Does brand of gasoline matter?

[Landmonster]

Hey guys. Sorry if this is a stupid question.

The factory recommends 93 octane fuel to maximize performance, and all the custom tunes also require 93 octane fuel.

My question is, does the brand of gasoline have any impact on the engine, such as.... engine cleanliness, longevity, performance or other factors that we would notice or care about?

I have heard unsubstantiated rumors that Chevron contains the best cleaning-additive package in the Techron formulation.... but I don't know if this is true, nor do I know how much Techron is actually put into their fuel. Even if this was true, you can buy Techron off the shelf at any auto store.

So I guess I'm asking... Is any one brand of gasoline superior at everything? Are different brands superior at different things? Or are all brands roughly equal to each other?
(i.e., Shell, vs Chevron, vs Exxon, vs generic, etc)

With all the thought and energy put into oil-research, should we care about the brand of gasoline that we use?

 

[charba951]

You can get shit gas from any gas station

 

[Grabber]

Gas plays a huge factor.

I ran 93 Shell for the longest time. Turns out it was overall bad gas and I was getting a lot of knock in the upper RPM's. I switched to Costco gas and the car ran a bit better. However, the dyno showed I was still getting knock.

100 Octane fixed the problem.

I've always wanted to look into Lucas Torco octane booster but I have heard mixed things of it being bad for a new car.

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

Gas plays a huge factor.

I ran 93 Shell for the longest time. Turns out it was overall bad gas and I was getting a lot of knock in the upper RPM's. I switched to Costco gas and the car ran a bit better. However, the dyno showed I was still getting knock.

100 Octane fixed the problem.

I've always wanted to look into Lucas Torco octane booster but I have heard mixed things of it being bad for a new car.

This is quite a test:

Brand X knocks
Brand Y still knocks some
100 Octane solves the problem

Conclusion, brand of gas matters.

Sounds like if you're N/A and on the stock longblock you have a tuning problem, not a gas problem.

I worked from a petroleum company/refinery for 3 years, if it's all tier 1 gas it's all the same damn sources so it's all the same damn gas (minus their proprietary additives which I wouldn't faun over too much).

 

[Shaun@AED]

The additive pkg from different brands tends to affect the RVP of the fuel, which can help or hinder the anti-detonation properties of the fuel, even if octane is high.

An example of this is the addition of Butane to winter blend fuel, which actually does have a fairly high MON octane rating, but it's a vapor at room temperature (therefore cannot be used much in hot climates) and cannot handle the higher cylinder pressures we see in these engines vs summer blended fuel that does not have high amounts of butane.

 

[AfricanSnowOwl]

Does anyone anything about the quality of AAFES gas? I usually fill up on base because it's convenient and usually on the cheap side.

 

[Riptide]

I filled up with Conoco 91 and had knock issues. Burned that fuel off.

Filled up with Exxon 91. Knock problem gone.

Conoco is a top tier provider. The gasoline I got from that station was trash.

As someone else stated earlier - you can get bad fuel from any station with any provider's name on it.

 

[03Sssnake]

I had a lot of knock on Exxon 93, switched to Shell 93 and still had quite a bit, even had some with Chevron 93. Switched to Valero 93 and no knock...LOL However given my close proximity to several stations that sell E85, that is the route I ultimately decided to go.


I do agree about some stations being trash, some franchise|stations owners are real cheap bastards that may put un-branded cheap gasoline in their tanks, and or even the wrong octanes. A few lost their franchises here for doing just that.

As a disclaimer; this was last summer in June when I was trying to get the car tuned. Early on it was determined my shitty JBA X-pipe was causing some of this knock, so I had to clearance it with a BFH, as it was too close to trans crossmember. With it no longer a part of the equation I was still getting some knock with top tier brands|93. I was a bit shocked to see Valero beat out Chevron and Shell in that dept. When I periodically switch back to gasoline that is station I fill up at now.

 

[Grabber]

This is quite a test:

Brand X knocks
Brand Y still knocks some
100 Octane solves the problem

Conclusion, brand of gas matters.

Sounds like if you're N/A and on the stock longblock you have a tuning problem, not a gas problem.

I worked from a petroleum company/refinery for 3 years, if it's all tier 1 gas it's all the same damn sources so it's all the same damn gas (minus their proprietary additives which I wouldn't faun over too much).

I see you modified your original post.

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not. Gas is gas, but, each brand of gas adds it own additives and such. I've run every type of brand of gas and some have given the cars I've had in the past issues, some haven't. So, I'm trying to determine if you are saying out of the many tuners I've worked with that all of the ones where my cars had knock or some type of fuel related issue, it was always a tuning problem?

Shaun @ AED is my tuner and there is no tune issue. Car runs 11.5-11.7 A/F (slightly rich for an N/A car) but it is safe.

I added Sunoco 100 Octane in combination with Costco 93 and the knock went away. Last year when Shaun and I started working together, I always ran Shell 93. Had knock with Shell gas. I then switch to Shaun's recommendation to Costco gas (93) and still had knock.

 

[el jefe 302]

Does anyone anything about the quality of AAFES gas? I usually fill up on base because it's convenient and usually on the cheap side.

When I was in everyone with a performance car stayed away. I had knock with my 05 on AAFES, its cheap for a reason...


When I logged for Shaun I had knock from multiple stations, then I found a chevron that had good gas.



Shaun in your opinion would you say that gas is of lower quality these days?

 

[stags]

I don't know about brands. I personally use shell.

What I do know is this- if I roll up to any gas station and see a tanker truck unloading I drive away. I'm neurotic enough to ask attendents when the last time the tanks were filled, and if it was in the last 3 days I drive away.

In my experience when the tanks are disturbed a lot of contaminants that had been on the bottom of the tank get stirred up and into your tank. Kind of stuff that wrecks fuel systems.

Don't believe me- go to a gas station when theres a tanker pumping and fill a small portable tank. Take a looksie.

 

[Shaun@AED]

IMO it comes down to making more power with these newer higher compression engines that maximize cylinder pressure via variable cam timing. More cylinder pressure = more torque = more heat = higher quality fuel is necessary.

 

[stang99x]

All gasoline starts out as a basic mix, and each supplier/retailer adds their own blends of additive packs. Some work better than others, but this is also prone to vary based on the age of the station, condition of the tanks, the day the fuel gets delivered if the tech who filled the tanker was hungover, etc. Find a good station and stick with it, brand be dammed. I get my gas at the same station every week, with an occasional change if the situation absolutely dictates that I must. I never let my car fall under 1/4 tank, and I try to keep it above 1/2.

 

[helloWorld]

Ford recommends British Petroleum: http://www.bp.com/en_gb/on-the-road/united-kingdom/products-services/recommended-by-ford.html

However, I have never been to a BP station, so I can not say much about their gasoline.

 

[67fastbackguy]

Absolutely gas brand and blend has an affect on each vehicle. Like Shaun i too am a tuner and see it everyday. It has a big enough affect that i won't tune certain, usually forced induction vehicles, with certain fuels. For all you military out there i do not recommend filling up on base.

 

[cjd223]

I run Costco 93 with 3oz per 5gal of Lucas in my blower car. Last data log showed -2 degrees of knock. That's with a 79mm pulley and 47's.