I have a 1983 Nissan King Cab... it runs really good but I always put the supreme gas in from Chevron?

Question

I have always felt that the higher the octane the cleaner it keeps the carborator and the better it runs. Kinda like the better fuel you give a machine the better it runs. I used to run in competitions alot and would eat oatmeal, rice, or cereal for breakfast. When I ate a doughnut I didn't do as well... does this same theory go along with a vehicle or should I switch the cheaper gas?

Also does the higher octane level make a difference in an older 1983 stick shift carborated truck or would it make more of a difference in something fuel injected? Just wondering?

Answer 1

Beano,,

You're right,but for "wrong reasons"

Most all premium grade fuel these days have an extra dose of actual CLEANER.

It's not actually the Octane,,,
It's just a coincidence of the higher grade/upscale PRODUCT FEATURES.

Your Nissan doesn't need the Octane Rating.
Most folks will say that using Higher Grade/More Expensive fuel is "wasting money"

Well,,Yes...the $$$ for the Octane is going to waste,,
BUT,,You ARE getting the benefits of the Extra Cleaner.

CHEVRON gasoline for a Long,Long time when they introduced their "Techron" gasoline blends was The Best fuel,,as far as Cleaning.
Especially for Fuel Injection.
(Lately,,I do not know,,I dont keep up with all that anymore)

Clean Carbs/Injections are crucial to to proper functioning engine.
Injection systems are VERY Sensitive to "cleanliness"

In Older/Carb'ed vehicles,,,The same applies.
"Hi Octane" Fuel WILL DEFINITELY help keep the fuel system cleaner.
***But it's NOT the Octane,,it's the Extra Dose of Cleaner additives.
*And,,,Carbs are not so sensitive to being "PURELY CLEAN" as injection systems are.

So in a sense,,you wont get as MUCH of a benefit,,and a bit Less Value for your money --using it in Carb engines compared to Injectors.
But you WILL get SOME.
And bottomline is that Your Carb is kept clean & in better condition----and that's what matters Most.
...................................................................

Way back when I worked for Jaguar ,,Chevron's TECHRON was a Jag factory PART NUMBER.
Before the Techron Label was placed on Chevron's gas pumps,,and before Techron was commonly available on retail shelves.

It's got a unique component,,Poly ether amine

I could type pages of stories about results of the stuff.

Detroit has long used it during their EPA certification tests.
Mercedes and Volvo eventually included it in their official recommendations....and I dunno who all else by now.

Chevron Premium simply has a LARGER DOSE of Techron Fuel System Cleaner than their lower grade fuels.

Here's one perspective on that.
The Gasoline has a maintenance Level of the additive,,,which is a Good Thing.

But it's Far,Far from being a Clinical Dose.

A "dirty Car" would have to burn MANY,MANY tanks of fuel to get cleaned-up.
And in SOME conditions,,,Gasoline Alone is NOT concentrated enough to Fully Clean a fuel sytem that's in bad shape.

Such a Car would Definitely see SOME immediate improvement,,but not necessarily ever be "fully Clean & RIGHT"

The FUEL is Limited in what it can accomplish.

A Bottle of stuff poured into Gas Tank is MUCH higher concentration,,and will have a far greater "Curative" effect.

Techron Cleaner is fairly expensive.
There's others just as good,,and just as expensive.

A person interested in
A)keeping their car clean
B) Saving some $$$

would be better served by using LOW(actually,,the CORRECT Grade) Grade fuel,,
spending the Savings to ADD Cleaner to the fuel tank.

ALL gasoline these days has some sort & level of Fuel Injection cleaner.
"Supposed to be Enough" for maintenance level cleaning .

But NO FUEL has enough to do a Thorough cleaning.

CHEVRON will tell you the Opposite.
They are "not lying",,and I'm Not Stupid.

Chevron spends a HUGE amount of $$$ to PROMOTE their fuel brands.
Techron is their Claim to Fame(and rightfully so)
They cannot Contradict theirself that the FUEL is all you need.
In Principle,,under Ideal Conditions(UN-real conditions),,they're Right.

But they ALSO have a DIRECT COMPETITOR in their Own Product---The Bottled Techron Additive,

Their Marketting tries to Segregate Motorists' NEEDS into 2 Basic categories.
#1)Those who use Chevron Fuel,,ONLY & Always,,"That's All THEY need"
#2)Those who DONT use Chevron FUEL,,,NEED the ADDITIVE.

In Real World Driving,,,EVERYTHING needs an occasional dose of Cleaner Additive.

You are a dedicated customer Yourself of Chevron's highest dose Fuels.
Go experiment with a $6~8 Bottle of Techron Concentrate in a 1/2 tank of gas.
There's a 80%~90% Chance you WILL notice a distinct difference.

......................
Point is,, Gas $$$ is ALWAYS wasted when spent on Unnecessary OCTANE.

But the Benefits of the Increased FuelSystem CLEANER additives in Premium-grade fuels is something that Cars NEED.
And some of that "wasted $$$" is actually being well-spent on THAT aspect of the higher-grade fuels.

