Are Shell/Exxon better than other Top Tier gasolines?

[ziggy]

Phillips66 has 3.5 times detergent all grades gas.shell twice for 87,89 their 93 is 5 times detergent.mobil.only 93 is top tier.in website,Mobil fine print ..synergy is in 93. It's not in their 87,89..
Gulf I don't think top tier anymore.
Citgo uses nitrogen...but it's Venezuelan gas ..I won't use it
I got more mileage with Mobil 87,than Phillips 87..phillips got me 179 miles aveerage, Mobil 87 197-207 miles
So I've recorded some years now between the 2.

 

[Jay73]

I use the Shell V-Power Nitro+ almost exclusively in my car which is a direct injection/turbo car. If for some reason I'm traveling and a Shell isn't convenient then I'll do the Mobil premium gas. Shell may have more cleaners than the Mobil but the few times I did replace Shell with the Mobil didn't really notice any performance setbacks but probably wouldn't as a rare occasional thing.

 

[OilyOrangutan]

Yes, I'm very familiar with Top Tier gas; it's all I've used for a few years now. My question is, is there any reason to think that Shell/Exxon/Chevron is better than other Top Tier gases?

I am in the opposite camp. While I only use Top Tier fuel myself. I believe Costco is the best provider of TT fuel simply because they state they have 5x the detergents required by the EPA in both regular, and premium fuel.

https://www.costco.com/fuel-promise.html

 

[Jay73]

I am in the opposite camp. While I only use Top Tier fuel myself. I believe Costco is the best provider of TT fuel simply because they state they have 5x the detergents required by the EPA in both regular, and premium fuel.

https://www.costco.com/fuel-promise.html

So Costco at 5x
Shell at 6X in Premium at least

https://www.shell.us/fuels-oils-and-coolants/shell-fuels/shell-v-power-nitro-faqs.html

"Shell V-Power® NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline contains the highest concentration of our proprietary additive that removes up to 100% of performance robbing deposits. In fact, Shell V-Power® NiTRO+ contains six times the amount of cleaning agents required by federal standards."

 

[OilyOrangutan]

So Costco at 5x
Shell at 6X in Premium at least

https://www.shell.us/fuels-oils-and-coolants/shell-fuels/shell-v-power-nitro-faqs.html

"Shell V-Power® NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline contains the highest concentration of our proprietary additive that removes up to 100% of performance robbing deposits. In fact, Shell V-Power® NiTRO+ contains six times the amount of cleaning agents required by federal standards."

Nice, never noticed that Shell stated 6x in their premium. Great catch! But I am cheap and Costco is substantially cheaper then the Shell for me, so 5x in their regular will have to do lol.

 

[Jay73]

Nice, never noticed that Shell stated 6x in their premium. Great catch! But I am cheap and Costco is substantially cheaper then the Shell for me, so 5x in their regular will have to do lol.

Yeah I wouldn't beat yourself up over it as 5x is still 5x. Bottle of Chevron Techron 2-3 times a year could be a bonus as well as I still toss one in every 3-4 months even with the Shell premium.

 

[Jetronic]

I just found an Esso station on my way to work that sells Synergy Supreme+ 98 fuel for the same as other stations sell 95.

Esso claims it contains friction modifiers, corrosion inhibitors, demulsifiers and 3 types of cleaners. I will try it for a while. Their 95 doesn't contain all that.

 

[GI_GRIFF]

Esso claims it contains friction modifiers, corrosion inhibitors, demulsifiers and 3 types of cleaners. I will try it for a while. Their 95 doesn't contain all that.

You better be careful; you are liable to have a runaway with all that extra power!!!

 

[rstcso]

Phillips66 has 3.5 times detergent all grades gas.shell twice for 87,89 their 93 is 5 times detergent.mobil.only 93 is top tier.in website,Mobil fine print ..synergy is in 93. It's not in their 87,89..
Gulf I don't think top tier anymore.
Citgo uses nitrogen...but it's Venezuelan gas ..I won't use it
I got more mileage with Mobil 87,than Phillips 87..phillips got me 179 miles aveerage, Mobil 87 197-207 miles
So I've recorded some years now between the 2.

As stated earlier, for a station to be recognized as Top Tier, all grades of gasoline must meet Top Tier's standards. This does not mean that higher grades at a Top Tier station can't exceed those minimums, and often do... for a price.

 

[4WD]

Hate to tell you but the gasoline comes from a common pipe and common tanks used by all the stations. Exxon only adds a proprietary additive package of detergents.

There is more than just several detergents in the synergy package … like FM and others … It’s been posted here before …

 

[SC Maintenance]

I don’t think it would be large enough to be consistently measurable. The difference in lower heating value is less than 1%, closer to 0.7%.

That’s too small to reliably measure in field conditions without specially instrumenting the car.

Higher octane allows ignition timing to advance further which allows VVT to advance further - on modern ECU controlled vehicles which improves MPG. Its well documented and well proven. The last year of the old body on frame Nissan Pathfinder Nissan changed to 89 octane spec in the manual for the same VQ40 in my truck and Xterra. Nothing about the engine changed, but it bought some CAFE numbers. Everyone who owns one ignores it.

