When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
2012 C63;1971 280SE 3.5(Sold);2023 EQS 450 SUV 4 Matic (Wife's)
Not available at all in some places. New Brunswick for example. No E85 either. As a matter of fact it looks like your are the lucky one and in the only province that has Chevron ethanol free 94. Oh well it looks like you may not be so lucky and Shell 91 actually is better quality than Chevron 94.
Lucky you, Jim. Where I grew up in Ohio had 94 octane at the pump too. One of the gas station owners' sons like to race bikes, so the station had a dedicated race fuel pump. That was awesome considering the town had less than 2,000 people. Here in Hawaii, 92 with ethanol is about as good as it gets.
I was a long time user of Chevron 94. Things were great for years.
Then I had no shortage of issues with injectors on my BMW335. Wrote that off as an N54 issue (and it is) but I went through 3 sets. Techs at BMW expressed suspicions re fuel.
Then I had issues with my second C63 (first one I killed in 6 weeks lol). Pumps worked fine, fuel pressure was there for the most part, but weird things like the gauge not working, would never show less than a half tank. Every once in a while a complete fuel cut out under full throttle, almost violently so. Then it would drive fine and 20 minutes later I could stab the throttle no issue. I did not go after it as it I had read about a lot of guys chasing fix after fix with fuel issues and never getting it right. I figure Im going to wait until I sort out a clean path to a fix, or trade it in, which was on the near horizon.
Then my buddy tells me about issues he has had with an E55 wagon and 2 E63s including a "glazed fuel sock" (we dont have filters). He was told by the tech at MB not to run 94 cos whenever they had issues it was quite often with 94 users. A lot of fuel rail pressure warnings etc.
Right about then Chevron came out publicly and said they had a bad batch of 94.
In the middle of my issues, I thought wth and start to throw a bunch of tanks of 91 and Shell at it. Around about tank 8, damned if things didn't clear up. Ran a few more tanks through, and fine, then put 2 tanks of 94 and boom the issues were back.
Car gets traded in, so whatever, its MBs issue and I move on, but new one just gets 91. Everything is peachy.
THEN. I go to an AMG driving event, and I ask the guys on the team what they put in the cars. They tell me they have a sponsorship deal, but they mix it up to avoid issues. I tell them my story. Glazed fuel sock guy is there, and tells his. Every single guy on their crew says "I dont use Chevron 94 anymore, it aint what it used to be, and I dont even run it personally. I mix my vendors".
I have had no issues with 91, nor has glazed fuel sock guy. Between us, we had fuel issues in 5 cars using Chevron 94. Take from that what you will.
I was a long time user of Chevron 94. Things were great for years.
Then I had no shortage of issues with injectors on my BMW335. Wrote that off as an N54 issue (and it is) but I went through 3 sets. Techs at BMW expressed suspicions re fuel.
Then I had issues with my second C63 (first I killed in 6 weeks lol). Pumps worked fine, fuel pressure was there for the most part, but weird things like the gauge not working. Every once in a while a complete fuel cut out. I did not go after it as it I had read about a lot of guys chasing fix after fix with fuel issues and never getting it right. I figure Im going to wait until I sort out a clean path to a fix, or trade it in, which was on the near horizon.
Then my buddy tells me about issues he has had with an E55 wagon and 2 E63s including a "glazed fuel sock" (we dont have filters). He was told by the tech at MB not to run 94 cos whenever they had issues it was quite often with 94 users. A lot of fuel rail pressure warnings etc.
Right about then Chevron came out publicly and said they had a bad batch of 94.
In the middle of my issues, I thought wth and start to throw a bunch of tanks of 91 and Shell at it. Around about tank 8, damned if things didn't clear up. Ran a few more tanks through, and fine, then put 2 tanks of 94 and boom the issues were back.
Car gets traded in, so whatever, its MBs issue and I move on, but new one just gets 91. Everything is peachy.
