Do you think the brand of fuel makes a difference
 

This poll was inspired by this post by TheIVJackal:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...her-23527.html

The question is: All else being equal, for the vehicle you most often drive, do you think the brand of fuel (BP, Shell, etc.) has an impact on fuel economy? By "all else being equal" I mean same grade, as well as same content (E0, E10, E85, etc.).

I think no. At least in the few times I have used different brands I have never seen a difference.

Only if the octane or ethanol content is different too.

Maybe it's just bias, but Arco's gas has made my car(s) run like s*** when I've used it. I usually fill up at the Chevron on the corner because it's less than a block away.

I voted "yes, but not quite significant [enough to chase it down]". Diesel can vary in quality and is prone to in-ground tank problems (not just vehicle tank problems, mainly algae). High volume retailers are best, overall.

I've had enough commercial operators tell me that SHELL has better quality diesel. That, plus EXXON are my first choices when solo. Towing I just use truck stops where the "tax problem" (different states) means that private vehicles can use the big truck pumps.

Overall, I don't buy from WALMART or the same. I want the best additive package for fuel, gasoline or diesel. That others do is their concern.

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I have noted different stations selling fuels with different amounts of alcohol and different octane values as regular at the same price in the circumstances where ethanol content varies from one station to another it does make some difference, but I doubt the additive package makes much difference.

Oh and Arco used to sell gasoline in the early 80's that had a small amount of diesel fuel mixed in right at the pump, claimed it boosted fe.

People seem to forget that MOST all gasoline is "piped" from refinery location to distribution location in a SINGLE common pipeline...shared by MANY different (and often competing) companies.

One has to wonder about the "purity" of all those gallons of gasoline during "startup" and "shutdown" transitions between different blends and companies.

Yeah buddy, many of the newer insight owners have seen a 5 mpg change from bargin to name brand gas, wawa vs BP. I see the car handles more timing and isnt as droning from the exhaust on mid grade, but not enough to be cost effective to go to mid vs regular unleaded.

I too see a similar difference when buying gas from a county station vs city, ethanol content change. May contain up to 10% to contains 10% ethanol.

The only proven difference exists with so-called premium fuel-efficient diesel fuels in Europe.
The difference is up to 3% - with Total Excellium Diesel - but not all brands can match that number.

The price difference, is WAY above those 3%, so all these fuels are uneconomical to use.

I compared Speedway to BP. . .
 

A few years ago I was commuting 180 miles a day in a Silverado that got 18MPG so I was burning 10 gallons of gas per day. That can lead to desperation at the pump. At that time Speedway was usually 5 cents per gallon less than BP so I was buying it regularly. I decided to see if the BP was worth the extra money or not. I logged each tank and only compared tanks used only for commuting, no weekend in-town driving. After I had 10 tanks of each I found that the cost of the BP was 1.6% more but the mileage was 8.3% better.

Not all engines respond the same, my Impala doesn't seem to have a preference, at least not that I have found yet.