what kind of gas do you use
![[M3noDRFT]'s Avatar](https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/customavatars/avatar22454_1.gif){kind=avatar}
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 100
From: So.Cal.
Rep Power: 26
Primarily Mobil because of uPromise's contribution to my kids education. When inconvenient.. Chevron, Shell, 76, etc.. seems the same to me. In CA., 91 octanes are the best that we can get... 
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,390
From: socal
Rep Power: 144
I only use top tier gasoline which exceeds the standard for cleanliness. I prefer Chevron, then Shell, then 76. I used to always use Mobil on my old Benz, and I failed the smog test. The tester suggested using Chevron for 2 weeks and re-test, and I passed.
Banned
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,523
From: Frederick, MD
Rep Power: 129
Shell 93 or Sunoco 94 for me
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,443
From: Northeast
Rep Power: 185
i went to one of sessions about "which gas is better" and the guy recommended shell over anything else. i dont know the details but i've yet to hear anyone disagree with that.
plus, shell is cheaper than exxon around my area
plus, shell is cheaper than exxon around my area
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 144
From: Brooklyn, NY
Rep Power: 24
A little experience:
At a pie factory in Pennsylvania a friend of mine is the manager for a line that produces the Always-Save brand and the Miss Fields pie brands. The difference between the product going into the bags? Absolutely nothing: the come down the line and depending on which worker picks it up, a pie goes into one bag and another pie goes into the other brands bag. No particular order or different quality. Its the same pie, different packaging, different price.
Why do I mention this? How do you think gasoline is produced? There are only so many refineries and all running near full-on these days. Most likely all gas in a brand line up is exactly the same sans the octane.
Its true there is a "top tier" rating out there, and I've never read much on it. I know i've tried it before and then after a few months switched out to standard 91 octane, but I noticed no difference.
And its wholly possible for company "alliances" to make it irrelevant. LG and Phillips both own LG-Phillips Display, a company that makes LCD screens for both brands. Different brands, same screen, no one knows (other than the few who look it up). In the same light, its possible for Shell and Phillips 66 stations to both receive their gas from a refinery that is owned by a partnership comprised of two companies. And which stations receiving it can vary regionally, based upon what refinery services what area and what contracts state where the gas goes.
AND then we throw in the government. There are 6 major regional areas (that I know of) in the United States governing gasoline production and distribution (one of the reasons, among many others, gas prices and quality can vary from place to place). In those regions companies may either have to or just will change the way their product is formulated or distributed, but they may not have to change their marketing. Hence, Shell could advertise "Top Tier" rated gas all over the US, but might not be available in all areas. They may not even have to disclose that either, because laws on disclosure can also vary regionally in some circumstances. So you might fill up at a Shell station, buy some V-Power, and of actually got the same gas as whats sold for 3 cents cheaper a gallon across the street.
So my recommendation? Don't use this thread to determine what gas to fill up with unless the person recommending it is very close to where you drive. But a better idea is to try out all the brands relevant to you, and see if you don't notice a difference in them. One of the easiest ways I've heard of is the build up of sludge on the valves. Good gasoline won't see as much gunk build up on your valves as bad gasoline.
And what do I use? I got tired of trying to figure out what stations most consistently had good quality gas (they don't always have to get the same stuff, just the same octane). So I just fill up on whatever is available in the octane I need. If I notice something wrong with my performance later, I mentally note the station, but I don't write it off. Who knows, maybe they'll start getting a different refineries gas later, or use a different formula. A gas stations gas can even vary based on summer or winter blends..
Added in edit: Also, completely unrelated to cars or the topic at all, but Monster AV cabling? A total rip. They get a lot of their cabling from Copartner, a company in China that also produces cabling in Phillips and Dynex (a Best Buy house brand) packaging. Monster gets the cable stock from Copartner, then has the tips added by whoever will do it cheapest. And those "speed ratings" on the cables? Bull****, Monster literally makes it up. They'll send their "600 Series" cabling in for testing to the HDMI group, have it certified to a certain level, then tell HDMI to stop and take their "800 series" and test it up to a certain point. The cables are actually the exact same, Monster only has them tested differently to get different results. And not only do those exotic materials listed on the packaging actually do nothing, but technically, they don't even have to be in the cable to be listed on the packaging. Oh and the "speed" of the data along the cables is determined by the connections, not the cables. So the video quality you get out of a Monster cable will, under any circumstances, be exactly the same you get out of a $8 cable at Wal-Mart, provided of course the signal goes through the cable at all. Its possible for the cabling to not work regardless of brand, but if it does, it will work just as well.
