stop at wherever is near and cheaper.

Alec touched on a good point, but I'll explain in some more detail. Keep in mind, there's only so many refineries and storage facilities. Shell gas is refined in the same way as independent gas stations like Kroger. What makes each station (brand) unique is in the additives that are added after the fact.

The Kroger gas I get could be refined at a BP owned refinery, a shell owned refinery, etc. Shell recently introduced nitrogen enriched fuels. So the "base" gas is the same (87,89,93, etc octane), it's the additives that make it BP, Kroger, Shell, etc.

- Dan M

1st Jeep 4Me · Mar 24, 2009

I use a Hess station nearby that's a few cents more than the "no brand" station (regular grade fuel only) across the street from it since I need Premium for my signature car and my TSX. I try to stay with Hess when I can, when traveling I use what's nearby when the car needs fuel.

Medic311 · Mar 24, 2009

putting high octane in a regular low-performance engine is absolutely worthless since the compression ratio is fixed by nature of the design of the engine. it's a common myth that higher octane gasoline is "healthy" for a regular engine. you are better off buying a fuel system cleaner (not the STP and Preston cheapy ones at Walmart). you should get the $16/bottle ones. check Pep Boys.

Boy George · Mar 24, 2009

What octane fuel to use was a big concern for me too. When I bought the Patriot last year I filled up the first tankfull with 95 octanes which is the most widely used gas here, even though there are 91, 98 and 100 oct. fuels as well. Then I read the owners manual and tech. specs and it said to use 91 octane. So I called Chrysler/Jeep Czech Rep. and asked them about it. They said I could use any octanes but they didn`t seem to be too convicing to me. Then I looked at different european countries Jeep web pages to see what they have in their specs there and got confused even more. Some said 91, some 95 and the German Jeep web page said just BENZIN (=petrol=gas for US) which gave me a relly good laugh

. So I wrote an inquiry to Chrysler USA, they replied after about a week to contact their European section and that section told me to contact my local representation and I was right where I started again :icon_rolleyes:. This time I wrote an e-mail to the Czech Chrysler/Jeep main office and told them that I am concerned about using the right kind of gas in the Patriot to avoid any engine problems and the service shop later saying that warranty doesn`t apply due to usage of wrong octane fuel. I finaly got a written and signed statement from them, that the 91 oct. fuel listed in the users manual is the minimum octane rating and that I can use higher octanes - 95, 98 and even 100 without any worry. So I stayed with the 95 octanes, being the most widely used fuel around here and also cheaper than the 98, 100 ones.

tiptronic · Mar 24, 2009

Things are less complicated in UK Gas: Unleaded & Super Unleaded ( for high performance cars) Diesel Regular diesel, & Super Diesel ( Costs more money & supposed to go further & burn cleaner) , but a bit of a waste of time , as both are City Low Sulpher Diesels.

cwm · Mar 24, 2009

I use 85 octane.

For those of you not familiar with high altitude gasoline grades the 85 octane is our "regular". From Denver and to the west 5,000 ft is about the minimum elevation you can find. In places like Leadville and Fairplay the gas stations are at 10,000 ft. The lowest point in the state is along the Arkansas River near the Kansas Border. Just about all areas of the Eastern Plains are 4,000 ft and higher.

Boy George · Mar 24, 2009

tiptronic said:
Things are less complicated in UK Gas: Unleaded & Super Unleaded ( for high performance cars) Diesel Regular diesel, & Super Diesel ( Costs more money & supposed to go further & burn cleaner) , but a bit of a waste of time , as both are City Low Sulpher Diesels.

What are the octane ratings for the Unleaded and Super Unleaded? Just so I know what to put in the tank if I ever happen to visit the UK with my Patriot

But that`s not too likely - i`d probably have an accident on the first occasion with the left hand driving there

Matt09Silver · Mar 25, 2009

DM6156 said:
The Kroger gas I get could be refined at a BP owned refinery, a shell owned refinery, etc. Shell recently introduced nitrogen enriched fuels. So the "base" gas is the same (87,89,93, etc octane), it's the additives that make it BP, Kroger, Shell, etc.

