A Difference in Gasoline Brands

[fordtruckman2003]

One thing that isn't clear to me is the thousands of barrels of imported gasoline US gets every year. How do we know what is in that? Where does it go? ?

US government website tracks the data on the imports but it doesn't say if it is analyzed or anything before getting put into use. ?‍

I'm assuming this is low grade stuff that goes to discount retailers but I don't know if there is really a way to tell online.

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[HammaMan]

One thing that isn't clear to me is the thousands of barrels of imported gasoline US gets every year. How do we know what is in that? Where does it go? ?

US government website tracks the data on the imports but it doesn't say if it is analyzed or anything before getting put into use. ?‍

I'm assuming this is low grade stuff that goes to discount retailers but I don't know if there is really a way to tell online.

Depends on what it is and what the law is. For finished gasoline, every batch is subjected to the same batch of tests US refineries undergo. There's both federal and state standards for gasoline.

 

[dochawk]

LOL, One could say similar things about the food at AM/PM.

Surely just as good as that at 7/11!
?

Sheetz in the northeast had edible food. Iirc, they made sandwiches and pizza to order.

So if I'm reading between the lines here correctly, you would avoid these large brand non top tier gas stations.

I avoid *anything* not Top Tier. As Arco usually has the best prices, anyway, it's easy. (Although the best price in my par of town currently tends to be an independent Conoco, of all things!)

well shit, hate to say this, but the first 5-10 tanks the F150 had was 87oct.
After that i started ponying up for 93oct (10%ethenol)

We don't, ever get ethanol free. I'm not sure if it's our own mandate, or being stuck with California gas in southern Nevada. But figure a 3% mileage hit for that 10% ethanol (not a quality difference; just the difference in burnable energy between gasoline and ethanol).

Anyway, ecoboost and powerboost do get extra power from more octane up to 97, iirc. It's not that the fuel has more energy (it doesn't), but that the timing and boost are adjusted when the octane is available, allowing it to burn more fuel without knocking.

One thing that isn't clear to me is the thousands of barrels of imported gasoline US gets every year.

We don't.

We import crude oil, and refineries split it into gasoline, kerosene, and other petroleum products. There is a wide range of what proportion of each can made. Today, it's heavily gasoline, while early on, gasoline was an undesirable byproduct of kerosene refining!

 

[Tall Tail]

Surely just as good as that at 7/11!
?

Sheetz in the northeast had edible food. Iirc, they made sandwiches and pizza to order.




I avoid *anything* not Top Tier. As Arco usually has the best prices, anyway, it's easy. (Although the best price in my par of town currently tends to be an independent Conoco, of all things!)



We don't, ever get ethanol free. I'm not sure if it's our own mandate, or being stuck with California gas in southern Nevada. But figure a 3% mileage hit for that 10% ethanol (not a quality difference; just the difference in burnable energy between gasoline and ethanol).

Anyway, ecoboost and powerboost do get extra power from more octane up to 97, iirc. It's not that the fuel has more energy (it doesn't), but that the timing and boost are adjusted when the octane is available, allowing it to burn more fuel without knocking.





We don't.

We import crude oil, and refineries split it into gasoline, kerosene, and other petroleum products. There is a wide range of what proportion of each can made. Today, it's heavily gasoline, while early on, gasoline was an undesirable byproduct of kerosene refining!

Strangely, Arco is not listed on the Top Tier "Station Finder" map in my area (So Cal).
This could be an omission on the part of Top Tier Station Finder or could suggest that not all Arco's are Top Tier.
Mobil, Shell, 76, Costco, and Chevron are the gas station i see on Top Tier Station Finder.

 

[SALEEN961]

In my area the top tier stations listed on thier website are Exxon, Mobil, Shell, 76, Conoco, Citgo, Sinclair, and Phillips 66.

Sunoco is the only brand in my area with 94 octane pumps, everyone else only has 93oct as thier best offering.

I normally run Sunoco 94 or Exxon 93 in my truck.

 

[dochawk]

This could be an omission on the part of Top Tier Station Finder or could suggest that not all Arco's are Top Tier.

interesting; I found the same thing.

I went to Arco's website to check. Southwest & Northwest both prominently announce Top Tier in or near the title, but you have to read down a couple of paragraphs to find it for "East of the Rockies" (but it's there). I wondered if they refused to help fund the finder? They're usually not included on highway exit signs, either.

