Branded vs Un-branded gasoline

I go to Cenex. It is the only one in town that sells 87 octane for 85 octane price. Everywhere else 87 is mid grade and more expensive.

 

I just buy from costco. I get 4% using my card, plus now that i gotta use the premium, its usually about 50-60 cents a gallon cheaper than the rest of the stations.

 

I was happy to see Arco on there too, I usually fill up at 76 if I can find a reasonably priced one but sometimes 76's are the most expensive. Then I saw that Arco was on this list so I've started going there regularly since they're everywhere here in SoCal.

I laugh when I hear friends and coworkers tell me that Arco is a "rip off" because they charge you a 35 cent debit card fee....even with that fee they're still far cheaper than most other top tier stations.

 

It's all the same gas coming up the same pipeline. How do I know? I drive transport and haul the stuff to the stations. All the trucks get it from the cheapest supplier till the allocation runs out. Yes its true that some top names add "their" additives when the fuel is loaded - dosen't amount to a hill of beans really - just creative marketing. The main thing to do is get your fuel from a high volume station to make sure your gas is fresh. Just my 2 cents.

 

Yep they forget the other guys are just fixing that fee into every gallon and actually making more money off it!

 

Costco is Top Tier gas and the least expensive herebouts.

 

I agree except that these additives have detergents in them to keep fuel systems clean. So, using motiva (shell) or Murphy 87 it'd be wise to put your own fuel additives in. The rest already have it.

I use to work at a fuel terminal FWIW.

 

The only thing that really can make a difference is ethanol content. Ethanol free gas will get you better MPG but you will probably pay more for it so the savings is moot.

 

I work for an independent lab. One of my coworkers in another department has been doing ASTM certified testing on gasoline, oils, and additives for over 20 years. These are some of the things he has told me: Do not ever buy gas from a mom and pop station that has an adjoining auto repair. As most of us know, disposing of hazardous materials such as solvents is very expensive if you follow the law. They get around this expense by simply pouring the few gallons of the used solvents into the gasoline storage tanks. Most of the time, there's not enough of it to cause damage to a vehicle, but it completely changes the chemistry of the gas and how it burns, and the driver may notice shitty performance. The other thing he has told me, is that stations that display a "top tier" brand (Shell, Exxon, Mobil, Philips66, Chevron, etc) have their gas periodically tested by paid secret shoppers. These secret shoppers will go to these branded stations and buy gas and have it shipped to a lab, like my coworker's, and have it tested to see if it really is their gasoline. The reason is because, some of these stations actually buy part, or a lot, of their gas inventory from unknown third parties that is cheaper (perhaps originating in Mexico) and has sulfur contents through the roof, as well as other impurities. Also, some of these top tier companies put chemical tracers in their fuel during the refining process. When their fuel is tested, that secret tracer shows up as a peak on a spectrograph. If it is not there, they know that the station is not using their gasoline, and will confiscate their sign from that establishment. You can understand that it's important for those brands to maintain a good reputation for quality gas. Also, say a Ferrari owner buys gas from an unscrupulous station owner displaying an Exxon sign and his car takes a shit and the engine is ruined or badly damaged. Of course, the first thing he'll do is blame that Exxon station for damaging his expensive vehicle and claim damages. Exxon will immediately have his gas tank removed as evidence and the gasoline inside tested. If it doesn't meet Exxon's established quality specifications, guess who's paying the damages? And Exxon's reputation remains intact. Also, he has continued to tell me that Chevron's Techron is the best gasoline additive (or treatment, as you can buy it separately) he has tested in all his years, especially for cleaning fuel injectors. He says the other ones out there are also good, but they don't clean as efficiently as Techron, all things being equal.

 

Good info, thanks for sharing

 

Very interesting.......where does redline si1 fall in the additive category? Is it really good or just so-so?

 

I just texted him. He said he has not tested that one. Some companies just use their own labs. He also mentioned that Seafoam is great as well.

 

Holy shit stop posting this crap

 

I know in Phoenix Metro Area all gas is delivered via the same pipeline to the tank farm. From there delivery trucks fill up.

 

That is an incredible amount of misinformation lol

 

I use the gas buddy app and fill up with a top tier station which for me is usually Costco or Chevron.

 

As long as you don't use shell or Murphy regular and use any other top tier branded regular, you'll be fine. Almost all gas is basically the same, with the differences being in the fuel additives.

Speaking from experience, fuel comes down the pipeline from one supplier and gets distributed to any and all stations. Meaning, Exxon will send 100,000 barrels to a terminal that gets mixed in with whoever else's branded plain gas in the tanks and then gets allocated to different buyers. It's all the same gas. The difference is in the additives.

 

If you get regular shell or Murphy gas then, yes, absolutely put in the best additive you know of because it doesnt have any it it to begin with. Other than those gases, you should be fine using pump gas without adding in your own fuel additives, less fuel stabilizers for ethonal blends.

 

Even with the ethonal blends, as long as you're using you're vehicle at least every other day, you'll be fine using the ethanol blend without adding stabilizers.

Fuel stabilizers for ethonal blended gas is just a chemical fix for water intrusion that ethonal blended gas regularly sees. Additives are detergents which clean the fuel system. Regardless of how you use your engine, additives provide a positive impact. Fuel stabilizers are really only needed with a vehicle that is rarely used (because of how ethanol attracts water).

 

I miss Sheetz so much. I've tried to describe how awesome it is to these New Englanders, but they think it's just a gas station with some sandwiches.