Gasoline brands?

Circle K at one point was on the top tier list (i'm talking Cirkle K gas, not Shell at Circle K).
They are definitely not at this point in time.

All gas sold in the US is required to use minimum detergents.
All gas in an area essentially comes from the same source terminal - So it is the same, with the only practical difference being additives.
Top Tier requires they use a level of additives that is well beyond minimum and has said to be at least 3x the minimum.
Various companies certify additive blends for both EPA certification and Top Tier designation.

I personally stick with Top Tier. There is science behind these additives.
Whether or not you believe you need Top Tier is up to you.
 
According to Google, Circle K isn't a top tier fuel, and we don't even know whose gas it is. When my favorite Top tier fuel Shell was taken over by Circle K the additive quantity went down to the minimum. Guess I won't be using it in my vehicle. Ed

There's no way of knowing whose base uel it is anyways, unless one is privy to what fuel terminals are being used, which tank they drew from, and what deliveries were made. Base fuel is a commodity for the most part, and one that's allowed to be mixed with base fuel meeting the same standards from different refineries.

I live in California, where Shell no longer has a refinery, and we have a specific blend that's pretty much only made in California. They obviously buy fuel - even when they have a massive distribution terminal at their former refinery site in Southern California.
 
P66 and BP are both quality fuel, they are branded fuels and have specific additives. I know this because I work for a oil company that has both brands, and I load these fuels at terminals. Most c-stores just use a basic gasoline that does not have the additives. It is unbranded . There is a difference. When loading the fuel all gas is the same it is what is added that makes a difference. Circle K I would assume is basic fuel with no additive package.
ASSUME? All gas as has additives in it .
 
Circle K at one point was on the top tier list (i'm talking Cirkle K gas, not Shell at Circle K).
They are definitely not at this point in time.

All gas sold in the US is required to use minimum detergents.
All gas in an area essentially comes from the same source terminal - So it is the same, with the only practical difference being additives.
Top Tier requires they use a level of additives that is well beyond minimum and has said to be at least 3x the minimum.
Various companies certify additive blends for both EPA certification and Top Tier designation.

I personally stick with Top Tier. There is science behind these additives.
Whether or not you believe you need Top Tier is up to you.

Depends on where one lives. I live in an area with four major refineries and well over a dozen fuel terminals. Richmond, California would be the closest to me, and they have four (Kinder Morgan, Transmontaigne, Chevron [at the refinery], and Phillips 66 [about 6 miles from their refinery in Rodeo]). They all take deliveries from the same refineries when needed, although Chevron would probably not need to most of the time. I just was out there and saw a Kenan Advantage truck coming from just the direction of a Costco and thought that maybe it had just delivered there, but it more likely came off of I-580 from one of the fuel terminals and was headed for I-80 east. There's a lot of traffic from there and it would be difficult to figure out which one loaded at which terminal.
 
Depends on where one lives. I live in an area with four major refineries and well over a dozen fuel terminals. Richmond, California would be the closest to me, and they have four (Kinder Morgan, Transmontaigne, Chevron [at the refinery], and Phillips 66 [about 6 miles from their refinery in Rodeo]). They all take deliveries from the same refineries when needed, although Chevron would probably not need to most of the time. I just was out there and saw a Kenan Advantage truck coming from just the direction of a Costco and thought that maybe it had just delivered there, but it more likely came off of I-580 from one of the fuel terminals and was headed for I-80 east. There's a lot of traffic from there and it would be difficult to figure out which one loaded at which terminal.
I’ve seen the Kinder Morgan racks, as well as Chevron’s in Richmond. There’s also some in Martinez/North Concord/Avon IIRC.
 
The point is is that the gas itself is not different if it is coming from a different terminal, refinery, etc.
There are specifications they need to meet and they will all meet those.

The additives are added while dispensing fuel to the truck that makes the final delivery to gas stations.
 
Near me most of the Circle K is Irving oil from Canada. Not top tier but they do use double the EPA required detergent. My car (which is picky on gas) usually runs great on it.
 
This was a good explanation of gasoline additives and brands

 
Until recently, Circle K stations in my area of central Texas were mostly Shell, with a few Valero stations having the dual-branding. Now, two of the Circle K stations along my commute have dropped the Shell branding. I haven’t had any fuel quality related problems, but I do use Techron or Berryman’s every once in a while. I do like the unlimited car wash packages they have (no limit on the amount of different cars you get washed). It works well for me because there’s 10 vehicles in my driveway.
 
The point is is that the gas itself is not different if it is coming from a different terminal, refinery, etc.
There are specifications they need to meet and they will all meet those.

The additives are added while dispensing fuel to the truck that makes the final delivery to gas stations.

It theoretically can be different, but what those differences mean may not be all that meaningful or predictable. Even if it meets a specification, there are multitudes of ways to meet the standard. One of the weird ones is the energy content, which can apparently vary up to 4%, but refineries generally don't have that kind of control since it supposedly depends on the crude oil they get.

That being said, I don't worry about it. None of these refiners or distributors are intentionally trying to cheap out. And I'm certainly not one to believe that Shell, Chevron, Phillips, etc. somehow make a better base gasoline than Valero (which is no longer associated with the retail Valero brand other than trademark) or smaller refiners.
 
The point is is that the gas itself is not different if it is coming from a different terminal, refinery, etc.
There are specifications they need to meet and they will all meet those.

The additives are added while dispensing fuel to the truck that makes the final delivery to gas stations.
It's been my understanding, from an earlier thread here about Costco gas, that Costco has tanks on site that dispense their additive pkg.

There was a question about Costco gas, so I asked Costco, and they sent a good deal of information about just that. Scroll down for some details about this.

Capture4.JPG


 
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It's been my understanding, from an earlier thread here about Costco gas, that Costco has tanks on site that dispense their additive pkg.

There was a question about Costco gas, so I asked Costco, and they sent a good deal of information about just that. Scroll down for some details about this.

Ok you got me, this is true about Costco, but the vast majority of gas retailers are not doing this.
 
It's been my understanding, from an earlier thread here about Costco gas, that Costco has tanks on site that dispense their additive pkg.

There was a question about Costco gas, so I asked Costco, and they sent a good deal of information about just that. Scroll down for some details about this.

View attachment 99570


I was a bit confused about it earlier, but apparently federal regulations still require that a detergent additive be in the fuel before it leaves the fuel terminal out for delivery to the gas station. Even for Costco. So whatever they add at the station is on top of what they have at the fuel terminal. And it may be a different additive.
 
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