Obligatory gasoline post
My father delivered gasoline to local station chain after he retired from farming. This is about WI, so you may have some variations locally, but it essentially works the same nationwide, just depends on how many pipes are running in your direction.
Here goes:
First, there are only so many refineries in the country. And there are only so many companies that own and run them. Then, there are only so many pipelines to carry from those refineries to depots. From the depots, the gasoline is hauled by tanker truck to a station. Here is the interesting part:
In WI, for example, there are only two refineries that pipe gasoline up here. For my neck of the woods, the pipe runs to Green Bay, or, west a bit, to Junction City.
That's it. two refineries, two depots.
One refinery produces cheaper gas then the other. REGARDLESS OF BRAND ON THE STATION, the owner of said station gets to decide which one they pick. A Citgo on one end of town might get the better gas, the other end of town the Citgo might opt more cheap.
Some brands have an additive package, sometimes they just slap a name on it that is copyrighted and they don't actually do anything.
Ethanol is subsidized, so it is basically always less expensive, but you pay for it with your taxes so don't get excited.
Ethanol raises octane
-10% ethanol gas rated at 87 is actually such crappy fuel they could not legally sell it without ethanol added, it would fall below required octane rating.
-87 non-ethanol gas is better. Period. Not because of the non-ethanol, or even the octane rating. It is just a better fuel.
-87 rating WITH 10% ethanol does NOT always mean it is the horrid 84 octane "gas" buffered by ethanol. 87 is the minimum requirement. Some stations buy the better gas and add 10% ethanol for price reasons. It might actually be 89. One local chain does this and then advertises you can pay the same for mid grade (LOL) but that is simply because it is THE SAME GAS.
All mid-grade(89) is a 50/50 blend of 87 and premium(91). The octane value might vary depending on where you are.
So if you have 10% ethanol 87, and premium non-ethanol 91, mid grade is 5% ethanol 89. Very few modern stations have more then (2) tanks they pull from, unless they offer ethanol and non-ethanol 87 gas.
At the depot, some have it set up to automatically meter the ethanol in. Some DO NOT, and the driver has to load a partial load of plain gas and then go to an ethanol depot tank to get the rest. This means the "blending" is not done mechanically.
Ethanol absorbs water. If you store a vehicle for winter, running a full tank of 10% before you refill with non-ethanol for storage can help get any water out of the system. You need to run the tank almost bone dry though. Once ethanol absorbs water it will separate from the actual gasoline and go to the bottom of the tank, if it absorbs to much it can actually make a layer. This can happen at station bulk tanks also! In cold winters, if they do not maintain their tanks properly, it has happened where people fill up and their car freezes a block down the street because they filled the car's gas tank with water laden ethanol off the bottom of the storage tank.
Long story short, most people have no idea they are buying one of two brands of gas with colored labels applied, don't know mid grade is half and half, and go about their business presuming they know what is best for their ride.
Find out which local station has the gas your cars runs on best and go there. So long as the owner doesn't change their buying practices, you should have a reliable, consistent source. Brand name is meaningless unless one owner owns all the stores of said brand. NEVER presume a station brand in one area sells the same gas as your hometown. Not only can they be getting gas from an entirely different pipe/refinery, even if it is the same pipeline as your hometown they may have opted for the cheap stuff.
Personal example time: Citgo 1/8th mile from my driveway buys "good" 87 and "cheap" premium. Citgo in the town I work in 5 miles away buys the opposite. I drive to town to get premium non-ethanol for my old cars and lawn mower, Moline tractor. My son and his modern Chrysler 200 buys 87 from the corner store. Same with my daughter and her old 3800 v6 Impala. I tried premium close to home 3 times, different times of year, and it made stuff run poorly. 87 from in town made my sons mpg go down 2mpg average.
you have to pay attention and figure this stuff out. Looking at the stations fancy colored sign and looking at octane rating is pointless. neither one will tell you if it is actually quality or not. Octane will, at least, tell you the rating, just not if that rating is from quality or just federal requirements.
One local chain used to advertise "best quality gas available" meaning they bought the better stuff. When prices went up recently, they took those signs down. HMMMM.
Pay attention, check your own mpg, observe how the engine runs, take notes if need be. Don;t be afraid to spend 10 cents a gallon if you know the quality is there. Station loyalty matters, NOT brand loyalty. Personally, I don't even look at prices to "shop" because I know who has good and who is selling cheap in my tiny town. Saving $1 on ten gallons for my tractor is NOT worth it.
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