Top Tier Detergent Gasoline

Hmm thanks for that. I may have another good option.
The thing with premium gas at chevron is the 94 is usually only 2 cents/L
more. If I buy in the states I stick with chevron too, but go 91.

I'll have to check out the shell nearby. The other factor is gas turnover. Some stations have very few customers buying premium, so the gas is a bit old...

 

Nope.

No ethanol-free in California except for a few off-highway fleet fueling stations in the central valley.

 

You're right. It's not cost-effective.
But government regulations may force it.

That is why California fuel is $0.50 more than most states, and nearly a buck more than some.
There are 22 different fuel blends mandated by law in California.

 

My local Shell station closed a couple years ago , now I don't get a chance to get V Power too often but I consistently get my best gas mileage on the V Power

 

There are many areas in the US that you can't buy gas with out ethanol does this mean our truck engines won't last as long? If you say yes let's see the figures.

 

As long as you stick to Toyota's recommendation not to exceed E10, no problem. Ironically, it's not the engine that will fail:
Ethanol is corrosive to the fuel system. Vehicles that can run on E85 have bigger fuel pumps and fuel lines & injectors that are made out of different materials (specifically the rubber components) so they don't get eaten. The fuel pumps are bigger because the higher the ethanol content, the more volume of fuel it takes to make the same horsepower

 

Ethanol can be as much as 30% water by weight.
When in solution with gasoline, that drops to about 9%.

The problem is that ethanol boils at around 60 degrees less than water. In hotter climates, tank temperatures can easily exceed the boiling point of ethanol. It is in solution with the gasoline, so it does not boil off in excessive quantities, but what does is forced to leave solution, so it leaves the water behind. Frequent drivng keeps this under control, as the next fresh tank is able to pull this water back into solution.
Infrequent driving? It is possible for the water to build up over time.
This is one thing that boat owners are constantly fighting out here.

Do you agree that water in your fuel pump and injectors is a good thing?

 

Wut

 

There is a huge group of people who "know someone who drives a gas truck" who swear that there is no difference in gas, that is all comes from the same tank and one truck delivers to multiple stations, and when buying at Chevron vs buying at USA the only difference is the price.


The gas truck drivers don't even know what's in their trucks. We had a CHAIN of stations a few years ago that had to pay for a LOT of repairs on customer cars because Diesel was put into their gasoline tanks.
Driver did everything right... the mistake was made at the depot.
But it was all one brand of gas. It wasn't 5 brands in one localized area, it was one brand over a more broad area.

 

Lol that's rich.

 

I fired up my 70 Challenger after about 4 months sitting over the winter. It would barely run, sounded like it was missing on multiple cylinders. It finally warmed up a bit and would idle on it's own, but was showing exhaust smoke. I shut her down wondering wtf?

Worried for a week that there was something seriously wrong, then fired her up again. Same thing, finally ran smooth enough to drive but still blowing light smoke. Drove it around a few miles and then all symptoms went away and I topped off with fresh gas.

Best I can figure is there was simply a rather extreme amount of water in the bottom of the tank. All the smoke must have just been the extra steam from the water moving through.

E10 sucks.

 

The bottom line is this....all crude oil comes from the same place and perhaps a great deal of it is refined in but a few places. But it's what's done with that fuel afterwards that may make a difference. The additives are just that..."added" to the fuel. "Top Tier" fuels apparently have more/better cleaning agents added to them than others. If you're an auto manufacturer who's trying to reduce warranty costs and contribute to your customers overall satisfaction, then it would only make sense to recommend something that could do both.

BTW...the whole "Top Tier" thing really is not about which fuel generates the most HP...that's a result of the octane level. But rather this is about which fuels deliver the best detergents to keep fuel systems, intake valves, etc. clean. In basic form (87 octane) these fuels do a better job than non Top Tier fuels. Don't confuse the terms "Premium" and "Top Tier".

 

^^^^This

 

Octane does not "generate horsepower." It prevents pre-ignition in high-compression engines.

 

Crude oil does NOT come from the same place. Refiners accept crude from all over the world based upon factors like cost, compatibility with other crude slates they may be running, unit design and tolerances, assay, yields... The list goes on and on and on. The quality of crude (among other things) has a direct impact on the quality of the components used to blend gasoline, and thus, your gasoline.

 

Anyone know anything about costco premium gas? Good, bad?

 

I've been using it for a long time and have never had any problems. An employee working at the gas pumps told me they sell 60,000 gallons daily at that location

Course it might vary by area or state depending where they get their gas from. Although I've found Costco brand products overall seem to be good quality.

 

Tried it a few times, if Costco wasn't on the other side of town thats probably what I'd run.

Otherwise I stick to Shell Premium unless I run low without any thing else around.

 

I used the term "generate" very loosely. The fuel itself does not make more power. However, in engines that have a high enough compression ratio or forced induction and/or engines that have flexible management systems, higher octane fuel can allow the ECM to advance the timing enough to increase the engine's output.

But, again...that's not really what Top Tier fuels are about. Top Tier refers to the quality/quantity of the detergent additives, not the octane. Higher octane fuels are often labeled as "Plus" or "Premium" to set them apart from their lower octane counterparts, but are not necessarily "Top Tier". I'd be willing to bet that some of the regular octane Top Tier fuels have more detergent additives in them than some of the lower tier "Premiums" do.

 

I was referring to the fact that it's all "underground".