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Originally Posted by bigjae1976
Not necessarily. Contrary to popular belief...in a lot of cases Shell gasoline is not even refined by Shell. The only thing that makes it Shell gas is the additive package. So you might be getting "cheap" Valero gas with Shell additive being sold at Shell gas stations. The Shell gas in Wisconsin ain't made by Shell. The inverse is true...you might get Valero gas refined by Shell.
But generally speaking, I would think that Shell has some pretty good quality controls. So yes, sometimes. That help?  |
If there is a Shell nearby with reasonable gas prices I would go for that, if not any big name gas station is usually OK. It's the really small and independent one that I don't really trust
Quote:
Originally Posted by GMCHEM83
I recently found a local petroleum distributor in Columbus, TX that sells ethanol-free "93 Super". He supplies to industrial operations and has become the fuel house for car enthusiasts who stop by frequently. At just $2.85 a gallon I will be filling up there for a few tanks back to back and see how the mileage compares to Shell V Power.
I can't really say if this fuel makes the car feel stronger but it does feel a little "punchier" when you accelerate...could just be the recent cool and dry air from the cold front.
Will report back....
GM
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Could you PM me some details about this place? I live in west Houston and would love to go take a look next time I'm going to Austin. BTW the new Bucee's in Katy area also have ethanol-free, premium gas, but it was $3.2x per gallon last time I was there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by M.Hagen
Ethanol does have less energy density than regular gasoline. That is why there is a fuel economy penalty for running E85, as ~30% more volume per combustion event is required to get the same 'energy' as gasoline. However, 'energy density' =/= 'power potential'
Agreed on the principal that we should not tie-up AG lands for fuel needs. There are a few good alternatives to corn though. Algae can produce both diesel and sugar based fuels (like Ethanol), and has the potential to due it at a higher Barrel-Per-Acre output than corn. The conditions where Algae can flourish are sunny and arid climates, so an Algae fuel farm would not compete for the same land as AG.
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Algae seems to be the way to go in the long run, I remember reading about it being a very high output energy crop and like you said, does not compete with AG lands.
I think there were some govt subsidies/incentives for using corn for biofuel, which caused some farms to switch the kind of corns they grow and caused some controversies (only some are suitable for human food, then there is the animal feed ones, and the ones that are only good for bio-fuel), it was too long ago and I couldn't remember the details