THEN. I go to an AMG driving event, and I ask the guys on the team what they put in the cars. They tell me they have a sponsorship deal, but they mix it up to avoid issues. I tell them my story. Glazed fuel sock guy is there, and tells his. Every single guy on their crew says "I dont use Chevron 94 anymore, it aint what it used to be, and I dont even run it personally. I mix my vendors".
I have had no issues with 91, nor has glazed fuel sock guy. Between us, we had fuel issues in 5 cars using Chevron 94. Take from that what you will.
My wife used to work for a large grocery store chain (350 stores), when we lived in Texas for a number of years. She was a manger there, and her training included running the gas stations that were often positioned on the grocery store parking lots, and manned by the grocery store employees. The managers and employees both got special training for the gas station operations.
The key it turned out, was to be scrupulously **** about following the rules, which included things like shutting down an individual underground tank when its level got close to a certain percentage of being empty, and not starting to re-use any underground tank that had just been filled up for at least "x" amount of time (too much accumulated debris on the bottom of a tank got stirred up by the tanker refilling operation, so you waited until it had for sure resettled on the bottom of the tank where fuel was never drawn from.
The fuel tanks also had alarms and automatically stopped the fuel flow once a tank got to a certain level well before "empty" and switched to a different tank.
i.e. as a customer, you never had a nozzle go "dead' in your hand. The tank was always shut off well before that. This prevented the pump from pumping debris along with the gas into your car.
Also, the grocery store change had 350 stores, and each store got so much traffic that the tanks were always "fresh", which is not always the case for expensive, high octane grades at a low volume gas stations in a poorer area of a city.
Basically, the store managers were told that managing the station operations well in total compliance with the written processes was key to keeping the fuel fresh and clean, and the customers happy.
I bought 91 octane fuel there for at least 10 years and never had a problem (91 octane was the highest octane offered in Texas at the time). At the same time, I heard all sorts of complaints from friends who liked to buy gas at the slightly lower priced independent stations, or no-frills chains, because the gas was slightly cheaper, or the station was "right on the way home".
Most of the problems related to gasoline stem from mismanagement, poor employee training and supervision, or deliberate penny pinching by both a gas station operator and a vehicle owner. Pick your gas stations as carefully as you pick the cars you buy.
I was a long time user of Chevron 94. Things were great for years.
Then I had no shortage of issues with injectors on my BMW335. Wrote that off as an N54 issue (and it is) but I went through 3 sets. Techs at BMW expressed suspicions re fuel.
Then I had issues with my second C63 (first one I killed in 6 weeks lol). Pumps worked fine, fuel pressure was there for the most part, but weird things like the gauge not working, would never show less than a half tank. Every once in a while a complete fuel cut out under full throttle, almost violently so. Then it would drive fine and 20 minutes later I could stab the throttle no issue. I did not go after it as it I had read about a lot of guys chasing fix after fix with fuel issues and never getting it right. I figure Im going to wait until I sort out a clean path to a fix, or trade it in, which was on the near horizon.
Then my buddy tells me about issues he has had with an E55 wagon and 2 E63s including a "glazed fuel sock" (we dont have filters). He was told by the tech at MB not to run 94 cos whenever they had issues it was quite often with 94 users. A lot of fuel rail pressure warnings etc.
Right about then Chevron came out publicly and said they had a bad batch of 94.
In the middle of my issues, I thought wth and start to throw a bunch of tanks of 91 and Shell at it. Around about tank 8, damned if things didn't clear up. Ran a few more tanks through, and fine, then put 2 tanks of 94 and boom the issues were back.
Car gets traded in, so whatever, its MBs issue and I move on, but new one just gets 91. Everything is peachy.
THEN. I go to an AMG driving event, and I ask the guys on the team what they put in the cars. They tell me they have a sponsorship deal, but they mix it up to avoid issues. I tell them my story. Glazed fuel sock guy is there, and tells his. Every single guy on their crew says "I dont use Chevron 94 anymore, it aint what it used to be, and I dont even run it personally. I mix my vendors".
I have had no issues with 91, nor has glazed fuel sock guy. Between us, we had fuel issues in 5 cars using Chevron 94. Take from that what you will.
