Hi-
I'm looking for feedback on what the best brand of gas is for hybrids. I just bought a new 05 Civic Hybrid...and like many others, I'm disappointed in the gas mileage it has gotten so far. The dealer blames it on a bad tank of gas (mind you it's the gas they put in the car when I purchased it). I'd appreciate any advice on brand/grade to get the best mileage.

Thanks!

 

Atrain- As you'll slowly come to realize after reading several fuel economy threads, your FE has much less to do with the type/brand of gas and is much more related to your driving behavior and the fact that your HCH is still in its break-in period. As long as you're using name-brand gasoline with adequate detergents (I recommend the top tier brands: http://www.toptiergas.com ), the gasoline in your tank is inconsequential.

Driving for maximum FE is not the same as driving in a "conventional" manner. It takes practice and patience . . . I should know, my HCH is only 4 months old and I went through the same initial disappointment with the car's mileage (only 38-40MPG), until I followed many of the tips on this forum (I now average close to 46MPG). I don't want to rehash what's already been said hundreds of times, so I advise you to do a search for FE tips in the HCH forum. You'll find recommendations of using the instantaneous mileage meters, keeping your speed below 65 on the highways, driving with the load, and increasing your tire pressure beyond the factory specs. If you're still skeptical, I averaged ~52MPG on my last tank simply using the techniques learned on this forum. Good luck!

 

What Eskrimast1 says is true.

And I would point out that you don't need to go to extreme measures in order to get mileage in the 50 MPG range. That's about the MPG I have gotten this spring and summer, and I (and others in this mileage range) don't typically employ the more 'special' methods of others.

Basically what I've done is:

- inflate tires to 36 PSI
- drive only a little above the speed limit in the city, and don't 'rush'
- on freeways, 65 MPH yields 50+ MPG

I just mention this to show that by retaining 'normal' driving habits, you can still get very good mileage.

 

While brand of gas has little to do with fuel economy, however the type that is sold in your area may affect your mileage noticeably. Here in the Milwaukee area we have reformulated gas which lowers emissions, but sacrifices fuel economy. If we go one county over, towards rural farm areas, we can buy conventional gas which delivers about a 10% increase for both the Insight and the Prius (Currently enjoying a 90 mpg tank on the Insight ). Since it's only a 30 mile round trip it pays for itself in increased mileage over a full tank. Also, the gas here contains "up to 10% Ethanol" which has less energy content than gasoline, therefore yielding lower mileage as well. Unfortunately, many folks don't have close access to conventional gas and are forced to use "cleaner" metropolitan area gasoline, but its good to know if you find yourself on the outskirts in need of fuel. Just be sure to exercise all the other tips for FE and you'll enjoy better mileage as time passes regardless of what gas you use.

 

just522-

Is there a way to tell which stations of ours sell these different types of brands? There was one tank I had almost 3 months ago that was filled in very rural Georgia. The first 70 miles were spent FLYING down I-95 across the border to Jacksonville (not so good on my FE), but after that I used a whole tank driving around the city like I always had, only this time, I hit my then-record and really did not expect to at all from a few bad instances of traffic and more speeding. I was pleasantly shocked. It took me 2 more months past that of just getting used to enough strategies to finally beat my old mark. Think this may have been the gas from the boonies?

 

You should be able to ask the manager of the gas station what type of gas they sell. If they don't know you may be able to find out what type of gas has to be sold in your area online. The only reason I found out about this is because back when gas was "very expensive" at $1.75/gal. we were able to go out a few counties to get cheaper gas. The reason it was cheaper was that at the time reformulated gas had just come into the area (because of Chicago's pollution we have to suffer) and non-reformulated gas hadn't caught up in price. So check if reformulated gas is mandated in your area and which counties are affected. That is if station owners don't know what they're selling. Hopefully that can help your mileage even more.



-Happy Hypermiling
-Justin

 

BMW, General Motors, Honda and Toyota are part of an innitiative called Top Tier Gas to establish a new standard for gasoline for "optimal engine performance".

Here are the retailers that meet their standards:


For Honda's, I generally hear talk of Chevron, Shell, and Sunuco being recommended most. I haven't personally seen any difference in mileage and am not too concerned about my engines life expectancy with gas from any station.