Top Tier gas?

[Jeffs Black 97 Formula A4]

First off, is it really better for our f-bodies to use top-tier gas? If so, how can I tell which gas companies has top-tier gas (besides Shell who kept pushing the whole top-tier thing)? Asking because my 97 Formula has always been filled with either Amoco or BP Ultimate since new, and still runs like new. Thanks!

[Jeff_in_Atl]

There is a gasoline pipeline that runs underground from New Orleans to a distribution facility in Atlanta. There are at least a dozen huge gas storage tanks there along with pumping facilities for several major oil companies. It is not uncommon to see a Shell gas truck at a Mobil tank and vise versa. They swap gas all the time. So you can easily be getting Mobil gas at a Shell station.

The gas as it comes up the pipeline is all the same. The oil companies pay the owner of the pipeline to pump their gas up the pipe. They don't know which ounce of gas was theirs on the other end. So once they pay the pipeline they can take it off the other end even though it takes like 3 days to pump it from New Orleans to New York. However they do add the additives in at the storage tank facility before it goes out by truck. Every companies blend is a little different. I don't know if the Shell facility has the blend that Mobil adds when the Mobil truck pulls up. I kind of doubt it.

[Injuneer]

When my car was closer to stock, I used both name-brand and independant brand fuels. My first choice in the summer was always Sunoco, but only because they sold 94 octane. In cooler weather, when octane requirement drops, I would use virtually any source of 93 octane, and found no difference between name brands or independants. Ran just as well with either, didn't ever have problems with dirty injectors, etc.

[ryan34]

The only gas i've ever had problem with is wawa, which is a convience store (like a really nice 7-11). They are always cheaper then everyone else when it comes to gas (all three octanes) and it may be why I had some ticking after i bought their gas. My friend's dakota had the same problem, (he has a Mopar PCM which requires premium) so we just decided to stay away from wawa.
Other then them though, i just stick to big company gas stations and stay away from mom and pop operations. That is mostly for the fact that they may have dirty tanks, not bad gas.

And about the wawa, i only see them here in delaware, maryland and pennsylvania.....so i don't even know if you'll have one where you live.

[Jeffs Black 97 Formula A4]

So I guess stick with what you know works (BP Ultimate for me).

[sneitzel]

They are always cheaper then everyone else

There's a reason for that.

As Jeff 95 Z28 so correctly puts it, every refiner makes gasoline to a certain set of specifications and dumps it into the pipeline. Companies will drop X gal. of fuel into the pipeline at point A and take out X gal. at point B.

A fuel becomes branded when it is loaded onto a transport to be delivered to a service station. During loading the detergent additive is mixed into the fuel. (Shell gasoline gets Shell's additive package, Mobil gets Mobil's etc) If the fuel is going to a non branded location there is a choice. The fuel either gets a stock additive that meets the minimum govt. requirements or it will get whatever additive is the cheapest at that time. So the small "Mom-n-Pop" locations might get the stock additive today and a different one next week depending which is cheaper.

That's usually why they are cheaper because they're not paying for a "top-tier" additive. That is really what you're buying when you buy a specific brand of fuel. Thier additive package.

My advice is to stick with a name brand fuel. It really doesn't matter which one. Remember, oil companies spend millions of dollars developing their additive packages and have to defend their claims that they do what they say they do. They also spend millions marketing those additives as well.

One other comment about premium fuels, octane discussion aside there is one other difference in some fuels. Some of the manufacturers will put more detergent additives in their premium fuels to support their claims of cleaner engines. You can decide for yourself if that's worth tjhe extra $$. IMHO it's not.

Scott

PS
Just so you know where I'm coming from, I test gasoline and diesel fuel for a living.