branded (chevron) or generic (costco) gas??

[static808]

kaotic's topic led me to thinking about the brand of gas we all put in our cars. is there any research or information about the quality of brand (shell, chevron, etc...) and non-brand (costco, etc...) gas?? with prices the way they are, i've been putting costco gas for quite some time (might as well since we pay for membership already, and theres one 1.5 miles away). performance and mileage have been exactly the same with what we used before, which is strictly chevron (love that techron). i was thinking of simply using costco gas and throwing in some concentrated techron (or any fuel cleaner) every few months with my gas savings. can i stick with this "cheap" course of action, or should bite the economic bullet and go back to good ol' chevron?? thanks again for any input and advice...!!

--B

ps: all in all, we will save just under 200 bucks a year by going the cosco route, for both of our cars, so its not just a couple of bucks we're debating over...

[PetersRedYaris]

Yes, I think brand does make a difference. BP Amoco is supposed to be good. Around here however, every station uses ethanol for all three grades. Every station, 10% EtOH, it pisses me off...:thumbdown: I don't want to start an ethanol debate on your thread but it is a fact it decreases mileage. Walmart and Sams Club are a couple of the few that don't use ethanol. So, by using cheaper fuel without ethanol, you can actually get better mileage here.

[static808]

I don't want to start an ethanol debate on your thread but it is a fact it decreases mileage.

thats why i stay away from arco. thats what buggin me though, i know why arco sells their gas soo sheap, but dont know why sams club and costco can sell so low without using ethanol. i know that the brand name gasolines use more and better additives (v-power, techron, etc...), but im curious to know whether the base gas is the same.

[ChinoCharles]

15,000 miles +, all but three tanks were Shell 87. 33 solid MPG the life of the car, 80% city. I'll take it.

[TrancosRt]

34-35MPG using a mix really. For a while I put Marathon fuel but I changed routes and the gas station became a little out of my way, so I started using Mobil. Same mileage really. I'm kinda concerned about the "sludge" effect, but I think it's a Shell gimmick really.
Citgo gas royally sucks. I had to use it last Friday and I probably lost 5mpg! :(

[jamal1984]

how about Kroger? spend 100 bucks from Kroger get 10 cents off for your gas? That's what i did.

[Spades]

Heh, I used to work for fred meyers (kroger owned company, that chain has gas stations too) and the gas they use is pisswater...I would stay away from cheap gas...you are more likely to get what you pay for. There are some cheap gas stations where I live that have had problems with water in their gas and other bad fuel issues.

Remember kiddies, you always get what you pay for!

[Kaotic Lazagna]

i would like to know too since Safeway gas is pretty cheap in comparison to Chevron. however, all my friends and their families use Safeway gas, and they have more problems with their cars than me and my family. we only use Chevron. so that's why i'm hesitant to use Safeway in my Yaris. but then again, when i had my GTI, the best mpg that i got was with Safeway...

[PetersRedYaris]

I don't know about Safeway gas, but Safeway diesel blows.

[Astroman]

I think it also depends on what type of vehicle your driving. My old '87 Chevy astro van would run the same no matter what you put in it, except for arco crap. Same for my '89 Chrysler LeBaron turbo. My ex has a Toyota matrix and she was putting safeway/costco gas in her car and after 10,000 miles it was running pretty slow. You would romp on the accelerator and the car would almost die. She took it to the dealership and they asked her what type of gas she was using. She told them Safeway and Costco. They said try 2-3 tanks of Chevron. Sure enough that 1.8L came back to life in about a tank. They said Toyotas don't like cheap gas. In my Yaris I put 7-11 (citgo) gas in once and noticed a decrease in performance, so I never used it again. The dealer here gave out free gas cards for conoco when I bought my car and that is mostly what I use along with Shell and Chevron. I haven't been able to afford chevron lately because gas went up 30 cents in a week :eyebulge::thumbdown::thumbdown::thumbdown:

[Jokill]