Geez Louise. After reading you guy I says to self, "is this another thing to be worried about with this beast?" Then it dawned on me! I am too cheap to pay for 94 when the thing runs good on pretty much any 91 I have put in the tank. Now that is a relief. Still can buy single malt and Hoyne's!
Geez Louise. After reading you guy I says to self, "is this another thing to be worried about with this beast?" Then it dawned on me! I am too cheap to pay for 94 when the thing runs good on pretty much any 91 I have put in the tank. Now that is a relief. Still can buy single malt and Hoyne's!
The 91 octane is more than fine for performance purposes. What I don't like is that the 91 octane has up to 10% ethanol in it, and ethanol does bad things to fuel system components over time, even at concentrations lower than 10% (Do some research on it). In fact, it is so bad, that THAT is the reason The U.S. standards don't allow higher concentrations except in specially marked pumps for restricted use.
The only reason it is so universal in the U.S. despite the problems it causes is because the corn farmers lobby bought off The Senate and Congress back when the Mideast cartel was playing hardball with supply, and the corn growers saw a great opportunity to expand their market in a huge way (10% of all gas sold annually in the U.S. consumes a LOT of corn and thus raises the market price). Regrettably too, the diversion of corn from livestock feeding to ethanol put a lot of beef ranchers out of business and raised the price of beef for consumers.
Most of the problems related to gasoline stem from mismanagement, poor employee training and supervision, or deliberate penny pinching by both a gas station operator and a vehicle owner. Pick your gas stations as carefully as you pick the cars you buy.
Jim G
What you are saying makes sense, and picking my stations carefully has historically been one of my reasons for going to Chevron except.....
I live in Vancouver. As in RIGHT. IN. Vancouver, 10 minutes from downtown.
There are no poor areas lol. There are very few gas stations, and legendary levels of high performance cars. The 94 tanks are VERY popular, and the stations are very busy. I tell this story to guys at the track, and they all scoff and then say "wait a minute....."
Regardless of how it happens, I think there is a common link there with the 94. Doesn't really matter (to me) what the origins of that issue is.
These 3 links all fail to take into account the VOLUME of fuel run through a given gas station, and thus the fuel's freshness. From what my wife learned while running those grocery store gas stations, freshness is key, especially when you don't have ethanol in the fuel to absorb water from the bottom of the fuel tanks.
Chevron 94 octane is expensive (We Canadians pay about $1.53 per LITER right now, although that is $1.53 Canadian, which is about $1.13 per liter in US dollars. That's about $4.30 US per US gallon. Therefore, not many people with normal incomes buy it. The 91 octane with Ethanol costs at least $.15 per LITER less, or about 10% less. So, you should not buy your Chevron 94 octane at a low volume station, or even a mid volume station. Find a HIGH volume station where the fuel is fresh.
For me, the primary reason for buying the Chevron 94 octane is the absence of ethanol. I have read way too many reports from auto manufacturers and testing labs about the bad effects of Ethanol on fuel system components. The additional octane rating is a plus beyond that. And, I buy from the busiest station in town, in a town where there are enough car lovers to ensure high volume 94 octane usage. (Parksville, BC is a Mecca for car shows all summer season)
So, you should not buy your Chevron 94 octane at a low volume station, or even a mid volume station. Find a HIGH volume station where the fuel is fresh.
You not reading my posts or what? I GUARANTEE I am using high volume stations with fresh fuel. I know what Parksville has for vehicles in summer, I used to live there, and get 94 at the Chevron, but I am in an area rife with Ferraris, Lambos, Porsches, etc. I see probably 3 dozen or more AMGS a day, and innumberable MBs. Drop off at my kids school looks like a car show, all year round. There is no way that 94 sales are turning over any slower at stations on Oak, Cambie, Main, Burrard streets than they are in Parksville. There are only 16 Chevron in the whole damned city. They just closed and sold two of them cos the land was worth so much. Low supply, high demand, means fuel turnover. There are very few people sweating the few cents a litre difference around here and a lot of people who don't even need it buying it cos they think the most expensive is the best. I would bet there are stations here where 94 is the highest sales volume fuel they have. Maybe that was an issue at the supermarket gas station your wife was at, but that is not what is going on here. If they cant deliver fresh enough 94 in Vancouver, I doubt they can do so anywhere. The fuel you get comes from their terminal here after all.
