Personally I have been going with TopTier gas. BMW, General Motors, Honda, and Toyota have made there homework and publish this list of recommended gas.

What else do we need.

 

I do Chevron or Kangaroo (which is also a Chevron).

I noticed that Texaco doesn't run as smooth.

Call me crazy but I'll drive that extra five minutes to hunt down a Chevron!

 

I have been using cheveron but i tried shell and my engine is smooth and a little bit quieter than when i was using cheveron. don't know why but i'll post up after i test shell out on the next tank to see if it is the same again.

 

I just go with Top Tier stuff, every other gas station here is Shell, Petro Canada, or Sunoco anyway.

 

Standard is Chevron, back before the 1970s or so, there was Standard Oil of California, Standard Oil of Ohio and I forget who else - it was after the Anti-Trust acts of the 1930s that broke up the Standard Oil empire...

For me, I use mostly Shell, Chevron, 76 or Costco. No Arco junk here.

 

So far, most of you guys are correct. Chevron and Shell are generally the best two brands today, mostly because of high-quality detergent packages.
Mobil used to have the best and strongest detergent package, but since Exxon bought thm out, you really don't know what you're getting with them any more. Amoco was also a very high-quality brand (they, alone, among major oil companies, were producing lead-free gas as far back as the 60's when everybody else was using lead as an octane booster and valve lubricant) but, like with Exxon/Mobil, since they were bought out by BP, you don't really know what you're getting now with them.

 

Petro Canada ftw

 

I think I can chime in on this....I'm actually a mechanical and process engineer for UOP/Honeywell...we design about 98% of all the refineries in the world. Honestly it makes no difference where you get your gas from. Basically without getting into nerdy chemistry lingo, the only independent variable is octane. So whether the crude comes from Saudi, Canada, or SA....it all ends up the same after the refining process.

 

Yes and no. Gas, of course, is gas, but there are BIG differences between the brands in additive packages. One brand will keep your engine at least reasonably clean while another gums it up with carbon.

 

Yea, i like using them when i'm up in Montreal.

 

Yeah I agree, whatever Exxon, BP, Petro China, CNRL put in their gas is their own proprietary biz....its all about marketing, they are all out there to make money and personally I don't think they're not that conscerend about spening lots of $$ on perks...is clear gas better than regular colored gas? sure sounds better to the consumer....

 

I don't think those companies took the initiative to test all those brands of gas. I think they developed the standards (here) and then gas companies can apply (pay) to have their gas tested, although I'm guessing that. toptiergas.com is VERY vague.

What they DON'T say is did any brand not on their list FAIL the test, or did those brand retailers just not pay the money to be tested or part of the marketing campaign?

cHiTwNGS43 - very interesting that you're in the refinery biz - thanks for your info! So what gas do YOU put in your car? And do you think the additives are worth much more than just marketing?

I've been putting BP in my cars recently because it's convenient and I've certainly not noticed any 'issues' with it, even though it's not on that list.

 

No problem! It's actually a really interesting biz to be in...these refineries make so much money its just sick. I was in China last month working on a unit...each hour that the unit was shut down was costing the company 3 mil....and that's just one unit! I just think thats nuts...

Personally I buy my gas from BP or Shell...I've been in both their refineries. They just seem the most professional and quality controlled...

 

I wish we had a Chevron here in Chicago otherwise its BP all the way!

 

Hot commodoty, limited supply, few players = license to print money.

Thanks! Makes me feel better about buying the BP now. Now I know this might incite more Ford jokes on this forum, and no doubt it's a marketing relationship, but Ford 'recommends' BP gas now.

Sidebar: There's two BP gas stations nearby, one on either side of the interstate. One charges consistently about 8-10c more per gallon! Even more if you go for the cheaper one's 'cash price' of 4c less.

The only reason I can tell is if you go to the cheaper one but wanted to get on the interstate, coming out of the gas station you have to go about 50yds AWAY from the interstate and then do a legal u-turn.

Needless to say I always go for the cheaper one! And in my MX-5 with LSD, I do a nice drifting burn out on the u-turn, rofl.