while we focus 100% on which pre-mix for which app, we may be overlooking the other 127 ounces in the gallon.

my old friend Lake Speed Jr., previously from Driven Racing Oils/Joe Gibbs Racing, has moved on to Total Seal Rings and is a real deep diver as to motor tech. i have enjoyed and learned from many of his videos.

i just watched his latest and he is on to something.

"Can premium fuel reduce engine wear?"

"premium" in this case does not refer to octane but the additive package. in Europe apparently they offer two fuels w the same octane. the more expensive (premium) contains an additive package. the results of the additive package produced interesting comparative results.

i will let Lake make the case but will be buying Shell going forward.

quite interesting...

 

I should refrain from posting without watching the video. I do have something to say about the Shell fuel.

If your daily gets cheap fuel on the regular without getting a fuel system cleaner, try a tank. If your engine is kept clean already, this doesn't really work as well.

I did this with my daily driver and it made a difference. I regularly use cleaner and waited until a full tank of Shell was used first. I used the cleaner and it was harder to tell a difference.
Do I have definitive proof it works?....no
Will I continue to prefer the fuel?.....yes

I don't regularly show support for multibillion dollar mega corps. However this fuel has earned my trust. I am concerned about continued efficacy though. These big corps have a way to stop doing good things if the bottom line is hurting.

 

Unless it's not available when I need gas for the FD or my wife's A4, I use Shell V-power exclusively. It has always given a slight improvement in MPG, plus, on the FD, throttle response and overall engine "crispness" is noticeably better with V-power than with anything else. I used to use Sunoco 94-octane premium for the FD, but once I tried the Shell V-power premium I was convinced it was the fuel of choice. Improved wear characteristics are the icing on the cake!

 

Interesting, yes. And I enjoyed watching it…his enthusiasm is infectious.
No technical background here, but curious as to how much of this translates to our engines. We don’t have piston rings, the housings are chrome, we are dealing with higher EGTs and at least in my case, I premix with an OMP. With WI (thanks to the OP for all his helpful posts in that section). Plus, iirc, the best that the closest Shell station to me carries is 89 or 91, while I have been using 93 from another station. On top of everything else, seems like coolant seals are as big of weak link on our FI rotaries as wear on our hard seals.

 

Interesting thing about fuel in the USA. Apparently due to various reasons, fuel within any given region of the USA is basically all the same (comes from the same refinery, with the same additives). Then it's just rebranded by the local gas stations. So if you're in southern california you're getting one thing, and if you're in texas you're getting something else. But it's not like shopping at shell or BP or wherever is really changing anything.

 

Additives can be brand specific. Usually mixed at the loading terminal but some places like Costco do their own mixing. The base fuel is all the same, though.

 

There are also some regional oddities within America. I know here in AZ, we have a specific blend of gasoline that's required to be sold here for emissions reasons, which is why our gas prices are especially slow to respond to changes in barrel prices

 

California too, which is in part why prices are so high. Gas taxes vary by state too, so that is also a factor in price.

 

One thing I know for certain is the E content in your typical 93 octane pump gas varies seasonally, according to my ethanol sensor. Here in MD, the 93 octane fuels I buy labeled as E10 will vary from about 7% ~ 10% ethanol content; more ethanol in the summer, less in winter seasons.