I was wondering if any one tried that newly advertised gasoline from Shell? I am unsure if its a scam. I have heard a bit of mixed reviews from some people i asked. the most common complaint is getting an check engine light which usually has to do with the oxygen sensor. Because of that i am unsure if i should fill up with it. So, i was wondering what some of you thirdgen owners think of this product.

 

I have been using shell gas in everything I drive (because of the 5% re-bate thing) and haven't noticed any difference. My '99 Chev 2500 van likes to throw a check engine lite every now and then but hasn't for a while now. Just took the IROC out of storage for the season and fueled up for the first time today so can't tell anything there yet. My wifes '00 bonnieville seems to be running fine also. I was wondering when I saw the signs at the pumps just what they were hoping to gain from this. Kind of like , what does nitrogen in tires actually do other than cost more than air?

 

Well first off... Unlike air, nitrogen filled tires do not have significant pressure changes like air filled tires. Cold air is denser than warm air. As your tires warm up the air inside will expand causing your pressure to rise. Also tires inflated with nitrogen will hold a constant pressure. Did you know most if not all race cars have nitrogen filled tires?

 

nitrogen is an inert gas . do not know how it could help . could someone please explain ???

 

i was talking about that newly advirtised nitrogen enriched gasoline that shell now offers in their 93 octane v-power. not inflating your tires with nitrogen.

 

The theory is that nitrogen filled tires have less pressure changes because there is no water vapor and have a reduced rate at which the compressed gas diffuses through porous tire walls because of the size of the molecules. Normal tires filled with compressed air consists of about 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and 1 percent other gases by volume. Water vapor (humidity) can make up as much as 5 percent of the volume of air under worst-case conditions. Nitrogen filled tires are supposed to have 0% humidity. The density of humid air fluctuates more with temperature than that of dry air, so removing humidity can keep your tire pressure more consistent, especially when the temperature climbs over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

As for nitrogen in the gas.....it sounds like something the marketing came up with to increase the price.

 

I don't have any facts but I agree with this As for nitrogen in the gas.....it sounds like something the marketing came up with to increase the price.

CG

 

Oh Google, my friend, please enlighten me...

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10185640-48.html

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009...its-been-done/

'I' say it is mostly marketing. Does it actually help? Maybe, but enough to make a difference? Doubtful. How often do we see vehicles failing because of gunk build up in the cylinders and on the valves? Rarely. Odds are something else on the car will fail before this becomes a problem. So in effect they are creating a solution to a problem that really does not exist.'

 

Preemptive strike I like it lol. Is it just in the 93 or what?

 

From the first link provided.....

"Shell claims that its nitrogen-enriched gasoline cleans better than before and protects better against engine buildup. Of note, all three grades of gasoline will contain the nitrogen-enriched detergents"

 

Thanks for the enlightenment deadbird! I don't think i will be trying it anytime soon. they currently want $2.45 for their v-power, where i can get sunoco 93 for $2.33 across the street.

 

You guys are lucky... Best gas near me is i think 90. Damn alaska. Haven't been the Shell in forever though, so maybe they have it higher... And I'm sure there's places in anchorage with better gas.. but that's a 30 minute drive...

 

The first five letters of nitrogen is nitro- which is also the first five letters in nitrous and nitromethane!

 

In upstate NY they switch gasoline between the warm weather months and the cold weather months. The cold weather gasoline is 'oxygenated' more so than todays bunny friendly gas. Why? colder weather you can sell crappier than usual 87 octane and because of the colder air temps, no one notices. Have some of this crud left over and try running it in a sensitive engine and you'll be pissed in a hurry, to the point of needing dry gas. Nitrogen, being inert, doesnt really have any acidic or solvent properties. Hydrogen on the other hand...

I say its just filler, and marketing; especially since I find it hard to believe 'gunk' is a scientific term. In advertising these are called 'glittering generalities'

Im surprised GM or Chrysler doesn't spec a fuel brand yet on their best sellers.

 

This whole thing just sounds like another one of Shell's stupid gimmicks. If anything adding nitrogen to the fuel will only make your car produce more oxides of nitrogen (NOx) which is bad for the environment and could cause you to fail a smog test.

 

I was wondering the same thing. To me it makes sense that if you put more nitrogen in, it would create more NOx in the exhaust.

 

NOX hmm???? Sounds fast!



lol

 

Thats how i feel. NOx are the reason we have EGR.

