Does gas quality matter?

[berth]

I mean, of course it does. But more so, is there such a thing as "bad gas" today in California, or the U.S.? That is, from a commercial gas station (not that rusty can in the back of your friends shed).

To here tell it, everyone gets their gas from everyone, branding is just that -- branding, and the only real distinction is perhaps the additives that may be added to the gas. And even then, those are added at the station, not the refinery.

Or I have it all wrong, Franks Gas is actually selling old 85 octane gas pumped out of aging shrimp boats that last fueled up in Costa Rica, vs Brand Name is made solely by men in white coats in artisan barrels, and aged until they develop an oaky smoothness.

Just curious the state of the modern gasoline distribution industry.

 

[Smash Allen]

Hopefully someone in industry will answer but in my experience the big name brands like chevron and shell are fairly indistinguishable but econo brands are of lesser quality. I always get chevron and if not available, shell for their detergent additives.

 

[HIglesias]

additives are what makes it all happen brah.
but really, so long as you put what your engine requires is all that matters. fuel does have a shelf life though, so i would figure old 91 would be more like 87 and old 85 would be more like the piss I took in a plastic bottle when I had nowhere to urinate 6 months ago.

 

[ilikefood]

fuel does have a shelf life though, so i would figure old 91 would be more like 87 and old 85 would be more like the piss I took in a plastic bottle when I had nowhere to urinate 6 months ago.

Why? Octane number has absolutely nothing to do with fuel quality.

 

[GAJ]

The only gas that was pure shit and my DRZ wouldn't even hold an idle with was from a brand new Citgo station several years back.

Other than that, never a problem.

 

[bcj]

About 10 years ago a 76 station in Ballard, WA got a truck full of ... something.
Had to pay out to have a thousand or so vehicles tanks and fuel systems cleaned.
Made the news. Can't remember exactly what made the mess though.

So, yes. These things can happen.

Up here at least, fuel comes in through a pipeline to a distribution center.
Additives for different companies all get added into the tank trucks while loading.
All the companies, Chev, Shell, Joe's Independant, all get the base product from the same place.

 

[HIglesias]

Why? Octane number has absolutely nothing to do with fuel quality.

I'm only guessing here, but since octane is resistance to detonation, I would think that as the gas got older that resistance would most likely be reduced.
Kind of like the efficacy of medicine as it ages.

 

[vizcarmb]

Yes it matters. If you hate your bike go to Costco and buy gas from them. I filled up a few times and my bike started pinging. My car also ran like crap too after buying Costco. Their gas maybe cheap but it's not worth it

 

[Charles R]

Anecdotal story....
A while back my ex500 was jetted slightly lean, due to moving back here from Oregon, and the different brands just happen to produce about a 50 mile difference per tank.
Arco was the lowest, 76 was the highest. Chevron was a close second, and shell split the remaining gap to Arco right in the middle.

I ran the bike like that longer than I normally would have simply because the pattern showed itself quickly, and I got the urge to collect data.

Once I rejetted, the differences closed up dramatically. Enough so that I don't really pick and choose what stations I stop at anymore.

 

[westie]

My race bike has 12.5:1 pistons. It only runs on 110 octane. Anything less and you'd think someone had pee'd in your tank. So yes, quality i.e. octane matters.

 

[GAJ]

Yes it matters. If you hate your bike go to Costco and buy gas from them. I filled up a few times and my bike started pinging. My car also ran like crap too after buying Costco. Their gas maybe cheap but it's not worth it

Never had an issue with their gas.

Their additive package now brings them to Top Tier status.

Since the minimum additive performance standards were first established by EPA in 1995, most gasoline marketers have actually reduced the concentration level of detergent additive in their gasoline by up to 50%. As a result, the ability of a vehicle to maintain stringent Tier 2 emission standards have been hampered, leading to engine deposits which can have a big impact on in-use emissions and driver satisfaction.

These automakers have raised the bar. TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline help drivers avoid lower quality gasoline which can leave deposits on critical engine parts, which reduces engine performance.

http://www.toptiergas.com/

TOP TIER Gasoline Retailers:
USA
76 Stations
Aloha Petroleum
ARCO
Beacon
BP
Chevron
Cenex
Conoco
Costco Wholesale
CountryMark
Diamond Shamrock
Entec Stations
Express Convenience Centers
Exxon
Hawaii Fueling Network (HFN)
Holiday Stationstores
Kwik Trip / Kwik Star
MFA Oil Co.
Mobil
Ohana Fuels
Phillips 66
QuikTrip
Road Ranger
Shamrock
Shell
Sinclair
Suncor Energy Inc
SuperAmerica
Texaco
Tri-Par Oil Co.
Valero

 

[Charles R]

My race bike has 12.5:1 pistons. It only runs on 110 octane. Anything less and you'd think someone had pee'd in your tank. So yes, quality i.e. octane matters.

Quality is not the same as octane.

I've used both ERC and Sunoco 110 octane fuels in the past. Both are good, but I've seen the ERC brand suffer some performance variances batch to batch. Sunoco produces in much larger quantities, so the consistency seems more reliable.

Both are always rated at 110, but the QUALITY of the mix is what's different.

 

[ratlab]

got some bad gas from arco-thought my power commander or ecu took a dump-drained the tank went to another source and all better.

 

[ilikefood]

got some bad gas from arco-thought my power commander or ecu took a dump-drained the tank went to another source and all better.

Same thing happened to me. Got Arco gas, and then the bike started stalling and misfiring. Anecdotal evidence to be sure, but I try to avoid Arco if I can.

 

[rsrider]

I was reading about Ted Cruz and his hate for the ethanol subsidy during the Iowa caucus, and ran across an article about removing that subsidy, and the author pointed out that even if the subsidy was removed and the mandate revoked, gasoline companies would still put ethanol into their fuel. Why? It's the cheapest way to reach higher octane levels.

 

[ScottRNelson]

Anecdotal story....

Arco was the lowest, 76 was the highest. Chevron was a close second, and shell split the remaining gap to Arco right in the middle.

More anecdotal stories...

Way back when I had a 1979 Honda Accord, it wouldn't run right on Arco gasoline, but ran fine on Exxon, Shell or Chevron. I still avoid Arco most of the time, although I'm not sure that any of my three fuel injected cars nor either of my motorcycles can really tell the difference anymore. Saving a few cents at Arco isn't worth the bother they put me through to buy gas there.

 

[corpsedub]

Water is what i would worry about. Thats the common one for diesel at least. Enough so that my duramax has a water sensor in the fuel filter.

 

[budman]

Good shit is good.

:smoking

 

[gcowan11]

There are a series of tests run every year (searching for a link will edit when I find it) to determine the actual octane rating of all the gas stations or brands rather. And almost every time shell is the closest to the actual advertised octane rating.

Other than that I would be willing to bet any company that is supplying race gas has decent R and D and that there is some trickle effect from that in their normal gas. Like the detergents that are supposed to clean your motor for example.

Other than that all I know is don't run race gas in your bike unless you want to rebuild that shit every couple of times

 

[tankerman]

Water in the gas is what harms engines. If you get gas at seldom used stations the more chances that the water has separated from the fuel and can do a real number on your fuel system. Octane is important on high compression hot running engines but less so on mildly tuned stock motors. If you run an air cooled engine in hot weather then by all means use the premium fuel but if your engine is happy with standard then you are just wasting money on the premium.