The problem is that the 5% increase in mileage isn't worth the 20% increase in cost. However if your on the edge of passing a emissions test it can actually help - as can extra ethanol.

 

[PontiacHO]

Branded fuel is consistently blended with proprietary additives and amount of ethanol. Unbranded can vary with each load delivered. They can sell it cheaper because it is processed at a generic blender without tighter requirements and quality control. My GMC Sierra will buck, stumble, and spark knock on Sheets 87 octane but has always ran fine on Exxon 87.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Branded fuel is consistently blended with proprietary additives and amount of ethanol. Unbranded can vary with each load delivered. They can sell it cheaper because it is processed at a generic blender without tighter requirements and quality control. My GMC Sierra will buck, stumble, and spark knock on Sheets 87 octane but has always ran fine on Exxon 87.

I don't think a particular brand has more or less ethanol over time. Ethanol is blended in at the distribution depot - where all brands typically get gas for a region. The add packs are added per load but I do not think the ethanol changes per load. It can change seasonally for sure.

There used to be a hazmat driver here, so maybe someone knows for sure.

 

[silversport]

It depends what is under additive package?
What additive package a gasoline needs to be better than other that doesn't have it?

A 93 octane usually doesn't have ethanol and high octane gasoline gives you better MPG and it also burns cooler than lower octane gas.

where in ChicagoLand are you finding 93 octane fuel without ethanol...???...my experience with 93 octane in vehicles that don't require high octane fuels has never been higher MPGs (else I would use them) and I don't know how it could burn cooler...perhaps I misunderstand your statements...

Bill

 

[SC Maintenance]

where in ChicagoLand are you finding 93 octane fuel without ethanol...???...my experience with 93 octane in vehicles that don't require high octane fuels has never been higher MPGs (else I would use them) and I don't know how it could burn cooler...perhaps I misunderstand your statements...

Bill

Higher octane fuel burns more slowly and consistantly. Allows the ECU to advance the timing a bit, so that your at optimum fuel burn is at exactly the correct time. This allows for a slightly higher MPG - but its generally not worth the cost.

All gasoline has the same BTU energy content - regardless of octane. Ethanol has like 10% less energy content.

93 ethanol free is pretty rare but does exist apparently. This website keeps track by state / location and octane level and is pretty accurate in general but does tend to miss some locations. https://www.pure-gas.org/

 

[Kira]

I went to Top Tier's website via the link in post #22.
Has anyone here downloaded the TT App?

 

[fantastic]

Thanks. It certainly sounds like their Premium V-Power Nitro contains a unique, much stronger, more complete additive package than their regular and mid-grade. Still can't tell how it or any of their grades compare to other top tier gasolines though, and still don't have any indication that other brands have different add packs for their different grades.

I was thinking about it some more & I remembered that I'd seen some claims by P66 about more additives. I found a link that talks about it in marketing language. "30%* more than the minimum specified (2)" Seems to claim a (2) as an asterisk but I don't see any more note references of what that means. Might just start reaching out to the top tier stations websites for the stations in your area for the details.
https://www.phillips66gas.com/performance-gasoline/

This video talks about potential rewards of using premium fuels.

5

Thread 'LSJr Motor Oil Geek on fuel additives'

Sep 7, 2024

The Motor Oil Geek posted a video this week saying he thinks fuel additives do protect against piston wear, and are just as important as quality oil. It's lengthy and technical but that's his conclusion. I always add a bottle of Regane plus a dose of UCL with every tank. Definitely happy to see an industry professional like Motor Oil Geek come out supporting extra additives.

• 5thgennissanaltima
• Replies: 91
• Forum: Fuels and Fuel Additives: Gasoline and Diesel

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[NibbanaBanana]

I don't know how much more MPG you get with 93 octane vs 87, but in all my vehicles during the years and with all those parameters/bullet points have been equal - the 93 octane always gave me 50 miles more per tank and I explained it on the previous page why is that, because the engine really needs less gas running a higher octane and that is regulated automatically by the engine ECU. That might be also because 93 doesn't contain any ethanol.
With the current digital odometers and board computers that's even easier to find out.
I'm not saying that that's a reason to run higher octane, but for me the better MPG is a fact.

I really don't understand why that would be. Higher octane fuel is lower power fuel. Lower octane fuel is higher power fuel.

 

[k1xv]

I really don't understand why that would be. Higher octane fuel is lower power fuel. Lower octane fuel is higher power fuel.

Perhaps because the use of premium allows the engine management computer to adjust the ignition timing and fuel richness to a more efficient level. When you run a engine that was designed to run on premium on a lesser octane fuel, spark is retarded and fuel injection is made richer.

 

[JohnnyG]

Top Tier stations should have better additives, above 87, in their premium octanes (90 octane etc.). I'd say their 87 are probably the minimum TT offering. I think QT & Costco are Top Tier too?

In my experience, each brand only uses it's own additive supplier. The same additive is used in all grades of gas as well as any blends.
The only thing that varies, is that premium usually contains more of it (but not much more).