Now enough of my consumer advocacy, go out and drive damn you!
At a pie factory in Pennsylvania a friend of mine is the manager for a line that produces the Always-Save brand and the Miss Fields pie brands. The difference between the product going into the bags? Absolutely nothing: the come down the line and depending on which worker picks it up, a pie goes into one bag and another pie goes into the other brands bag. No particular order or different quality. Its the same pie, different packaging, different price.
Why do I mention this? How do you think gasoline is produced? There are only so many refineries and all running near full-on these days. Most likely all gas in a brand line up is exactly the same sans the octane.
Its true there is a "top tier" rating out there, and I've never read much on it. I know i've tried it before and then after a few months switched out to standard 91 octane, but I noticed no difference.
And its wholly possible for company "alliances" to make it irrelevant. LG and Phillips both own LG-Phillips Display, a company that makes LCD screens for both brands. Different brands, same screen, no one knows (other than the few who look it up). In the same light, its possible for Shell and Phillips 66 stations to both receive their gas from a refinery that is owned by a partnership comprised of two companies. And which stations receiving it can vary regionally, based upon what refinery services what area and what contracts state where the gas goes.
AND then we throw in the government. There are 6 major regional areas (that I know of) in the United States governing gasoline production and distribution (one of the reasons, among many others, gas prices and quality can vary from place to place). In those regions companies may either have to or just will change the way their product is formulated or distributed, but they may not have to change their marketing. Hence, Shell could advertise "Top Tier" rated gas all over the US, but might not be available in all areas. They may not even have to disclose that either, because laws on disclosure can also vary regionally in some circumstances. So you might fill up at a Shell station, buy some V-Power, and of actually got the same gas as whats sold for 3 cents cheaper a gallon across the street.
So my recommendation? Don't use this thread to determine what gas to fill up with unless the person recommending it is very close to where you drive. But a better idea is to try out all the brands relevant to you, and see if you don't notice a difference in them. One of the easiest ways I've heard of is the build up of sludge on the valves. Good gasoline won't see as much gunk build up on your valves as bad gasoline.
And what do I use? I got tired of trying to figure out what stations most consistently had good quality gas (they don't always have to get the same stuff, just the same octane). So I just fill up on whatever is available in the octane I need. If I notice something wrong with my performance later, I mentally note the station, but I don't write it off. Who knows, maybe they'll start getting a different refineries gas later, or use a different formula. A gas stations gas can even vary based on summer or winter blends..
Added in edit: Also, completely unrelated to cars or the topic at all, but Monster AV cabling? A total rip. They get a lot of their cabling from Copartner, a company in China that also produces cabling in Phillips and Dynex (a Best Buy house brand) packaging. Monster gets the cable stock from Copartner, then has the tips added by whoever will do it cheapest. And those "speed ratings" on the cables? Bull****, Monster literally makes it up. They'll send their "600 Series" cabling in for testing to the HDMI group, have it certified to a certain level, then tell HDMI to stop and take their "800 series" and test it up to a certain point. The cables are actually the exact same, Monster only has them tested differently to get different results. And not only do those exotic materials listed on the packaging actually do nothing, but technically, they don't even have to be in the cable to be listed on the packaging. Oh and the "speed" of the data along the cables is determined by the connections, not the cables. So the video quality you get out of a Monster cable will, under any circumstances, be exactly the same you get out of a $8 cable at Wal-Mart, provided of course the signal goes through the cable at all. Its possible for the cabling to not work regardless of brand, but if it does, it will work just as well.
Now enough of my consumer advocacy, go out and drive damn you!
Last edited by Scryer_360; Mar 18, 2008 at 05:17 PM.
