tgt40

Okay so my wife told me yesterday that a friend of hers just had some work done to their vehicle and the shop told them their issues (don't know what they are) were related to using Shell gasoline. Now, I've always considered Shell to be at the top of the pile, not the bottom. I'm staying away from any ethanol blend so my choices in Alberta right now have been Shell, Esso and Petro Can in that order.


Thoughts?

canuck964

I only use Chevron in my cars.

tgt40

Sadly, not an option in Alberta. Love that Techron though

aj986s

I once read that the underlying fuel is the same for all local gas stations. That's why refineries aren't all over the place for all brands of gas. There's a cooperative distribution network where a single refinery, regardless of brand, services all the local gas stations. Its when the gas goes into the delivery tanker that the unique "additives" for a particular brand are added, and ultimately delivered to the local brand gas stations.

I've also read that repeated use of the same brand allows deposits to collect based upon the "brand" additives. One way to combat is to switch brands periodically, introducing other 'additives" into the engine, which may help eliminate collective additives from another brand. Can't remember where I read this; it was quite a few years ago. If I can find the link, I'll post it.

tgt40

I've heard similar stories although I think the additives are added a bit further upstream than at the tanker phase. Interesting story on the switching of brands too, haven't heard that one before.

BTW, I plan to stick with Shell.

Nine11

I've never had trouble with Shell gasoline.

aj986s

Here's a link by a purported chemists where he discusses base gasolines, additives, deposits, switching brands, etc.

http://www.vettenet.org/octane.html

tgt40

Interesting article but it looks like it might be pretty old. At the end of the day, I'm not worried about any major brand gasoline.

Leigh2

I played golf with a couple of engineers from the Shell refinery a couple of years ago. They said that there had been a problem with the premium dissolving sending units in some gas tanks and the formulation was changed to solve the problem. I've used Shell premium for a long time with no problems although I've also tried some of the 94 octane from Husky from time to time.

Basal Skull

I've heard the same thing about Shell gas and sending units. Had a friend who used Shell all the time in his Merc and had to have his sending units replaced a couple of times before he changed brands - this was a few years ago. AFAIK the petro can 94 gas and their synthetic oils are top quality (their base synthetics are used by many of the usual suspects). I switch between Chevron 94 and Petro Can 94 on my Porsches FWIW.

syzygy

In Alberta, most of the gas going to Calgary and locations south, for almost ALL the gas stations, comes down the same pipe from Edmonton. From the main terminal in Cowtown, all the bulk plants and agents get their share and add the appropriate stuff to their gas.

breale01

Hi, I'm from a region on the opposite end of the country, hope nobody minds me chiming in....FWIW I stick to the 'TopTier' brands listed at toptiergas.com . Shell and P-Can are on the list. Not sure it makes a difference, but just in case it does....

BTW, Shell reimbursed me about $1500 in fuel system repairs about 8 years ago, because I was a loyal user of their premium fuel (Gold then V-Power). They kept me as a customer for doing so.

Luxter

I realize that this thread is a bit old, but the question remains unanswered. So, Esso claims that their Supreme is 92 octane according to this document:
http://www.imperialoil.ca/Canada-Eng...ESGasoline.pdf
I contacted Exxon in this matter and got this for my answer:


“Thank you for taking the time to contact Imperial Oil.

May we suggest that you contact our Lubes and Specialties Technical Information line at 1-800-268-3183, where a Customer Service Specialist will assist you with your inquiry.

Sincerely,

Dianelys Hernandez
Customer Service Specialist




Dear Sirs,

One of your online documents:
http://www.imperialoil.ca/Canada-Eng...ESGasoline.pdf
indicates that your supreme gasoline is blended to (R+M) / 2 = 92 Octane.

Would you please confirm that the supreme blend distributed in Calgary, Alberta meets the AKI 92 as outlined above.
All your retail distribution points indicate that the supreme blend is 91 AKI octane only according to labels attached to all pumps that I visited.

Also, do you plan to start distributing AKI 94 octane gasoline similar to what Husky offers in most of their stations any time soon?

Your prompt answers to the questions above would be much appreciated.”
Anybody can comment to the above?
Cheers,
Luxter

Luxter

"Thank you for contacting Imperial Oil.

Esso Supreme (at 91 Octane level) is the highest octane gasoline available at Esso stations.

Esso Supreme blend distributed in Calgary, Alberta does not meet the AKI 92. This is an old product data sheet that we have removed. Thank you for pointing it out.

Imperial Oil does not plan to offer 94 octane. Few vehicles on the road can benefit from 94 octane and the energy required to produce it.

Thank you once again for taking the time to contact us and allowing us the opportunity to assist you."

John 996 TT Cab

I'm in BC and use Chevron 94 in my 996 Turbo and Shell Premium in my BMW 650. The Turbo just won't run right unless it gets 94.

John in Vancouver