the only brand i've heard to stay clear of is BP. i just usually stick with shell or sunoco

 

I use whatever is cheap at the time, with gas prices as high as they are. In my area, it is Shell V-Power. If you really want a noticable difference, buy an octane booster additive for like $3-5.

 

The brands do all come up the pipeline together. So, base fuel is hard to differentiate between. The octane differentiation is actually quite good as only minimal mixing occurs in the pipeline between different product runs. Think plug flow with a slug of gas being chased by the next. The major difference is the additives that are added at the terminal while the gas is being loaded into the truck for delivery. These fuels, once mixed, are tested to ensure quality before leaving the terminal. Additives include deposit control agents, octane boosters, cleaning agents, etc. I have had the best luck with BP because their premium in the midwest tends to average one octane higher and sell for the same price at the pump as other brand's premium fuel. There really isn't crappy fuel out on the market at major label stations. Out west they add some really questionable stuff like different levels of alchohol to reduce emissions.

 

s2grnd is correct. Also where i live in the South you have what they call

Jobbers....... probably everywhere else too. These are the people that deliver the

fuel to the gas stations. They have the storage facilitys to keep fuel on hand locally.

Most of these "Jobbers" have there own tanker fleets to ensure that only there fuel

goes into there tankers. These usually are the Major companies Chevron, Exxon,

Shell ect. These tanker have compartments that allow separation of the different

grades to ensure that you get what you pay for.

 

There was an article on that in a recent Plain Dealer, Motoo. It's an urban legend, now being perpetuated by local mechanics. I've heard that BP has some of the best gas in our area, contrary to the rumor.

I've been using it pretty much exclusively for all of my cars for the past 15+ years or so, without any problems.

JonasM

 

Modern Marvels did a story about gasoline distribution. Basically, it confirms what has been said here. All gasoline is the same, what is different is the additives. Each company can personalize the gas after they remove it from the pipeline system. So the real question should be: which additives are the best? I don't know. I usually use Shell 93 octance here in Austin.

Cheers

 

Im with you, 76 gas only for me...it's also NASCAR sponsored

 

well maybe its that Ethanol is used in 76 rather than MTBE, any ideas on what additive is better....?

 

The best gas is the gas in your tank

 

Whatever premium is the cheapest is for me