And, oddly, they don't seem to have stations within a couple of states of the east coast! Kind of odd for the merged "Atlantic-Richfield COmpany" . . .

 

[fordtruckman2003]

We don't.

We import crude oil, and refineries split it into gasoline, kerosene, and other petroleum products. There is a wide range of what proportion of each can made. Today, it's heavily gasoline, while early on, gasoline was an undesirable byproduct of kerosene refining!

US imports thousands of barrels of completed petroleum products annually. Same for the additives that are added into domestic gasoline. All part of the global market.

 

[J929626]

This is a good read on the end-to-end process of getting gasoline to the consumer.

Where Does Gasoline Come From | AAA Automotive

 

[Tall Tail]

interesting; I found the same thing.

I went to Arco's website to check. Southwest & Northwest both prominently announce Top Tier in or near the title, but you have to read down a couple of paragraphs to find it for "East of the Rockies" (but it's there). I wondered if they refused to help fund the finder? They're usually not included on highway exit signs, either.

And, oddly, they don't seem to have stations within a couple of states of the east coast! Kind of odd for the merged "Atlantic-Richfield COmpany" . . .

Is there any way to tell If its top tier gas when standing at the pump?

 

[RcFlyer330]

Is there any way to tell If its top tier gas when standing at the pump?

There should be a lable somewhere on the pump if it is top tier fuel.

 

[dochawk]

Is there any way to tell If its top tier gas when standing at the pump?

Yes: there will be a label announcing it, like/l

There are other possible locations, too.

 

[Calson]

I have worked with large manufacturing facilities including the Citgo oil refinery when it was owned by the Southland Corporation. No way is a refinery going to produce small 7500 gallon batches for individual gas stations to be delivered to them with a big rig.

"ONLY top tier gasoline brands consistently meet a minimum standard of these additives." People are so gullible or willing to lie to make a point. No one tests gasoline at the pumps for anything other than validates octane and that the amount pumped is accurately reflected in the pump readings.

There are no standards for additives and any petroleum company would consider any additive to be a trade secret and kept from any government agency. Of course the marketing people have a job to do with the creation of special names for these magical additives and use this to con people into thinking that paying a premium actually benefits the vehicle.

A friend of my wife lives in Arizona and was conned by the tire shop into putting 100% nitrogen in the car tires with the thinking that the tires would run cooler. No thought that air is already 82% nitrogen and so going to 100% nitrogen is not going to make a measurable difference but it was after a con job which is not uncommon with the automotive industry and auto products on the market.

Has anyone found current testing of retail gasoline from many different outlets and seen published results? Fleet operators with thousands of vehicles on the road each day would be the first to gto to a specific brand if it was determined that it would reduce repairs and vehicles being out of service.

At a certain point critical thinking comes into play for those few individuals that are able to do so.

 

[Tall Tail]

I have worked with large manufacturing facilities including the Citgo oil refinery when it was owned by the Southland Corporation. No way is a refinery going to produce small 7500 gallon batches for individual gas stations to be delivered to them with a big rig.

"ONLY top tier gasoline brands consistently meet a minimum standard of these additives." People are so gullible or willing to lie to make a point. No one tests gasoline at the pumps for anything other than validates octane and that the amount pumped is accurately reflected in the pump readings.

There are no standards for additives and any petroleum company would consider any additive to be a trade secret and kept from any government agency. Of course the marketing people have a job to do with the creation of special names for these magical additives and use this to con people into thinking that paying a premium actually benefits the vehicle.

A friend of my wife lives in Arizona and was conned by the tire shop into putting 100% nitrogen in the car tires with the thinking that the tires would run cooler. No thought that air is already 82% nitrogen and so going to 100% nitrogen is not going to make a measurable difference but it was after a con job which is not uncommon with the automotive industry and auto products on the market.

Has anyone found current testing of retail gasoline from many different outlets and seen published results? Fleet operators with thousands of vehicles on the road each day would be the first to gto to a specific brand if it was determined that it would reduce repairs and vehicles being out of service.

At a certain point critical thinking comes into play for those few individuals that are able to do so.

your recommendation is unclear. Are you suggesting you buy the cheapest gas that you can find?

 

[Samson16]

Cough…marketing slogan…cough…pay to join

 

[raider23]

In California 100% of the gas is produced in two refineries so where it is sold at retail makes no difference and I go where the price is the lowest.

Actually there are 14 currently running in California. I’ve worked at a few of them.

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