Aside from above average price per gallon, Chevron apparently claims that their gasoline is better and of "higher grade" because of this special ingredient called "Techron" in their gas that actively cleans your fuel system, improves mileage etc. Now, is this just another one of those marketing schemes or is this really true? Curious because I've never seen another company that claim to have all the "goodies" in their gas... well, maybe Shell, since they have all those commercials saying so.
 
I'm car illiterate, so I wouldn't know. Anybody wanna give me a good reason to/not to fill up at Chevron stations despite their higher prices?

Yes and No!
 
For the yes:
 
In my experience I feel that Chevron has the best fuel around.  What I mean by that is my mileage seems better.
 
For the No:
 
Most of the time Chevron is one of the most expensive fuel company's around.  
 
Now my personal opinion is that I only visit my local Chevron for the E-85 that they have at the pump.  Yeah I'll fill once in a while with std 87.  Before I converted to using E-85 only I was a Chevron only guy so to me its worth the few extra cents in gas costs.

I don't know much about comparison in gas types, But there's a couple of gas stations around me I've tried, ARCO and 76 were meh.
 
But the first time I tried chevron with techron (91) I felt power, Something I have never felt with other gases... I don't know if it was just me, But it felt like my car was burning it better. Whenever I can, I put chevron with techron, But if I can't then I stick to 76 (there's lots of 76's en route to my house and the only chevron around is like 3 miles to the other direction so only once in a while)

Looks promising so far!

My parents have always use Chevron and nothing else (the highest octane one). I haven't personally look into the benefits though.

All gasoline blends at all name brand stations have detergents mixed in.  They are all for the most part the exact same compounds that are nothing more than injector cleaner in a very dilute mix thats added tot he gas when its pumped into the tankers for delivery.  
 
The only places that dont have as much or any detergents mixed in are going to be your budget bottom powerfuel stations and such.  for the major players its all the same stuff.
 
 
My father in-law has been n the petrochemical industry for decades and he told me this info a few years back.  

unless your car is worth 25k+ and your going to keep it until its around 100k+ no
 
leasing, cheap cars, nah just put fuel injector cleaner once in a while

Porpoise Hork


All gasoline blends at all name brand stations have detergents mixed in.  They are all for the most part the exact same compounds that are nothing more than injector cleaner in a very dilute mix thats added tot he gas when its pumped into the tankers for delivery.  

The only places that dont have as much or any detergents mixed in are going to be your budget bottom powerfuel stations and such.  for the major players its all the same stuff.


My father in-law has been n the petrochemical industry for decades and he told me this info a few years back.  

+1, I found out about this a while back as well. I just make sure to get my gas from a name brand and dont fill up with crap like Swifty

My Nissan Hardbody went 400,000 plus miles on the cheapest gas. And ran like a beauty!  So i would say no.

 
I would have to say it's all marketing too, so no. 
 

techron is great and was one of the reasons chevron was one of the first top tier gas and you will find it under different brand labels additives.  I stay away from no names gas and throw a bottle  of concentrate with every oil change.

No kiddin, I think all gas of the same octane is the same, with the exception of the smaller non-chain gas stations, so I find the cheapest one.

Blizzie


My parents have always use Chevron and nothing else (the highest octane one). I haven't personally look into the benefits though.

 
Go back to your college papers.. 
 
Using high octane,
 
- Removes "slug" build up from lower octane. (mostly in the injectors)
- Prevents your engine from blowing up
- Burns faster then lower octane due the energy needed, In sense you will get less milage for a tank of 94 octane than 86
- Higher octane will result in more power.
 
The difference of the lowest and the highest is no more than $3-5 a tank. For the benefits you gain from it. Well worth it.
 
On topic.
In my opinion Techron is all marketing bs. You will not get better mileage. However you might see cleaner injectors/engine using it. But there so many factors of that come into play. Using a injectors cleaner and using full synthetic oil with freq oil changes will make your car internals like new. If you always go for the cheaper oil and use regular engine oil why would this "techron" matter to you? Your not doing you part and when a companies try to come up with something that makes you want to pay extra for something that won't help you whatsoever, It starts to matter? 

