I only use 76...$1.94 at the Lafayette 76

 

who consistently has the cheapest 76 in or around the city?

 

i believe 76 is the only one that uses ethanol for their additives. the rest of them uses mtbe (chevron,shell,arco, etc...) they will all evantually stop using mtbe beucase it is not as friendly as ethanol for the enviroment. but i personally like the performance from mtbe better.

also it take about 2 tanks for your ecu to get use to the different gas if you just switched to a different brand. i personally use shell and i like it cuz its close to my house and its cheap @ automall in fremont.

 

The two 76's on 19th and Judah tend to have okayish prices. And WTH, Valero's expensive now!

 

i've been using shell for a decade now...no problems with it yet. i've compared shell with chevron on the butt dyno in the past and liked shell more. as for 76, i've tried that too and did not notice a significant difference.

db

 

I think that Shell sucks...and BTW, Standard Oil does have their own distrobution system...when they deliver is their gas...

I prefer 76 now, just to give them props for selling 100 octane...that makes me admire them for going against the grain, and supporting the enthusiast...

I will run, in order of presidence:

76
Chevron Texico
Exxon Mobil
Shell
Valero
Arco
Beacon (THE WORST)

Valero is a local company...I believe they are based in Richmond, or somewhere up in refinery country...I think that are pretty good...and way the hell better than Alantic Richfield...

 

For me, I do not notice any difference between 76 and Costco gasoline (in terms of power....and I'm stock btw). It could be because those are the only two I use and nothing else. So if I added Shell for instance, the ecu won't "recognize" it or something and hence a noticeable power loss.

Today I was semi-racing a 1.8T A4 (looked stock) on the freeway and I could barely pull on the guy. I was in 5th gear though

 

I second that one. 76 is the only fuel that goes into my car, except for the toluene occasionally!!!

Kurlee Daddee
(THE ORIGINAL)

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but Valero = Exxon no?

I'm just saying because the local Exxon stations that used to exist became Valeros.

Anyhow, I almost always go to the Valero on Sullivan at Eastmoor Exit. Sometimes I will fill up 76 in Berkeley. I've noticed usually a slight increase in mileage with the 76, but never noticed any real power difference between the two.

 

hmmm...interesting. anyone have any charts/graphs/numbers (performance-wise) for these different brands of gas?

db

 

According to this article, MTBE and ethanol are not additives. They are blended into the gas to become the base. Gas companies (ie Chevron/Shell etc) then add addtivies (Techron etc) to the base and form their own brand of gas.

If this article is correct, then 76 does not have the same base gas as Chevron/Shell/Arco around the Bay Area, because only 76 has ethanol and they have to find their own ethanol base gas.

 

It's been said, but Shell gas is GARBAGE!!!

I wouldn't dare put it in my WRX, but I did have to use Shell in my previous car. Let's just say, my car ran terrible on it. I couldn't detect any knocking or pinging (was on the 5 coming back from LA though), but my car felt really sluggish.

So, forget Shell......besides, Chevron & 76 have prettier colors & nicer stations!

 

I use chevron, 1.79 in santa cruz

 

i run my car on distilled bacon grease.

 

so, was it a bad idea that i broke in my car with shell gas because it was so cheap. i switched to chevron and 76 now.