Gas Brand

androgelrx · August 13, 2009

Anyone here picky about what brand of gas you put in your engine? I have always used Costco b/c it's cheaper than anybody else but I'm not sure where they get their gas from. I have heard that Shell is a good brand of gas to use b/c of their additive pack. There are not that many around where I live so convenient is a factor. In the past I have always use the cheapest gas available but now I'm wondering if certain brand will make the truck runs better.

August 13, 2009

Shell 91, or walk.

ponylegacy · August 13, 2009

Shell 91, or walk.

LOL. Huskey 93 Octane or Shell 91. If it's good enuff for Ferarri's it's good enuff for my GMC.

androgelrx · August 13, 2009

Shell 91, or walk.

Drew,

You seriously run 91? Is your truck running any better than 87? When I had my LS400, if I put anything other than premium it ran like crap. However, for the trucks 87 is often recommended.

brims · August 13, 2009

Now that I've got a tune, I can only use Chevron and I've been using 89. I've tried 91 octane from 76 and I was getting some pinging.

2007VictoryRed · August 13, 2009

Shell or Chevron 89 nothing else.

HawkeyeOC · August 13, 2009

Just 87 Chevron One of the few vehicles I have owned that actually runs fine on the cheap stuff

nbscanuck · August 13, 2009

Shell has a problem with their additives, they are detergents. Now I'm not a scientist, but from my knowledge, detergents clean, they don't burn well. I've talked with several people that work on tuning vehicles and I've heard the same story. Stay away from Shell.

Now on to a personal experience. I have my truck tuned with a Diablo Sport Predator. I was running my 87 octane tune at the time, pulling the trailer and I was forced to use Shell (no other option). My truck pinged HORRIBLY. Next gas station I stopped and topped up with high test and a couple of bottles of octane boost and it helped. I have also noticed that the pinging is worse with Shell (all grades) than any other REPUTATABLE brand of fuel. You can still get a bad batch of fuel that can cause issues, but that is the unknown.

huero626 · August 13, 2009

I only run Chevron 91 octane, nothing else.

txab · August 13, 2009

Top Tier Fuels

GM Service Bulletin

Tsmith · August 13, 2009

Been running Texaco 87 in mine without any pinging. So does the higher octane stuff necessarily mean better performance and fuel mileage?

Tried the higher octane stuff in my Ford and it made absolutely no difference in either that I noticed.

Turkey · August 13, 2009

All gas stations have the same gas. It has just been carried there in a different truck, and put in different tanks. Our gas comes from the gulf (at least it does in NC) and goes into a pipeline that runs from there to here. When Texaco puts in 1 million gallons of 87 octane in texas, they imediatly get the next round of 87 octane coming down the pipe here in NC, even if Shell or who ever put that gas in there. All grades of gas and diesel are run through the same pipes, believe it or not, and are run one behind the other. They used to run seperaters in between the different fuels, called pigs, but they don't anymore. The Fuel that becomes mixed together in the pipe is sent to powerplants and other places that can burn any type of fuel.

Any additives in the gas are added after the gas is in the truck. I honestly believe (and I'm not an expert on this) that you should get gas at the busiest and newest station in town, because they will have the newest tanks and the tanks are filled more often. Instead of the country store (which I like going to to get a ham biscuit) where only 20 people come to fill up everyday, and the EPA keeps investigating because of the old leaking tanks. Gas loses it's octane rating fairly quickly, and when it sits in a tank for a long time, that 93 octane may not really be 93 octane anymore.

fbachman · August 13, 2009

Shell has a problem with their additives, they are detergents. Now I'm not a scientist, but from my knowledge, detergents clean, they don't burn well. I've talked with several people that work on tuning vehicles and I've heard the same story. Stay away from Shell.

Now on to a personal experience. I have my truck tuned with a Diablo Sport Predator. I was running my 87 octane tune at the time, pulling the trailer and I was forced to use Shell (no other option). My truck pinged HORRIBLY. Next gas station I stopped and topped up with high test and a couple of bottles of octane boost and it helped. I have also noticed that the pinging is worse with Shell (all grades) than any other REPUTATABLE brand of fuel. You can still get a bad batch of fuel that can cause issues, but that is the unknown.

The additives they use tend to have the reputation that they cause interesting "issues" relative to other brands. I find that interesting because many of their other motor oil/petroleum/chemical products are beyond reproach (Rotella, etc).

Back in my college days, I owned a VW Rabbit (Fuel Injected) --- give me a break, it was all that I could afford . I still have the letter sent out by VW of America (back then, 1983 I think it was), indicating that any warranty concerns ref the fuel injection system (Bosch K-Jetronic back then) would be voided if it was determined that the customer was running Shell Gasolines --- yes, it's EASY to determine due to federally mandated chemical markers that are unique to each brand of gas. This was 25+ years ago, granted. Lots can change. I tried Shell SU2000 ONCE back then (prior to getting that letter), and the noises coming out of that engine were almost unbelievable. Switched to Mobil, all went away.

Now, for a major car company to call out another major company like that --- you KNOW that VW passed that thru their legal department once or twice. That implies to me that, back then, they had rock solid data/proof of the issue. Shell would NOT have let that go if they thought they could successfully dispute it. I remember it even making the major news outlets back then.

That has stuck with me ever since. I run Exxon/Mobil 93 virtually exclusively. I have a tune that requires that, as my timing is pushed to the limit for 93. If Exxon/Mobil is not available, I'll use Sunoco, Chevron and BP in that order. I consider them all top notch. Shell, I stay away from.

Where I live, we don't see Texaco. But I hear they make an excellent blend as well.

EDIT: BTW, Sunoco around here has quietly begun discontinuing 94 grade. Anyone else notice this where you are, or is it just the stations around here?

Porter_ · August 13, 2009

All gas stations have the same gas. It has just been carried there in a different truck, and put in different tanks.

...you should get gas at the busiest and newest station in town, because they will have the newest tanks and the tanks are filled more often.

^^^ i clicked this thread to post these same thoughts. the real degredation of gasoline comes from condensation buildup in tanks at stations that don't do much business and thus have their tanks refilled less often. go to the station in your area that is the busiest, which usually ends up being the cheapest as well.

SilveradoWV · August 13, 2009

I have often wondered about gas differences. I assume nearly all of the gas in WV comes from Ashland, KY (major refinery or whatever is there). Nearly every station has the same truck deliver gas to the stations. Seems like a lot of trouble to put the Shell additives or Chevron additives in each truck before it heads to the station. And I have seen these trucks stop at multiple stations on the same load, I know they have different sections in the truck but it all seems like a lot of work to me. Back in the 90's my family had a gas station in a small town, privately owned, no brand of gasoline. About 3 miles up the road was an Exxon, they recieved the same gas from the same truck that my family's gas station did, absolutely no difference and who knows, that truck could have stopped at some other brand station before it got to ours???

This also brings up another thought, not long ago I noticed a new sticker on the pump at one of the stations that said "10% ethanol added", from that time on every different station I went to had that sticker, like they all put that on at the same time, which makes me wonder even more if its not all the same gas... And I cannot find pure gas around here anymore, I would love to find a list of stations that do not add ethanol...