 
Using higher octane won't clean your injectors or intake (for throttle body injected/carbureted engines) or give you more power.  And higher octane fuel actually burns about the same, it just resists pre-ignition.  The only reason to run higher octane is to eliminate pinging (detonation/pre-ignition/spark knock), from increased compression ratio or running the ignition timing advanced.  Carbon deposits can cause detonation too, which higher octane can help stop.  That's why some cars specify higher grades from the factory.  They are running higher compression and/or have power adders (turbos/superchargers), and/or are tuned for power (pcm comtrolled or mechanical).  And their testing showed higher octane was required.  The same reason racers run it. 
 
edit:  So if your car doesn't ping with 87, it won't do anything to run higher octane.

nick1551


 
Using higher octane won't clean your injectors or intake (for throttle body injected/carbureted engines) or give you more power.  And higher octane fuel actually burns about the same, it just resists pre-ignition.  The only reason to run higher octane is to eliminate pinging (detonation/pre-ignition/spark knock), from increased compression ratio or running the ignition timing advanced.  Carbon deposits can cause detonation too, which higher octane can help stop.  That's why some cars specify higher grades from the factory.  They are running higher compression and/or have power adders (turbos/superchargers), and/or are tuned for power (pcm comtrolled or mechanical).  And their testing showed higher octane was required.  The same reason racers run it. 

edit:  So if your car doesn't ping with 87, it won't do anything to run higher octane.

 
^^THIS^^

kaninja

nick1551



Using higher octane won't clean your injectors or intake (for throttle body injected/carbureted engines) or give you more power.  And higher octane fuel actually burns about the same, it just resists pre-ignition.  The only reason to run higher octane is to eliminate pinging (detonation/pre-ignition/spark knock), from increased compression ratio or running the ignition timing advanced.  Carbon deposits can cause detonation too, which higher octane can help stop.  That's why some cars specify higher grades from the factory.  They are running higher compression and/or have power adders (turbos/superchargers), and/or are tuned for power (pcm comtrolled or mechanical).  And their testing showed higher octane was required.  The same reason racers run it. 

edit:  So if your car doesn't ping with 87, it won't do anything to run higher octane.

^^THIS^^

+1, and you can easily test this by taking a car that's meant to run on premium (93) and put some 87 in it. You can still drive it but dont try to accelerate hard, it'll ping like crazy (could cause engine damage just FYI).

People that say fuel is the same at every gas station remind me of those that say all news stations are the same and so is Insurance.
 
BAH!
 
Laws control Insurance. Laws Control Fuel ratings and what the grades require.
 
They all have their fuel processed by the same refinery! But each has it's own "Marketing/Mixture" to meet their needs and the laws.
 
When it comes to gas, the brand matters only as much as the detergents and other "cleaning" agents that they use in it. Some brands such as Chevron and Shell's premium gas then to have significantly higher amount of these additives than required by law and so they advertise accordingly. 

Premium gas has a higher octane rating meaning less knocking in high compression engines and high powered engines. While most modern engines prevent knocking by those new fangled computers, you do lose a small amount of power if you use a lower octane than recommended.

Do they make a difference? Yes, but only if you're using a high performance engine. Most fuels have a high enough standard that it doesn't really matter if you drive a normal car nowadays.
 
Now if you want to see who is "Professionally" rated to be the top tear...
 
http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html
 
Also... One mans AM/PM is not anothers. Or 7-11 or Circle K etc. These are franchises that have requirements, but also have limitations due to locations. So not all use the same fuel (Union 76/BP/Mobil).
 
Engines of today are engineered with such tight tolerances it is almost impossible to go wrong with fuel. Not to mention "Most" vehicles today are designed for "World" usage in mind. And a lot of countries have lower fuel requirements/restrictions than we do in the USA and Canada.
 
That all said. We run Chevron. Having rebuilt a fare amount of my own engines over the years I learned two things...

1. Use the factory recommended oil grade but use premium top tear brand. (And no, Pennzoil is NOT one of those in my mind. The grime was ungodly).
2. Use Chevron middle grade as much as possible, or Shell if no Chevron is available. 