This site identifies and explains what the top tier gasoline producers are.
http://www.toptiergas.com/

Just some food for thought.:smile:

[Pavel Olavich]

I think our Yaris puts little demand on the fuel we put in their bellies...I would just treat gasoline like a commodity and go for the cheapest deal you can find. Using the cheap stuff or best stuff matters very little...leave this worry to the Corvette/BMW set ;-)

[Go4th]

Just save some money and get the cheapest gas you can find at each fill up. Every one knows which local station usally has the cheaper gas. Save your money. Unless you race your Yaris and have hoped up your engine for top grade or higher octain gas.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

for peace of mind, i'm sticking to Chevron and nothing else. but ahhh, Safeway is so much cheaper!

[static808]

This site identifies and explains what the top tier gasoline producers are.
http://www.toptiergas.com/

Just some food for thought.:smile:

thanks, i've seen that website before. im just a little skeptcial since it all seems like a marketing ploy to me. they throw a bunch of numbers and tests in your face, but i still dont really know who "top tier gas" really is. for all we know, its all those companies banding together and forming group to attempt and outsell every other gas company. the information on that site is limited to the tests they use (very technical and unintelligible to the common person) and the gas companies that "pass" their standards. i thought most branded gas was good, but i didnt see exxon/mobil on that list, and that's supposed to be a pretty damn big oil company who makes pretty good engine oil. sorry if im showing too much concern about the brand of gas i use, i was just curious if anyone else out there had some hard facts regarding the cleanliness/quality of brand name gas versus generic/wholesale gas. one tip given by a few mehcanics is to simply use the wholesale gas, and then twice a year throw some chevron techron concentrate in your tank. the bottle of concentrate is equivalent to 10 fill-ups at chevron (kinda weird fact!), and the techs claim that techron does indeed clean out your tank, injectors, etc... i think i'll go this route, since doing costco gas with techron concentrate twice a year will save me about $160/year total on both our vehicles. over the life of our cars, that's well over $1K...

--B

[hans_fh]

I go to 7-eleven for the regular gas for city road, which is the cheapest among the stations in my area. When I have a long trip on highway, I usually use Chevron because I got 46 MPG on the way to Las Vegas the Spring Break.

[Bretsuaz]

I have to fill up every 2-3 days, and try to time it so that I am near a QT. I have never had any problems with their fuel. I had an xB a couple of years ago that was really picky about what I fed her. Most gas made her "ping", but not QT. She mainly did it in the summer, when it was 115 degrees. Drove me crazy. A couple of time I would have to stop at a cirkle K, all the signs said texaco, but they were actually selling Shell. Car ran so bad. When i mentioned it to my mom, she said they stopped getting gas there too because their cars were pinging.

[r300f28]

I've seen what using Cheap John Gas can do to an engine. I have a 1989 Chevy S10 with a 4.3 engine. Was using cheap gas and the engine had so much gunk & sludge build up that my mechanic had to use chemicals to clean it out. He had the valve covers off the engine when he showed me. What a Mess?
Bought a 2007 Yaris sedan. Will use only Shell or Chevron gas from now on.
The little extra cost is cheap insurance & piece of mind.

[Indianspringsaz]

I have had good luck with QT. Been useing there diesel for years, now useing there gas.

[Motorhead6T5]

Well I have talked to some people first hand and they claim the gas is all the same,comes from the same refinerys,shipped in the same trucks. Gas is cheaper certain places cause they sell more. Once its in the ground all bets are off,crappy old gas stations are probably more likly to have water in the gas.

[jlift]

This site identifies and explains what the top tier gasoline producers are.
http://www.toptiergas.com/

Just some food for thought.:smile:
A direct cut and paste from your website above...apparently it's ok to use up to 10% ethanol.....even on "top tier" gasolines..

