I have a 2001 SE Automatic. I have always been using premium but
wonder if brands matter. In the Chicago area, the big players
are Shell, Mobil and Amoco. Any opinions?

 

out of those three.....Amaco Ultimate all the way! if you have noticed color of gas...Amoco ultimate is clear. but if you can get your hands on it like i can, use some BP GT2 fuel 110 octane baby! anyway out of the three you mentioned, Amoco is the best in my opinion, thats what i use the majority of the time...since i dont always have the $3.50 per gallon for the GT2 stuff

 

ive *heard* shell is good for MPG. and exxon is good for performance. dont know the reasoning behind it. just that ive heard.

 

technically, the basic chemical structure of all gas is the same. the only difference is that each brand has it's own added thing going on...like techron, pro power, or even water (Arco, hehe). so basically what u're buying is the added thing. I heard that unocal's gas isn't good for the max...something about their additives messing up the injectors. i use either chevron or mobil since they're pretty cheap.

 

My FAQ Sticky casts my vote: "Why should I only use Premium Chevron w/ Techron...."

More than you ever cared to know about gasoline:
http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/fuels/gas_qanda/

 

If you travel in Canada, well than Petro Canada has a Super clean 94 Octane gas, cant remember the name though.

Cheers

AA

 

This is another topic on which I've done some research. I can only speak with authority regarding two gasoline brands, however . . . Chevron and Unocal.

Nissan does not endorse the use of ANY gasoline additives. Techron, however, is the only gasoline additive that Nissan "unofficially" endorses. As a result, I run nothing but Chevron Premium with Techron in my SE.

Unocal contains an additive which can foul Maxima fuel injectors. My dealer received a memo from Nissan indicating that Unocal gasoline should not be used in our vehicles. Unfortunately, they have not been able to find their copy of the memo, so I cannot reproduce it here.

 

uhm re: 100 octane gas. Is it true that you burn your cat converter by using higher octane gas other than stated in your manual? I had put a 93 in my 1st car, '88 COrsica, and that burned that cat.

 

Here's another vote on the Chevron Supreme (93 octane). I had the unfortunate priviledge of almost running out of gas once and the nearest station i could find was Diamond Shamrock or Texaco. I took Texaco as that's what i used in my previous car.

For some reason for that tank of gas and for the succeeding 2 tanks (going back to Chevron) the car didn't respond or perform as good.

Once the Texaco was flushed out by succeeding Chevron tanks it was up to par again.

 

i've tried the full gamut of gasolines
on my 96 se and only chevron doesn't ping!
in california, usually we can only get 91 octane
so that might be a big reason.
but has anyone tried that techroline additive in a bottle?
is it worth the extra bucks?

thanks

 

Does anyone know if the gas stations are required to buy fuel from their companies. Because I have seen Chervon or Mobile gas stations being refueled by some tankers that doesn't have their logos on the side. Are those shady operators buying cheap gas?

 

 

I've always used Texaco 93 but now I think I'm gonna try Chevron 93. I never really thought about this subject. I guess I ignorantly assumed all gas was about the same. hmmm

 

Ok, this whole gas/octane issue has been discussed for a long time with no resolution. I've run a few searches and found the same oppinions on both sides every time. So, is higher octane better or what?!
I ran the midgrade sh*t before, and I have recently seen the light and I now use premium only. 91 octane definately runs better than 89. People say that 93 runs much better than 91, but I live in cali where we only have 91. For those who have experimented with mixing racing fuel (100 octane unleaded) with 91 to get 93-96, what is your experience? Does it run that much better?
I would go mix racing fuel into my gas right now, but my car is all f*cked up so I shouldn't do any serious driving . I will probably test it next weak when everything is fixed.

 

Not many Amoco's around here but there fuel is great when I run into one. Shell is most available here so I use their 93 or Marathon 93.

 

I use Exxon/Mobil, or Citgo supreme in my Max's.

 

I used to use Shell 93, but they closed. Since then (5 months) I have been using Sunoco 94, my maxse01 loves it.

 

Well I have using HESS because it is just down the block.
But I seem to be the only one
is it crap gas ?
maybe I should try something else and see how my max runs on it

 

I too have been using Hess, before that Merit (they merged). No problems - 23-25 mpg around town, 30mpg on trips. The only bad gas I've had was AMOCO, but I think that was the particular station.

 

Here's a different reason for selecting gas brand:

>>Just buy from gas companies that don't import their
oil from the Saudis.

Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I
fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me,
my family, and my friends. I thought it might be interesting for you to know
which oil companies are the best to buy gas from.
Major companies that import Middle Eastern oil (for the period
9/1/00-8/31/01).

Shell 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco 144,332,000
Exxon/Mobil 130,082,000
Marathon 117,740,000
Amoco 62,231,000

At $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION!

Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:

Citgo 0 barrels
Sunoco 0
Conoco 0
Sinclair 0
BP/Phillips 0

 

WORD!!!! I have been switching back and forth between Amoco and Mobil for quite some time, but have recently installed the JWT POP Charger and started running Sunoco Ultra 94, my 2001 SE-AE loves it!

 

That's not a very fair judgement and statement to make. It's like me saying, I don't want to buy Japanese cars because they killed my relatives at Pearl Harbor.

 

On the contrary, it is a very fair opinion to voice. The big difference is... Japan was defeated and does not currently try to kill my relatives. The mid-east, even those countries that've publicly declared themselves our "friends", are actively trying to kill me, my friends and my family. The only thing that keeps them from being even more active is they realize they'd lose their biggest customer.

BuddyWh

 

So you're saying that just because they're from the Middle East that they're all trying to kill you and your family?

My point was, the opinion was generalized and not very fair. I'm fromt he Philippines and just because the Al Qaeda network reached the southern region of our country doesn't make me a terrorist in any way.

 

Not all the people, no. But the governments are... every mid-east country, has either openly or tacitly supported terrorist organizations or principals which would "attack" any target in the US they could. That makes for a very real danger for me, my family and friends. Not all are associated with Al Qaida. This includes the Saudis.

And at any rate... the satements were aimed directly at Saudi Arabia and the Mid- East in general. Not the Phillipines.

BuddyWh

 

You will find no resolution... some people swear by the highest octane they can get, and others have not found any benefit from using higher octane.

It depends on a lot of variables, some that change, quite literaly, with the weather. Normal manufacturing tolerances can mean identical cars have different octane requirements. Mods can alter the optimal operating ranges of various engine controls. This all leads to differing conclusions from different drivers. Use what you like, but that doesn't mean it's best for others.

My $.02
BuddyWh

 

those companies DO import mid east oil in a way b/c a lot of them import it from Mexico which has a lot imported from the mid-east--it's not just Saudi Arabian oil that we (the U.S.)need to get away from, it's any OPECountry--that's why it's so important for us to have alternative fuel research and development (and not drive gas guzzling SUVs unless they are necessary)--if the U.S. had these alternative fuels, the OPECountries would go bankrupt and have no way to fund terrorist activities

 

Yes they are required to buy the brand of fuel that they advertise.

The plain tankers probably are a dealer that is 1:Too cheap to spend money on logos for their trucks or 2:A dealer that distributes more than one brand of gas.

 

Don't quite understand your breakdown.

1st, Shell merged with Texaco, not Chevron. I don't believe the Chevron/Texaco merger ever went through due to FTC complications.

2nd, BP merged with Amoco, not Phillips 66

And for anybody that is interested, Shell is planning on doing away the Texaco brand in 2004 and BP is in the process of doing away with the Amoco brand already. They are all going to be BP Stations selling Amoco fuels.

Personally, I like Shell the best because my family (and now me, too) have been Shell Gas dealers for over 30 years.

 

That used to be true, when there were a lot of refineries and they were run buy the same company selling the gas. But not anymore. Pretty much all gas produced at the same refinery is the same.

The differences come from a branded additive package put in the tank truck by the distributor, unique to the stations they will be making delivery to. Since there not to many refineries any more, and they are tightly controlled for process and seasonal formulations so they could bid for any contract and meet various regulations, additive packages are the only way to achieve brand differentiation.

So that plain truck you see may serve up the exact same gas to your favorite ultra-premium station or the 7-11 around the corner, the only difference is the additive! If the distributor got the mix right, that is.

BuddyWh

 

Where abouts in Canada are you referring to? Here in the GTA and surrounding areas, all the Petro Canada's I've been to (not in the Max, it hates it) the highest octane I've seen is 91. Only Sunoco has the "Ultra" 94 gas. All the gas that's distributed here comes from the Steeles & Jane refinery, so they are all the same, just different addictives added for different results. I've been told by workers there that Esso has the dirtiest burning fuels around, whereas Sunoco has the cleanest. Petro Canada is in between.

Any of you notice that the car becomes difficult to start with some types of petrol, while starts quick with others? Our engines have HIGH demands!