What Kinda Gas are you Runnin'?

[gcburdic]

Hey Guys,

Obviously, fuel prices are inching up every minute, so i thought I'd ask which gas are you running in your trucks??

I have a 350 with a beefy cam and a 21 gal tank behind the seat....I've been putting Premium fuel in it, but thought about using the mid-grade stuff.....

What do you think and Why??

[bigguy69]

the motor in both of the trucks here spark knock with any thing less than premium. the compression is on the verge of being to much.

[69GMCLonghorn]

I have a 350 with a big cam, but low compression. I found a hot rod guy that tuned the living heck out of this thing. But, he tuned it to run on super. I only drive it about 2-3000 miles a year, so I run Super.

When gas cleared the $5/gal mark out here in LA last year, I backed off the timing about 5° and ran regular. It pinged just a little at low RPM under a load but was fine about 95% of the time.

[Longhorn Man]

even race gas is cheaper then replacing melted pistons.

[Stocker]

Mine is basically stock (flat-tops & a mild RV cam) and is perfectly happy on 87 octane.

To the OP -- it wouldn't hurt anything to try a lower grade, and if you get any spark knock, go back to premium.

[smoknbarrels]

Originally Posted by gcburdic

Hey Guys,

I have a 350 with a beefy cam and a 21 gal tank behind the seat....

doesnt matter what cam or fuel tank you have, its all to do with compression.. burn the lowest grade you can get away with, otherwise you are just wasting money, premium doesn't make more power, it just resists detonation more... with premium fuel you can use higher compression (which is more hp). depending what altitude you drive at and what your compression ratio is - will determine what fuel to use.. some guys can't always hear if it is actually pinging or not.

[69GMCLonghorn]

True, but there can be other contributing factors.
Improperly arced distributor
Too much/little vacuum advance
Engine running hot
Weak valve springs (is this true?)

I have a buddy with an old FORD product that has all these problems! He just won't listen to me...

[tcb-1]

BP 93

Glad she's not my daily driver!

[big mike71]

I put premium in everything my weedeater,lawnmower,and all my trucks.

[vegaschevy]

My bikes run on 93, the car runs on 93, the tacoma on 87, the skis on 93, and the quads on race gas, the truck will run on premium WOOHOO

[Mayo]

My truck runs on premium. I should probably find something else to drive with cheaper gas.

[vectorit]

The burb 327 - Premium
The Harley - Premium
The yota - regular

I try to run only Chevron as well.

[glock35ipsc]

I run the cheapest 85 octane sold in town in everything I own..... vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles, ATV's. Except the diesel tractor.

[ksjh1316]

Haven't had mine started in a year the only motor I have seen work on it it the electric motor on the cooling fan when i tested it after buying it off Ebay

[special-K]

I`ve always run regular.I run premium in my bike(10.5:1).But it`s a hot rod that`ll go all day on 5 gallons.When I got my`90 Blazer new,I ran premium because the mfgr scares you into it.Then I realized my wife,who drove it daily,was burning regular.I gave her a hard time when I found out,then decided it was useless to try controlling what she did and used reg.We got 193,000 trouble-free miles out of it.
I`ve always wondered who the heck buys premium anymore.I didn`t realize so many do.

[tim21391]

i used to run 91 octane but since i started doing body work i have been using 87 since i start it and let it run every now and then

[67ChevyRedneck]

SC has 87, 89, and 91/93 for the most part, I run 87 in everything I own.

[red71c10]

I run mine on regular. It's a stock 350 and it does fine on the cheap stuff.

[1970 Bowtie]

I run mid-grade in my stock 350.As far as running a specific brand,Mobile,Hess,Exxon etc. all the fuel trucks that deliver the fuel all fill at the same location.So you really dont know what brand is coming out of the pump.

[big_al_71]

bp93 or amoco93 or sunoco93 glad I dont drive it all the time....

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by 1970 Bowtie

I run mid-grade in my stock 350.As far as running a specific brand,Mobile,Hess,Exxon etc. all the fuel trucks that deliver the fuel all fill at the same location.So you really dont know what brand is coming out of the pump.

that is true, Most of the gas comes from the terminal, then its shipped to bulk plants, then to the retailer.

