Top tier gas at Costco

Give the new Shell Premium a try - 91 "Nitro"

I always feel our cars are more like clean happy go-getters [zippy, in fact] when Shell is used over the uh, standard Chevron. Moreso with Nitro formulation.

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I just filled up my car's tank with non-oxygenated gasoline for the first time. Anyone else using this? I admittedly don't know a lot about the process, but I would think that our cars from the early 2000s would like not being fed ethanol, particularly in light of the fact that many are not run daily.

Kevin

 

Oxygenated and ethanol two different things

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I've done it in the past...not recently. Noticed no difference. It is definitely of benefit for cars stored for months at a time. In those cases, the ethanol can separate from the gas and cause damage to some fuel components on a car. Most brands of cars were aware of ethanol fuels by the late 1990s early 2000s. I know it was mentioned in the owners manual of my 2001 BMW 540. I believe it simply stated the upper limit of acceptable ethanol in the fuel. Ferrari definitely did not take it into consideration, as can be found by all the fuel pump gaskets in 355, 550, 456 etc that have been damaged by ethanol from the cars sitting undriven for long periods.

 

Chevron and Shell use Techron in their additive mix. That does a better job of keeping injectors clean than other gasoline brands I have tried.

 

Technically, ethanol is an oxygenate, too, although the most nasty and is thought of as an alcohol. Ethanol was a quick fix (for oxygen) in the early 2000's when refiners decided to phase out MTBE due to environmental and health liabilities.

A quick primer from EIA on oxygenates:

What are oxygenates?

Oxygenates are hydrocarbons that contain one or more oxygen atoms. The primary oxygenates are alcohols and ethers, including: fuel ethanol, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE), and tertiary amyl methyl ether (TAME).

The 1977 Clean Air Act amendments set requirements for "substantially similar gasoline," which requires that oxygenates be approved by the U.S. EPA before they are allowed to be used in gasoline. In 1981 the EPA allowed the blending of MTBE up to 11 volume percent, and extended the limit to 15 volume percent in 1988.

Oxygenates are added to motor vehicle fuels to make them burn more cleanly, thereby reducing toxic tailpipe pollution, particularly carbon monoxide. Oxygenates are favored not only for their vehicle emission benefits but also their blending properties in motor gasoline (e.g., octane).

https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/special/pdf/mtbe.pdf​

 

Yes its the additive and detergent packages added to the base stock that makes the difference.
Why putting anything less in a Ferrari to save a few nickles makes no sense to me.

Yes ; Chevron then Shell then Exxon or Mobile.
Nothing else.

A Specialle has a 14/1 compression ratio.
Fuel spray patterns are critical at that level.

 

Interesting...I wonder what Wawa uses because they are all over FL now and I can't seem to find out on their website. Maybe each station has a possible different supplier. https://www.wawa.com/fuel

 

Not really. Ethanol is used for the oxygenation of gasoline, so not entirely different things. Typically one buys non-oxygenated gasoline to prevent the problems caused by Ethanol, particularly when cars are not driven a lot, such as many Ferraris.

Kevin

 

I was under the impression that in the winter gas is oxygenated with something else to help burn completely ..weather it had ethanol or not ..

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"Winter" gasoline allows a higher RVP (Reid Vapor Pressure) than "summer" gasoline. RVP is about 20% less in summer to keep the volatility down and having the gasoline components evaporate so much into the atmosphere. Refiners have to make adjustments to each seasonal requirement by use of alky and reformer units that produce hydrocarbon streams with related names that allow for most of the swing in RVP while keeping the ethanol constant. This is not just a summer winter thing but an adjustment phase-in by geographic locations starting in September into the full approaching Winter season. (example: Chicago is colder in October than Atlanta, but Atlanta starts catching up by December) RVP is the property that makes starting an engine easier in Winter when the weather is cold.

 

Thanks so I was somewhat correct ? Appreciate it

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Nearly all fuel now contains 10% ethanol, and the simplest answer I’ve ever ever gotten is it’s added for octane boost as other additives used for octain are harmful to the environment.

It’s also true that for the most part all gas is the same, the additive package is different between retailers. Stations such as Walmart/sams club, Costco, Kroger/Dillons sell fuel so cheap because they buy from whoever has the lowest price. Again they then ad what ever is in their additive package and on it goes.

It used to be that shell disclosed what was in Iran additive package and the amount. However no one really disclosed what is actually in an additive package anymore. There are federal and state minimums of requires additives and anything over that is up to the prospective “chain”. And it appears that like with seasonal blends of fuel it is assumed that some retailers change the additive package for winter as well, for example more detergent because cars idle more in cold weather.

Anyone that stores anything with fuel in it needs to add the appropriate amount of stabilizer for storage. I’ve forgotten in some equipment and it’s just time to flush the fuel system and replace the carb. However in ever price that has stabilized fuel the equipment start fairly quickly and operates normally. For extended storage it’s best to drain the fuel system, then fill and prime with fresh fuel. Wouldn’t hurt to put in some added detergent however I never have.

All that being said other then my local coop I only buy fuel at major brand fuel station, shell, mobile, chevron ect. because it’s rare they ever have “poor” quality fuel. Also having seen the amount of filters installed in the system for gas pumps I don’t worry much about fueling while they are filling the tanks.

 

The closest gas station to my house is a Shell, so I go there. There is a Costco three blocks away and, although Jessica always goes there, I just couldn't wait in those long lines.