Fuel Qualitiies - Chevron - Arco - Sunoco - Shell

From what I heard before,,, (Form past yr show at NBC Dateline i think)
There is no different, because all gasoline manufacture uses same pipeline... But each manufacture will added own brand additive right before pumping to the delivery truck.
Unless oil company has own delicated pipe line schduel to deliver the their product to delicated distribution location.
Oh some cheap gas station added water too :roll:
I uses to use Sunoco, then Mobile. Exxon/Mobile is bit expensive than Sunoco in NJ

 

I vote for Chevron, because so far they are the only Major to support the Top Tier gas program.

Auto Manufacturers asked Gas Companies to increase the level of detergents in gasoline, because newer engines need more detergent, and the gas sompanies blew them off.

So, they set up their own Gas Standards and will award Top Tier branding to any Gas that meets them.

http://www.toptiergas.com/

http://www.chevrontexaco.com/news/press/20.../2004-06-17.asp

http://www.sfrcorp.com/notice.asp?NoticeID=4

 

It has been shown time and again that there's no significant difference between gasolines, aside from the few misterious additives added at the very end of the process by some brands. The process of producing gasoline is highly uniformm so all brands are essentially the same.

This is particularly evident in Puerto Rico, where we have all the major brands but only one refinery. I use the chapest generic 87 octane fuel I can find--that's currently $1.66.

 

I put another link in there explaining more.

The whole point of Top Tier is that all grades of fuel are required to have the top level of detergents.

The Oil Companies don't like it because that means they can't market Premium as being better for your engine because of detergency. They make much more profit on Premium

 

Unlike the Shell Vpower which is only added to the premium (91 octane) gas, Chevron uses their Techron detergent in all grades of gasoline. However, Chevron puts more Techron in the premium gas---- I'm am not sure how much more though.
I use only Chevron and Shell; I know everyone says that gas comes from the same pipe, but Shell and Chevron have better additives; my engine is cleaner and I get better gas mileage with those fuels.

 

I think (no science here, just my personal opinion) that the Prius engine is the last engine in the world to require special gas or special anything else.

Since I don't especially care about the few cents difference, I go to the most convenient gas station. That's usually either the one closest to my house or the one at a particular major intersection a little farther away. I couldn't even tell you wich is cheaper, or how they compare to other stations in town. If there's a 5-cent difference, that's about 40 cents on a fill.

 

in this area, there is no difference in the composition of unleaded regular across all brands.

premium level gas is unleaded regular with an additive package added at the distribution center for each different brand of gasoline. considering the markup for premium, it is one of the worst buys value-wise in the world.

realize that in the past 10 years the sheer variety of gas has been reduced by 70%. in fact there are several brands that have merged and are now shipped to the gas stations in the same truck. they have retained brand names in some cases for name familiarity.

also realize that 10 of the 20 largest oil companies merged into 3 supercompanies further combining brands that were once slightly different at the premium level.

 

Just a question.

If there is no difference between gasolines, why did the Auto Manufacturers feel the need to set up a program to get Gas Makers to meet a set of minimum acceptable standards for modern engines?

 

I assume you are stating this about the Prius... Have you ever driven a sports car, or any car that requires 91 with 86/7 octane in it? It's a miserable idea. The manager at the dealership I worked at told me to put 86 in all VWs including the Passat/Jetta/Golf 1.8T Jetta/Golf/Passat V6, Passat W8, Touareg V6/V8, and even the Phaeton! The Passat W8 drove like a 2.0 Jetta.... I gave him a dirty look each time he handed me a fuel slip. How do expect to sell a customer a performance car that drives like a Civic?
91 octane does have an important place in many engines; just not ours.

Chevron is the only fuel with a Tier One detergent: Techron.
Technician after technician at work said that engines with Chevron gas have much cleaner fuel injectors and intake valves. I would say 4 out of 5 technicians at the dealership used Chevron...

 

As a reference point, the service department of the local Saturn dealer (my old car) thought that Arco was more likely to clog fuel injectors...

 

Is Techron important for the Prius? 76 hp, 5000 rpms, never overheats, engine frequently off... evidently not. I'm using the cheapest generic gas I can find. :roll:

 

the additives added to unleaded regular are reactant inhibitors. they cause the gas to burn slow and flash at a higher temperature.

the octane rating is the flashpoint rating. the higher the number, the hotter the spark must be to ignite an otherwise equal air fuel mixture.

the higher flashpoint enables high compression in warmed up engines as the higher compression creates a much hotter intake temperature.

to illustrate, higher compression is the same as taking a 2 million BTU heater and putting it in a room that is 12 by 12. it will be very warm very fast. take the same heater and put it in a room the size of a basketball court and you will be comfortable. well the only difference is the volume of air, the amount of energy input to that air is the same. that is why higher compression creates much higher manifold temperatures. if the octane rating is too low, you will get spontaneous combustion (gas igniting without the benefit of a spark) which obviously would not happen at the best time for proper engine operation. that is how and why you get pings. pings are simply partial fuel ignition when all the valves are closed and the engine is still on its compression stroke. besides not providing energy at the right time, it will make short work of your valves and seats.

 

I'm on my third tank... like the wine I buy, I choose my gas by price... was at my favorite station today, not to buy gas... but Lottery tickets.. the owner came out, when I drove up.. was really interested in the Prius... until I showed her the consumption chart.. oops 50 mpg... she didn't even wish me luck when she gave me the lotto numbers...

Bob Andersen

 

I only got to Chevron. I just won't put anything else in. If I'm stranded I'll do 76, but only enough to get me to a Chevron station. And Always 91.

But then again... thats because I have a Bimmer. I'm sure I'll put chevron in the Prius but I won't make such a big deal. In my BMW I do notice a difference. Its not much.. but the 76 stuff is missing the little extra kick that allows the BMW to hall nice person when I drop it in to 2nd from 3rd.