nickyg1478
Member
My 95 tahoe is just a daily driver i dont tow anythin around usually. what kinda gas you guys think i should be using? i feel like paying more for premium is just stupid. is it really that much better for your engine?
Gas choice
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chauncey0337
Full Access Member
I would go with at least a top tier regular, imo. I use shell gasoline.
SunlitComet
OBS Jedi-Do Good
Chevron all the way! if you have knock sensors and your pcm is design to "push" the limits of ignition advance then yes it is worth it. 
The octane rating of gasoline relates to the flash point. The higher the octane the higher the flash point. It is not a rating of “power”.
High performance engines with high compression ratio’s, require high octane to be sure the fuel does not ignite from the compression, but rather waits for the spark. Many people mistakenly think the reason the high performance engine has the added power is because of the high octane premium gas. The power comes from compressing the fuel air mixture to a higher pressure. The fuel itself whether it’s premium or regular still has the same BTU’s per gallon
If your 95 is stock, it should only be 10 to 1 compression. Regular gas is more than enough. Putting in premium is just a good way to waste money. There are some brands that claim additives that help clean your engine, etc. If you think you are getting a benefit from using the higher prices gas, it’s your money.
High performance engines with high compression ratio’s, require high octane to be sure the fuel does not ignite from the compression, but rather waits for the spark. Many people mistakenly think the reason the high performance engine has the added power is because of the high octane premium gas. The power comes from compressing the fuel air mixture to a higher pressure. The fuel itself whether it’s premium or regular still has the same BTU’s per gallon
If your 95 is stock, it should only be 10 to 1 compression. Regular gas is more than enough. Putting in premium is just a good way to waste money. There are some brands that claim additives that help clean your engine, etc. If you think you are getting a benefit from using the higher prices gas, it’s your money.
domin8
Just Plinking
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The octane rating of gasoline relates to the flash point. The higher the octane the higher the flash point. It is not a rating of “power”.
High performance engines with high compression ratio’s, require high octane to be sure the fuel does not ignite from the compression, but rather waits for the spark. Many people mistakenly think the reason the high performance engine has the added power is because of the high octane premium gas. The power comes from compressing the fuel air mixture to a higher pressure. The fuel itself whether it’s premium or regular still has the same BTU’s per gallon
If your 95 is stock, it should only be 10 to 1 compression. Regular gas is more than enough. Putting in premium is just a good way to waste money. There are some brands that claim additives that help clean your engine, etc. If you think you are getting a benefit from using the higher prices gas, it’s your money.
+1, however I do recommend going with top tier fuels such as Chevron/Texaco, Shell, and Conoco/Philips 66.
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trailblazr81
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I thought the TBI motors were only 9:1 compression. If you havent messed with the computer just run regular 87 octane gas. Might want to run some seafoam to clean it out but you shouldnt have a problem with lower octane gas. The higher octane fuel is a waste unless youve done some mods to the timing or major engine mods.
05Yukon23
Full Access Member
In my 95 Sierra I always tried to make sure I used fuel with no ethanol. It seemed to get slightly better mileage and run smoother without the ethanol.
99Yuk
Full Access Member
I think that 05Yukon23 nailed it.
These days it's not about octane in the fuel ratings, it's all about the ethanol content in the various grades. Rules that have applied for the last 100 years and are being quoted here are out the window. Ethanol is forcing a rewrite of those rules.
Here are some examples;
HERE, HERE, AND HERE. There are many other sites that describe Ethanol's issues. Just google ethanol fuel problems.
I'm now running premium in all of my lawn mowers, weedwackers, boats, atv's, snowmachines, etc just to avoid an ethanol blend.
I'm seriously considering bumping my family's Daily Driver vehicles to Premium too to avoid Ethanol but I already spend about $1600/month on fuel on regular, so going to premium would add another 15% to those costs.
Because North America has only been using ethanol for a few years, we just don't have long term usage/damage data on vehicles, and only now are we starting to see that damage to small engines. I'm personally undecided which way to move forward in the future, pay the fuel price premium to avoid ethanol, or pay for any repairs to trucks caused by ethanol.
In any event, I believe that ethanol content ratings of the fuel blends are now more important to consider than octane content when chosing a fuel grade.
My $0.02.
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These days it's not about octane in the fuel ratings, it's all about the ethanol content in the various grades. Rules that have applied for the last 100 years and are being quoted here are out the window. Ethanol is forcing a rewrite of those rules.
Here are some examples;
HERE, HERE, AND HERE. There are many other sites that describe Ethanol's issues. Just google ethanol fuel problems.
I'm now running premium in all of my lawn mowers, weedwackers, boats, atv's, snowmachines, etc just to avoid an ethanol blend.
I'm seriously considering bumping my family's Daily Driver vehicles to Premium too to avoid Ethanol but I already spend about $1600/month on fuel on regular, so going to premium would add another 15% to those costs.
Because North America has only been using ethanol for a few years, we just don't have long term usage/damage data on vehicles, and only now are we starting to see that damage to small engines. I'm personally undecided which way to move forward in the future, pay the fuel price premium to avoid ethanol, or pay for any repairs to trucks caused by ethanol.
In any event, I believe that ethanol content ratings of the fuel blends are now more important to consider than octane content when chosing a fuel grade.
My $0.02.
Set $FlameSuit='on'
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nickyg1478
Member
Wait so only premium doesnt contain ethanol? and what even is ethanol? i thought it was all about octane ratings
It depends on where you live in these here United States. Local laws govern what kind of gasoline is sold in your area. Ethanol is one of the oxygenating components, but there are others.
Aside from the problems alcohol can cause, it does by itself have higher octane. It does not have the same power per gallon as gasoline and will always cause your mileage to go down.
If the EPA had it’s way, we would have ethanol in all gasoline from coast to coast. It’s also interesting to note that they have to drop the ethanol content during the winter months, because it causes hard starting if they don’t……
I’m not familiar with how you do the link button here, but here is a web site that explains how it goes…………..
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1734459-USA-Gas-Facts?p=14556487#post14556487
Aside from the problems alcohol can cause, it does by itself have higher octane. It does not have the same power per gallon as gasoline and will always cause your mileage to go down.
If the EPA had it’s way, we would have ethanol in all gasoline from coast to coast. It’s also interesting to note that they have to drop the ethanol content during the winter months, because it causes hard starting if they don’t……
I’m not familiar with how you do the link button here, but here is a web site that explains how it goes…………..
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1734459-USA-Gas-Facts?p=14556487#post14556487