....................
Beleive it or Not>>>
The places like Dollar Tree Stores,,and all the "Everything's a $1" type places usually have "FUEL INJECTION CLEANER".

"Carb Cleaner",,Gumout,etc,,,is NOT the same stuff

The Cheapie $1/Bottle actual labelled FUEL INJECTION CLEANER is REMARKABLY GOOD STUFF.

A Couple of $1 12oz Bottles in a 10gal tank of gas,,
Will "Outclean" a $8/12oz bottle of Techron in almost every case.

It's more a matter of CONCENTRATION than the specific COMPOUND....on vast majority of fuel sytem deposits.

MORE of a "Lesser" Product will perform equal or better than
LESS of a "BETTER" product.

..............................................
As long as gasoline RUNS properly,,and the engine/fuel system stays clean...that's the PRIMARY concern.

Cheap Gas that eventually fouls-up things is a FALSE economy.
And,,even OVER-grade gasoline will not hurt anything--just an added expense.

But if a person wanted to Have Best of Both Worlds,,,Economy & a WellMaintained system.....

Using Lower Cost Fuel,,and Bottled Cleaner can be a very effective approach.

In Your example,,,
You could drop back to Chevron's Regular Grade Fuel.
Which STILL provides an Excellent Cleaner(just LESS of it)
and save $3~4~5 per tankful???

For example: Save $3/Tank and use 1Tank/Week
52wks /Yr= about $150
ADD 2-$1 bottles of cleaner/per Month=$25/Yr

That's $125 In Your Pocket,,and your vehicle is AT LEAST as Well Maintained,,,and Most Probably BETTER.

Or,,even if you'd buy Actual TECHRON Once a month---
$6~8/Bottle x 12 months=$75~100/Year.

From the $150/Yr Gasoline savings,,,that STILL leaves $50~75 in Your Pocket.
And your Vehicle BETTER maintained than on "gas alone"

Even just $50~75/yr dont seem like much,,,but it's 2~3~4 "FREE TANKS" of Gasoline per year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whatever you chose to do,,,Dont feel like you're just foolishly throwing $$ away by using Premium Fuel.

True that the OCTANE you're paying for is going to waste,,
But you are actually buying "cheap insurance" via the Extra CLEANER in the gas.

That's "The BEST" You can Do,when just simply running straight gas on an extended basis without using ANY bottled additives.

It's keeping the stuff clean as possible as far as gasolines can.
Which is keeping your normal fuel mileage close to what it Should be.

And,,it's helping avoid a day in the shop for a Proffesional Fuel System cleaning,,,,and maybe having to even replace some parts prematurely.

So it pays off overall,in the long-run.

If you DONT wanna fool with bottled additives,,it's Pricey but WISE to stick with Chevron Premium.
(and MOST ALL premiums include MORE Cleaners)

If you want to save a few bucks,,,and keep things at Least as Clean,,and probably Lots More Clean..
Use Additives,,and lower grade gasoline.

*** Before the days of Fuel Injection,,
Premium Fuel offered NO benefit to engines which did not need the Octane..

Modern fuels "Specs" include MORE than simply Higher Octane,,and Those properties are beneficial to ANY car with ANY type of fuel system.
Even if the extra Octane itself is "going to waste".

Hope that Helps

**** I am NOT saying "EVERYBODY NEEDS PREMIUM FUEL"

I AM saying,,"EVERYBODY NEEDS the CLEANERS",,
which happen to appear in higher concentrations in Premium

Better approach to providing the needed cleaners is thru Bottled Additives.....especially for folks who DONT use premium fuel.

It's better to Add a Bottle of stuff,,,than to just "try a couple tanks of Premium to get it cleaned out".
The Bottle is Cheaper and Faster and does a Lot better job,,simply being a higher concentration.

Answer 2

appear within the house owners guide and notice what organization recommends. Supreme won't upgrade gasoline mileage through so much. However when you difference to even a constant chevron gasoline the gas might be cleanser and likewise higher than the el cheapo manufacturers do. Cheap gasoline has water and different contaminants except water. Companies upload chemical compounds to upgrade octane ranking many of those chemical compounds don't burn as blank. Chevron makes use of cleanser burning chemical compounds that don't construct up deposits on your consumption and gas injection approach. This is helping your automobile burn cleanser and your automobile gets higher gasoline mileage in view that of this. additionally be certain that the inline gas filter out is transformed as soon as a 12 months or so if feasible this is helping the gas approach keep cleanser as good. Chevron has techron that is an exceptional gas additive through retaining the injection approach cleanser now, you don't must come again later and blank out a host of gunk.

Answer 3

I know that it is hard to believe, but the higher the octane the slower and more even the burn, when a car pings the octane is to low and can cause enternal engine damage. If you are using 93 octane fuel with no pinging, i would go down in octane until your truck started pinging and then work myself up until it disapeares. that is just what your nissan needs as far as octane .

Answer 4

Supreme gas makes no difference.