Again, I don't care what's causing the issue, I just care if there is a problem, and after 6 years of driving an AMG I have to come to believe there is, and I am not alone. If you have been happy with it the last few weeks thats great. I hope it stays that way for you.
But....let's say that the issue IS stale gas. Let's just suppose. Let's suppose it's the issue for the other guys in the other threads too.
Does that make the issue my fault? Their fault? Why would it? For not picking 'the right' station? No, thats Chevron's issue. That's Chevron delivering a sub-prime product, and the whole point is that it should be the same everywhere. But, again, what difference does that make? None. What the issue is doesn't matter. I don't think our cars and BC Chevron 94 octane are a good combo, this after decades of being a buyer. I don't think you can reliably and dependably put that product in our car on a regular basis without issues at some point down the road. And, more importantly to me, people who's opinions I have come to trust agree. Your results may vary, but bear in mind you have a pretty small sample window.
I am watching this and wondering what the hell is the issue?
D obviously knows what he is talking about when it comes to his car and the fuel availability in Vancouver. All you have to do is read CBC.ca each day and you would know the last of the stations are or have closed in downtown. He also clearly knows how his car performs on 94 and 91 with 10% ethanol.
What I don't get is why does it matter?
These are cars with exceptional properties but let's face it; they are street cars so 94 or 91 who cares. If you track your car, modify it to go faster or be noisier so be it but for most 91 with 10% ethanol works just fine.
Clearly D's links tell us there is an issue with Chevron 94 but if you want to run it Jim then do so. It would seem to me that some respect for the experience of others who have 5 yr+ and multiple car experiences would go a long way to guide someone with 5 weeks experiece even with your experience in cars.
To put some practical notes into this, 5% alcohol was first introduced into gas in Canada in the early 90s. I will get you the reference I read it on. By 2000 it was up to 10% and it has never gone over that from what I read and what I recall.
In 1994 I bought a W124 DOHC inline 6 M104.99 engine 217 hp. I ran the right rear tires off that car regularly. At 200,000 km I had to replace the timing chain sprockets and tensioner because the chain was stretched beyond the tensioners ability to take up the slack and one side of the cam shaft sprockets was worn so badly the tips of the gears were sharp. When I saw the parts I figured it would have been under a month before the chain came off and the engine destroyed. I also had to change the engine loom because they tended to be poorly insulated and the wires cracked upsetting the signal to the processor.
That car left me in 2001 with 298000 km on the odometer. I never had one fuel system failure on that car. Not one and it used the KE-Jetrionic fuel injection system which had a hell of a lot of seals and rubber componenets in it.
I had the E32 version of the M112 as well as the M272 and M276 engines in cars over the years. The M112 was in an 2001 SLK 320 which was 13 yr old when I got it and it still had the original plugs, ran like a top and never one fuel system failure.
So as far as I am concerned, at least when it comes to MB engines running 10% ethanol, I could careless especially when you consider - check it out, don't take my word for it please - E10 actually is the equivalent in octane number of 94.5.
Pass me a Hoynes please.
Given where our gas here and on the mainland comes from we have to remember too that Chevron, Shell, Esso are just brand names for the most part. We have limited refining capacity in Canada and only 37% of that is used for gas production. The rest comes from south of the border and in BC's case WA and OR. When they shut a unit down our prices go up!
So most gas is produced under supply agreements between the big boys and these out of country refineries. The article below suggest Shell's gas is the cleanest and exceeds standards. Who knows but for sure when it comes to the bottom line for the refineries would they cut corners and ship below standard fuel? Darn tootin' they do.
Given where our gas here and on the mainland comes from we have to remember too that Chevron, Shell, Esso are just brand names for the most part. We have limited refining capacity in Canada and only 37% of that is used for gas production. The rest comes from south of the border and in BC's case WA and OR. When they shut a unit down our prices go up!