 
All because of personal findings. Not from my Uncle who has been a fuel delivery driver for 30+ years, or my Cousin who is in Government, or all my mechanic buddies. 
 
Purly based on 25+ years of capturing my fuel mileage at all times (Even rental cars) and tear downs of engines that I have either used for every day use or abuse on the weekends (Rock crawling, racing, mudding ETC).
 
Bottom line...
 
These basic rules of thumb will help...
 

1. If a tanker truck is filling that gas station... Move on to another station or... Wait 30 minutes. Why? Because every single fuel tank in the ground in the US does have water in it by design. And while the fuel is being added the water is being mixed into the new fuel. Let it settle and get better fuel mileage than you will with that added water % in the fuel. Keep in mind this is changing in the future as tanks get replaced, but that is a good general knowledge for now.
2. If affordable, use the mid grade. After well over 2,000,000 miles of various usages and vehicle types... I find that the 89 grade with the balance between a good fuel cleaner and such is the best bang for my $. The premium grade causes lower gas mileage, and the lower grade fuel requires more maintenance to said vehicle. So look at it like this. Premium is meant for top performance. Not gas mileage. Low grade is meant for cheap, has the most diluted mixture of solvents, and requires you (If done correctly) at every oil change to run the cleaner it lacks. And if missed or overlooked, starts to reduce your gas mileage in said vehicle as deposits do add up. The middle grade has a happy medium, good gas mileage and performance with no added maintenance needs.
3. One persons altitude, road conditions, weather, vehicle type, vehicle condition, tire pressure/balance, right foot, left foot and so on and so on... Makes it impossible for one person to tell another what will work for them. It requires no less than five full tanks of gas per grade and service station to find what works best for you.

Go to an parts store like Advanced or R&S. Buy a bottle of Chevron Techron and add it to your fuel every 5000 miles or so and use any gas you want. I just got a "buy one get one free" at Advanced on friday, each will treat a 20 gallon tank of fuel, so both my cars will get done on the next fill up. Add the bottle before you start to pump and it will get mixed really well.

warlord420


unless your car is worth 25k+ and your going to keep it until its around 100k+ no

leasing, cheap cars, nah just put fuel injector cleaner once in a while

 
becareful adding stuff like this, especially in older vehicles. it can trip off the computer error codes and messup sensors. 

nick1551


 
Using higher octane won't clean your injectors or intake (for throttle body injected/carbureted engines) or give you more power.  And higher octane fuel actually burns about the same, it just resists pre-ignition.  The only reason to run higher octane is to eliminate pinging (detonation/pre-ignition/spark knock), from increased compression ratio or running the ignition timing advanced.  Carbon deposits can cause detonation too, which higher octane can help stop.  That's why some cars specify higher grades from the factory.  They are running higher compression and/or have power adders (turbos/superchargers), and/or are tuned for power (pcm comtrolled or mechanical).  And their testing showed higher octane was required.  The same reason racers run it. 

edit:  So if your car doesn't ping with 87, it won't do anything to run higher octane.

 
- When you compare 116 octane to 87, You will notice that your injectors are slightly cleaner. I don't mean it like one will be filled with slug and using 93 will remove it. But using higher octane will help clean your injectors overtime. (but yes, only really applies to fuel inject engines. Which is a majority of the cars on the road now a days.)
 
- I am learning to turn cars. But i've read a lot of dyno sheets and graphs. When you are tuned for the octane you will get an extra 1-10WHP depending on what octane your on and going to. But when I say tuned for. If a your manufacture says to put 93 and you only put 91 you will notice that its slightly under performing and when you do put 93 it will feel a little like it has a little more power. Here a graph showing a 3HP increase over 91. 91 was tuned for. 1st 93 just thrown on with a 91 tune. 2nd 93 is when they tuned for it.
 

So yes it does give you more power.
 
