mis3

Apparently amongst my friends, there are 2 schools of thoughts on our car fuels.

Some believe that the gases from all service stations, major brands or smaller distributors, are the same. This includes a chemical engineering who works in a major brand. The only difference is the additives they add as final products. Sure enough I saw gas tankers from different brands (Shell, Esso, minor brands) coming out from the same refinery in east-end Montreal.

Some believe that the fuel from major brands are superior with higher standards. They only fuel up at Shell or Esso gas stations.

In Toronto, we have Husky gas stations who sell gas in a slightly lower price. Not sure if their gas is good or bad but in my CLK320, I cannot tell the difference.

bheng

isnt it just the final additive and as long as the fuel place you pump at isnt a run down POS, shouldnt the fuel filter take care of the rest?

i have been wanting to do a test on this. however i have no patience for it.
gotta do an oil change. fill up on non top tier gas, drive a long distance, say 400 mi. on the way back, do the same thing but with top tier gas. making sure that you are driving in the same speed etc.

anyways. i personally dont think it really matters but a couple of cents on the dollar per fill up comes up to an extra buck or two if you are looking at it on the money portion. i just go with whatever is most convenient for me.

mis3

I am not concerned on the $1-2 saving on a full tank.

I am interested in the truth. I did see different branded gas tankers leaving the same refinery. For instance, I saw a Shell gas tanker and then a Olco gas tanker leaving the Ultramar refinery in Montreal.

I myself sometimes drive an extra KM to get to a "major" gas station.

C-A-T-S

I try to stick with Shell 93 V-Power

bheng

meh i think its all in the additives.

elijah

I use Shell V-Power whenever I fill up

kbahl21

+1

dynomite05

+2

mis3

I was told once that the independent service stations would get the bottom portion of the tank in the refinery.
If this is true, the gas would be more "dirty".

bheng

^ that sounds about what would most likely happen. indy stations get the lower portion of the gas and the difference should be in the additives which is only to be the cleaning agents that they use. so is that the same as using chevron techron cleaner when you pump? cuz thats what they advertise when you pump.

Mka77

Who really knows. Found this passage on a local high volume retailer's site. QT. When asked which refiner they get their gas products from.

"Even retail outlets of major oil companies i.e Shell, Mobil and Exxon end up drawing their gasoline out of the same pipeline as everyone else."

Makes one wonder if they are really getting that Shell product.

mis3

I have been fuelling up at the major service stations only; mainly Shell and Esso. Less and less at Esso now because they add ethanol to their gas. I am not sure if this applies to their premium grade.

The point is there is a Husky gas station right around the corner and the Shell station is about one KM away. For the peace of mind, I have been going to Shell for the past 2 years. Not sure if there is any valid reason to drive this extra KM, espeically both gases work in my car wihtout any noticable difference.

FYI. We don't have Shell 93 V-Power in Canada. Our Shell V-Power is 91.

kostas86

All I know is that everytime I fill up at a Shell or Mobil I see the best results so i just stick with those.

MB Dave

Shell, BP, Moobile are my top choices.

mis3

Looks like we are all going for the "majors" but with no certainly that we know they are better.

Occasionally, I would use an indy when there is no other choice. Every time I did not fele any impact to my car. Makes me wonder.....

bheng

lol goes with the peace of mind thing.

08clk350

1st choice - shell v-power 91 (no 93 in CA)
2nd choice - mobile 91

i dont fill up anything else. if it is emergency, i might fill with chevron w/ techron 91, but that is if i am desperate.

bheng

haha damn chevron IF you're desperate? whats so bad about them?

08clk350

i prefer shell and mobile just cuz i been using them ever since i owned my first car (2001). i have a co-worker that has a super charged charger srt that costs him like 7 or 10 grand and the company that makes the super charger told him to use shell v-power only. that was their recommendation, not sure why, but i would assume it makes a difference? so long story short....i just go with shell or mobile.