Shell vs. Exxon gas

Shell is like $.20+/gallon more expensive than any other station around here, and I got shitty gas mileage with their gas in my old 4Runner. My buddy even owns the Shell station, and I won't fill up there.

I usually fill up at the local Conoco/Phillips stations.

 

Tacoma vs Vibe, I would say the engineering.
Actually chris4x4 is right. There is no real difference in the base gas. Each company may buy different levels of a similar octane. What makes the difference is the additives they add.

 

I was told the same by the supplier that we purchased fuel from for a Developer that I worked for. The owner of the supplier (fuel company) said it was all relatively the same in quality. And if i remember correctly there were two main producers it was all coming from and both were of near equal quality. I doubt this guy would have tried blowing smoke being that he would lose 120k in business each month if this was the case and anyone found out. Albeit he was speaking in terms of diesel, he said this was essentially the same for the BASE gasoline.

 

I believe there are different regulations for diesel.

 

No, I wouldn't.

 

chevron only

 

SHELL and why isn't this a poll?

 

True, but read the last few words.. He said the base gasolines were essentially all the same. There are however very different processes that are used to refine sweet crude and sour crude, as far as how they effect the gasoline as a final product.... I have no idea. This is just what the man told me.

 

Unless im in the middle of nowhere and on fumes i ALWAYS use ether Shell or Chevron premium. My baby is worth it. My wife gets Mavrick gas for her car. I swear they cut that stuff with water or something.

 

This is true and this is usually different refinery to refinery. Shell in one town can be a very different quality in another or even in a different part of the town. I remember in the early 90's a local TV news station, with the help of UCAN, did a test on the gas from different companies, they saw a difference in quality not based on the company but the refinery it came from. Most of the time, multiple gas companies refine their gas in the same refinery. Even then, especially in California, you can get different mix of gas based on where you buy the gas and different times of the year just because of CARB/EPA regulations. This is especially true on how much oxygenation they do for one part of town. I know in San Diego that there is more O2 in downtown gas then in there outline areas. (Yes its the same with the smog laws. Depending were you are located you may only need to smog your car once where in the city you're require to smog your car every two years).
From then on, it was the additives that made it different from company to company.
The only real way to really make sure you get the best gas in your area is to get samples and have a chemical analysis.

 

I've never even seen a Chevron station in PA.

I've only seen 2 Shell stations here too.

I normally get gas at BP.

 

Documentation on Gas Quality. Please note that this document is kind of old so may not be completely accurate. For example, I know in all over California, gasoline is oxygenated though out winter and oxygenated all year long in the major cities. MTBE is no longer used in California gas since 2003.
http://www.ethanolrfa.org/objects/pdf/AboutRFA/Gasoline.pdf

 

The cheapest thing I can find. I even run Tj gas and my truck runs the same

 

Had a friend that worked for a major supplier & he said the same thing. They just add differnt colors of dye & a tiny bit of blah, blah,blah and charge you more - gas is gas. Just buy from a larger supplier so you don't have to worry about getting old fuel. Station with faster turn over will have fresher fuel. Otherwise, don't pay extra - it's all smoke & mirrors...

 

Exxon is not always Exxon gas. We have Flash foods chains here. They sell different brand gas at different stations(fuel comes from one supplier). I saw a generic tanker fill up one of the flash foods that was their own brand gas. And then go to one down the street, to a FF that is an Exxon station & fill its tanks.

Taken from Flash Foods website "Fuel South, supplies the petroleum to the c-stores"

 

Shell 93 is what I se 90% of the time.
Shell is a top tier gas.
I'd use Chevron(also top tier) but there aren't any Chevrons in NJ or maybe the all of the northeast.



http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

 

Anything but Exxon/Mobile or Citgo.

Exxon: Because of the Valdez oil spill which occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989. (They may have done a lot for the environment since then, but I just can't get over it!)

Citgo: Citgo is Venezuela’s petroleum producer. Venezuela is currently run by Hugo Chavez, would be communist dictator who funds terrorism. (I'd sooner support the Saudis!)

I like Chervon, Shell, and QuikTrip. I have all three close to my house, and all three stay very very busy...so the gas is always "fresh".

 

My 96 taco gets gas from whichever station I am closest to when it needs gas.

The 09 taco and my 05 NSX have only received CHEVRON.

Who knows if all the propaganda is accurate or not but I would rather try to ride on the side of caution since I have well over $120k tied up between these 2 vehicles alone.

 

I will run chevron if it is within .10$ of the rest of the gas, next would be shell. I have ran the mexican gas (valero) it runs ok but I put chevron back in after. I swap between 91 and 87.

 

Question: Maybe I just think illogically but here goes. If it really does give you better preformance/milage to say buy gas at a top teir location, Then does saving 10 cents a gallon at a cut rate brand really equate. I mean if you are saving 10 cents a gallon and buying 20 gallons you actually saved $2 per fillup. Would not the better perfomance/mileage/cleaner engine not be worth that extra $2.

I guess this logic only works if that top tier gas really works better.