1.3.1.2 Base Fuel. The base fuel shall conform to ASTM D 4814 and shall contain commercial fuel grade ethanol conforming to ASTM D 4806. All gasoline blend stocks used to formulate the base fuel shall be representative of normal U.S. refinery operations and shall be derived from conversion units downstream of distillation. Butanes and pentanes are allowed for vapor pressure adjustment. The use of chemical streams is prohibited. The base fuel shall have the following specific properties after the addition of ethanol:

1. Contain enough denatured ethanol such that the actual ethanol content is no less than 8.0 and no more than 10.0 volume percent.

[static808]

Well I have talked to some people first hand and they claim the gas is all the same,comes from the same refinerys,shipped in the same trucks. Gas is cheaper certain places cause they sell more. Once its in the ground all bets are off,crappy old gas stations are probably more likly to have water in the gas.

people, this is a fact. the detergents used at different gas stations are what you are paying for (v-power, techron, etc...), but the gas is the same everywhere. i've read that more important than the detergent package is the actual cleanliness and maintenance procedures of the stations themselves. the way you can tell this is the speed of the pump (except for stations with the old non-digital pumps, since those are ALWAYS slow). faster pumps are usually maintaiend more frequently, therefore are cleaner (better line flow). we've noticed that all the pumps around us are pretty fast, so thats not a problem for us. in fact, our costco pumps are the quickest around, so we're assuming they're also some of the cleanest. we're gonna stick to our costco gas routine with chevron techron/regane gumout twice a year, since its saving us considerable money. and our cars are running perfectly, and getting pretty good mileage too (better since using regane gumout in february). this gives us peace of mind. but if you need to buy chevron/shell to get peace of mind, then by all means do. cant place a price tag on being happy and worry-free...

--B

[Soner]

I have read about this subject about two weeks ago and what I learned was that if you are getting 87 octane gasoline, it really doesn't matter which gas station you go to. What matters is; when you buy 91 octane gasoline, you should go for the most trusted gas company since they will probably use better chemicals to increase the gas quality.
Also, It was said that higher octane gasoline does not keep your engine cleaner than 87 octane gasoline.
SB

[cdmyaris]

i have been using Chevron 89 gas since then. I guess its everyone their own opinion.

[jkuchta]

Hey everyone....

Bought my Yaris HB (man. Trans, roll-up windows) last December. I have almost 19K miles, and all but 3 tanks have been Shell V-Power. I avg. 38mpg with the V-power, and 35-36 with 89 octane gas (no matter the supplier). I figure, the extra buck or two I spend for V-power (per tank) is more than paid for by the extra 30 miles I can go on a tank of fuel. My mileage is split about 50/50 hwy/city miles in Southern California. I have a K&N filter in the stock housing, and in between toyota oil changes (5k), I change just the oil with Castrol full synthetic. Just after oil changes, the mileage can go as high as 41-42 mpg.

The lesson (IMHO).....
good gas a good oil will save money in the end. My car has better performance/economy than new, and will likely stay that way. Cheap insurance.

Plus,

All those reciepts will maybe help with the resale value when the time comes.

[tmpoirier]

I have been using Safeway gas (almost exclusively) here in CO for 15,000 mi. 85 octane. I have been getting consistent 36-39mpg commuting, 42+ highway. about every 3000mi. i put in octane booster/injector cleaner.

[BailOut]

I run Shell 87 Octane and my Yaris has never seen any kind of fuel that was not 10% Ethanol. My record tank is 52.5 MPG US, my last fill-up was 51.5 MPG US, and my running average can be found in my signature.

Can I do the same mileage on off-brand fuel? This year, probably. Next year, maybe. But as time goes on and the gunk and sludge add up, I guarantee my mileage would be bogging.

Between regular maintenance, a DIY PCV catch can, Shell fuel and the occasional Lucas fuel treatment I'm at 11k miles and my throttle body and air intakes are as clean as the day they were first assembled. No gunk, no sludge, no carbon... nothing at all.

[YarisSedan]

Use only top tier gas. Go to toptiergas.com to read about it. If you dont in a few years you may have problems such as a fuel injector failure due to clogging. Essesive carbon buildup on your valves as well as pistons.

