LexRexBlue

I have always used Shell V-Power on my RXs. It is clean and expensive here. The dealer uses BP. After a few tanks of BP Ultimate, which was way cheaper, I've discovered my car seems to have more power and better mpg than the Shell on both highway and local driving. Anyone else have similar experiences?

BertL

Perhaps it's an octane difference? Here in SoCal, 91 = Premium, but I've read here on CL some folks get 93 in the East. I don't know if that means there are different octane levels of premium at different stations in the East or not, which may be part of your answer. Also, if you are interested, there are other threads debating the value of regular vs "premium" on the RX -- some believing there is a MPG difference, others still debating it.

FWIW, I always use premium in my RX450h since that's what Lexus recommends, but I'd never use Shell here in the vicinity where I live -- their stations are consistently 20-40 cents or more per gallon over 76 Stations which tend to be 10-20 cents per gallon over Costco where I try to always go if I can.

BobBass

i don't know if this is a bunch of baloney or not, but "Top Tier Gasoline" has been sloshed around on many auto message boards: http://www.toptiergas.com/

Evitzee

It's baloney, by their own admission Top Tier is a marketing exercise. From the Top Tier website, "The intention of the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline standards is to create a winning situation for gasoline retailers, auto manufacturers and drivers". Take it for what it is worth.

TOP TIER Gasoline Retailers in the US:

76 Stations
Aloha Petroleum
Chevron
Conoco
CountryMark
Entec Stations
Exxon
Hawaii Fueling Network (HFN)
Holiday Stationstores, Inc.
Kwik Trip / Kwik Star
MFA Oil Co.
Mileage Stations
Mobil
Ohana Fuels
Phillips 66
Quik Trip
Rebel Oil
Road Ranger
Severson Oil
Shell
Texaco
Tri-Par Oil Co.
U.S. Oil

BobBass

Evitzee,

Gee, next thing I know you're gonna say inflating tyres with nitrogen is a scam.

Sevn86

I use to put shell premium but then I decided to mix things up for a bit and started putting chevron, then exxon and now I will always put Phillips 66 (other words connoco or circle 76 for those that don't have Phillips 66) because my dad just bought another gas station so I will be filling up at our own store from now on.

dctex99

So does your dad say that your gas with its additives is better than the generic gas that goes to Vons and Costco?????

UCSB

I use top tier premium, but haven't noticed any real difference between the brands. Typically, I use Shell. Costco is somewhat convenient and priced well, but I don't trust the quality over the long-term.

CanadianRX

If your gas has ethanol in it expect to lose 5% in mileage. I've done my own tests for a few years and it's an obvious difference. Here the only brand that I can tell is ethanol free is shell premium.

Sevn86

I never said that and it's not about which brand adds what additive. Ur better off putting any brand of premium (shell, chevron, texaco, exxon, bp, circle 76, etc.) except those that are available at places like walmart SAMs, Costco, HEB, in other words wholesale and grocery chains. Ur free to put whatever u want in ur car but the op was asking if we have had similar experiences and I posted where I use to fill up and where I will fill up from now on. I've experimented with the wholesale chain gases and my cars idled rough and gas mileage was way worse then what I get with any branded fuels. It could be because of the additives or maybe not. I got the best mileage when I was using shell but we shall see how the Phillips 66 gas compares in both mileage and how the car behaves.

Supersnoop

In my old car, I found that BP would get me 10%-15% better gas mileage. Then BP left town and I moved to Shell. It seems to do better than most others, but it's not as good as BP. I don't know why there was such a difference, but I'm a numbers guy and proved it to myself.

dctex99

I just checked our Costco and it is 10% ethanol; the attendent said all Costco gas in San Diego County is this same gas......cheap but 10% bad..

VVRX

According to the California Air Resources Board, California has had 10 percent ethanol in its gasoline since the beginning of 2010.

kitlz

Another Shell V Power user. There aren't too many BPs by me but I might give it a try. I just filled up over the weekend so it'll be another week and a half before I can test it out. There doesn't seem to be a big price difference. The $.10 surcharge for using a credit card is what bothers me more. I don't like walking around with cash. It can get expensive real fast filling up nowadays. I don't have to pump my own gas but at least I know how to

LexRexBlue

There seem to be a plethora of Shell stations in NJ but Shell no longer provides a discount on their old credit card. The Shell station is closeby and convenient while the BP is out of the way unless I'm in that area. But, the BP is 20 cent a gallon cheaper. (Both stations do not charge extra for the credit card). If the BP is not as good gas I wouldn't want to damage my car, but I was surprised by the performance and mileage differences.