Probably some truth on both sides.

Most of us, here, though, in this forum, are not mechanics or technicians, so we're probably not the best (or last) word on it. I'd take the word of people who actually service, clean, and rebuild engines for a living.

 

I can feel the difference how my car drives when I fill up with different brand or no name brand gasoline. In my case Shell or Petro Canada premium are what I prefer. Also better go to a station where gas does not sit in the storage tank too long. Stale gas is no good for any engine. You'll notice it in mowers, chainsaws, snow thrower engines. If you don't see the differences, good for you.

 

dasani at least does have additives... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasani

Back to gas, there's lots of vague info out there, and some people swear by certain brands with little to nothing to base it on, and justifying it on the idea that their car runs well so it must be good which is flawed logic, but logic rarely wins the day in these threads.

 

Merged similar threads.

 

It would be interesting to test this scientifically. My hunch is you will not be able to feel the difference, but that's a hunch, I cannot tell you how you feel. Kind of like when someone sues another person and claims pain and suffering, and their back hurts. Short of lighting a fire in a courtroom and watching the injured person jump up, there's no way to conclude they do not feel pain....

When my snowblower was new, I was into the change the oil after x hours, drain the fuel each season, use Stabil, etc. But the thing is so heavy (it has a drain cap but it's horizontal) I said forget this (it was a substantial investment over 2 grand, so at first I wanted to maintain it). I used the same oil for 7 years and it actually etched the dipstick. Changed it 2 yrs. ago, leave the gas alone, just fill it when it is low (it consumes a lot, this is a 2004 model). Runs fine.

 

I think the owner was being honest, he was saying you're gonna see some flashy BS on the pumps to promote Exxon Synergy. He seemed to be spot on with additives, and even said in his opinion since he owns stations from DC to PA, Shell V Power is the best, but Synergy is also excellent. He also said nothing wrong with BP, and Gulf. Where I am most curious, is why he was adamant, Costco and Wawa are the same unbranded gasolines, and only use for convenience. Because Costco is Top Tier. Prolly an explanation from Costco would clarify.

He also was spot on in saying most people care about price, but it is also dependent on location, low price, bad location (difficult to get to) adds up to poor revenue...

 

As has been pointed out here before (several times)....with all due respect, the basic question is not about the gas itself, but the quality of the additives. Gas is gas, and octane is octane......but not all additives are created equal.

 

true about gas but all we have to go on with additives is marketing claims and hearsay from a delivery guy?

 

And DI engines are making the quality of the detergent additives less-relevant, since the spray-pattern often by-passes the very valves the detergent is intended to keep clean. A lot of of what what goes into today's Toyota products (particularly with the interior and front grilles) doesn't impress me.....but I DO like the idea of Toyota's combining DI and port-injection to get around that problem.

 

I don't pay attention to the marketing or hearsay - I read directly several threads on Corvetteforum.com that Techron helped resolve fuel system issues (fuel sender issues, stuck gauges, etc).

 

Gotta love folks who insist upon techron. Even costco used to have pics of clean intake valves thanks to Costco Top Tier gasoline, nice one since the fuel doesn't come in contact on many cars since 2007. Well, even Scotty Kilmer is all mad his friend sold Slick 50 and done moved to Austin and now lives in a mansion. Some people are perfectly ok making a fortune on snake oil (Papa John is another)....guess Richard Petty had his STP. fool and his money theory

 

Chevron's Techron is definitely NOT just simple snake-oil. But it's probably not as good as BG44K, which has long had a reputation of being the best. That's why many service/repair shops use it. BG, though, is not included in gas purchases...you have to find a place that sells it, buy a can or bottle, and add it yourself. It used to only be available at service-shops, but now some stores carry it.

 

Again, remember the additives are a can the size of a grills propane tank in an entire tanker of fuel. In other words, very little concentration in a tank of gasoline.

 

In most cases, with most brands of cleaners, the instructions are one can per average full-tank of gas....which is usually 15-20 gallons. The intent, of course, is not to have to use the stuff very often, which would probably be the case if one was using Crap-ola fuel with no additives. At anyone from $6 to $30 a container (depending on the brand), that could get not only redundant but pricey. I also wouldn't use the stuff right before an emissions test.....all those carbon-particles being dissolved out of the engine have nowhere to go but out the exhaust, where, in a high-enough concentration, they could overwhelm the catalytic converter and (in diesels) the urea-injection.

 

This has nothing to do with the content of the post that you quoted and responded to.