Was wondering if anyone has first hand knowledge if the gas we buy really has any additives in it.

Example, I've been filling up with Mobil 93 octane since I moved here to Florida. They along with others, Shell, Marathon who claims they have STP additives etc claim they are top tier and have additives. If so where are they added in the process?

I own a 2013 Kia Rio with the gas direct injection engine and it calls for top tier fuel. Mostly due to direct injection systems are plugging up due to emissions etc.
Auto manufactures are producing lot's of these GDI, ECO etc type engines, but say ethanol and low quality fuel without additives will plug then up.

A nice surprise in the mean time was the other day when I was fueling up my truck for work, the bulk commercial station offers 93 none ethanol fuel. So I stopped by with the Heritage yesterday and gassed up. $3.85 a gallon, but I'll suffer a bit.

Another point, I always wondering if the fuel for say Shell is coming from the same place as the no name stations get theirs and maybe just throw some additive in it before delivery?

Anyone out there a fuel tanker driver tell us the behind the scene story if you dump the same fuel at the el cheapo station and top tier stations?

 

Lots of good questions. Be interesting to read the replies.

 

I'll use Atlanta as an example since I live there.

All of the fuel in Atlanta is BP fuel, as it comes directly from BP's refinery in Houston via Plantation Pipeline. The fuel is straight fuel, with no additives. Along the line, the individual fuel terminals, being BP, Shell, Citgo, chevron, etc., receive fuel from the pipeline. The fuel is stored in the large above ground tanks (usually anywhere from 250,000 gallons to 1.2 million gallons.

As the trucks move through the rack, fuel is received directly from the above ground tanks and blended with that terminal's specific additives. The ethanol is also blended at the rack. It does not come from the BP refinery already mixed into the gas. The ethanol usually gets to the terminal by rail (in Atlanta anyways). The truck then drives to your local retail station, and viola you now have BP with Invigorate or Chevron with Techron or Quiktrip with IQ.

 

In my neck of East Texas the gasoline will come from only a few refineries. The same few transporters haul the fuel to the various gas stations. When they change from Mobil to Shell to Exxon to ???, the only difference is the additive package.

I had a 2006 Ford Freestyle that would throw an engine trouble light after a couple tanks of non-tier 1 gas. Drop in to an Exxon and run a tank and it would clear the light. Ford said it was because of deposits from the less expensive fuel. I carry a Shell card and use it because it is convenient, the gas is top quality, and I get some cash off when I pay the card off each month. Usually ends up making the Shell as inexpensive as the cheap gas.

 

i avoid shell 93. For some reason my mpg drops from 46mpg down to 42 when using shell. I get exon Mobil 93 and goes back up to 46 even riding 2 up. That's a twin can 88 carbureted. Why this happens....no clue. I just stick with what works. Add a little seafoam every few tanks and good to go

 

In our area, the gas is piped in. from the bay area, it could come from any of 5 refineries. The tankers come to the distribution point and get filled up. If the truck is going to a Chevron station, it gets extra additives added a the distribution point. The Shell truck gets something different added. All gas is refined the same which is referred to as Top Tier. Just the additives are different. The mom and pop stores may not have much of any extra additives other than what comes in the pipe. Chevron, Shell, Costco, Arco all have an additive package.

I tend to buy the lowest priced gas in a given area. Bikes and cars have run fine for 50 years on them.

 

Thanks for the education. I've always wondered if buying the big name brands were worth the few extra dollars.

Anyone else running pure gas? I was lucky to have stumbled across some here in south central Florida. I'll run it as much as possible in hopes of extending the life of the fuel hoses.

 

It would be very illegal for them to advertise all those additives if they were not actually in the fuel

 

Yeah! We have two huge refineries here in Southwest Louisiana so most of the gasoline for stations in the area comes from them. I have worked in both (CONOCO and Citgo) and watched as the gasoline is mixed using a recipe provided by the client.

Pretty cool...

 

I get it. You want good gas, we all do. Different bikes might like different brands. But buying cheap stuff? It adds up, and if you put 10k on your bike or more per year, yea, but putting in 4 gallons at a time is what? 40 cents difference for a fill up?

Aside from longer trips, I fill up on my way home. Pretty much the same station. Don't even look at the price. I'm gonna fill up there regardless.

PS here in the northeast, we still have hot days but much cooler nights. Time to keep those tanks full to avoid condensation.