Quote:
Originally Posted by RockCrusher
Not a scientific study for sure but with a number of my cars over the years I have run Chevron, Shell, Union 76, Phillips 66 gasoline and some brands of discount gasoline that honestly I can't recall now. And since my 2001 Camaro Z28 all engines have required 91 octane.
None of my car engines manifested any changes, good or bad, with one exception. When I switched my 2002 Boxster from a steady diet of Shell V-Power to Chevron Supreme (both 91 E10) with Techron in one tank of Supreme the Boxster engine was running better. (At the same time I switched my 2003 996 Turbo from Shell V-Power to Chevron Supreme and the Turbo engine didn't show any reaction, good or bad.)
I discussed the favorable reaction my Boxster engine had to Chevron gasoline with the Porsche senior Porsche techs and they said the Techron removed fuel/engine deposits. And this is why they either filled up with Chevron once in a while or used Techron additive once in a while.
Since August 2020 I have lived in Benton County AR. There are a few Shell stations about but their prices are quite a bit higher (50 cents/gallon!)l than the other stations. There are likewise a few Philips 66 stations about but like the Shell stations prices are quite a bit higher than other stations.
So I have used Littlefield (91 ethanol free), Casey's, Kum & Go, and the last month or so Walmart stations for gas. 91 E10. Walmart gasoline is priced about as low as I have seen gasoline around here. (I don't have a Walmart membership but a woman I know does and she saves an additional 10 cents/gallon because of it. The woman uses Walmart gasoline in her 2024 BMW X4 M40i.)
My cars here have been a 2018 Hellcat (that I drove from CA to here when I left CA), 2020 M-B cargo van, a 2020 Scat Pack, 2022 BMW 230i, 2022 MINI S, 2023 MINI JCW, 2023 BMW M2, and my last car purchase was a 2024 BMW 230xi.
The Hellcat engine was supercharged, the Scat Pack was a naturally aspirated engine, and all the other engines were or are turbo-charged.
So far none of the engines past or present, have manifested any signs they prefer or dislike one gasoline vs. any other.
I really wanted for instance the Hellcat which over 25K miles was fueled by CA 91 E10 (various brands) to react favorably to 91 ethanol free, but it did not.
Likewise I drove the cargo van to CA and back and fueled it with a variety of name brand gasoline (all 91 E10) and the engine showed no preference for any brand of gasoline compared to what I put in the tank here.
I drove my 2022 BMW 230i to Colorado Springs then down to Albuquerque and back home again. Had a chance to use brands of gasoline in it not available here including Chevron. The BMW showed no preference for any brand of gasoline.
Drove the MINI S from here to CA and back and fueled it with a variety of name brand gasoline. No favorable or unfavorable reaction to any of them.
In one year my 2023 M2 has been fueled with mostly 91 ethanol free but I have fueled it occasionally with Casey's 91 E10 and recently with Walmart 91 E10. The engine manifests no reaction, good or bad, to any of these brands of gasoline. Same applies to my 2024 BMW 230xi.
All I do is buy gasoline -- whatever the brand -- from a busy station. That is not hard to do as it is clear the busiest stations are the ones with the lowest prices.
Oh, and my habit -- for which I have no real reason to have -- is I do not fill up if there is a fuel truck delivering fuel. I've been assured by a several station owners this replenishing of the station tanks does not in any way pose risk to any vehicles filling up at the time and I believe the station owners for if there was a problem we'd know about it due to all the reports of problems, but old habits die hard.
One other thing: Had my 2024 230xi in for an early oil/filter service 1.5 months and 1800 miles after buying it new. The service included "Standard Scope service" with this: Includes BMW Fuel Additive. Specifically Twin Power Turbo Additive, part #: 83-19-5-A07-750. When I asked about this I was told the additive was used as per BMW.
Now March 19 I had my M2 in for its first CBS service with over 7K miles and just a few weeks short of one year. No BMW Twin Turbo fuel additive was used. At least nothing was listed on the paperwork.
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Great observations! Thanks for taking the time to write it all up. And I know this is far from scientific, but it's still good information in my book.
I still don't know what that means for me moving forward. As you said, old habits die hard, even with some evidence that there isn't as much of a difference between brands as maybe some have said.
The curveball is that near my house, there is a Chevron that happens to be one of the cheaper places to get gas and it's at a busy-ish station. So it sort of checks more of the boxes than some others.
. LOL