With all of the fuss going on about MPG and the rather large variances, I just thought I would see what if any change others see when fueling up at different places. I.e. different brands of fuel.

I purchased my 05' truck in the begining of November 04' and have noticed large differences in milage using different brands of fuel. I tried the local COOP , Diamond Shamrock, Phillips 66 and also Conoco. I ran at least two tanks through from each station and I get about 2 miles to the gallon better from best to worst. Shamrock is the worst milage at around 13 to 15 mpg and Conoco is the best at around 15 to 17 mpg. The other two were in the middle and close enough to each other that I can't remember which did better. I figure that running at least two tanks through was a semi fair evaluation of each brand as my commute and other driving is relativly fixed and doesn't change a great deal from week to week. A tank of Fuel lasts about 1 week for me and I am running Stanadyne since shortly after buying the truck.

Have others noticed this or could it be all in my head. I know that fuel quality and cetane levels can vary widely between brands. I only have 4,000 miles or so on the truck so all of these numbers should get higher as it breaks in more. I have not worked the truck hard enough towing to see or feel a differance in power. I really can't get into it much around here right now as the roads a slick in spots from the begining of Dec. to the end of Feb. around here.

Being an "anal" engineer, I track my mileage very closely, as well as type of driving done on each tank. With three years worth of data, I can clearly see differences in fuel suppliers. However, largest difference I have seen is slightly over 1 mpg.

i have noticed this as well. if i fill up at petersons i get my best milage. if i fill up at the extra mart and mobile i get average. citco is the worst ever. ive gotten as low as 15mpg on the highway with citco. extrmart and molbile i get 17-18 with persersons ive gotten an average of 19-20. this is strictly highway. the citco diesel sucks. unless i got a few bad tanks from them it sucks. my truck would smoke allot more run rough start harder so on.
yes i personally think that differnt fuel stations vary in milage.

again it all depends on conditions of weather,raods,drivers mood,and how twitchy your leg is.

I am going to test this theory out in the next few days. I have been using Shell since I purchased the truck and I get almost 15 in the city. I will try conoco or exxon and see if I get any improvements.

i have noticed this as well. if i fill up at petersons i get my best milage. if i fill up at the extra mart and mobile i get average. citco is the worst ever. ive gotten as low as 15mpg on the highway with citco. extrmart and molbile i get 17-18 with persersons ive gotten an average of 19-20. this is strictly highway. the citco diesel sucks. unless i got a few bad tanks from them it sucks. my truck would smoke allot more run rough start harder so on.
yes i personally think that differnt fuel stations vary in milage.

again it all depends on conditions of weather,raods,drivers mood,and how twitchy your leg is.
This is strange to me because Citco probably performed better than any other in my truck with Exxon being the worst. It really depends on the refinery that supplies the fuel. Several companies sell crude via pipeline to the same refineries so Exxon may not be Exxon, Shell not Shell and so fourth.

In winter in cold climates (like here) there may be differences due to the amount of kerosene blended into the winterized fuel. The BTU value of kero (number 1 oil) per gallon is less than number 2, so the more kero in the blend, the lower the btus per gallon, and the worse the mileage.

But let me tell you, at -20F, you want a lot of kero in your fuel.

Word is, Citgo is bottom barrel stuff. The following quote is part of a discussion involving gasoline injector failures and the frequency of Citgo gasoline being used by those polled after experiencing failures. It is not my words, but the source is pretty sharp:

"Citgo is owned by the Venezuelan Oil Company. Venezuelan crude is among the lowest quality in the world. In fact, so bad that no one in the U.S. would purchase it as it is so costly to process. Sooo, the Venezuelans bought their own oil company (Citgo) and built refineries specifically to process their rotten crude efficiently...
However, a cow's ear is a cow's ear. Lousy base stocks can be processed and then additized to make them better. But it is like the foundation of a house, a bad foundation is a bad foundation.. It is the same with lubricants AND fuels.
So, it is no surprise that Citgo comes to the top of the heap as one of the bottom level fuels and lubricants."


I've seen the best results from Amoco, but even Amoco (BP) fuels can have varying grades, OR be screwed up by poor tank maintenance etc...

interesting...cuz only one time in changing my oil in a past vehicle i had a problem was with citgo oil..i could hear every moving part after startup...thoght the engine was going to blow..bc

well, I tried this changing fuel brands theory out... I have used Shell/Texaco since the day I purchased my truck in August 04. I just filled up with Chevron and my previous mileage with Shell was always about 13.4 city hand calculated. With the Chevron fuel I got an even 15mpg city. I also drove 180 miles to San Antonio and back averaging 65-90mph depending on flow and got 18mpg. I am sure if I keep it at 65 or 70 I will get much better.

So far I am going to continue Chevron and did I mention I love this truck??? LOL

My previous HD gasser got 10mpg city AND highway so I am VERY happy!

Well that sucks, my local "volume supplier" truck stop is Citgo!!

So what I have been reading here is that everyone is having better results from BP/Amoco and Chevron. That seems to coincide with what I have been hearing, from some truckers, on the CB. It appears that Conoco was giving them poorer mileage, ie. Flying J Truck Stops. Has anyone tried the truck stops that carry Hess? Just curious as to seeing what would be the best we can get.

Remember, never fuel up when a truck is there filling the station.

So what I have been reading here is that everyone is having better results from BP/Amoco and Chevron. thats what I am reading and finding out for myself as well

Well that sucks, my local "volume supplier" truck stop is Citgo!!most of our local volume suppliers are Diamond Shamrock, well known for water and bad fuel. I had to drive 10 miles to find the Chevron.

I always get my best mpg from Chevron. Wifes car (gas) does better on Chevron also.

Better additives???

I think that I am the only one that is getting the best milage out of Conoco fuel. My problem is that in the hole in the wall small valley that I live in there is no Chevron, I think that one of the local stations just switched over to BP so maybe I will try it out for a while.

On a side note I towed my rock crawling buggy to moab a few weeks ago and took the grill cover off for the trip. It was dirty on the inside so I kept it off to wash the truck and cover before reinstall. My milage seemed to drop 1 to 1.5 mpg without the cover on in the cold weather. My operating temps almost would not get to what appears to be normal operating temp. of almost 210. I reinstalled the cover this morning so I won't be testing this theory anymore.

I've just found this thread. After reading thru it I'm glad that others are seeing difference in fuels. I thought it was all in my head :)

Since buying my truck in Sept '04 I have consistantly gotten better MPG's (1 mile per gallon) and less smoke using BP / Amoco fuel.

I've tried the other biggies in our area: Speedway, Shell, Sunoco and they all get worse MPG's and sometimes even a little smoke.

On edit: I inquired about this at my local BP station and the manager said that those other station "blend" their fuels, BP doesn't (FWIW). I did see on BP's website they they appear to be the only ones guaranteeing their fuels as the others don't make mention of it on their sites.

I have noticed a huge difference in different fuel stations. I have tried several, running 2 tanks and hand calc. milage. Chevron seems to give me the best results in MPG. Also noticed that the injectors are alot quieter as well. I use Stanadyne at every fill up.

FYI- I have tried 2 Chevron stations, and one of them was terrible- lousy MPG's as well as loud injectors (using Stanadyne) ???