But.......most of the bulk plants add their brand's aditives for the brand of fuel its supposed to be. so fuel coming from the same terminal, may not be exactly the same when it hits the retailers.

around here, all the fuel comes from the Citgo terminal. I plan on running 93 octane Shell in my 388 when its back on the road.

[Stock72c10]

What's compression Thank God my truck likes the cheap stuff, because that is what it is getting How can you have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?!

[85gmc2tone]

my truck likes the 101 but at 6 dollars a gallon i dont so i settle for 89 or 91

[mrein3]

My truck gets ONLY 91 octane from the BP station in town. I need the 91 for the flat tops. I only get it from BP because it is ethanol free.

All states are different. In Minnesota ALL unleaded gas contains a blend of ethanol unless the pump is marked that it does NOT contain ethanol. In MN it is illegal to put ethanol free gas in anything that isn't a boat, lawnmower, jet ski, etc., or collector car. The ethanol is supposed to keep the air cleaner if you are a believer in the global warming BS.

One thing I haven't seen discussed here is the ethanol thing. Ethanol blended fuels can separate in as little as two weeks so if you live in a state where all your fuel is blended like MN, and you leave your truck sit for extended periods, the fuel can seperate. When that happens you get all kinds of nasty things like rusty needles and seats in your carb, rust in your tank, you don't want it. If you drive your truck daily it shouldn't matter.

Since my truck will sit on occasion, and ethanol free is only available in the octane rating I need anyways, and my truck is old enough to be considered a collector, I stick to the 91 octane pump at the local BP.

Since it is legal and since they too can sit for over two weeks, I only put ethanol free in my lawnmowers, snowblower, weed whip, chian saw, boats, and any other small engine I have sitting around.

One more side note. My daily driver, a 1998 Escort, gets better fuel mileage with BP 87 octane than with "blue planet" 87 octane at the Holiday station. It pays to keep track of your mpg. I ALWAYS get more miles per gallon with the BP verses the Holiday. My 94 Escort was the same way.

Oh - and I don't work for Holiday, BP, or any other fuel company.

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by mrein3

My truck gets ONLY 91 octane from the BP station in town. I need the 91 for the flat tops. I only get it from BP because it is ethanol free.

All states are different. In Minnesota ALL unleaded gas contains a blend of ethanol unless the pump is marked that it does NOT contain ethanol. In MN it is illegal to put ethanol free gas in anything that isn't a boat, lawnmower, jet ski, etc., or collector car. The ethanol is supposed to keep the air cleaner if you are a believer in the global warming BS.

One thing I haven't seen discussed here is the ethanol thing. Ethanol blended fuels can separate in as little as two weeks so if you live in a state where all your fuel is blended like MN, and you leave your truck sit for extended periods, the fuel can seperate. When that happens you get all kinds of nasty things like rusty needles and seats in your carb, rust in your tank, you don't want it. If you drive your truck daily it shouldn't matter.

Since my truck will sit on occasion, and ethanol free is only available in the octane rating I need anyways, and my truck is old enough to be considered a collector, I stick to the 91 octane pump at the local BP.

Since it is legal and since they too can sit for over two weeks, I only put ethanol free in my lawnmowers, snowblower, weed whip, chian saw, boats, and any other small engine I have sitting around.

One more side note. My daily driver, a 1998 Escort, gets better fuel mileage with BP 87 octane than with "blue planet" 87 octane at the Holiday station. It pays to keep track of your mpg. I ALWAYS get more miles per gallon with the BP verses the Holiday. My 94 Escort was the same way.

Oh - and I don't work for Holiday, BP, or any other fuel company.

another thing to mention is that ethanol (a form of alcohol) mixes (dillutes) with water, so a gasoline with ethanol in it can pick up water and it can be very hard to detect that it has water in it.

Most would be suprised to know that most fuel tanks have a little water in the bottom of them, (mostly about 1-3") but the fuel pickup is cut about 6-8" off the bottom.................thats why you should never get fuel while or right after the truck is dropping fuel in the tank.