One brand may also have more ethanol added, than the other brand. This will affect you r gas mileage.
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^^ +5 and good point!
FWIW: A modern cage stands a pretty fair chance of getting better MPG's on higher octane fuel because the increased octane allows more ignition advance from the ECU. i.e. engine knock sensor is not being triggered as early on so the ECU advances the ignition more on Higher Octane Fuels!
From this: the spark occurs earlier and the fuel air charge **can burn** more thoroughly; plus you get more power. An example might be it may stay in higher gears over mountain passes vs shifting down and have better acceleration when pushed.
- Unfortunately our bike (FZ6) does not have a knock sensor or know the difference in fuel quality its burning. That said, short of poor quality gas, most will not need or benefit from higher octane fuel but there ARE exceptions.
Higher ambient temperature and greater work loads **may** necessitate higher grade fuels (more octane) to reduce detonation or pinging.
- In addition; vehicles with the ignition advanced will want higher octane fuels to reduce risk of detonation under load (mitigate damage/increase performance).
My personal experience has found this: 06 V6, 6spd Auto trans gets 2.5 - 3.5 mpg further on Plus grade fuels. At 10 cents more per gallon, it pays to spend the extra $1.60 to fill the tank and travel an extra 80+ miles!
** NOT ALL FUELS ARE THE SAME ** Some simply don't burn as good as others. Cheapo chain stores hurt the performance and MPGs of 2 cars I own (Just as the OP mentions). That said, Chevron in these parts gets better MPGs than Shell. Driving 325 miles per week for the last 25 years I've had time to do my own impartial testing!
