GoldDot40
Senior Member
Now that I have a little time to contribute. By the way, free time for me has been scarce lately.
Brand names? By now most of us have heard the term TOP TIER. It's basically a performance rating standard that was introduced by some of the big name auto manufacturers who believed the EPA minimum requirements simply weren't good enough. If a brand meets TOP TIER requirements, you can bet on it being pretty good gasoline. They have the best detergent additive packages available.
Times have changed since all these companies now have access to just about all the same resources and R&D. 98% of all "brand name" gasoline is TOP TIER certified and endorsed.
Unbranded gasoline is not TOP TIER certified. Their additive packages meet EPA standards and are safe to use, but just don't meet TT standards. Any retailer without a brand on a sign sells unbranded gas. This is usually grocery store and supermarket fuel outlets. That's why you usually see them without gas for longer durations whenever we have a disruption in the supply. Regulations don't allow unbranded stations to sell BRANDED product. Unbranded accounts are not prioritized in such instances.
How ethanol is mixed in and octane rating: When I load the product on the trailer, I hook a hose to the bottom of the discharge/load head. I log into the loading system, select my desired brand, account where it's going, then the grade. So if I preset for 2000 gallons of E10 87 unleaded, the 1st 200 gallons is pure ethanol. The system stops briefly and switches over to 84 octane CBOB (Excludes conventional blendstock for oxygenate blending)...aka pure unblended gasoline. The 10% ethanol is what bumps the 84 octane base to a total of 87.
Same for 93 (premium) gas. 90 octane pure gas mixed with 10% ethanol achieves 93 octane. When you buy recreation gas that usually has a dedicated pump somewhere in the store parking lot...you're getting just that 90 octane base that's used to mix 93 octane. Can't speak for every supplier, but all the Rec 90 gas I've seen is unbranded...which means it's not TT certified.
Mid-grade (89 octane) is achieved either at the retailer pump or during the loading process. It's 84 and 90 octane (about a 60/30 blend) mixed with 10% ethanol. Gas stations with blend pumps will only have gas drops for regular and premium. Stations with drops for all 3 will be mixed during loading.
As far as different brands being different, the only variable that makes any brand specific is the detergent additive package that is injected during the loading process. Shell brand gas is thought to have one of the better quality additive packages...but there again, anything certified by TT is thought to perform the same. The CBOB or base product is the same for every brand out there.
Winter vs Summer blend gas...well I can't comment very much about the difference in personal experience because everything that comes out of the Kinder-Morgan terminal in Athens is the same year round....which is considered summer blend in other markets. Atlanta markets where emission rules are strictly enforced have a change-over for each blend. Again, I don't go to Doraville to load, so I can't comment about that.
Brand names? By now most of us have heard the term TOP TIER. It's basically a performance rating standard that was introduced by some of the big name auto manufacturers who believed the EPA minimum requirements simply weren't good enough. If a brand meets TOP TIER requirements, you can bet on it being pretty good gasoline. They have the best detergent additive packages available.
Times have changed since all these companies now have access to just about all the same resources and R&D. 98% of all "brand name" gasoline is TOP TIER certified and endorsed.
Unbranded gasoline is not TOP TIER certified. Their additive packages meet EPA standards and are safe to use, but just don't meet TT standards. Any retailer without a brand on a sign sells unbranded gas. This is usually grocery store and supermarket fuel outlets. That's why you usually see them without gas for longer durations whenever we have a disruption in the supply. Regulations don't allow unbranded stations to sell BRANDED product. Unbranded accounts are not prioritized in such instances.
How ethanol is mixed in and octane rating: When I load the product on the trailer, I hook a hose to the bottom of the discharge/load head. I log into the loading system, select my desired brand, account where it's going, then the grade. So if I preset for 2000 gallons of E10 87 unleaded, the 1st 200 gallons is pure ethanol. The system stops briefly and switches over to 84 octane CBOB (Excludes conventional blendstock for oxygenate blending)...aka pure unblended gasoline. The 10% ethanol is what bumps the 84 octane base to a total of 87.
Same for 93 (premium) gas. 90 octane pure gas mixed with 10% ethanol achieves 93 octane. When you buy recreation gas that usually has a dedicated pump somewhere in the store parking lot...you're getting just that 90 octane base that's used to mix 93 octane. Can't speak for every supplier, but all the Rec 90 gas I've seen is unbranded...which means it's not TT certified.
Mid-grade (89 octane) is achieved either at the retailer pump or during the loading process. It's 84 and 90 octane (about a 60/30 blend) mixed with 10% ethanol. Gas stations with blend pumps will only have gas drops for regular and premium. Stations with drops for all 3 will be mixed during loading.
As far as different brands being different, the only variable that makes any brand specific is the detergent additive package that is injected during the loading process. Shell brand gas is thought to have one of the better quality additive packages...but there again, anything certified by TT is thought to perform the same. The CBOB or base product is the same for every brand out there.
Winter vs Summer blend gas...well I can't comment very much about the difference in personal experience because everything that comes out of the Kinder-Morgan terminal in Athens is the same year round....which is considered summer blend in other markets. Atlanta markets where emission rules are strictly enforced have a change-over for each blend. Again, I don't go to Doraville to load, so I can't comment about that.