Quote:
Originally Posted by O-cha
All gas in the united states flows through the same pipelines. Gas companies put in say 1000gallons of gas at once end, and then they take out 1000galons at the other end. The gas they get out is NOT the same gas that they put it, it can be gas from ANY of the gas suppliers in the united states.
the pipelines used to be "plugged" between grades of fuel (IE between 87 and 93 octance) but they don't even do this anymore since they found that the gas does not mix together much in transit without them. They simply empty all the 93 octane they can, empty the mix, and then empty the 87 octane.
The difference in gas companies comes in the additives they put in once they take the gas out at a regional pumping station. (this is where it goes onto the trucks for local delivery) Each company has its own special blend of additives.
So the brand of gas doesn't really effect octane, which is what will make your car run wrong in the short term. Now different companies may have different quality control standards, like have checks in place in case a pumping station gives them some mix, but the pumping stations have strict checks of their own.
As for the "top tier" fuels, this is something that was created out of agreement between auto makers and gas companies driven purely by the prospect of profit.
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Thanks for this post... this is what I was talking about specifically. I'm not usually big on conspiracy theories, but when car manufacturers release a list of preferred or top tier fuels, a skeptical person would sense collusion in that deal.
So if there is a marked difference between Shell and Exxon of the same octane rating, what evidence of this do we have?
Like Terry said, people throw out the phrase "must have been a bad tank of gas" as if that explains everything. I just don't know what that's really supposed to mean.