Best Gas for Your Ferrari (sports car)?

I know it's not a Ferrari, but my friend Fred had a 650hp supercharged Mustang with a built up motor. After he blew a head gasket, we took it apart and the pistons and cylinder walls looked almost spotless. He only used Amoco and that convinced me right there to only use it as well. Just my $0.02.

 

Whatever the nearest gas station has.

 

Out here choices are a bit limited so I usually use whatever is convenient ie. Exxon, Conoco.
Chris

 

Come on Jerry! You mean you don't plan the Ferraris gas stops days in advance, planning your trip just right, so that when the gas needle is at half tank, you right away call your gas agent, who comes home to deliver the special Ferrari Gas? I mean don't you know if you take bad gas your car might blow up, and if you let it go under half tank, the engine will catch on fire? The special Ferrari gas has added minerals and proteins for your cars diet. You are hurting the ferrari just by going anywhere










To answer the thread, I am with Jerry, wahtever is close by.

 

The base gasoline is pretty much all the same, it all comes from the same pipelines and even if it was refined at a Shell refinery, all that counts is that Shell gets the same amount out of the cross-country pipeline as they put in. Then the unique additive packages are added and that's where the only differentiation occurs. (With the exception of Ethanol being added in green and agricultural states.)
There's a recent initiative being pushed by the automakers to ensure that gasolines have enough cleaning agents (more than required by law). This is called "Top Tier" gas http://www.toptiergas.com/

This is kinda like asking "What kind of motor oil for my Ferrari" or "What's the best Ferrari". Everybody's got an opinion and there's not really such a thing as a consensus. The only recommendations I think are necessarily valid are that it's best to avoid Ethanol (except for the first tank of spring to absorb water). BTW, I just discovered that these Top Tier gasolines have 8-10% Ethanol! Shame on you, Shell!

Other than that... lots of people have had good experiences buying discount gas at Costco, lots of people have had good experiences buying only Shell b/c they sponsor Ferrari F1. In the last few years, people across North America have had problems with high Sulphur content gasoline ruining their fuel level senders and that happened at a lot of brand name fuel pumps as well as the generics. Why? Because it all comes from the same batch of crude (see above).

 

A blown head gasket will leak all kinds of coolant into the cylinder and steam clean the cylinder walls and piston tops real purty!

 

Personally I apply a ratio of distance/cost.

 

Over the years, two master mechanics have told me they consider Amoco to have the best gas, and Arco the worst. All the other "name" brands are similar, but stay away from "no name" gas. Has anyone heard other opinions?

One thing I've heard repeatedly: if the truck is in the station filling the tanks, drive on. The act of filling the tanks can stur up any impurities that may have been sitting harmlessly at the bottom of the tanks. Unfortunately, those impurities will take time to settle back down, and there's no way of knowing if the truck has just left!

 

lol Ryan... I only plan for the H1 since I need Diesel.

 

A friend of mine who owns gas stations told me to avoid premium gas at mom-n-pop gas stations out in the middle of nowhere. The idea is they don't go through enough premium gas on a regular basis to keep the gas 'fresh', whatever that is. Apparently if the tanks aren't refilled regularly then sediment can build up. So in that case it would be better to use 89 octane instead of 91. High-volume gas stations are best (ie Costco).

 

Shell here, usually. I'm a sucker for the V-Power marketing propaganda and the Ferrari sponsorship

 

104 octane race gas. $4.59 a gallon.

 

I try to stick with Chevron. Amoco second.

 

Actually it is probably not sediment, but more likely water. Fuel and fuel oil can act like a dessicant and draw water. This is especially true of stations that sell diesel but don't sell very much. For me I apply the following formula, location X time frame/ price and that usually equalls SAM's.
________________________________________________________________
F512M-The last of a spectacular series of vehicles and the "M" stands for MAGNIFICO!

 

In order to preserve the originality of the car, I have made arangements to have fuel imported.

I work with a Gas Station in Milano that ships me a 50 liter drum of Agip premium fuel once a month.

 

Shell Optimax

 

Premium Unleaded from Mobil for me....

Occasionally add an octane booster, but not with every fill-up.

 

Sam's when I'm home. Then it is pretty much price/location/how far down is the needle...

 

Shell Optimax at 98 octane

 

I use Amoco/BP 93 octane for my M5, Amoco/BP 87 octane for my wife's H2 and Mustang and Citgo 100 octane for my BB512i. And, I do notice a difference in the Boxer when I use 93 octane instead of 100 octane...i.e., detonation at WOT.

 

like say what now?

 

Here in So. Cal I use Uno-cal "76", I mix 1/2 100 octane race fuel and 1/2 super unleaded both are available at select gas stations. I dont know if it makes a difference!!

 

The following is information I have gotten per someone I know really close to me that is President/CEO of a 700 employee Chemical Engineering Consulting firm with offices worldwide. Basically they design and build petroleum refineries.

Any fuel you put in your engines that is above what the engine specification is goes right out the tail pipe.

If the engine is design to work with 87 Octane putting 91 is just pouring money out of your exhaust pipe and your wallet. If your engine genuinely runs better (less knocking), I encountered that in a V-10 Excursion I owned to tow my boat it means you are more than likely using your engine for something it should not be stressed that much to do in the first place! And it will soon kick you back!

Also regionally all fuels come from the same refineries whatever the brand. As an example if you buy fuel in Eastern Canada it has been refined at the Ultramar plant in Quebec City, no matter what the brand is. Some companies might mix additives once it is in the truck but I am told this is more advertised than it is actually practiced.

I imagine all F-car engines are rated for 91 Octane anyway taking into consideration the high compression ratios and rpm involved. Most people here would know better than me.

I have experienced putting hi-octane fuel in my boat (i.e.: 55 Gallons of 106 Oct. in a tank that holds another 200 Gallons of 93) when doing "Poker Runs" in which you tend to go WOT in longer stretch than usual. I noticed the engine ran a little cooler, I asked my referenced person in the first paragraph how that would be and he mentioned that the engines I have that run with a bypassed thermostat (very different than cars that run at much higher temperatures (needed for emission regulation) and usually a constant temperature with fully functional thermostat) might experience better heat dissipation due to the slower burn rate of the fuel brought on by the higher octane and thus running unburned fuel thru the exhaust valves and heads, he said it might be a little because of that but…. more than likely it was due to lead in the racing fuel that acts as a much better heat dissipater and lubricant thus helping the engine run more efficiently. He also added that I could get away with running racing gas that contains lead in the boat due to my straight exhaust and no-catalytic converters… He did not however volunteer to pay for the $5US a gallon that racing fluid costs or help into pumping it from a barrel into the freakn boat!

I hope this helps, sorry for being long winded I hope I explained myself somewhat clearly… Always a challenge for me!

G.L.

 

Octane: Your compression ratio determines this. Use the LOWEST octane you can without pinging. The owners manual is best; don't think higher or lower than they recommend is better; it's not.

Additives: Brand name gas has all kinds of good additives; cheapo gas does not. Buy the brand name or keep carb/injector cleaner in your garage. Some people have more sucess with one brand than another; this is a fact, not a superstition and so pay attention to how your engine likes the brand you use.

Water: ALWAYS go to a busy gas station. They get new shipments a lot and you will get less water and crud than with Joe's Fillin' Station out in the boonies.

Season: There are Summer and Winter formulas. See above to be sure you have an up to date gas.

Ken