Who has the best GAS on the market?

[WILDCATTITAN]

Since gas prices have sky rocketed this year I have been wondering how many people put in the cheapest gas in their titan they can find. I use octane 91 myself and prefer Chevron or Exxon gas. I will not put any no name gas such as no name convenient stores and Costco gas. I myself have a comfort think when it comes to buying things in general that has a name behind it and I also feel that I get better gas milage from Exxon than any other gas on the market. I would appreciate your feed back. Thank you

[TrojanDan]

I'm not a gas expert by an stretch of the imagination, but I prefer Unocal 76. It is the gas used in NASCAR, and obviously, what I buy isn't the same formula as what is used in Mark Martin's car, but you get the corrolation I'm making. I think they have one of if not the best quality of gas, plus, the price isn't the highest.

[rrumaner]

Why are you using 91 octane when the manual states that you only need 87? We have discussed this at length here and you are only spending money needlessly and possibly damaging your engine by using a higher octane than recommended.

Also, from what I have been able to ascertain, the gas that goes to places like Costco and other convienent stores are the same as those that go to Shell, Amoco and Mobil.
I have seen, with my own eyes, trucks from name brands (Mobil, Sunoco, Shell, Amoco) and others (Thorntons, Speedway, Citgo) at the same refinery filling up from the exact same spigot. I don't think they are rerouting the contents of the tanks based on the name on the side of the truck.

Save yourself some money and put in 87 octane from the lowest place you can find it.

[Josh L]

Let alone all gasses must reach a certain requirement... I use the cheap stuff right now; cant see myself spending 9 cent more per gallon for the same stuff.

I eccoe rrumaner... the engine is built for 87, anything else will just add more carbon build up and may result in different firering times (I mean this in the sense that each octain is made to burn differently)...

[TITAN21]

around here arco is the cheapest, usually running between 5 cents and 10 cents below the nearest competitor. i usually get them at 87.

[ATitan4Me]

Actually running higher octane will not add carbon build up to the engine. It will not help or hurt engine performance either. Higher octane gas is ment for the prevention of pinging in cars with higher compression. Also it helps the motor to run cooler due to the fact that the gas burns slower and cooler.

[Bayou Titan]

Originally Posted by rrumaner

Why are you using 91 octane when the manual states that you only need 87? We have discussed this at length here and you are only spending money needlessly and possibly damaging your engine by using a higher octane than recommended.

Also, from what I have been able to ascertain, the gas that goes to places like Costco and other convienent stores are the same as those that go to Shell, Amoco and Mobil.
I have seen, with my own eyes, trucks from name brands (Mobil, Sunoco, Shell, Amoco) and others (Thorntons, Speedway, Citgo) at the same refinery filling up from the exact same spigot. I don't think they are rerouting the contents of the tanks based on the name on the side of the truck.

Save yourself some money and put in 87 octane from the lowest place you can find it.

You're right rrumaner. I've watched umpteen different named brand and off brand tankers fill up at the same spigot at the refinery near where I live. It seems like the major brands send in their tankers in under the cover of darkness so it isn't so obvious for people to see that Sam's gas and E$$on gas is the same.

[todd92]

Sorry to disappoint you brand name fans, but gas is gas. Almost all of it comes from common distribution systems. I'm in the business and the ONLY difference is the detergent package, and they all claim to have the best. Guess what, they all work fine.

As for premium, it won't ever cause any harm, but it won't provide any benefit either. It does not 'burn cooler'. RUN THE LOWEST OCTANE YOU CAN WITH NO PINGING. If 87 doesn't ping, higher octane is waste of money. The only places I would be suspect of is the complete no name stations - doubt they add any detergents at all, no harm once in a while, but don't make a habit of it. Even Costco and Sam's add detergents.

