[PunchT37]

Top Tier gas has a federal mandate oxygenate standard. So, even they have ethanol.

If you can find a place that primarily sells to marine interests, they will be alcohol free. Lots of alcohol free gas in south Louisiana near the coast. Not so much inland.

[John V.]

Around home, we almost always go to Walmart/Murphy Oil. Because it is cheapest, we get a 5 cent per gal cash back when using the Walmart credit card at our station. They offer a gas cleaner from the pump for a price. If I want to add gas cleaner, I'll go into Walmart and buy a bottle, thank you very much.

I usually get my mower gas from a Kangaroo Express (last year they switched from Chevron to Valero gas) because it is closest to the house.

On the road, I generally look for RaceTrac/Raceway stations or Pilot because they tend to have lowest price.

This is from the RaceTrac website:

"There are many commodities traded out there – precious metals…corn…gasoline...

That’s right, gasoline is a commodity. By definition, this means that there is very little difference between one product and another. RaceTrac gas is high quality, just like our neighbors, and meets all federal guidelines for the detergents that must be included in your fill-up to keep your engine running well. It all comes from the same refineries, it’s all shipped through the same terminals, and unlike some of our competition, It’s guaranteed.

If our gas causes damage to your car, call us, we’ll make it right. Call our Guest Relations hotline at 888-636-5589, give us your information and we’ll follow up from there."

Fri night I stopped at a Flying J in Rock Hill, SC and paid $3.199/gal. That was lowest I'd seen all weekend, though I'm told some locales are under $3 again. Paid $3.359 in south Georgia yesterday.

The additive packages do differ by brand and are added to the tanker as it is loaded at the terminal.

drailed, you seem to be saying otherwise. Has the process changed?

This is an older piece, but I thought informative. Read the part about Consumer Reports abandoning an attempt to test for differences in fuel economy and performance differences between different gas brands about 15 yrs ago.

http://www.stopbuyingcrap.com/stop-b...ng-3-gasoline/

And here's another older story on the topic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/22/tr...ted=all&src=pm

Draw your own conclusions. But if the only difference is the additive packages (which have continued to evolve) and you are having problems while others are not, you might want to switch brands.

[drailed]

Im just speaking from experience. I hauled gas for around 7 years up until 98 and then drove on and off part time up until about 5 years ago. Maybe something has changed since then? I was hauling for a common carrier which is all that is left hear in upstate NY now with the exception of Gulf who still delivers there own gas to a lot of there stations which is why I buy from them. We never added anything at the loading racks nor did I see or know of anyone else. Hess, Mobil, Getty, Sunoco, etc. all gets delivered by common carriers here anyways. Again maybe the process has changed. I will ask a friend I drove with if he is adding anything at the racks now days. My guess is they mean added to the tanker as in barge at the refinery before it comes up the river to the distribution plants but I could be wrong.

[drailed]

I found and quoted this in the second article you posted John which would make sense now. He is talking about being automatically mixed in at the loading terminal so it would have nothing to do with the driver.

'' Mr. Bohannon said, ''the pump injects the Shell additive package with a measured squirt into every 40 gallons of gas.''

[John V.]

drailed, yes, now you got it.

Automatic injectors are designed to pump in the additive package at the loading rack.

You as the driver were not part of the equation except in so far as you would be specifying the load for a particular retailer. The retailer's additive package was/is then automatically pumped in to the tanker along with the gas.

AFAIK, even the ethanol is pumped in at the loading rack.

Since ALL gas must have a Fed law required minimum detergent additive, the debate is whether the consumer will derive any benefit by using a gas with an additive package that might be 4 or 5 times the minimum standard for "detergent additive".

I'm content to add a bottle of fuel injector cleaner to the tank once in a blue moon and buy the cheapest gas I can find. Others swear by using a Top Tier name brand.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by John V.

I'm content to add a bottle of fuel injector cleaner to the tank once in a blue moon and buy the cheapest gas I can find. Others swear by using a Top Tier name brand.

In my area, Top Tier certified gas typically isn't any more than the "cheapest gas I can find".

I drive about 1000 miles per week in my territory and I know where the best deals are on gas in SE MN and NE IA. One of the local Top Tier gas providers is "Kwik Trip" - and plus or minus a penny or two per gallon, they are equal to any of the non Top Tier providers in my territory.

Do I always use Top Tier?

No, sometimes I take the best value for where I'm at because of convenience. But I like the peace of mind I get from using gas that is certified to meet the minimum recommendations of the automobile manufacturer most of the time.

[77 Canamman]

I bought a new carb for my mower, and it runs perfectly again. This time, it will only get the 91 advertised non-ethanol fuel and we will see if it lasts longer than a couple of years.