 

I have been using the new Shell formula in my 01 Explorer Sport since it came out. To be honest, I noticed no difference whatsoever. I normally use Chevron, Unocal, or Mobil 91 octane in my Camaro and never had an issue.

Btw, I was using Chevron, Unocal, and Mobil 87 octane in the Ford and no noticeable difference in performance.

 

been using it for about yr. now, i will usually get around 400-415 per tank.
with this gas. if i fill up somewhere else, i will significantly less miles. so i guess its worth something, also my truck is 5.3, cai, tune, ls6 cam, stock intake, manifolds, c/o, layed down 280 to the wheels with stock tires and stock rims. so its not like the truckis completely stock.

as matter of fact, i filled up yest. eve., and on way home i raced a 95 impala ss from stoplight, put around 5-6 lengths on it.

 

I only use Shell or Sunoco fuel for two reason; 1) I have never gotten bag gas from a Shell or Sunoco station, 2) I average 2 mpg better on their fuel than the cheap brands.

Up until the start of this year I averaged around 1200 miles per week on my own dime, I now average around 600 per week on a Shell gas card. I have always kept very close tabs of my mileage, averaging per tank and then averaging 5 tanks together. My 250k mile 4.3l S10 blazer averages right around 21.3 mpg, I have been averaging just at 22 with the new "nitrogen enriched" fuel from Shell. - No performance issues, no SES light issues.

Too each their own, bargain brand fuel maybe cheaper up front, but it cost you in the long run.


On another note, is anyone having issues with the E10 ethanol blends? According to the tester that a local fuel supplier has, we're seeing as high as 20% at some stations in this area and I have friends who are having issues with some high-powered street cars running pump fuel. - Vehicles that sit seem to be particulairly problematic, as the ethanol seems to seperate from the gas after sitting a while. Aloso, any mixed gas 2-stroke equipment needs to be particulairly carefull about the fuel staying mixed. I have some customers telling me they've had the oil seperate from the fuel over-night, as it does not seem to blend in with the ethanol.

 

i have had my 88 for 5 yrs and only run shell gas in it since i bought it. since they started with the nitrogen i have noticed about 2-3 miles more per gallon. i do use the 93 octane. yes they put it in all grades. and before i redid my exhaust i did notice less of a fuel smell than before. now i smell nothing since i have complete exhaust done.

 

not sure if its relavent, but usually i run the cheapest gas i can get, which is usually found at the local WAWA. i have the car tuned to run on 89 at the moment.
i was desparate and got shell midgrade (89) gas because i was literally running on fumes.

the car runs like total dog food now.
it shakes a lot more at idle, idles a bit higher, runs warmer, has less "pick up" when you tap the gas...
i cant wait to get the stuff out. anyone want some free gas?

oh, and to clarify some things said above.
NOx emissions come from the fact that air is like 80% nitrogen, and when the gasoline is combusted, something has to happen with all that nitrogen. the high heat forces some of the oxygen to bond to nitrogen.

high NOx numbers are bad for the environment, and bad for max power as well as you are "wasting" oxygen.

nitrogen gasoline wouldnt increase NOx (IMO) but probably decreases the BTU/unit volume of the gasoline, as it is just filler.


anyway, i wont be using shell gas any more. ill happily take my cheap WAWA gas any day.

 

Ethanol will absorb humidity which could be seen as separating. But im pretty sure it doesn't physically separate... Otherwise service stations would have issues with in separating in the storage tanks. Methlhydrate or isopropyl alcohol (gas line anti freeze or stabil type additives contain such products and will ensure the fuel remains water free.

Ethanol is not all bad, it is 113 octane.
I agree on Shell and other majors being worth the extra penny. At a Bulk plant all gasoline is the same and the additives are stored separately. They are unique to each oil company. When a truck comes to haul fuel to Shell for example, the gas and additive are mixed in the lines and then put into the truck.

Independents are usually bottom of the barrel in the sense that they have no to little additive.

 

when i built my new motor, i was running shell premium only for a few fill ups... engine is a 383 HSR with aluminum patriot heads/stainless valves and has a mild 9.8:1 combustion. after 1000miles i had to pull the engine (2 lifters took a dump and ruined my cam. i pulled the heads to check everything. my combustion chambers had black CR@P all over them (they were polished) and most of the valves already had carbon buildup in the chambers where i couldnt get it off... not even with brake clean. also i had some discoloration on the valve stem area behind the valve. my plugs even got coated with some carbon.

your prob gona say my engine was too rich but it really wasnt. since then ive been running delta gas which is 15-30cents cheaper by the gallon depending on the day. Dnt even get me started on how much of a rip off BP gas is and there stupid innvigorate. my 383 runs very strong and i expect 480hp from it NA.

