Avoid premium gas and Shell gas stations
11-03-2009, 08:20 AM
#21
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Originally Posted by wspinks' post='1046134' date='Nov 3 2009, 11:12 AM
As a gasoline retailer and a E60 owner I think I should chime in here. The facts are that gasoline does degrade over time. However, nearly all gasoline retailers have much smaller mid-grade and premium tanks, and refuel it at about the same interval as regular. It is a very easy thing to control, because the % of mid-grade and premium sales to regular unleaded is almost exactly the same everywhere in the US. It is usually 10% of the total regular volume. So, most retailers will have a 10,000 gallon regular tank, and two 1,000 gal tanks for mid and premium. This is just an example to keep the numbers simple. Tanker trucks have several different compartments, and we usually load and deliver all three products at the same time. It would be very bad business to sell old, degraded gasoline to customers, just the same as it would be to throw the old, expensive, product out. So, as business people we choose not to do either of those. There are people that probably don't care as much as we do about this, but I assure you that those people are not usually in business for long, and those are not the type of gas stations that you are pulling your $45,000 BMW into. I hope this has been helpful, and please feel free to ask me any questions.
11-03-2009, 08:59 AM
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Originally Posted by EuroCarFan' post='1046025' date='Nov 3 2009, 10:30 AM
I also don't understand if people are supposedly buying premium then how come it's sitting there rotting away??
11-03-2009, 09:43 AM
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Originally Posted by porsche911targa' post='1046165' date='Nov 3 2009, 09:59 AM
I think you missed the "not" from the original sentence. The OP wrote: "there are not a lot of people buying premium because of the economy." So, if there are NOT a lot of people buying premium grades, the gasoline just stands there and degrades over time.
11-03-2009, 09:48 AM
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This is the exact opposite of what I've been told by both BMW NA customer service and my local dealer... BMW could refuse to warranty the car if the HPFP dies on you and you are using low octane non top tier gas. ( hey it's happened in ATL last year)
Top Tier ONLY and Highest octane rating available.... in my area 93... in some parts of Alaska it would be !eek! 85....
Top Tier ONLY and Highest octane rating available.... in my area 93... in some parts of Alaska it would be !eek! 85....
11-03-2009, 10:05 AM
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Originally Posted by juventus' post='1046142' date='Nov 3 2009, 12:20 PM
Interesting and informative. This may sound like a real dumb question, but would you still recommend mid-grade in Rural areas? Over here we basically have Shell, Valero and Walmart.
11-03-2009, 10:39 AM
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What's funny about this is, Dateline did a story about gas, and the differences in gas, and guess what? There was no difference.
They showed a place where the tankers that transport the fuel to your local gas stations refuel- and guess what again...
Exxon, Texaco, and a few no-name tankers, were all filling up at the Conoco distribution facility they filmed. There is NO real difference in gas. The interviewed offshore oil workers, and workers in the local fields, and they all said the same thing- there is no real difference in gas- not based upon where you guys buy it from.
The reason why, they cited, was because the U.S. Government does not allow much difference in gas. So, while some (Texaco & Chevron) may add a few more detergents (emphasis on the words "may" and "few", 87 - 93 Octane at your local "Racetrak" gas station, is no worse than 87 - 93 Octane at your local Exxon gas station.
When the guy asked on oil executive what the real difference was between Texaco, Exxon, Chevron, Shell, Gulf, Phillips 66, etc. was, guess what the answer was...
Answer: Marketing.
There is no real difference in gas. You're just buying into the hype of some clever marketing. Now, where a difference may come in at, is in the condition of the gas station that services you- whether ground water is getting into the tank, sediment in the storage tank, etc.. But, when it arrives at your local station, the Diamond Shamrock gas, is just as good as Shell's.
Gas station owners don't make a lot of many based upon the gas you buy. They make a few cents per gallon. Where they make money is when you come into the store and buy that carton of cigarettes, the pack of juicy fruit, the honey buns, the coffee, the beer, etc... IF you find a gas station that's just a gas station, they aren't making a whole lot of money.
