Do certain brands of gas give better gas mileage?

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raedmunds71

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Jun 25, 2006
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Location
Sun Lakes, Az
I know that there are many contributors to gas mileage and is hard to check it precisely, but I was wondering if the major brands of gas (Shell, Exon, Mobile etc.) produce better mileage than the non-major (convenience store) types?
 
Most gas is exactly the same and comes from the same storage tanks.  Some brands may add their "secret additive" when it's pumped into the station tanks, but otherwise gas is gas.  There are so many factors that affect fuel economy that any differences due to the brand additives would be immeasurable.  The only real difference in gas brands is the price :)
 
The simple answer to your question is NO.  87 octane is 87 octane everywhere.  IT is a federal standard.  Now to qualify my answer.

The primary difference between brands is the additives that are added.  Some brand name gasses add cleaner additives and other things that are good for your vehicle, but you likely pay too much for them.  You can add the additives to your truck yourself far cheaper than paying premium prices for brand name gas.  It is not necessary to add an injector cleaner all the time.  It is recommended that you add it at regular intervals, but paying Shell to have it in  your fuel all the time is a bit of overkill.

The only other caution is that some budget stations may not be reliable in terms of servicing their in ground tanks, or adding additives required in higher octane tanks and you might actually get 87 octane form a 91 octane pump.  In this case I have no recommendation for you other than to try to pick your refuel points and fuel up an reputable stations.

Good Luck.
:)
 
Two years ago, a pipeline carrying gasoline to the Phoenix area had to be shut down for a few weeks for repair.? The one remaining pipe line brought gasoline for all the stations, independents and major oil companies. Gas stations of all brands ran out of fuel due to the pipeline shut down. It must have been the same fuel for everyone.  I have not noticed any difference between brands and don't believe the additives make much difference either.? Twice a year, I put a fuel injector cleaner in a tankfull as a precaution, but I doubt if I really need to do that.
Jake
 
The answer is comples.  Each brand has a way of thinking, a priority if you choose.  One brand for example adds more detergent so basically you can forget adding the fuel injector cleaner,,, they do it for you.  Another brand adds more de-icer in the winter.  Another brand does something lese different. 

Basically I think fewer additives are better than more additives, but I can not justify that.

And though, as one poster mentioned, there may be a single pipeline delivering to a given area, there are more ways to deliver gas than a pipeline.  For example there are TRUCKS and TRAINS and the like  And additivies may be added at the storage facility.

In addition some brands are better at quality control  I will tell the story of 3 stations here

one in Battle Creek micighan the station owner added his own additive to the gas... With a garden hose (You know what they carry) one customer pulled in with an empty tank, filled up, and when his car acted up he drained five gallons of water out of his 18 gallon tank.

(State law prohibits what this station was doing,,, Might have something to do with the fact I don't much see that brand any more)

Another station... This one an independent brand (Actuall chain but all independent) (more on this one later) my daughter's God Father bought all his gas at... Till the water froze and broke the in-tank fuel pump on his Volkswagen Vanagan costing him 300 bucks.

I (at that time) was buying Amoco (he'd laugh about all the money he was saving... Up to the repair bill then it was My turn to laugh)  One day while I was filling up I commented to the young lady across the pump from me that she was doing a very professional job of filling up her Corvette... Her reply "I should, I manage the _____ Station down the road" (Same brand my daughter's god father purchased)  You can see why I did not gas up there.
 
I just read an interesting article in the Phoenix newspaper about high temperature and fuel volume. Apparantly the Government standard for fuel being pumped is 60?. However, as the temperature increases, so does the volume of the fuel, so you are getting less fuel than you would at 60?. Differences as high as 10% at higher temperatures is not unusual. Best bet is to try and fill up in the morning when the fuel is densest.
 
Back in the day, I used to own a small trucking company, we hauled fuel mostly. I can tell you with all certainty, it all came from the same storage tanks, the additives were added at the time of fueling.
 
Thanks for all the information, it seem unanimous.
So let me ask this:
If you could buy name brand gas at the same price as a non-named brand,
which would you choose?
 
raedmunds71 said:
Thanks for all the information, it seem unanimous.
So let me ask this:
If you could buy name brand gas at the same price as a non-named brand,
which would you choose?

I would go with the station that is the busiest. The likelyhood of fresher fuel and less contamination would be higher.
 
The Clean Air Act and various state and local regulations have effectively dismantled the concept of one brand of gas being better than another across the country.  Gasoline within a certain area can differ dramatically from what is available in the next political boundary, which will impact your fuel economy.  Botique Fuels

These regulations pretty much hamstring what the gas companies can sell in any particular area.

However, it's probably safe to assume that within a particular area, the major brands will have more consistant quality than non-branded independents.  The difference is the additive package that is added to the base stock.  Major refiners blend the additives into the fuel that goes into the tank trucks.  Independents usually buy cheaper non-additive fuel and dump the additives directly into the tanker, depending on road motion to blend it while it travels to the station.
 
One major difference brand to brand is quality control.  I once had a presentation on Standard Stations (Before they became Amoco and then BP) and in fact did a college paper on Standard Oil myself when I was at Cornflake U.

Standard had some rules, one of them concerned the amount of non-gas in the tanks (normally this means water) Their inspectors would check the tanks and if there was more than a specific amount of water in it, they called in the pumpers and drained the tank.

The state of Michigan has a law which also sets a maximum amount of water in the tank,  Almost exactly 2x what Standard allowed

Now, some brands (Long gone from the Michigan scene)  Well, I won't name the brand or the station because as I said, it's not here any more, so I won't be providing warning.

One customer took his car in running on fumes... Filled it up,, it ran poorly  He found water in the gas,  FIVE GALLONS of water in the gas  Now the tank holds about 18 gallons and has perhaps 1-2 gallons in it when it's "empty" so that means at least 3 of those five gallons came from the station.

Neighbors said the manager often took the garden hose to the fill ports for his underground tanks.

That, is a quality control issue... And may well have to do with why I don't see those stations much any more

Another true story,  My daughter's Godfather (Who of course is a good friend of mine) used to fill up at an "off brand" station near his house.  I filled at the Amoco near me (short side, the off brand was a chain, one day as I was filling up at my local Amoco I watched a fairly attractive young lady at the other side of the island filling her Corvette, she did a very professional job, I commented on it, her reply was she managed the off brand station down the road.  Same off brand as my Friend used)

He used to tell me how I was paying too much for Gas and how much he was saving.

He switched to Amoco after r the water in his gas tank froze and broke his $300 fuel pump

So, even with laws equalizing the gas,,,  Quality control is up to the oil company, There are some brands I tend to avoid
 
If you see a tanker truck filling the stations underground tanks, drive on by.  The filling of the tanks stirs up crud from the bottom of the tank and gives you a better chance of water and dirt in your tank.
 
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