Which regular octane gas burns/gets the best mileage in your car?

Question

My locality has Exxon, Shell, BP, Sunoco, Sheetz, Wawa, Freestate, and Citgo.

Answer 1

Higher octane fuel gets better mileage. It's also usually more expensive.

Answer 2

Since you're near Wawa, that probably puts you in Jersey on nearby.  The best source for gasoline quality I can recommend is the Top Tier gasoline website.  http://www.toptiergas.com  The auto manufacturers who got together to create top tier rate gasoline based on it's ability to keep their engines functioning well.  All grades of gasoline must pass the standards to qualify.  Shell and Sunoco are the only two retailers you mentioned that are currently on the Top Tier list.

To address a common misconception about gasoline stated here:  Octane rating is a measure of burn time, not BTU yield.  Faster burning gasoline will  cause "knocking" in an engine that isn't designed to handle it.  If your car calls for 87 octane, run high quality 87 octane.  Running 91 or 93 octane is wasted money.  A higher octane number means slower burn time.  Not hotter, not richer, just slower.  The oil companies will tell you that their premium is better for you car because of the additives, not the octane or the energy yield.  Listen to the ads next time.  

People will tell you to run premium to "clean out" your engine.  I wonder if Dodge Man (whose opinion I respect, I've seen him give lots of great, honest answers) recommends that.  I expect not.  He'd probably recommend a cleaning program or putting a high quality additive in your tank with your next fillup to help remove deposits.  My company plug:  Shell is now offering a V Power additive that you can buy at your local store.  You'll get the benefits of V Power premium with your regular gasoline.  Gumout is also a great product and Chevron, another Top Tier producer offers the Techron additive package in a bottle.  I'm a consumer, too.  I don't get any breaks on gasoline and I won't blindly push you to buy my product.  Try them all and decide which works best for you.  I'd recommend the Gumout in the clear bottle, it's their best fuel cleaner.  A little pricey, but I've used it myself over the years.

It's true that gasoline retailers load at each other's racks.  The difference comes during the loading process, when the unique additive package is injected as the gasoline is loaded for delivery to the station.  Gasoine delivered to your discount stations gets a generic detergent package designed to meet the minimum government standards, which isn't enough for today's higly complex engines.  That's why BMW, Honda, Toyota, VW and other companies got together to form Top Tier.

Answer 3

Higher octane does NOT net more mpgs.  All things equal, lower octane will have a higher BTU per gallon yield.  Over the last few years we have destructive tested countless samples for octane and BTUs, in addition to countless secondary tests on random samples and additives.  Your question really depend on you area.  All station have unique additives and storage methods.  Also in addition to this a lot depends on if your area runs vapor recovery pumps.  These pumps help save money for the stations, and safe guard the environment, but they also add moisture to fuel an raise its RVP.  Based on sampled from the east coast Citgo has about the purest fuel.  Less additives and octane enhancers means more BTUs.  More BTUs means more mileage if your car can run it without timing pull.  If you do not know what timing pull is, your car will run fine on whatever.

Answer 4

i'm in southern california, 76, and chevron are the best, stay away from cheap generic gas stations. the gas is dirty, and harsh, it eats the rubber ring around your fuel injectors, dirties up carbs, and all of the fuel system.

Answer 5

dont buy gas from exxon you are funding terror

Answer 6

i get real good results from shell or sunoco or bp,which that's about all there is to choose from where I'm at,but i think i get the best running results from shell or sunoco,i think i do better on mileage also,bp does ok though but the only thing with bp i have seen shell fuel trucks putting gas in their tanks so this means they buy from other places,they all do it though,but those are the 3 best ones to use,good luck.