Do you like it? Do you prefer it? What about chevron? Which do you prefer?

 

i don't use any of those. I go to Sunco b/c they are the cheapest around my house

 

You're going to get such a wide variety of responses to this ? primarily because the brand of stations available in any area differ so much. Two of the larger local players in this (greater Seattle, WA) area use an Ethanol mix and there's a minor warning concerning this in the owner's manual so I avoid those stations. Of the two remaining larger players, I have mostly used Texaco and Chevron with no real preference or discernable difference. The Texaco stations in this area are being converted to Shell stations. I've driven through a couple of full tanks from one of the Shell stations that was previously a Texaco and personally notice no difference.

 

anyone have an Idea about Costco gas?

 

cost savings on price = cost savings on on quality.

 

I use Shell as much as possible because I have a Shell Visa card that gives me 5% back. It seems to run great - can't tell any difference between Shell and BP, Exxon, Texaco, etc.

 

I've never bought into that whole bit about "Gas company X has crappy gas and gas company Y has great gas". I use Shell, Sunoco, or Amoco when I am heading to the track because they have 93, 94, and 93 available respectively. Just driving around town I use any of the above or Citgo or Speedway (92 octane each), whichever is closest when I need gas.

 

Not necessarily.

As for Costco, as long as it's not the Arco ethanol crud, it should be fine.

 

Mobil, and shell

BUT when I use shell, my exhaust gas smells a tad bit richer.....

But I really don't go around sniffnig my exhaust...... all the time

 

I wish we had like 91 octane here. All we have is 87, 89, 93, 94. I use 93. 91 octane would probably be a little cheaper than 93.

 

Yes, fine. But not great. Cheaper gas means, lower costs in refinery meathods and less cleansing additives.

 

so are we basically saying that the more it costs, the cleaner it is and healthier for the car?
i'm buying my 93 octane from raceway, a cheaper station, but i feel it does the job.
how do you know where to go when it comes to the ethanol issue?

 

In WA state, there's a sticker on the pumps which indicate Ethanol blended gas (76 and Arco are the major players here which use Ethanol). Not sure how it's handled from state to state.

 

how does that kind of mixture adversely affect the performance/life of the vehicle?

 

how does that kind of mixture adversely affect the performance/life of the vehicle?

 

how does that kind of mixture adversely affect the performance/life of the vehicle?

 

I used to go to Texaco all the time until all the Texaco all turned into Shells overnite. I go to the same exact gas station once a week and the people there know me too I like Shell, I always get Plus.

 

A 10% blend of Ethanol has 3% less energy than unblended gasoline. This is compensated somewhat because the combustion of the blend is a little more efficient. How much so is debatable. Supporters of Ethanol blends say it is neglible. My personal experience is that I've seen a small but discernable change in gas mileage with my previous vehicle as Ethanol was added to the gas in fall and removed from the gas in spring (Ethanol is sometimes used in place of MTBE to create oxygenated gas). I noticed the spikes that occured around the switch points (it would be unfair to compare summer mileage and winter mileage in the area I live in).

Ethanol also acts as a detergent (relative to the gasoline it is replacing) and can loosen deposits which clog fuel filters, etc. I'd guess the likelihood of this affecting someone is somewhat remote (perhaps if you lived somewhere which sold gas with relatively few detergents and moved to a different locale or country with gas that had more detergents and Ethanol).

 

All gas is the same!! Shell, amoco, texaco...etc.. they all purchase their gas wholesale from just a couple of refinery companies or themselves. This is because unbranded companies (costco, generic etc.) arent big enough to run their own refineries, and purchase from the few big names there are anyways. To add to that, Shell might get 1/4 from BP amoco, 1/3 from Exxon and so on (additives put in later) depending on market fluctuations, etc. So all this brand loyalty is just marketing hype. I seriously doubt additives do anything at all either!

 

I was just asking because I've seen the other posts about gas and some people favor one places gas over another.
I live in Reno, we have one place here that sells 100 octane gas but I would only get that if I was going to go to a track. They actually sell gas up to 118 octane but that is leaded gas which would actually screw up the car.

 

BP ... 1.51 per gallon (premium)

 

Ding ding ding, we have a winner.
All companies put gas into the same pipeline and take it out on the other end.Then they add their own additives and off it goes. There was a show on the History channel about this.

 

I agree except that oxygenates (Ethanol, MTBE) are considered additives and they do make a difference. It's going to vary region to region, but in this area Arco and 76 always have Ethanol in their gas mixture, regardless of the season. In WA state, oxygenated gas is only mandated in certain sub-portions of the state and from late fall - early spring.

 

I drive quite a bit, and my driving varies (city, highway, aggressiveness). And when I decided to try tracking my mileage between gas stations, I decided to do 10 tanks in a row from the same company and average out my mileage. First of all, ethanol blends, i.e. Sunoco, do give me less mileage per tank. How much of a difference? The lowest difference, 3%. The highest difference, 12%. Average? About 6% and a bit. That doesn't seem like much, but considering an average tank of about 55L (55L as I usually like to leave a certain amount in the tank) will go about 650km for me (hwy cruising speed is about 140km/h or about 87mph, city, it depends on traffic).

Also, I've noticed gasoline from the US is significantly cleaner and provides more mileage compared to Canadian gas (had a road trip last summer in the US).

I personally use Shell as it is the cleanest that provides good mileage. Sunoco is by far the cleanest in my area (Toronto), but provides noticeably less mileage (not sure about power) than Shell. Shell is dirtier than Sunoco, but still a heck of a lot cleaner than Petro and Esso.

And for all of you that believe all gas is the same? Then why is it that when independent tests are done, differences in things such as sulphur content are at times an 8 times difference? Sunoco has 1/8 the sulphur levels of Esso. Sunoco is the ONLY Canadian gasoline that would meet US standards on sulphur content.

There is a certain amount of gas mixing from company to company, especially if they are essentially, the same company, i.e. Pioneer and Sunoco (Sunoco supplies Pioneer). But to say that gas from one station is the same as gas from another company, is not exactly accurate. Atleast that's how it is in Canada.

 

ah screw it. i was going to really follow this thread but its so much easier to jus believe GAS IS GAS.

as long as its premium.

 

shell and texaco mainly. i spend 3/4 tank a day (with the ac mostly off, 1 tank with it on all the time ) so i no longer care what gas i put in. by the time i am home it's gone anyway. ah the joys of living in the middle of nowhere...

 

I usually get the best milage out of BP or Shell gas. I know here in Raleigh,NC that we go to a different blend during the hotter months to reduce smog(I am not sure what they use but there is a message on all the gas pumps notifiying the community when the time comes).

 

I use Texaco or Mobil whenever I can. It seems to make my car run a little cleaner. In the winter, they add all the crap so no matter what I get.