Infact you can have so much carbon buildup on your pistons that it can change the compression ratio of your engine now that you have less air space inside the cylinder.

If you want to keep your car running long and happy like on the chevron commertials with the cartoonish cars use good gas.

The money you save on discount gas which is like what a dollar a fillup so maybe 2-3 dollars a month you save?!? Is it really worth it. After a year how much money did you save 30 bucks? To me thats not worth it. And you over time you will reduce your fuel economy by engine deposits that can cut your ecnomy by 5-10 percent or even more as time goes on. I dont think 10 percent is 30 dollars.

What if your vehicle starts to have driveability problems such as lack of power because of all the buildup in your motor. Taking to a shop most diagnostics run atleast 80 bucks. Thats all the money you saved for the past few years. What if it turns out to be a injector. Or multiple? That could be several hundred. There goes all the savings for the next 20 years!! Do you even plan to keep your car for that long.

Do the the math. Cheap gas does not pay off. I can post numberus technical service bulltins that manufactures such as bmw are getting vehicles into thier shops with driveability complaints and are finding out its due to low quality fuel. So now they say if for some wierd reason top tier gas is not available you can go to bmw and buy thier special blend of fuel additives and ad it to every single tank. I dont think those additives cost 1 dollar. The same that you get included in top tier gas.

Sorry for the vent. Whenever I driveby discount gas stations i see many new and expensive vehicles. Not really any beater cars. While all the old beater cars the 1980s cars are going to the top tier gas stations ie chevron, shell, 76, that goes to tell you something. Maybe just maybe the gas that they use plays a small part in the longevity of thier motors. Or it could just be a pure coincedence.

[YarisSedan]

TOP TIER Gasoline Retailers:
QuikTrip
Chevron
Texaco
MFA Oil Co.
Conoco
Phillips 66
76
Entec Stations
Shell
The Somerset Refinery, Inc.
Kwik Trip / Kwik Star
Aloha Petroleum
Tri-Par Oil Co.
Turkey Hill Minit Markets
Mileage Stations
Chevron Canada
Shell Canada
Petro-Canada
Sunoco Canada

[ztrack157]

While the percentage of ethanol plays a role in the fuel economy there is another key factor and that is the temperature of the gas itself when you get it. The cooler the gas when going in the better the economy from that said tank. Please take into account cold weather equals bad mileage to begin with so loading up in -10 weather pretty much negates the possible gains.

[Phaeton]

I've got a friend who's been a mechanic for 20+ years. He advised me against using cheaper gas. Showed the the spark plugs from a customer who only used Safeway gas.
They were all brown.

[Doug007]

I commute 40 miles a day and tpically use Costco gas and when out of town and not available, Chevron. I use Lucas or Chevron Techron additives just before an oil change. I'm approaching 40K miles and have an overall average of 41 mpg. I've never noticed an objective difference in terms of mpg, and on the subjective driveability level also notes no difference.

[YarisSedan]

I commute 40 miles a day and tpically use Costco gas and when out of town and not available, Chevron. I use Lucas or Chevron Techron additives just before an oil change. I'm approaching 40K miles and have an overall average of 41 mpg. I've never noticed an objective difference in terms of mpg, and on the subjective driveability level also notes no difference.

You wont notice a difference right away. Carbon buildup on the intake valves and pistons starts at about 10k miles. After then it starts to spiral downhill. Carbon acts like a magnet and absorbs your fuel.

[jmjonesey]

hmm, i read this whole thread, I go down to the Sheetz, and get gas there. I have had zero issues with it, although someone posted before about all the gas coming out of the same place. I am inclined to believe so. There is a major refinery/distrobution center in Greensboro here, and trucks from all the various different gas stations all come out of it. I have even seen the same distribution companys, namely one called Eagle, delivering to Citgo, BP, Shell, etc all from the same place. I think its most likely the station themselves and all that, rather than what they do at the refinerly.

