Only use good fuel

[pauldelaitre]

Hello all....yes my surname is french...grand father.
I would like to make a point about using good quility fuel.
I once thought that I would save money by using fuel (diesel) from my local shoping centre (mall) filling station that was about 25p a gallon cheaper than my shell garage.......WRONG....I actualy got less miles per gallon and the car wouldnt run or start tidy.....felt underpowerd.
Once I refilled with my usual fuel the car was well again .
Has anyone else had the same experiance.
I usualy get 83.1 miles per gallon combined (I usualy drive at 50 mph-motoway).
my car is a Citroen C3 1.4 hdi (70bhp...ecu modded to 92bhp).
It is a sensodrive model...manual box with shift paddles or auto mode.
No it does not have the stop start system fitted to it (I turn it off myself at lights that i know where im going to be stoped at for about 1 min or so).
This is a very good site for information (I like the mods for the rear wheel covers ).

[Funny]

Welcome to Ecomodder!

As far as better gas (diesel), there is an ongoing argument on this forum of people that swear by a specific station, grade, time, or other factor that makes their gas superior. I personally have not witnessed such an effect, however I cannot rule it out as a factor as I haven't done any experimentation with it.

And being part french isn't a bad thing, my fiance is part frenchie .

[wagonman76]

French Canadian here. As far as gas quality, Ive never found any one that is any better. But I do know of a handful of stations that usually have watered down gas or something wrong with it, and I avoid those places. One of them is the closest one to my house.

[Lazarus]

I can't speculate on the quality either. It all come from the same place, they just add their own additive packages. I have found that I get better and more consistant results from one local station and that's where I fill up every time when possible. Your mileage may very.

[PaleMelanesian]

I fill up at one certain station always. The difference? That is the only place in town with non-ethanol gas. It's worth about 5% better mileage to me, for the same price as all the others with ethanol.

[i_am_socket]

I've seen the effects of watered down gas broken down on the side of the highway.

There was a station near where I used to live that I swore had better gas than the big names (well, it was cheaper anyway). Now I just price shop and I haven't really noticed a difference. The gas log helps to quantify things like that.

I wish I could get non-ethanol gas around here, but I'm fairly certain it's a state requirement *edit* - yup

Welcome pauldelaitre! My fiance is part French, along with part Irish, Italian, Czech...

[Ford Man]

I was using BP in my '88 Escort up until a few months ago and I noticed a Texaco that was about $ .25 a gallon cheaper at the time so I filled up there. My mileage on that car is better on Texaco than on BP. I tried BP since and every time I put it in the tank my FE drops. I also tried Citgo recently and the FE dropped again. I can run the gas that Walmart, Sam's Club, Speedway or Shell sells and get as good of mileage as I do on the Texaco. I've tried several different brands in my '97 Escort wagon and it doesn't seem to effect its mileage. If it does it's so minimal that I can't blame the gas.

[groar]

In the megane, a 1997 1.9 turbo diesel, I can see a difference when the car is cold : with low grade diesel the starting is harder and the idle is unstable a few moments. Also the engine doesn't accept low rpm : 1350 instead of 1250.

In the high grade I'm using, there is around 10 additives and some to clean the engine. Before I use that high grade diesel, the engine couldn't accept to stay at a stable 1500 rpm. During the first high grade diesel tank, it accepted to stay at 1400 rpm and also to accelerate from there.

People are saying that this high grade make less noise, but I didn't eared that as the engine is relatively silent at low rpm.

In the scenic, a 2001 1.9 common rail turbo diesel, it doesn't seam to make a visible difference.

About your 83.1 MPG, are they Imp MPG or US MPG ? If these are US MPG then you should train to beat the world record... Even if these are Imp MPG (ie 69 US MPG) then your result is great as you are saying that you are not driving specifically to save gas.

In France your C3 (1.4 HDi 70 sensodrive) is rated at 54.7 US MPG combined, ie around 65.7 Imp MPG, you rated yours at 64.2 in your garage. On highway it's 60.3 US MPG (72.4 Imp MPG).

Are your trips mainly city, highway or combined ? How long are they ?

The front grill block is an easy mod and it permits to heat the engine quicker and to keep it warm longer when it's stopped. In England it should make a big difference. Currently without grill block my engine doesn't heat during my 20 miles commute and we are not yet at the sub 0°C season here...

Denis.

[pauldelaitre]

Hello Groar.
I have a fether for a right foot and I freewheel at every chance i get.
Becouse my car has the sensodrive fitted you can add about 5 miles per gallon extra ontop of the 65.7mpg becouse the computer can change gear more economical than a human.Yes I do drive for economy and I use imp gallons (5.43 lts to 1 gallon....I think).
My journey to work is all motoway (95%) at 50 mph im getting 94 to 106 mpg.
My work is 16 miles away and my car only hits opperating temp when im 3/4 of the way there.Im going to try the grid block as you mentiond.