babyblue

Nothing but Sunoco Octane 94....

Shaftzx1

Shell V-power 91 .................................................. ...................vroom vroom

allmotor_2000

Generally engines retard timing when it senses (hears) knocking...

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Mobil/Sunoco/Shell

resedaruss

iTrader: (1)

I've worked at a refinery in NJ for 15 years. I can vouch for the fact that we make multiple grades of gas separately, including jet fuel. when tankers come into our refinery, they select the grade of gas they want with a computer system (in our case, Top Tech) that directs the fill from the appropriate stream.

It is in no way haphazardly dispensed nor massaged after the fact to make up the different grades.

p911wb

I will go out of my way and even pay extra for Shell's V-Power! Every time I fill up my gas I reset my mileage and try to keep track of how far I can travel on a full tank, and one thing I definitely noticed is that I got on average 290 miles with CITCO (93), 310 miles with Mobil (93), and 350 miles with Shell’s v-power (93). These miles were tracked until the gas light came on and I tested them each out for about a month each, and I couldn’t believe the difference.

AuCLSman

live and drive in urban area, fuel up 50+ miles to find fuel without ethanol.
bp premium is normal choice. i fuel up at a heavily visited station as tanker refueling happens often.

dj5

[QUOTE=NighthawkBlue][QUOTE=mrclrider]

"It appears we don't know for sure what the oil boys really have coming out of the gas pumps. It's like the mods and others have informed me, just see how your car responds and if good like you had at BP, stick with it.

Friends at the Long Beach CA refineries have told me when various gas companies truck tankers pull up to be reloaded, it all comes from the exact same tank/spicket. Another friend followed a truck tanker around. It went and unloaded at 5 completely different brand stations!"

__________________________________________________ _______________

I work for one of the major oil companies and you are correct in that oil companies swap gas all over the country. If an oil company does not have a terminal in a city they will make arrangements with another oil company to swap gasoline in an area where they do business and the other company doesn't.

For example you may have an Exxon terminal, and you will see Shell, Citgo, BP/Amoco, and independents loading their tankers from the same rack. Gasoline for the most part is a generic product. The only thing that makes gasoline different from one brand to another is the additive package which gets added when they load the tanker. All gasolines are required to have additives/detergent packages. Some use more expensive additives and add more than the minimum requirements.

The statement about most independents selling Shell gasoline is false, the gasoline could come from any of the major suppliers as they all sell to independents. Also I doubt your friend followed a tanker to five different branded stations. Usually a tanker drops a full load at one station. They very rarely split loads. Most tanker companies are contract haulers and they can pick up for many of the brands. A tanker can pick up a load of Shell to be dropped at a Shell stations and then go pick up a load of BP to be dropped at a BP station.

Gas companies do not make very much on a gallon of gasoline. They average about 10-12 cents per gallon (about 7cents on regular and 15cents on premium). This is on the retail side of the business. Oil companies make much more on the Exploration and Refining side.

Most refineries do not make a mid-grade gasoline. Mid grade is made at the terminal when they load the tanker. It is splash blended about 60% regular and 40% premium.

I am usually loyal to my companies brand. However, in reality gas is basically gas with very little difference. All major brands stand behind their products in case you ever have a fuel related problem. My suggestion is to buy from a well maintained station with high sales volume.

math_man_tation

iTrader: (1)

Does it matter what grade of fuel you are using with a Type-S and a non Type-S. I ask this because I have a non Type-S. I still use premium (Chevron 91 and 76 91). But because the Type-S is more geared towards performance, would it be more ideal to use a higher grade for the Type-S and not for the non Type-S? Just curious. And I want to know what grade and manufacturer other non Type-S owners use.

Lord Helmet

I use nothing but 91 oct (Super Unled) BP unless I have no choice and I need gas. The highest you can get out of a pump in CO is 91 oct due to the high altitude. Apparently you don't need as high of an oct in high altitude to get the same performace. BTW - Does anyone have any expertise on this? I wanna know why!? I have heard before that it's better on your motor if you are consistent with gas but after reading dj5's post I'm not so sure anymore. I'm sure he's right too because I watched this Discovery channel show about a similar subject and that's pretty much what they were saying.

98SilverSurfer

Sounds insane but I sent an email to Mobil with that link and here's what I got:

Your email was sent to me for reply. Thank you for the article you forwarded and for giving us the opportunity to respond.

In response to questions related to XOM earnings:

If you take ExxonMobil's average earnings in the Downstream (refining,
distribution and marketing) over the past five years and divide it by
the average volume we have sold across the downstream businesses, it
equates to average earnings of about 2 to 3 cents per gallon.

The government's share of that same gallon of gasoline is about 30 - 40
cents per gallon.