[Steve04SE]

Originally Posted by WILDCATTITAN

Since gas prices have sky rocketed this year I have been wondering how many people put in the cheapest gas in their titan they can find. I use octane 91 myself and prefer Chevron or Exxon gas. I will not put any no name gas such as no name convenient stores and Costco gas. I myself have a comfort think when it comes to buying things in general that has a name behind it and I also feel that I get better gas milage from Exxon than any other gas on the market. I would appreciate your feed back. Thank you

I note you use 91 octane fuel in a Titan requiring only 87 which is a waste of money.
Read this link which is very informative about today's gasoline:
http://www.idavette.net/hib/fuel/index.htm

So...how much octane do you need?

Only enough to keep your Corvette’s <Titan's> engine out of detonation. More than that offers no performance advantage. How do you determine an engine’s detonation threshold? By testing and the first test instrument is your ear. If you hear detonation at wide-open throttle, you have a problem. If there’s no engine-related trouble (ie: too much spark advance, lean mixture, etc.) you need more octane.

[Bayou Titan]

Probably more important than the brand of gas you buy is the quality of the storage and dispensing of the gas you buy. I worked for a petroleum marketing business long ago and most of the poor quality gas issues were from small mom and pop stations that had 30 year old steel tanks that had completely rusted out bottoms that allowed gas to come into direct contact with dirt and other contaminants. Oddly enough, many of these same stations rarely ever replaced the spin on gas filters on their pumps on a regular basis. Newer stations will more than likely have fiberglass tanks that won't rust out and these stations usually replace their filters on a set schedule. Also, underground storage tanks at gas stations typically have dozens of gallons of water in them due to condensation. If the service station does proper maintenance, they monitor the water level and pump it out when it is excessive. When I gas up, I look for a station that is modern looking and clean and not managed by people who look like they could be cast as characters playing "dueling banjos" on Deliverance.

[MaxPowers]

Originally Posted by TITAN21

around here arco is the cheapest, usually running between 5 cents and 10 cents below the nearest competitor. i usually get them at 87.

Same here.

[lefty]

Originally Posted by MaxPowers

Same here.

Higher octane burns hotter not cooler

[HOU-TITAN]

Exxonmobil Has The Best Gas!!!!!!!!!!

[Titan Power]

Most brands of gas are the same. Like others have said, the same truck will stop at different brands of gas stations. I too also believe that the quality of the actual station (tanks, pumps, etc.) Is of more importance. The only thing I would really watch out for is the brands that add a higher mix of ethenol to their gas (Beacon?)

I own three small displacement turbo cars, that run a lot of boost and make pretty hight HP per liter. They are very picky about the quality and octane rating of the gas. I had for years been a die hard Cheveron fan. A couple years ago, I got a datalogger for my cars so that I could tune them better. With the datalogger, I can read knock counts and timing, etc. I leaned why my cars felt great at times, and "off" at others. I would datalog before and after I got gas, and could instantly tell if I got poor quality gas. It was not very brand dependent, but very dependedent on where I bought the gas. I learned to completely avoid certain stations. My guess was that it was not 91 octane (the best in CA) that was comming out of those pumps. I've had the best results with Unical 76, I can't recall ever getting a bad tank there. A local tuning shop also recommends using Unical 76, as it has shown much better results on their dyno then other brands. A Costco opened near me, and I tried a datalogging on a couple tanks. I didn't have any problems, and the gas is a lot cheaper.

As for the Titan, mine has been happy on 87. At 5.6 liters and 300+ HP, it is not very highly stressed, compared to my little 2.0's putting out similar power. If the Titan's engine uses knock sensors (I think it does) and the ECU is programed to use them agressively, 91+ octane may gain you a bit more power and fuel economy due to advanced ignition timing. My Maxima feels like it makes a bit more power and gets a little better mileage on 91, but it also feels a little knock prone on 87. It would be nice to see someone dyno their Titan on regular and supreme.

Jason K.
'90 Talon AWD R.I.P
'92 Galant VR4
'93 Talon AWD
'96 Eclipse GSX
'96 Maxima SE
'96 Titan SE

[lizardking]

Who cares!