Gasoline Brand Preference

I switch between Chevron and Shell. I see no difference. Chevron makes a big deal about the additives in the gas Techron.

Chevron is an American company. Shell is Anglo Dutch.

 

Apparently there is no search function.

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I am still trying to decided if company membership in TopTier.com is a meaningful thing. But this includes Chev, Shell, Mobil, Exxon, and a number of others that supposedly add extra additives for detergency. If you live in a Reformulated gasoline EPA area, we are getting possibly a cleaner burning fuel (less gunky?) and with extra additives if its a TopTier.com company. Of course we pay 20-25 cents per gallon more for this EPA blend. Because I have some discounts (Grocery etc) at TopTier.com stations, thats what I use.

I notice in my state (VA) when you get out of the reformulated fuel area in NoVA there are not so many TopTier.com stations.

 

Before the variable ratio E10, I ran a series of gasoline tests:

• ran tank dry
• filled with 1 gallon of next test
• drove to test station and put at least 5 gallons of next test fuel
• performed maximum power, hill-climb, while recording engine metrics

From these tests conducted many years ago:

• 87 octane, Shell, Chevron, and Exxon had higher energy content than all other bands
• no higher octane gasoline had similar energy content

But I notice the signs say "May contain up to 10% ethanol" which means we can not tell how much ethanol is coming out of the pump. When one variable, the ethanol content, is not controlled, it doesn't make sense to try and replicate the earlier tests.

Bob Wilson

 

i use chevron and seem to get pretty good MPG. I used Sams Club 91 (because here in UT Costco and Sams Club only sell 85 or 91) and it seemed that my MPG was a little worse but only by about .5MPG with my last tank.

 

Yeah, you should try the search function.

Everyone is entitled to a preference.

But you will never get a consensus.

Usually these threads degenerate into:

I always use ( Insert Favorite Top Tier Gas Station Here) vs. Gas is all the same, go where it's cheapest, slug fests.

My preference is to use Chevron. I'd say 98% of the time I am near a station and I fill using Chevron gas. However, I'm not so dedicated to the action that I won't fill up elsewhere if in a pinch.

Whether I should or not? The cost difference just isn't enough in savings to me, I like the idea that I am adding potentially beneficial additives, "Techron"....and "Top Tier" gasoline standards.

If it's all just a sham? I don't really care. The "maybe" $20 more a year I'm spending on Chevron gas vs. Cut Rate...is worth it to me just as a gamble that maybe it is helping.

 

prefer non-ethanol gasoline "brand"


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that doesnt exsist here in UT

 

I use Arco here. It's usually the cheapest available in a brand name. I always treat my vehicles with Chevron's Techron
additive when they get a little rough at idle. It's the cheapest alternative to using high/over priced gas.
I treat the wife's car about every 30K. My truck get's a bottle around 15 to 20K and I will probably add some to the hybrid about 1 a year just to keep things clean. It cleans more than the fuel system and injectors. It also cleans the combustion chamber and valves. Mostly the intake valve. Carbon deposits have a tendency to from on the back side of the intake valves. I only use Techron because I know it works. I use it in all my vehicles, including my motorcycles.

I have a BMW R1200GSA with Bosch injectors and they get snotty around 10K miles due to the pintle recess design

 

Did you check here?

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada


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At Utah altitudes, 85 octane = 87 octane at sea level. Using 91 is pointless and wasteful. You might see either 85 or 86 in different locations. Here in NM I generally see 86 for regular gas.

 

My G3 is a company car....so 5 dollars a gallon is just as cheap as 5 cents a gallon for this car.
In my ever to be humbled opinion you probably get juuuuust a little bit better gas with the so-called Top Tier stations than you do with the mom and pop outlets, or the big box pumps.
My station selection both for my personal and my work car have much more to do with things like routing, gedunk selection, and restroom cleanliness than they do with energy content deltas or some mystical additive benefit.
Interesting enough....THE closest station to my office is a disreputable looking independant station that has a sign that SAYS that their gas is E0.
I tried a few tanks and saw no real measurable difference in MPG, although the data leaned towards a 1-2 MPG gain with the Temperance Movement approved E0.
Many of the mom and pop places loudly proclaim that they sell REAL GAS and most probably do.....but they sell it at a REAL PROFIT to the many boat and motorcycle owners that think (IMHO incorrectly) that adding 10 percent alky-haul will trash their beloved motors.
The price delta is around 20-cents, which makes any fuel efficiency gains (real or imagined) moot.
Also...stations that sell Top Tier gas usually make some passing attempt at keeping their tanks and pumps maintained......something that the mom and pop stores probably also do but judging by their stores and restrooms.....well....

YMMV

 

Ok, but as far as i know im only supposed to use 87 or higher no matter where i am... am i wrong?

 

85 in the Rockies

 

so 85 is ok to use up here in UT?

 

Best to read the Manuel, I forget the elevation but Denver high maybe not Utah high

 

well yeah the manual says nothing lower then 87 even in high altitude

 

Its wrong (if it actually says that). The system leans out the engine at higher altitude, making lower octane the equivalent. Gas is blended specifically for the altitude its sold at. All you need to do is buy regular. Not that 85 and 87 are hugely different in the first place. (2.3% difference)

 

^^^^^

Guy knows what he is talking about