The Downstream operates on very thin margins in an intensely competitive
marketplace. Those margins are set by the difference between the price
we pay for raw materials (primarily crude oil) and the price we get for
the products we make -- and the global marketplace controls both.


In response to your comments about gasoline prices. Gasoline prices are impacted by a number of factors, including changes in the price of crude oil, supply and demand, government regulations, taxes, and transportation costs. There are a number of these factors currently affecting the price of gasoline in the United States:

Crude Oil Prices Are Up
Gasoline prices are higher this year than last year primarily because of higher crude oil prices due to increased world demand. Crude oil is the major component in gasoline.
· World wide oil demand increased over 3% in 2004, led by growth in
Asia (China and India) and the U.S.
· Crude oil typically accounts for 40-50% of the cost of gasoline. A
$1 per barrel increase in crude costs generally
translates to a 2-3 cent per gallon increase at the pump.
· The market price for crude oil is the result of thousands of buyers
going to market around the world, bidding for
the available crude. The price also includes the effects of speculators and hedge funds in the futures markets.
· Since the U.S. relies on foreign crude oil imports, U.S. refiners
must compete in the world market to purchase
their share of that crude and increasingly, must also compete with other buyers for refined products, such as
gasoline.
· Crude oil is priced worldwide in U.S. dollars. The relative
devaluation of the U.S dollar has been cited as one of
the underlying factors impacting crude prices.
· Geopolitical uncertainties in major oil-producing countries can also
cause market prices to rise due to actual
disruptions of crude oil supplies and / or speculation about
future supply availability.

Supply & Demand Factors
Like that of any other commodity, the price of crude oil is affected by the market forces of supply and demand.
· Uncertainties in supply over the past year attributable to bad
weather, i.e. hurricanes and political instability in
some key oil producing regions, have impacted crude prices.
· Availability of imports from outside the U.S. can affect the
supply/demand balance, as can unforeseen operating
problems within the refining and distribution system, particularly during periods of major refinery maintenance,
seasonal specification changes (RVP), and tightening fuel
specifications (sulfur reductions).

Fuel Demand Continues to Increase
As the worldwide demand for energy continues to increase, Americans drive more vehicles and more miles than ever before -- U.S. gasoline demand was up 1.4 percent in 2004 over the previous year.
· Worldwide demand for gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuels is up due
to economic growth
· Nearly half of the worldwide gasoline demand growth in 2004 was in
the U.S.
· The U.S. gasoline demand is more than 9 million barrels per day
(MBD), up about 6% since 2000. The U.S. must
import more than 60% of its crude oil needs and about 1 MBD of gasoline to meet demand.
· The U.S. Energy Information Administration is forecasting continued
strong gasoline demand, with annual growth of 1.8 percent.

Unique Gasoline Supply Requirements
U.S. refiners must produce and deliver over 20 specialized or "boutique" types of gasoline to separate markets.
· These "boutique" gasoline formulas reduce refiners' and distributors'
flexibility to respond to supply disruptions
since not all types may be distributed or used in all
geographic areas.

Considering these factors, when adjusted for inflation, the price of gasoline is still lower than it was in the early 1980s. This is because the petroleum industry has become more efficient over time, to the benefit of consumers.

At ExxonMobil, we're doing everything we can to produce gasoline safely and efficiently. We will continue to do our best to serve our customers and to satisfy the motoring public's demand for gasoline.

We appreciate your interest.

For more information, you may want to visit the following web sites: www.api.org or www.eia.doe.gov.

Jacqueline Levesque
Exxon Mobil Corporation


-think there was copy n paste involved when she replied?

NighthawkBlue

[QUOTE=dj5][QUOTE=NighthawkBlue][QUOTE=mrclrider]

"It appears we don't know for sure what the oil boys really have coming out of the gas pumps. It's like the mods and others have informed me, just see how your car responds and if good like you had at BP, stick with it.

Friends at the Long Beach CA refineries have told me when various gas companies truck tankers pull up to be reloaded, it all comes from the exact same tank/spicket. Another friend followed a truck tanker around. It went and unloaded at 5 completely different brand stations!"

__________________________________________________ _______________

I work for one of the major oil companies and you are correct in that oil companies swap gas all over the country. If an oil company does not have a terminal in a city they will make arrangements with another oil company to swap gasoline in an area where they do business and the other company doesn't.

<I should have stated the difference. The Long Beach refinery/ the tanker that unloaded in 5 stations -allegedly-..... The 5 station unload was in Podunk, Idaho, (actually Post Falls, ID) population 5,000 and was in the early 1990s. Now if that ever really did hit 5 stations with the same gas... my source seemed super honest.

Anywho back to "gas is basically gas" and the Long Beach refinery, can we really believe the gas/oil boys are making sure the different detergent/additives do get changed as a differnt tanker pulls up right after another companies drives away? BP tanker fills up, then a Shell, then a Unocal, etc.