Best Gas Brand? Does it matter?

Hey...So with all those different brands of gases, is there a certain one that is best for the e90 or BMWs in general? There's Cheveron with Techron....Shell, Arco, Mobil, etc and they all have their advertised benefits...or are they all jsut advertising? Also, i notice that some stations have a small sign that says "gas dispensed from this station may contain ethonol" or something like that...Is that bad and is it even something that is able to be avoided?

Thanks!!

I only use Chevron or 76, stay away from Arco. Good gas means no knocking and better performace.

Danny

Best gas brand is Shell. BMW recommends it and Shell is leading the crew in fuels with twice the amount of cleaning chemicals. Essentially, your engine runs cleaner and more efficient. The cleaning agents remove the buildup in the pistons or something like that. But you only get that with the V-Power. Just check out http://www.shell.com .

All Shell gasolines meet “Top Tier” gasoline standard introduced by BMW, General Motors, Honda and Toyota
06 Dec 2004

While the majority of gasolines on the market today contain only the minimum amount of cleaning agents required by government standards, some companies say that isn’t enough. According to Shell, gasoline meeting only minimum requirements can leave harmful deposits on engine parts. Additionally, four leading automakers, BMW, General Motors, Honda and Toyota, are so concerned with declining gasoline quality, that they recently introduced a higher standard called ‘Top Tier Detergent Gasoline.” Shell announced today that its Regular, Plus and Shell V-Power® premium-grade gasolines all meet the “Top Tier Detergent Gasoline” standard.

“We’ve felt for a long time that the minimum detergency level set by EPA was not adequate for many fuels on the market,” said Andrew Buczynsky, fuels engineer at General Motors.

Because gasoline can vary in quality from one brand to another, the four automakers created the “Top Tier Detergent Gasoline” standard to help keep vehicle engines cleaner and reduce deposit-related problems. The new standard surpasses the minimum requirements for gasoline detergent additives set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and in order for a gasoline brand to promote “Top Tier” status, all gasolines sold must meet the “Top Tier” standard.

Shell agrees cleaning agents are important and the company’s research shows that fuels with more cleaning agents can remove deposits left behind by low detergency gasolines. And, according to the automakers that developed the “Top Tier” standard, clean engines help vehicles achieve optimal performance as well as reduced emissions.

Shell regular and Plus gasolines, which meet the “Top Tier” standard, also contain more than two times the amount of cleaning agents required by the EPA. Shell V-Power goes even further – it has more than five times the minimum amount of cleaning agents required by government standards and twice the cleaning agents required by the “Top Tier” standard. While the “Top Tier” standard is designed to protect engines from the future build-up of carbon deposits, Shell V-Power is specifically formulated to actively clean your engine as you drive giving it the ability to clean-up deposits that have already built up on intake valves and fuel injectors.

“Shell has a long history of offering consumers high-detergency gasolines and has invested years of research and development into creating high-quality fuels,” said Brooks Herring, brand and strategy manager for Shell Oil Products US. “Gasoline quality can vary from one brand to another and choosing the right gasoline for your car is very important. Shell has been delivering quality fuels to motorists for nearly 100 years and we hope the new ‘Top Tier’ standard will help consumers better understand the importance of buying high-quality fuels with additional cleaning power.”

Source: Shell - Press Release

You have to be careful...all press releases will look good to the company that releases it....
Also, I asked my BMW dealer and he said he faintly heard that shell is bad and that its been known to ruin cars....But who knows...lets keep the convo going...any other comments or thoughts?

What about the ethonol warning?

To be honest, I use whatever is available at the time. If I have a choice, I'll usually choose BP's Ultimate Gold or whatever it's called - the gasoline that's refined until it's perfectly clear. It might be a gimmick, but hey, it works for me.

Originally Posted by GoBlueBMW

What about the ethonol warning?

All gasoline contains ethanol.

Yeah, that is true... Maybe Shell exaggerated on some of the amounts of cleaning agents. But here's more information on Top Tier gasoline: http://www.toptiergas.com/index.html

does shell cost more? ive always trusted exxon and mobil...

You're okay with any brand as long as you use the recommended octane rating, just make sure you don't drink it. Using Shell's press release to support a claim that Shell is the best gas out there is like using Ford's advertising slogan 'Quality is job 1' to support claims of Ford cars superiority.

I don't know which is the best but I was told once to always try and put the same type of gas in your car. 99.9% of I put in 93 octane Mobil gas.

Originally Posted by skier

You're okay with any brand as long as you use the recommended octane rating, just make sure you don't drink it. Using Shell's press release to support a claim that Shell is the best gas out there is like using Ford's advertising slogan 'Quality is job 1' to support claims of Ford cars superiority.

Yes, I understand that after someone already mentioned it. That is why I posted the link to Top Tier Gasolines ( http://www.toptiergas.com/index.html ) which is unbiased. You can see the companies that they recommend that qualify the standards that Top Tier puts out.

For those from Cali, I saw this TV segment on how to save money on gas. They said the regulations in California are so stringent that gasoline from any station will be "more than good enough" for any car.

Now, I don't know if "more than good enough" varies from person to person and situation to situation. If I plopped down 60k+ on a car, it's not good enuf unless it's the best money can buy.

personally i prefer BP/Amoco and Sunoco. 93 Octane of course

Originally Posted by werd

For those from Cali, I saw this TV segment on how to save money on gas. They said the regulations in California are so stringent that gasoline from any station will be "more than good enough" for any car.

Now, I don't know if "more than good enough" varies from person to person and situation to situation. If I plopped down 60k+ on a car, it's not good enuf unless it's the best money can buy.

are they implying that gas in cali is higher quality?

As previously said the TopTier gas is the BMW approved and it mainly indicates that these gasolines has twice the amount of detergent specified by the American Petroleum Institute (API) standard. The only point is that Shell (according to their website) has 5 times the amount of required detergent IN THE V-POWER ONLY. All the other manufacturers and Shell's lower octane formulations have the required 2X amount to comply with the TopTier standard, which is probably more than enough.

Originally Posted by SpAcEmAn SpLiFF

are they implying that gas in cali is higher quality?

Nah, just wanted to qualify the information I was giving as applying only to those in cali. i have no idea about gas in other states.

Originally Posted by vm

As previously said the TopTier gas is the BMW approved and it mainly indicates that these gasolines has twice the amount of detergent specified by the American Petroleum Institute (API) standard. The only point is that Shell (according to their website) has 5 times the amount of required detergent IN THE V-POWER ONLY. All the other manufacturers and Shell's lower octane formulations have the required 2X amount to comply with the TopTier standard, which is probably more than enough.

Exactly.

Hmmm....I thought I heard bad things about Shell V power in the past over on e46, something about gunking up engines...not sure though.

when getting a ride from auto gallery back to my hosue dropped off the cayanne the driver was telling me that when they fill up for their cars (ferrari's, masarti's , porsches, audi) they always use SHELL so its gotta be good is what he said...

Originally Posted by nzDave

Hmmm....I thought I heard bad things about Shell V power in the past over on e46, something about gunking up engines...not sure though.

I doubt that any brand name gas would "gunk up" an engine. Remember also that the way that gas stations are filled it is potentially possible to have a mix up of some kind (like accidentally adding some water of dirt) so a problem local to a particular gas station (of any brand) happens from time to time.