Using Fuel and Oil From the Same Company

[UGASpike]

I’ve been thinking about this and wanted to throw it out to the group. Admin, please move this post if this is not the correct spot.

Some of the big players like Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell pretty much control everything from the ground up. They produce crude, refine it, make base oil, develop additives, and sell the finished stuff - gas, motor oil, diesel oil, grease, the whole lineup. (blanket statement - correct me if I am wrong here)

On paper, that sounds like it should mean everything is designed to work together.

So here’s what I’m wondering:
If you strictly run Chevron fuel with Techron and also run Havoline/Delo motor oil, or Shell fuel and Pennzoil, is there any real benefit to staying in that “family”?
Is there any chance their fuel detergents and their oil chemistry are designed to complement each other in a way you wouldn’t get by mixing brands?

 

[kschachn]

Formulas change all the time, whether inside the constraints of Annex E or outside of it. So in reality there’s little benefit to thinking one brand or blender is constant.

 

[dogememe]

In theory a price advantage is the only benefit. Yet the cheapest oils are brands like Supertech that don’t make the oil. lol.

 

[Kira]

Sounds like "Anti-Frankenbrew" theorizing to me.

 

[Bwalker]

Refining fuels is a very imprecise thing. Gasoline and diesel are a soup with a recipe that changes by the hour. Its all about sending everything refined out the door while meeting specs. No one refineries fuel is better than another.
The other thing to conceder is that when you go to a Chevron or Shell gas station there is no guarantee that either company refined the fuel. In many, if not most cases they didnt.

 

[y_p_w]

Shell and XOM buy their additives. Now they might have unique ons made to their specs and codeveloped, but it’s certainly not a complete vertical integration like Chevron.

They’re not listed in the EPA list of certified bulk additives.

 

[CleanSump]

Maybe they'll give you free stickers if you write to tell them you're #1 fan.