Case in point :-) I used to work for a local grocery store chain, and there is a bread factory just down the road, I asked the vendor one day, whats the difference between the high end expensive bread and the cheap dollar twenty nine store brand bread, since they are made in the same place. She told me it was simply the bag they put it in, the high end bread bags are treated with special preservating chemicals, as the store brands are not.

My Cliched $.02

[Benggolf2]

I'll stick to buying Chevron gasoline for all our cars. A few cents more is definitely worth the consistent quality and a cleaner burning fuel. :smile:

[YarisSedan]

Over the past several years, the minimum level of detergent additive required by the EPA has declined by an estimated 50%.

Strait from toptiergas.com I would advise everyone to go to that web page and read up.

BMW, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and Audi have posted numerouse and numerouse technical service bullitens for auto shops saying that they have had many new vehicles bringing thier cars back for warrenty for driveability issues. And nothing mechanically wrong could be found with the car. After performing fuel injection/induction services that vehicles were restored to proper running conditions.

They found this attributed to the gasoline the drivers of these cars were purchasing. So now all dealers that promote top tier gas sell a gasoline addative that you must add to your gas if you are unable to purcahse top tier gas where you live.

[SilverGlow]

The base gasoline used by all the brands is nearly always the same. The gas for a given community comes from the same refineries regardless of the brand.

So what differentiates between brands?

The additives, and amount of additives used.

I only use Chevron, Texaco, and Shell because they all add Techron to their base gasolines. Yea, Shell V-Power is Techron...

[rg570lvr]

I have been told by freinds that work in the area that the same gas supply truck fills up Raceway, Chevron and Mobil all on the same block, so it makes me wonder how one gas can be better than the other. I know there are different octane grades for sure, but other than that IMO you're just suckered into paying higher for the big name brand so they can make more profit. So I just buy from Raceway which is much cheaper, it's all coming out of the same truck.

[Latka]

Here on O'ahu in Hawaii the Iwilei Costco (that I work at) uses "Aloha" Gas. Aloha buys it's gas from the Chevron refinery here on the island, so it's Chevron gas minus the Techron. Plus we get a silly number of trucks full of the stuff a day, so it's always nice and fresh. The $2.51 price vs near $3 elsewhere keeps the lines long though!

[b_hickman11]

I use to work at a gas station thats was part of a grocery store so we were considered "unbranded." But the gas we received also went to a lot of other stations like Shell, Exxon, Mobil, Cheveron, etc. I would have to sign some paper work before and after getting a delivery and I always noticed on his list where he was coming from and where he was going. A lot of times he would come give me gas and then go across the street to an Exxon station and give them some gas. So a lot of times it doesnt matter whose name is on top of the building, because it's all coming from the same source.

[rg570lvr]

I use to work at a gas station thats was part of a grocery store so we were considered "unbranded." But the gas we received also went to a lot of other stations like Shell, Exxon, Mobil, Cheveron, etc. I would have to sign some paper work before and after getting a delivery and I always noticed on his list where he was coming from and where he was going. A lot of times he would come give me gas and then go across the street to an Exxon station and give them some gas. So a lot of times it doesnt matter whose name is on top of the building, because it's all coming from the same source.

I'm late getting back to this, but, THANK YOU. Nobody believes me when I tell them that I've also seen it with my own eyes. I constantly hear I'm buying cheap gas and their getting the good stuff. Thanks again.

[PaidTimeOff]

+1 on b_hickman11's comments

At least here in Hawaii, my dad works at a fuel refinery and basically two companies supply the gas for all the gas stations in Hawaii. And here's some fun info about Chevron and its detergent Techron: Most other refineries add the exact same thing to their gas, Chevron just trademarked a name for it and decided to market it.

[jambo101]

Check out what company is running your local refinery,if a Chevron refinery is 1000 miles away chances are good you arent getting Chevron gas,but bulk gas from that nearby refinery.

