Best Gasoline?

[watusippin?]

So recently I have been wondering what gas stations carry the "best" gasoline. Is it Chevron with their "techtron"? Or Shell with their usually higher gas prices?

I have every known gas station chain within a 2 mile radius of my house and I would like to start filling up at which ever one offers the highest quality of gasoline.

 

[MikesToy]

I'm in Colorado. But wherever i go, i've always used Shell with V-Power (91 octane).

 

[BurghRunner]

1 Vote for Shell. I use the medium grade, which is 91 around the East Coast. I use it exclusively and never had any fuel problems/related issues.

PS MikesToy: You have a "Nip Slip" in your avatar.

 

[watusippin?]

So what makes Shell better than the rest?

 

[MikesToy]

So what makes Shell better than the rest?

You can find Shell around world but not Chevron. :lmao:

 

[43242code1]

+1 for shell

When I had my MarkVIII I was not picky at all until by no other choice I filled my tank at a Shell station (91 octane, california). The freeway onramp was no more than 300 ft. from the gas station and the way the car merged and hit "freeway speeds" made me a believer.

 

[mwebster22]

Is there any reason to go to 91 octane (midgrade) vs 87 octane (regular)? Mine (06 v6) doesn't ping on regular...

 

[eskimochaos]

Is there any reason to go to 91 octane (midgrade) vs 87 octane (regular)? Mine (06 v6) doesn't ping on regular...

Performance reasons solely.

Yes as octane increases - engine performance does too.

It wont ping especially with knock sensors and any brand name gas.

 

[eskimochaos]

Top Tier Gasoline

I use Shell V-Power. Shell is rated as the best gas you can get.

 

[Duhockey]

Is there any reason to go to 91 octane (midgrade) vs 87 octane (regular)? Mine (06 v6) doesn't ping on regular...

in colorado regular grade is 85, its funny, in California the lowest is 87.. and cali has 93 too, which Colorado doesnt have..

I put 85 in most of the time and 91 when Im gonna go up the hill or just want a little more umph

 

[JohnsD90]

Cheapest stuff i can find, if i had to choose, it would be shell 87.

 

[FoneRunner]

The only one I won't buy is Citgo...do some research on who owns Citgo and you'll know why. Other than that...I go where its cheapest. I put in high octane and didn't notice a thing...the only car I've ever had that cared was a 95 BMW 530...it needed 89 octane. It choked on 87.

 

[swisscheeze29]

You can find Shell around world but not Chevron. :lmao:

So what about Exxon (Esso) or British Petroleum? Are they equal to Shell because they're global?

I asked my dad who has worked for ExxonMobil for 30 years and he said it doesn't matter. It's basically all the same among the big brands. So among all name brands, go with the cheapest. Now for synthetic oil from the name brands , it's a no-brainer, Mobil1 is the best.

What I would like to see is the data on what makes Shell the best. I find it hard to believe that V-Power is actually beneficial, right now I'm convinced it's just a marketing gimmick.

 

[ric]

I seen a story on 20/20 (or something like it) a few months ago, they was saying that most gas stations get the gas from the same refineries, and theres no difference in low grade, mid grade etc, the tankers fill up, go to the station, and dump the gas, they talked to a few drivers and they said it doesnt matter, its all just branding, marketing etc.
Take this for whats its worth, as I cant find the story, I looked for it last week to send to a buddy, and couldnt find it, go figure, lol

 

[eskimochaos]

So what about Exxon (Esso) or British Petroleum? Are they equal to Shell because they're global?

I asked my dad who has worked for ExxonMobil for 30 years and he said it doesn't matter. It's basically all the same among the big brands. So among all name brands, go with the cheapest. Now for synthetic oil from the name brands , it's a no-brainer, Mobil1 is the best.

What I would like to see is the data on what makes Shell the best. I find it hard to believe that V-Power is actually beneficial, right now I'm convinced it's just a marketing gimmick.

M1 is not the best. Valvoline is the best. M1 failed numerous unbiased tests that Valvoline passed. I just read this somewhere - dont remember where though.

Heres some info:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2115738

 

[swisscheeze29]

I seen a story on 20/20 (or something like it) a few months ago, they was saying that most gas stations get the gas from the same refineries, and theres no difference in low grade, mid grade etc, the tankers fill up, go to the station, and dump the gas, they talked to a few drivers and they said it doesnt matter, its all just branding, marketing etc.
Take this for whats its worth, as I cant find the story, I looked for it last week to send to a buddy, and couldnt find it, go figure, lol

Yes, the show you watched was spot on. The oil companies do share many refineries with each other. So it's the same gasoline. Now the question is whether the add-in's that each company puts in it makes a difference.

 

[ric]

Yes, the show you watched was spot on. The oil companies do share many refineries with each other. So it's the same gasoline. Now the question is whether the add-in's that each company puts in it makes a difference.

did you happen to see it ? was it 20/20 ? I want a buddy to watch it

 

[Uneek]

Higher octane doesn't do much for engines that don't require it. Higher octane is for high compression, turbo or supercharged performance engines. Octane is not a rating of performance for the fuel but it's resistence to predetonation.

Pretty much using an octane higher than required is wasting money. Also, even the high performance engines of today, the ECU is programmed to recognize low quality and low octane fuel to re**** timing and prevent predetonation and pinging via knock sensors.

With that said, it's your engine and money. I stick with major gas stations and 87 for mine.

 

[Uneek]

in colorado regular grade is 85, its funny, in California the lowest is 87.. and cali has 93 too, which Colorado doesnt have..

I put 85 in most of the time and 91 when Im gonna go up the hill or just want a little more umph

Actually in CA, we have 87, 89 and 91. We use to have 92, but IIRC it was dropped to 91 about a decade ago. A few gas stations near race tracks have higher octanes. I've seen 103 at the 76 station near Buttonwillow.

CO has 85 because with the higher altitudes there, it's equivalent to 87 for us down here closer to sea level.

 

[Uneek]

I seen a story on 20/20 (or something like it) a few months ago, they was saying that most gas stations get the gas from the same refineries, and theres no difference in low grade, mid grade etc, the tankers fill up, go to the station, and dump the gas, they talked to a few drivers and they said it doesnt matter, its all just branding, marketing etc.
Take this for whats its worth, as I cant find the story, I looked for it last week to send to a buddy, and couldnt find it, go figure, lol

Yes, the show you watched was spot on. The oil companies do share many refineries with each other. So it's the same gasoline. Now the question is whether the add-in's that each company puts in it makes a difference.

:iagree: Same refinery, same pipeline, same gas, regardless of brand. The only difference is the additive package used by each brand. The base stock of the gas is regulated by the EPA.

There's a post by a member here who's a truck driver, IIRC. I'm not sure if he delivers gas, but it's a very lengthy and detail post of how refineries and gas stations operate.