 

I have been using this gas for about 3 months now. I have to say, the car runs better than on the cheap brands. My MPG is up a couple miles to the gallon as well. So I would say it does something.

 

I dont know much about the nitrogen, but top tier gasolines are a must IMO. When I worked at the caddy dealership, we periodically got vehicles which had engine surges and other driveability issues which were fixed with fuel induction services. When you run top tier fuels, you dont need these. But dont take my word for it. There is a GM Bulletin out about top tier gasolines. Six of the major automotive companies(Gm was one of them) did a study on different gasolines and noted that only some had high enough levels of detergent which kept engines clean(top tier, or Tier one). Here's the Top Tier list:

QuikTrip
Chevron
Texaco
MFA Oil Co.
Conoco
Phillips 66
76
Entec Stations
Shell
The Somerset Refinery, Inc.
Kwik Trip / Kwik Star
Aloha Petroleum
Tri-Par Oil Co.
Turkey Hill Minit Markets
Mileage Stations
Chevron Canada
Shell Canada
Petro-Canada
Sunoco Canada

As long as you gas up with one of these, you should never have a carbon build up related problem.
You can tell when you take apart an engine thats been run on top tier vs one that hasnt. The top tier engines look clean and great inside, like they only have a few miles on them.

So, while I dont know what nitrogen does, Shell is among the brands trusted and reccomended by those 6 manufacturers.

 

out of that whole list the only one that is near me is shell... i wish i had a texaco or a 76 but there are some sunoco's. my engine looked like it had 130,000 miles on it when running shell premium 93 octane

 

I run Phillips 66 gas- 91 octane- in our 05 Colorado (ram air/cai, tune, MBRP, Grantelli COP wires, etc), 02 Trailblazer (cai, tune), and the 86 Z28. Grand Am gets 87 because I haven't tuned it for 91 yet. I consistantly get better mileage with Phillips over Quick Trip.

Also, we have a local chain (Kwik Shop) that is consistanly 20 cents a gallon cheaper on their gas- BUT it's E10, just not labeled as such. They informed me of that when I emailed them about finding a higher octane than 91.

I did pick up 2-3mpg and some noticeable power running Shell 93 in my Colorado on a trip to South Dakota. Guess my timing is a bit aggressive. Can't find it here though.

E10 is a joke- I had to adjust my commanded AFR to 14.3 IIRC to account for variations of how much was actual ethanol- a lot of guys on HP Tuners website have tested theirs and found it to be anywhere from 0-10% ethanol. My power dropped off in the Collie with it, and MPG still wasn't as good as my 87 tune.

http://www.hptuners.com/forum/showth...t=26962&page=2

http://www.hptuners.com/forum/showth...light=e10+test

 

I've got none of those listed companies near me. The closest one is a 45 minute drive away(that's each way, not round-trip). Kinda pointless to drive that far just for gas. I have had problems in other vehicles with BP gas before. I've been using the local chain of gas stations for the last 2 summers for all my vehicles and haven't noticed any driveability issues or mpg losses. At least none that weren't my fault. I believe the use E10 in their pumps as well. Some stations have it listed on the pumps, some don't but I'm assuming they all get their gas from the same supplier.

 

I have been putting Shell premium In my GTA for the last couple fill ups and it seems to like it. I put nothing below premium in it because if I do it starts running ruff, and the check engine light comes on for some reason. Runs good with it in, no complaints. I am going to give it a full tune up soon, with a seafoam treatment and after that I am only going to be putting shell premium in her

 

the '10' in E-10 means that there is a MAXIMUM of 10% ethanol. not that there is exactly 10% ethanol.
same with E-85. MAXIMUM of 85% ethanol.

most summer gas is E-10 implied

 

True, but if the sign on the pump states "Contains 10% Ethanaol", it should be a 10% ethanol blend. If it states "Contains UP TO 10% ethanol", I'd expect a variance.

Where I live, it states "Contains 10% Ethanol", but it doesn't always.

What exactly do you mean by summer gas being E10 implied?

 

JUST THAT.
most places, the gas you buy in the summer time will have more ethanol than gas you buy in the winter.
usually, the percent is up to 10% in the summer.
reason being that we can produce more ethanol in the summer, and we are set up to do it, so we might as well... you know

in fact, most pumps around here say
"may contain up to 15% ethanol"