I wish I could find that story on line. I think it was Dateline, but it could have been 20/20. It definitely wasn't 48-hours. It was the kind of story John Stossel would do, but it wasn't John Stossel.
They showed a place where the tankers that transport the fuel to your local gas stations refuel- and guess what again...
Exxon, Texaco, and a few no-name tankers, were all filling up at the Conoco distribution facility they filmed. There is NO real difference in gas. The interviewed offshore oil workers, and workers in the local fields, and they all said the same thing- there is no real difference in gas- not based upon where you guys buy it from.
The reason why, they cited, was because the U.S. Government does not allow much difference in gas. So, while some (Texaco & Chevron) may add a few more detergents (emphasis on the words "may" and "few", 87 - 93 Octane at your local "Racetrak" gas station, is no worse than 87 - 93 Octane at your local Exxon gas station.
When the guy asked on oil executive what the real difference was between Texaco, Exxon, Chevron, Shell, Gulf, Phillips 66, etc. was, guess what the answer was...
Answer: Marketing.
There is no real difference in gas. You're just buying into the hype of some clever marketing. Now, where a difference may come in at, is in the condition of the gas station that services you- whether ground water is getting into the tank, sediment in the storage tank, etc.. But, when it arrives at your local station, the Diamond Shamrock gas, is just as good as Shell's.
Gas station owners don't make a lot of many based upon the gas you buy. They make a few cents per gallon. Where they make money is when you come into the store and buy that carton of cigarettes, the pack of juicy fruit, the honey buns, the coffee, the beer, etc... IF you find a gas station that's just a gas station, they aren't making a whole lot of money.
I wish I could find that story on line. I think it was Dateline, but it could have been 20/20. It definitely wasn't 48-hours. It was the kind of story John Stossel would do, but it wasn't John Stossel.
11-03-2009, 03:57 PM
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Originally Posted by bighersh' post='1046235' date='Nov 3 2009, 02:39 PM
Gas station owners don't make a lot of many based upon the gas you buy. They make a few cents per gallon. Where they make money is when you come into the store and buy that carton of cigarettes, the pack of juicy fruit, the honey buns, the coffee, the beer, etc... IF you find a gas station that's just a gas station, they aren't making a whole lot of money.
I wish I could find that story on line. I think it was Dateline, but it could have been 20/20. It definitely wasn't 48-hours. It was the kind of story John Stossel would do, but it wasn't John Stossel.
I wish I could find that story on line. I think it was Dateline, but it could have been 20/20. It definitely wasn't 48-hours. It was the kind of story John Stossel would do, but it wasn't John Stossel.
Beer in a store that's NOT a state licensed beer distributor - that would be nice. Not here in Pennsylvania. Can only wish...
11-03-2009, 04:06 PM
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I don't get it.
When fuel is at $2.70 per gallon for regular and $3.00 per gallon for premium, the extra annual cost savings (for 12k miles per year) is like $200 per year. The savings to use "plus" instead of premium is probably $100 per year.
Has anyone actually thought whether they care about spending an extra $200 per year when they own a $60k automobile.
Worse yet, someone who actually looks to save $200 to buy "regular" rather than "premium" may not be putting this all in perspective.
When fuel is at $2.70 per gallon for regular and $3.00 per gallon for premium, the extra annual cost savings (for 12k miles per year) is like $200 per year. The savings to use "plus" instead of premium is probably $100 per year.
Has anyone actually thought whether they care about spending an extra $200 per year when they own a $60k automobile.
Worse yet, someone who actually looks to save $200 to buy "regular" rather than "premium" may not be putting this all in perspective.
11-03-2009, 04:18 PM
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I use shell all the time! I swear I get better fuel economy and power using shell gas. Shell then BP if I must. Sunoco imo gives me a noticeabley worse mpg. And if someone can dig up a Fifth Gear video where they did a test in the UK between BP and Shell gas/diesel versus non top tier brands they showed there was difference in mpg and dyno results.