Best Gasoline???

[93Rubie]

I have a delima, my local Sunoco stations are no longer and my Corvette loved that fuel, ran fantastic. I got the time slips with good traps to prove it. Now I have been running BP, well, I got back to the drag strip last night and the car trapped worse than just about ever, and my launches where not bad but not great but I did not have any wheel spin. Under similar conditions with Sunoco fuel my traps where easy 5MPH faster. The air was not THAT bad last night. It definitely does not feel like it is making all the HP it has and I blame the fuel. Hell, when I ran in the spring on 5 month old Sunoco gas with Sta-bil in it I had better trap speeds!!!!

The BP station is a small one and probably does NOT go thru much 93. The Exxon down the road is bigger and might go thru more and that is what is in my tank now. The only other options local to me are Sheetz, Get Go, Kwik Fill, Choice, and a independent known as Keystone. Now the first four are KNOWN to have crappy gas, so no help there. The Keystone station, I'll have to find out about them???

There is a Sunoco station about 13 miles away in Clarksburg, PA but it would be nice to get it closer, but I might just have to make a point to drive down to fill up.

That or I could run the Exxon and add Octane booster every fill up?
I know for a fact it is not running as well with BP gas as it did with the Sunoco, I tired Sheetz for a few tank fulls and it sucked.
The verdict is still out on Exxon.
IDK, what do you guys think?

 

[G Winter]

I like Shell if they are around there try it.


Glenn

 

[catbert]

Any "top tier" gas should be fine for any car. Top tier gas meets the certification requirements of an auto industry group that includes the Big Three and most European and Asians manufacturers. The primary standard calls for injector cleaner and build-up inhibitor.

The Top Tier gas list can be found here: Top Tier Gasoline

 

[93Rubie]

So does that mean that every Exxon station carries Top Tier fuel? I would try Shell but none near by.

 

[catbert]

Yes, the additive package is added to all gas sold by the brand.

 

[93Rubie]

Ok, well I got a mixed tank of BP and Exxon. I'll run it down and fill up with Exxon and see how things go.

 

[LLC5]

Ok, well I got a mixed tank of BP and Exxon. I'll run it down and fill up with Exxon and see how things go.

The best performance fuel will have the lowest ethenol content. The percentage of ethenol in the fuel equals to about the same performance/effeciency loss.

 

[catbert]

Yes, the additive package is added to all gas sold by the brand.

 

[boomdriver]

Its pretty much a fact, that ALL "top tier" gasoline is the exact same product with that companies particular additives. Gas is all that can be produced from the oil thats refined. The "tier" levels is a little confusing but its still all gasoline. Top teir gas that fills tankers at a depot is most often the exact same liquid thats going into different colored trucks to be delivered to their franchise or company owned stations. Many places that require a summer or winter blend are selling the same product from different pumps...it has to be the exact same thing required by state law and the refining process. Its like a garden hose filling an Ozarka water bottle, then Aquafina, then a Safeway store brand. All the same contents, just different labels.
Big name gas might have a better additive,like "Techron" for example. The rest is absolutely marketing.

You might go to the local private airport to ask about their pump gas for small planes. I think its 108 or 113? somewhere in that area. Some is still leaded so ask about that. Sunoco is one of the few that makes an unleaded fuel for small aircraft and racing offroad. If they ask what you need it for, tell them you are buying an UltraLite. Its gonna be expensive...$5 a gal or more.

Check the local speed shop to see who has TrickGas or whatever racing fuel they have. Some shops carry 55 gal drums and sell it by the gallon. Also $5+

Lots of guys MIX their gas....spend the money on 5 gallons of Av-gas and add that to 1/4 tank or less of street gas. Enough to run the strip a couple times. I've done that before back in the 90's...and it DID make a difference.

 

[G Winter]

Its pretty much a fact, that ALL "top tier" gasoline is the exact same product with that companies particular additives. Gas is all that can be produced from the oil thats refined. The "tier" levels is a little confusing but its still all gasoline. Top teir gas that fills tankers at a depot is most often the exact same liquid thats going into different colored trucks to be delivered to their franchise or company owned stations. Many places that require a summer or winter blend are selling the same product from different pumps...it has to be the exact same thing required by state law and the refining process. Its like a garden hose filling an Ozarka water bottle, then Aquafina, then a Safeway store brand. All the same contents, just different labels.
Big name gas might have a better additive,like "Techron" for example. The rest is absolutely marketing.

You might go to the local private airport to ask about their pump gas for small planes. I think its 108 or 113? somewhere in that area. Some is still leaded so ask about that. Sunoco is one of the few that makes an unleaded fuel for small aircraft and racing offroad. If they ask what you need it for, tell them you are buying an UltraLite. Its gonna be expensive...$5 a gal or more.

Check the local speed shop to see who has TrickGas or whatever racing fuel they have. Some shops carry 55 gal drums and sell it by the gallon. Also $5+

Lots of guys MIX their gas....spend the money on 5 gallons of Av-gas and add that to 1/4 tank or less of street gas. Enough to run the strip a couple times. I've done that before back in the 90's...and it DID make a difference.

The standards are minimum requirements. Cheaper gas usually just meets that requirement . The name brands are above that and each brand has there own formulas with of course the minimum requirements plus. The additives are added when the tanker loads up.
When my mileage changes 2 miles per gal from one brand to the next then there is no way it has the same additives.
I used to think it was all a marketing game till I really started paying attention to the performance of diff brands.


Glenn

 

[catbert]

They aren't all the same. Many years ago I worked at a distribution facility in AZ. All the gas came from the same pipeline, but each major brand added their own additive package at the terminal. Some of the retailers added nothing.

 

[93Rubie]

Some of what I am basis this on is color. Gas from Sheetz, Get Go, Kwik Fill has a yellowish hue to it. The stuff from Sunoco (as I recall) and Exxon seems to be clear. This is the color that gasoline is supposed to be. Sheetz goes thru gas like crazy and even 87 is a little off color. Runs just fine in my Focus however, I want peak performance from my Corvette. We'll see how the Exxon goes. I thought about unleaded racing fuel and aviation gasoline but $$$.