[kach22i]

A 2009 thread on the topic on marking and additives, not much has changed?


GIVE ME A BREAK, Shell V-power, Now it's Nitrogen enriched, Come on! - Page 3 - FerrariChat.com

Gerry328

I have always found it amusing how when an oil company differentiates and markets it products it nearly borders on criminal behavior. Marketing is marketing, be it ereal companies, hospitals, fast food restaurants, beer, or oil companies.

I spent nearly 20 years in the oil business and here are some facts. Untreated gasoline is the same. It travels in pipelines to terminals across the country and is often traded between oil companies to optimize logistics. Certain parts of the country have different EPA specs for the base gasoline. This different EPS spec is a huge logistically and storage issue.

The additives that oil companies put into the base grade of gasoline differ on composition and treat rate. Additives are injected into the gasoline at terminal loading racks. The majors use proprietary additive systems. So, retail gasoline is not all the same.

However, the products from the majors are very similar. You cannot go wrong with Exxon/Mobil, Shell, BP, Chevron/Texaco, and Conoco to name a few. Private label or non major retail gasoline additives may be very different formulations and have much lower treat rates.

Also different octane grades have different treat rates. With the majors, the higher octane gasoline has higher additive treat rates. So while there may be no benefit to the octane increase, there is a benefit to the higher additive treat rate.

These differences manifest themselves as carbon build-up on valves and fouled infectors. We often conducted chemical and operating test on competitive brand gasoline. We had fleets of cars that would only be filled at certain locations. Once the test was completed the engines were disassembled for inspection. The differences between the majors and some of the non-major brands were amazing.

Everyone makes more money selling premium products. Why not the oil companies? No consumer is being forced to buy anything (at least not yet).

Last edited by Gerry328; 07-10-2009 at 09:09 AM.

An article quote:


http://www.frugalfoo.com/2011/02/premium-unleaded-vs-unleaded.html

Anti Friction Additives

Special anti-friction lubricants are often reserved for the very top end of the premium unleaded petrol range, intended for high performance engines. For example according to Shell literature, the addition of what Shell call “Friction Modification Technology” is attributed only to the most expensive Shell V-Power product, which has an octane level far exceeding the needs of an average vehicle. Marketing petrol products in this way makes us feel as if we are missing out on something unless we buy the most expensive product. If your car engine is tuned for high performance and you drive to its very limits, then the anti friction additives are a handy feature of ultra premium unleaded petrol.