[eii]

I saw a news story on the difference between name brand and discount gasoline. A scientfic study between them showed the only difference with the gas were like a lot of you have mentioned the detergeants/additives they add. Whether or not those detergeants work or not is another story. I personally use shell 87 just because its the closest to my house. Dunno if detergeants work, im sceptical but hopeful. Seems like theres stories here to back it up though.

Someone in this thread caught my attention mentioning only getting named brand gasolines when going with premium. I noticed whenever shell advertised their 'gunk' preventing gas they only mention v-power. So does regular/87 not have those detergeants? Then it might be worth getting 89/plus because its a mixture of 87 and 91 if you didnt know. Most modern gas stations have underground blenders that mix the 87 and 91 on the fly. Older stations have 3 underground tanks for 87, 89, and 91 and take longer to drop of gasoline obviously for the extra gas.

Another thing about gasoline deliveries is that companies will hire delivery truck contractors when they dont have enough tankers to drop off gas. That may explain why you see same tankers dropping off gas at different stations. I'm pretty sure they can hold mutiple types of gas because they have a lot hose connections on the sides. I'll ask one of the drivers if this is true.

Also fun fact, Arco sells gas for cheap because they only accept cash. They save thousands of dollars from credit card fees and then can pass the savings down to the customers. Well thats how they do it around socal.

[b_hickman11]

I'm late getting back to this, but, THANK YOU. Nobody believes me when I tell them that I've also seen it with my own eyes. I constantly hear I'm buying cheap gas and their getting the good stuff. Thanks again.

Kind of a related story: The local plant that the station I worked at got their gas from blew up this week and OSHA has it shut down because a couple of people died and many injured. Afterwards I talked to the owner of the Shell station close to my house and he said that he got his gas from that plant so he was having to get it from further away now. So this Shell station and the unbranded placed I used to work at got their gas from the same plant. And probably most if not all of the other thousands of stations in my area. Just another example of brand and unbranded being the same.

[rg570lvr]

Oh man I'm so sorry to hear about the accident at the plant, and the poor workers and their families, I don't know what to say...

[b_hickman11]

Well it does suck but that plant is in big trouble now. They had already been fined over $70,000 by OSHA for safety violations this year and the plant would not fix them.

[TheSilkySmooth]

All gas comes from same terminal, detergent package differs by brand - but so does tanker cleanout requirements. You can buy lets say GOLF;) 87 but they may allow 2% kero or #4 fuel oil contaminants in the mix. Now this is all just specs and requirements - You tell me with a straight face if there is money to be saved and made, these requirements are met every day, every station!? HA! Example: I see heading off to office, My local Mobal ;) gets 2000gal /87 octane fill from a MobAl truck in the A.M. then I see at 8PM a "No-Name" carrier dumping another 1000gal of who knows ?? quality in the same 87 tank. The Base blend gas around here comes from terminal near Maine/NH border - all the other goodies to differentiate the gas are again juts additives and tank cleanliness requirements. I'v gotten very "diesel" smelling fuel from my local GOLF ;) station. Anyone else out ther a gas sniffer? Aromatioc hydrocarbons are a great buZZzzzz and you can tell a bit whats in there with a sniff near the fill pipe. - Sonja's Papa

[TheSilkySmooth]

Over the years, Gumout carburettor cleaner for 1.79 is a good deal and gives a complete and well burning gasoline mixture. No matter the detergent level - if the fuel doesnt burn at the correct rate and ignitability - the engine will retard timing change mixture and detune - then you get carboned up anyhow - if engine runs strong - then it will most likely run clean. GAS is a great solvent all by itself! - Papa

[b_hickman11]

