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I have a 2012 Honda Civic LX Sedan. It requires 87 Regular Unleaded octane. Which is the best brand of fuel for my vehicle? BP or Shell? I hear great things about both but hear that the additives of Shell are better for one's vehicle. Knowledgeable advice is highly appreciated - and if you are going to say all "fuel" is the same - no need to reply, thank you!
I have the GasBuddy app installed on my phone and all the local stations added to my favorites (Shell, Gulf, etc), and use whichever is cheapest. You don't have to keep feeding your car the same brand.
I like Mobil and Shell. Years ago when I was driving a crappy car, I noticed a full tank of no-name gas gets me about 10 miles less per tank. No idea why it is so I stay with the big brands for gas ever since (unless I am low and running out of gas).
I have a 2012 Honda Civic LX Sedan. It requires 87 Regular Unleaded octane. Which is the best brand of fuel for my vehicle? BP or Shell? I hear great things about both but hear that the additives of Shell are better for one's vehicle. Knowledgeable advice is highly appreciated - and if you are going to say all "fuel" is the same - no need to reply, thank you!
So you've answered your own question. Congratulations.
The FACT is that fuel is all basically the same, regardless of the brand. How do I know this is true? Because ALL gas stations buy their gas from the same terminals. In fact, you will often see the same tanker unloading fuel at different gas stations in the same area. The only difference is that a few franchises throw a few minor additives into their gasoline. That is all.
But if you'll feel better by doing so, go to either Shell, or Philips 66, and buy only the most expensive premium gas they sell. Your car will run fine, and you will think that it's running better because of the gas you just bought.
So you've answered your own question. Congratulations.
The FACT is that fuel is all basically the same, regardless of the brand. How do I know this is true? Because ALL gas stations buy their gas from the same terminals. In fact, you will often see the same tanker unloading fuel at different gas stations in the same area. The only difference is that a few franchises throw a few minor additives into their gasoline. That is all.
But if you'll feel better by doing so, go to either Shell, or Philips 66, and buy only the most expensive premium gas they sell. Your car will run fine, and you will think that it's running better because of the gas you just bought.
This is correct.
The biggest thing the OP should be concerned about is the condition of the tanks at the station he is purchasing his gas.
It amazes me how people post these threads looking for advice, but only want to hear from people who will tell them what they want to hear, whether it's fact or not.
In some testing my father learned of from some freinds at GM (he is a retired GM engineer) they found Shell and Mobil had the best mix odf additives. However that was some time ago and as far as I know Beach Polluter was not even around, or if they were, they were using a different name. In any event, the differences were almost nil and not enought to make any difference in how your car runs or lasts.
The problem is all of the companies keep developing new formulas and changing them to keep up with each other. Thus, the best gas this month, may not be the best in six months. The other problem you run into in trying to find this out is the formulas are prorietary. Like the formula for Coke, it is a secret. Thus, it is difficult to make a meaninful test. They can reverse engineer the forumla and figure out what chemicals are in the mix, but that will not provide a complete answer. Further, as far as I know, not such studies are published (it may be a violation of patent laws or trade secret laws to do so. The other way they cna do it is testing. The problem is tests are expensive and they often yeild different results. That is becasue it is too easy to have some extra influence skew the results. For example if the shell engines are sitting closer to the door, they may get slightly cleaner or slightly dirtier air, a bird could build a nest int he intake or exhause tubes connected to one of the engines, they could simple get a couple of engines that were not built quite as well as others and one type of gas could be at a disadvantage, all kinds of cray unanticipated things can impact the the outcome and yeild incorrect results.
Because the properties of the major brands are so very close, the tiniest thing can make a difference in the outcome of the test. If the Shell gas mix results in .003 specks of dirt in the combustion chamber and the BP mix results in .002 specks, it is difficult to say the BP mix is actually better becasue there could be some outside influence. IF the test was funded by BP, then they will claim they found BP to be better. If the test was funded by Shell, they will claim they found the two to be the same. (note I have no idea what unit of measure they use so I just used a speck of dirt by way of example, it is not a scientific term. My dad can probably tell you exactly how they do those tests if you have a couple of hours.)