So most gas is produced under supply agreements between the big boys and these out of country refineries.
You speak the truth there. The map of Canadian refineries is almost humorous.
Chevron has one refinery in all of Canada lol and its almost the smallest refinery in the whole country. There are 3 smaller, but 2 are asphalt refineries. So SOME sort of deals are going on there for sure, cos thats not satisfying demand for all of Chevron Canada.
I was 100% Chevron, 100% Supreme Plus for YEARS. Would go out of my way for it. Stuck it in every thing from a 240z to a Grand National to a Cutlass with an L82 Vette motor and everything else before and since. But the last few years something has changed there and I really do believe its causing issues. Like a lot of guys in those threads I think I am getting as good a results from the Shell 91. Better with that than the Chevron 91. And also like them I think I get better results with the US Chevron 92 than BC Chevron 94.
I came to this conclusion slowly, and I get how fuel preference is as hard to change as laundry detergent preference, so I get the resistance to the notion. Plus, I have no evidence, so this is just the opinion of a random guy on the internet. I would just say that if nothing else if I was going to continue to use the 94 I would mix in a couple tankfuls of something else periodically. That cant hurt any, and a different mix of additives and detergents would be helpful, and recommended by the techs I know.
You guys seem to be all in accord, which suggests maybe I am wrong. What symptoms is the Chevron 94 causing in street vehicles? How is the Shell 91 with ethanol manifesting as better?
You guys seem to be all in accord, which suggests maybe I am wrong. What symptoms is the Chevron 94 causing in street vehicles? How is the Shell 91 with ethanol manifesting as better?
Jim G
So......I don't get it. You read this whole website but you don't actually read the other posts?
I gave at least 4 issues that seem to be coming up with some regularity here in BC and those links also discuss that along with how the Shell 91 is performing just as well, minus the issues.
Those werent the the three best links (I don't think) those were just the first three links when I googled.
Essentially, everyone I know who ran the 94 and were having fuel and/or timing issues and switched away from it is now problem free. All report that their vehicles pull just as hard and strong with the 91 as they did with the 94.
I dont personally know anyone who has dyno tested it, but there are people in those linked threads who have.
I found these two posts interesting:
Canadian 94 making less hp than US 92, and guys in Eastern Canada running different timing on 94 than guys in western Canada.
But this is all stuff I already posted upstream, there for the reading.
I haven't heard nearly the issues coming up in Eastern Canada, which is why I keep stressing BC Chevron.
Google "Chevron 94 octane issues" and the results all come up with guys here in BC talking about it.
And Chevron themselves have admitted issues with batches of 94 out here on a couple of occasions.
Heres one where they were selling 87 as 94:
Im not here on a campaign or out to convince anyone. I am just stating my own experience and that of people I know, and mentioning what I have heard from assorted techs and professional drivers. I have no axe to grind here. If after hearing my experience you want to do some investigating of your own then great, and if not thats fine too.
You guys seem to be all in accord, which suggests maybe I am wrong.
There's no maybe, you are wrong, fact. I suggested you do your research. Others have and found evidence quite easily. Use the Google machine yourself and it will be clear.
Originally Posted by JimGnitecki
How is the Shell 91 with ethanol manifesting as better?
Shell 91 in Canada does NOT contain ethanol.
It's evident from your replies that you just skim over what others post before replying with a novel of verbal diarrhea. You won't make many friends or gain technical respect here if you keep doing that. Just sayin'...
Thought this funny in light of last nights discussion.
Drop my kid off for basketball camp at a community centre and these were the cars parked around me. An Escalade, a Porsche, an S550 coupe and a Bentley. Immediately off screen are an X6M and two Ranger Rovers. Me and a Golf R are the crappiest cars on the block. This is a pretty typical block in this town. I have parked in blocks where the Bentley would be the bum......at UBC!!! lol
They might be sweating the extra cost at the supermarket in Texas, but they sure aren't here. Pretty sure the 94 is fresh lol
05-06-2017, 03:43 PM