All gas comes from same terminal, detergent package differs by brand - but so does tanker cleanout requirements. You can buy lets say GOLF;) 87 but they may allow 2% kero or #4 fuel oil contaminants in the mix. Now this is all just specs and requirements - You tell me with a straight face if there is money to be saved and made, these requirements are met every day, every station!? HA! Example: I see heading off to office, My local Mobal ;) gets 2000gal /87 octane fill from a MobAl truck in the A.M. then I see at 8PM a "No-Name" carrier dumping another 1000gal of who knows ?? quality in the same 87 tank. The Base blend gas around here comes from terminal near Maine/NH border - all the other goodies to differentiate the gas are again juts additives and tank cleanliness requirements. I'v gotten very "diesel" smelling fuel from my local GOLF ;) station. Anyone else out ther a gas sniffer? Aromatioc hydrocarbons are a great buZZzzzz and you can tell a bit whats in there with a sniff near the fill pipe. - Sonja's Papa

Just because it says Mobil on the side of the tanker doesn't mean the gas was processed by that company. You will see all brand names enter and exit my local plant, all getting the same gas. At the store I used to work at, the tankers we got would say Exxon, Shell, Texaco, etc. but all the gas was the same. I guess those companies just pay the tank owners to advertise their name on the side of their tankers.

[TheSilkySmooth]

Just because it says Mobil on the side of the tanker doesn't mean the gas was processed by that company. You will see all brand names enter and exit my local plant, all getting the same gas. At the store I used to work at, the tankers we got would say Exxon, Shell, Texaco, etc. but all the gas was the same. I guess those companies just pay the tank owners to advertise their name on the side of their tankers.
Up here they have the detergent/octane packages at the terminal in special place for specific brands - my question - on partitioned mutli-tank trucks do they maybe carry detergent/octane package in the front tank and add at the station fill ? or are you blending/mixing at the terminal as they used to do?:iono:

[b_hickman11]

I wouldnt be surprised if they arent adding anything at all even though they advertise that they do. Or they add a detergent to all of it and then they let the individual companies advertise that their gas is "special" and better than the next guy's even though its all the same.

[jambo101]

I wouldnt be surprised if they arent adding anything at all even though they advertise that they do. Or they add a detergent to all of it and then they let the individual companies advertise that their gas is "special" and better than the next guy's even though its all the same.
Nothing surprises me about what these companies will do to get the public to part with their money.
Through a few semantics they have a significant percentage of the public duped into believing that 93 octane is better for your car than 89 through words like Premium,Hightest,Super,Gold,ultra etc. and the gullible public eats it up and willingly pays an extra 30 cents a gallon thinking their car is now running better with more HP because they are using supreme gasoline even though their owners manual says the lowly regular gas is all the car needs :biggrin: :bellyroll:

[Latka]

I know there's a detergent of some sort required in gas. From that though the brands can have special stuff. Our gas (at Costco here in Hawaii) is Chevron gas minus the techroline.

[PaidTimeOff]

I know there's a detergent of some sort required in gas. From that though the brands can have special stuff. Our gas (at Costco here in Hawaii) is Chevron gas minus the techroline.

My dad works at the local Tesoro refinery and ALL gas is the same. Refined by two different companies, but the gas quality is the same. This includes detergents. Chevron adds the same stuff that Tesoro adds to their gas, they just trademarked the "Techron" name to it and decided to use it to market their gas to customers.

[anonymous user]

My dad works at the local Tesoro refinery and ALL gas is the same. Refined by two different companies, but the gas quality is the same. This includes detergents. Chevron adds the same stuff that Tesoro adds to their gas, they just trademarked the "Techron" name to it and decided to use it to market their gas to customers.
I've heard this argument before as well. However, on turbocharged cars, chevron has a really bad history in my car club of ruining motors. I OTOH have only used Shell in my 2 subarus, and anything cheap in my yaris. I also used 100 octane from union76 in my wrx when the track was opened. Does Shell cost more? Probably one of the highest gas in HI. Is it better? I think so. And with over $35k invested in each car, I'm not willing to run "cheaper" gas.
My yaris has run fine with whatever 87 octane i've put in. But usually the yaris runs on aloha petroleum, from either of a kalihi or 2 kaneohe stations.