- This is because the number you see 83, 91, 93 etc is how much it can withstand before detonating. It going detenating before your pistons is ready will harm the engine. Eventually pop the motor
 
- Which going back to the "Higher octane, will burn faster." I agree with you to a point.  You'll see maybe 2 mpg lower if that So its not very noticeable. But others will complain if your driving a car like mine. Which gets no more than 16mpg on a GOOD day. I'm normally averaging at 13 or so. And I don't drive a mad teenager.
 
I might be paying mad attention to detail. But it's normal for a guy like me to. When my car is super sensitive to anything that isn't stock.

My wife accidentally put 87 octane in my Civic once.  Once I got in the car and put my foot into it, it was like it was tied to a stump and was pinging like mad....didn't help it was on a record hot day.  I ended up siphoning 3/4 of the tank out and then adding octane booster.
 
And yes, the "Civic" did need high octane.  I had a fully built and tuned B16 with 11.25:1 compression ratio.  She dyno'd 178 hp @ the wheels @ 8,350 RPM.  I miss that little car.

High octane gas actually burns slower than low octane gas  

Techron, invigorate, etc... are all just brand names for detergents added to gas thus adding to their cost, i only will buy gas from BP, Shell or Sunoco, no chevron around here any more, and stay away from those grocery store fuel perk places. i use mid grade in my work truck and premium in my caddy and stealth only because well they run like crap if i dont, now for my 67 Camero SS with a 427 and 11.5-1 compression, well i buy 110 to 116 race gas from either VP or Rocket brand fuels, they come in 5Gal each for around $50, at the track mostly use Sunoco race fuel though.

Its all the same, just make sure you get "Top-Tier" gasoline. The government requires a certain level of detergency and octane, but that doesn't mean the el cheapo stations are the same. I don't know how many poor running BMW's and Mercedes I've seen fixed by convincing the owner to put good quality gas in their car.
 
Also, don't put a different octane (87-89-91) than the manufacturer calls for, unless you like wasting money. I know for a fact Ford specifically recommends against it, and it can make some cars (Fords especially) run worse with the higher grade gas.  Higher octane doesn't give you more power or better performance, it has to do with the anti-knock properties of the fuel. So unless you have a high compression (usually European) or forced induction engine, you prolly don't need it.

thetacowarrior

Also, don't put a different octane (87-89-91) than the manufacturer calls for, unless you like wasting money. I know for a fact Ford specifically recommends against it, and it can make some cars (Fords especially) run worse with the higher grade gas.  Higher octane doesn't give you more power or better performance, it has to do with the anti-knock properties of the fuel. So unless you have a high compression (usually European) or forced induction engine, you prolly don't need it.

 
Yes, and some cars actually have a "recommended fuel" and a "minimum octane fuel" listed as well.  For instance, the new Mustang 5.0 runs best on 91, but can use 87 because the computer will just retard the timing......which obviously will prevent detonation while at the same time robbing some power.

I buy pure gas, no bs corn ethanol. Its actually $0.02 cheaper a gallon atm.

Also if ur car isnt tuned to take advantage of high octane, then you are just wasting money evertime you putin premium..

Both of my european motorcycles run 92, tho Ive ran them on 89 with no issues a few times....jus NO Ethanol in small engines and youre fine. If you must run ethanol in ur moto or atv, get a fuel stabilizer for ethanol treatment...especially if it may be sittin not ran for 2 or more weeks. It will help prevent the water from seperating in the tank.

gas comes from the same 2-3 sources... only thing different from one station to the next is the crap they put into it... now for private or the cheaper stations like delta they use what ever gas they can get for a good price...
 
techron is a fuel injector cleaner that can be bought in most auto parts stores... chevron just puts a minute amount of it in their gas so they can make the claim...
 
fuel additives are usually not a good idea unless you have an older car, boat or other recreational type vehicle... in which case you will need an additive like startron which has ethanol in it... the new fuels with their additives attract water which is not a good thing especially in boats and older vehicles...
 
if you need to have your injectors and engine cleaned there are better alternatives... they cost more but will do a better job and not cause any damage like a fuel additive cleaner... an additive cleaner can dislodge dirt and other particles as it makes it's way through your fuel system... this can lead to sensors, injectors and other components getting clogged or damaged...