While you really wish there was a meaninful difference between the brands, there is not. Wishing or demanding people only answer with actual evidence that one is better, will not change the facts. The major brans are all pretty much equal. THe amount of difference in how their detergent formulas perfrom will never make any difference to your engine or to you. As suggested, stick witht he major brands most of the time and just buy whichever one is the most convenient, or choose the one you like their sign better. Which station has your favorite color in the paint on their building? Personally I try to choose the places where the nicest people work. Barring that, I choose Marathon because they are the local company. (Shell is Dutch, Beach Polluter is British, not sure about very many of the others).
Sorry we cannot give you the answer you want, because to give you such an answer we woudl have to lie, or just talk out our arses.
Now if you want to try to use brand names to make your car last longer or perform better, you can look at oil. There are differences in the purity of mortor oil and the additives from different brands. Quite a difference in oil filters too. (Used to be Fram and Sears Double Trapper was the best, but that was long ago. No idea who has the best filters now).
For the most part for oil, filters gas the answer is do not use no brand cheapo stuff and you will be fine. Your driving and maintainence habits ae 1,000,000 times more important than what brands of products you choose.
In some testing my father learned of from some freinds at GM (he is a retired GM engineer) they found Shell and Mobil had the best mix odf additives. However that was some time ago and as far as I know Beach Polluter was not even around, or if they were, they were using a different name. In any event, the differences were almost nil and not enought to make any difference in how your car runs or lasts.
The problem is all of the companies keep developing new formulas and changing them to keep up with each other. Thus, the best gas this month, may not be the best in six months. The other problem you run into in trying to find this out is the formulas are prorietary. Like the formula for Coke, it is a secret. Thus, it is difficult to make a meaninful test. They can reverse engineer the forumla and figure out what chemicals are in the mix, but that will not provide a complete answer. Further, as far as I know, not such studies are published (it may be a violation of patent laws or trade secret laws to do so. The other way they cna do it is testing. The problem is tests are expensive and they often yeild different results. That is becasue it is too easy to have some extra influence skew the results. For example if the shell engines are sitting closer to the door, they may get slightly cleaner or slightly dirtier air, a bird could build a nest int he intake or exhause tubes connected to one of the engines, they could simple get a couple of engines that were not built quite as well as others and one type of gas could be at a disadvantage, all kinds of cray unanticipated things can impact the the outcome and yeild incorrect results.
Because the properties of the major brands are so very close, the tiniest thing can make a difference in the outcome of the test. If the Shell gas mix results in .003 specks of dirt in the combustion chamber and the BP mix results in .002 specks, it is difficult to say the BP mix is actually better becasue there could be some outside influence. IF the test was funded by BP, then they will claim they found BP to be better. If the test was funded by Shell, they will claim they found the two to be the same. (note I have no idea what unit of measure they use so I just used a speck of dirt by way of example, it is not a scientific term. My dad can probably tell you exactly how they do those tests if you have a couple of hours.)
While you really wish there was a meaninful difference between the brands, there is not. Wishing or demanding people only answer with actual evidence that one is better, will not change the facts. The major brans are all pretty much equal. THe amount of difference in how their detergent formulas perfrom will never make any difference to your engine or to you. As suggested, stick witht he major brands most of the time and just buy whichever one is the most convenient, or choose the one you like their sign better. Which station has your favorite color in the paint on their building? Personally I try to choose the places where the nicest people work. Barring that, I choose Marathon because they are the local company. (Shell is Dutch, Beach Polluter is British, not sure about very many of the others).
Sorry we cannot give you the answer you want, because to give you such an answer we woudl have to lie, or just talk out our arses.
Now if you want to try to use brand names to make your car last longer or perform better, you can look at oil. There are differences in the purity of mortor oil and the additives from different brands. Quite a difference in oil filters too. (Used to be Fram and Sears Double Trapper was the best, but that was long ago. No idea who has the best filters now).
For the most part for oil, filters gas the answer is do not use no brand cheapo stuff and you will be fine. Your driving and maintainence habits ae 1,000,000 times more important than what brands of products you choose.
Thank you for taking the time out to answer my question the best you can. It makes sense. The ignorance which chooses to respond anyway telling me I am that no name brand gas is the same as name brand are only trying to convince themselves. I guess I'll just have to choose one or the other. With that said, would it be better to have a Shell credit card or BP credit card?
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