- Dan M

Ok, so we've decided that the octane doesn't really matter for MPG in the Riot. Now onto the additives. Has anyone seen a difference between any of the stations? Does Shell's new nitrogen enriched fuels get better gas mileage or is it just a marketing ploy? Either way I'm happy with finding the cheapest gas (that doesn't look like I'm going to get killed while pumping) but I was just wondering if the extra stuff makes that big of a difference. BP says about running "younger" with their additives so while mine is still a baby, I guess according to them it would go back to the womb...or in this case factory.

wpeck2 · Mar 25, 2009

Make sure you use a name brand "Top Tier" rated gasoline for anti-wear additives. I know of times where people got poor mileage and went back to a name brand and the mileage went up 2-4mpg. BMW recommends Quick Trip here in the midwest. You can find these top rated gasolines by searching the internet. Surprisingly Quick Trip happens to be a lower priced gas here. Some so-called name brands are not top rated.

rocal · Mar 25, 2009

Here's a site for you, Boy George. It gives a lot of info on British gas and diesel.
http://www.petrolprices.com/about-fuel.html
If you drive over to the UK there's no need to worry about changing sides. Most of us have driven in mainland Europe with hardly a problem. One good tip is this: choose a ferry that will get you into the UK at some time like four o'clock in the morning. That way, not many other people are around on the roads and you can get the feel of left-hand traffic without the added hassle of being in a rat-race. Also, choose a port that isn't too busy and which isn't in the centre of a big city. My recommendation would be Harwich. Nothing ever happens around Harwich. Like, nothing, whereas Dover is bloody chaos.
If you were still worried then here's another idea: go direct to Ireland. You get a ferry from Roscoff in France that takes you straight to the Irish Republic. Their roads are generally a bit emptier than Britain's, except in the cities such as Dublin or Cork, where driving is sheer hell.
I bet you have more worries driving through France than the UK. You might be on the same side of the road, but, believe me, compared to Czechland, they drive like lunatics.

Rocal

thjeep · Mar 25, 2009

here in Indiana I use 87oct from Marathon because it's close to where I live and they have a ton of them in the area. They say that it has STP in it but I can't tell anything. On the road when I'm away from home I usually stick to something branded like BP, Shell, Phillips or something like that. I guess just because I still think like may parents taught me "you don't know what's in that other stuff". I haven't noticed any real difference in mileage no matter what I use. I get 22-24 in town and 26-28 on the highway.

Terasec · Mar 25, 2009

I use 87 oct about 90% of the time
i occasionally go with higher oct.
i also add fuel additive/cleaner once every few months.
dont know if it helps,
but used it on my neon and got +200K miles problem free, still on original fuel filter too.
so why mess with a good thing.

Jeephigh_11 · Mar 25, 2009

Matt09Silver said:
Ok, so we've decided that the octane doesn't really matter for MPG in the Riot. Now onto the additives. Has anyone seen a difference between any of the stations? Does Shell's new nitrogen enriched fuels get better gas mileage or is it just a marketing ploy? Either way I'm happy with finding the cheapest gas (that doesn't look like I'm going to get killed while pumping) but I was just wondering if the extra stuff makes that big of a difference. BP says about running "younger" with their additives so while mine is still a baby, I guess according to them it would go back to the womb...or in this case factory.

Just filled up for the first time after using a combination of additives. Acetone 3 oz., Xylene 1.5 oz., Lucas Upper Cylinder Oil Fuel Additive 2.5oz. This combination yielded 33.5 MPG (mostly hwy.) while using it for every ten gallons of fuel. My average fillups are around 11.6 - 12 Gallons per fuel stop, so I add just a bit more to every fill up.

Would be very interested if anyone could do this for a while and see what results they get. If not, don't worry about it, I'm about to embark on a 3300 mi. cross country trek, I think I'll have plenty of data after that.

tiptronic · Mar 25, 2009

The British work their octane rating slightly differently to the USA--- But it works out about the same in the long run!!

Regular Unleaded--95 RON

Super Unleaded---98 RON

Belveder · Apr 7, 2009

communist Toronto

Alec said:
Not sure about the states, here in Toronto, all the stations get their gasall from PetroCanada refinery Plant.

yes,precisely,here in communist Toronto we get gas from one depo and the prices and all the gas stations are pretty much the same

Patriot_Wife08 · Apr 7, 2009

I go to shell, never had any issues. The husband drives a Dodge Ram 2500 with a Cummins and he says the diesel there is the best around here. He notices that the truck runs much better and he gets better fuel mileage than at other stations.

Gas Question (Not sure where else to put this)

Matt09Silver

APT

Alec

jepstr67

DM6156

1st Jeep 4Me

Medic311

Boy George

tiptronic

cwm

Boy George

Matt09Silver

wpeck2

rocal

thjeep

Terasec

Jeephigh_11

tiptronic

Belveder

Patriot_Wife08

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