[57plymouth]

Octane ratings aside, is there any brand of gasoline that is better than any other? I know VP race gas is better than the swill from Wal-Mart, that's not the direction I'm headed. For every day use, say midgrade gas, is BP beter than Exxon or Shell? What is your reasoning?

 

[Ghostbuster]

Some people say the refining process and Octane levels are all standardized and regulated.
(I don't know this for fact, but it made sense..)

I don't know anything about additives, but I think what every you use, consistancy is the key.

Fuel consistancy really depends on your area..

In Denver, we have 3 local refineries..
Conoco, Brand-X, Brand-Y...

All Conoco gas stations in Denver, are required to fill their underground tanks by calling Conoco for deliveries..

BP, Shell, Amaco, Phillips66, 7-11, Circle-K, Qwik-Mart, etc., all order their
fuel deliveries, from the guy who is the cheapest that day..

...so even if you go to your local Exxon station in Denver, you are NOT getting Exxon refined fuel.
Exxon doesn't have storage tanks in Denver.
You might get the Exxon additives that the delivery guy dumps in the tank, but that's about it.

From a political view, I've read that certain petroluem companies extract from specific areas of the world.

• Exxon - Arab Oil
• British Petroleum - Arab Oil
• Shell - Russian Oil
• Conoco - Alaska & Gulf of Mexico
• Synclair - Continental US, (Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Montana, Nevada)
• Chevron - Canada & Mexico

(I know I've missed some and I'm trying to do this from memory, so I'm hoping someone else has seen this list and can verify it.)

Now some would say, "Use up that Arab Oil first",
while others would perfer we "Boycott Arab oil",
and most people just, "buy what's cheapest or closest for me"

That is for each of us to decide.

If you want consistancy, ask your local gas stations, who they buy their gas from?

 

[HwyStarJoe]

I just read an article about this very thing last week. It said something to the effect that the gas in the tanks at one station comes from the same refinery as all the other gas stations in town. It's just the additives (detergents, seasonal additives, etc.) that the different retailers choose to put in the fuel that change from station to station.
Billy-Bobs Fishin' Tackle & Gasatorium probably can't afford the good stuff like a Hess or BP outlet can.

 

[fatblock]

Octane ratings aside, is there any brand of gasoline that is better than any other? I know VP race gas is better than the swill from Wal-Mart, that's not the direction I'm headed. For every day use, say midgrade gas, is BP beter than Exxon or Shell? What is your reasoning?

I think that GM is touting Tier One fuel for its detergent propertys.I think Shell also advertises it,s V power I think for the same reason.Anyhoo..do a search on Tier one and see if this fits your needs.I use Mobil in the daily drivers and Shell 94 in the 11.26/1 iron headed 427 with 38 degrees total timing.

 

[novaderrik]

around here, all the gas comes from the big tanks in Alexandria, so i don't really worry about brand loyalty or quality control.
and since all the Citgo stations around turned into Tesoro, i don't have to worry about too much of my money going to Venezuela anymore.
so i just go where it's the cheapest- usually Mills Fleet Farm where i can use my 3 cent per gallon discount coupons..

 

[egore]

:yes: FLEET FARM:yes: Thata way novaderrick thats where I work, The Mans Mall, I work at the lakeville store. Do you ever use their non oxy gas, the line gets pretty long there sometimes before cruisenite in lakeville (over 500+cars). :waving: Cruisenite in mid july,posted on autowalks.com:thumbsup:

 

[KevinW]

There was a writeup or TV show about gasoline transfers a while back. Basically the refineries make the gas and send in through a common pipe (with allocations to the different companies) to a local transfer station, then trucks ship it to the gas stations. Its really all the same gas now. buy the cheapest in your area as long as the station has good underground tanks.

 

[RickD]

I've read all that stuff too.

My daily driver will ping on all 87 octanes except sunoco.

 

[camcojb]

I've read all that stuff too.

My daily driver will ping on all 87 octanes except sunoco.

I agree Rick, I don't think they are all the same. ARCO for sure is not. My stock pickups would ping on their 91 and be fine on everyone elses 87. And I've tried that several times with different vehicles (all stock stuff that does not require more than 87 octane) with the same results.

All the rest seem to do fine in everything but unfortunately the cheapest gas (ARCO) will not run well for me, even if I buy the max octane.

Jody

 

[DjD]

I've never had problems with Arco - I run their 87 in the daily drivers. Even my '86 El Camino with a computer controled carb ran fine on Arco 87... My fuel of choice has always been Union 76 from the old days, now it's ConocoPhillips. I run 91 in the Camaro (383ci 9.8:1 iron heads) and in the Nova I run 89 (350 10:1 alum heads)...

I found this bit of info on gasoline that may impact the way some think about what they put in their tank...

http://vettenet.org/octane.html

 

[mbrekke]

I remember a post a few years back on the boiling point of different gasoline brands. There was a significant difference between some of them. It's not an important point with fuel injection but with a carb, in hot weather, it can make a big difference. I've got an old 6-banger Mustang that gets vapor lock during the really hot summer months if I put Phillips gas in it. I remember in that post, Phillips had one of the lowest boiling points. Guess I should try to find it...

Been a while since 'vapor lock' has been brought up, huh?

Mark

 

[Scott Taylor]

I run Chevron 91 octane and have had no problem with it. I doubt that any other brands would be any different but why switch when you have something that works? If I try to run a lower octane the car pings and feels gutless. I have a stock 350/295 with a Qjet carb.

 

[Mister G]

I like Dennis run Arco 91 in my 396 with 10.5:1 compression ratio. I have never had an issue.

 

[camcojb]

I like Dennis run Arco 91 in my 396 with 10.5:1 compression ratio. I have never had an issue.

maybe San Jose gets something different than Sacramento, or they've changed in the last 10 years (it's been that long since I wasted my money on their gas). Many of my friends found the same thing, but again it was years ago.

Jody

 

[DjD]

Jody it could very well be the climate difference. Temps and humidity really effect things. A lot has changed in the past 10 years too. I only ran 76 gas until the last 8 years or so and still perfer it in the Camaro.

Per the link I provided, the gas companys all swap their base gas with each other to avoid shipping costs to places far away from their refinerys. Most likely all stations in a given geographic area all start with the same base gas these days and additives are the difference.

 

[redvetteharley]

Well in my humble opinion I think BP/Amoco stand head and shoulders above the rest.

 

[Larry B]

hear I nebraska, it all the same gas from the same Pipe line just different additives. some time you get bad gas at the good places and its just bad luck. and the testing for octane is a joke. sorry

 

[dragsterman]

There was a writeup or TV show about gasoline transfers a while back. Basically the refineries make the gas and send in through a common pipe (with allocations to the different companies) to a local transfer station, then trucks ship it to the gas stations. Its really all the same gas now. buy the cheapest in your area as long as the station has good underground tanks.

Yep, that's what I have heard. Each company just adds their own stuff to it. I run 76 in all my cars. I guess I just like to waste money on a brand name?