I filled up at the Union 76 station at Lawrence Expressway and East Arques Avenue last night, since I was driving by and noticed that their price for regular was $2.919, eight cents lower than the Union 76 stations I usually buy from. Only later did I realize why it was less expensive.
Years ago I drove a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. It ran great on 87-octane gasoline from Shell or Chevron, but poorly on Arco or other cheap brands. I got into the habit of buying gas from Chevron stations, as they were typically less expensive than Shell.
My 1991 Maza Protege ran OK on the cheap stuff, but I continued using Chevron based on their claims about Techron cleaning the inside of the engine. I don’t really know how much benefit Techron has, but given that my Olds ran so much better on Chevron gas than on the cheap stuff, I figured that the Chevron gas must be better in some way.
In 2002 the California legislature banned the toxic gasoline additive MTBE due to the discovery that it was contaminating groundwater, contrary to the earlier belief that it would be completely consumed in the combustion process. Originally the ban was to take effect on January 1, 2003, but the ban was delayed by a year. Phillips stopped using MTBE in their Union 76 brand well in advance of the deadline, so I switched to buying gas from Union 76 stations. Union 76 refers to their formulation as having “PROPower”, which presumably is similar to Techron.
More recently, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, Shell, and a few other brands started advertising that their fuel meets the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline standards established by BMW, General Motors, Honda, and Toyota. The EPA has been reducing the minimum level of detergent addtitive required in gasoline, and the TOP TIER program establishes a higher voluntary standard. The higher level of detergent additives reduces deposits on fuel injectors, intake valves, and combustion chambers.
Anyhow, after I began filling up the tank at the lower-cost Union 76 station, I noticed that there were some solid-color adhesive decals applied to the pumps above the “Regular”, “Plus”, and “Premiun” legends. The labels were not completely opaque, so with a bit of squinting I eventually was able to discern that the labels had been added in order to cover up the “PROPower” labelling. They also did not have the “TOP TIER” promotional signs anywhere. Thus this particular Union 76 station is apparently selling gasoline from other sources, possibly the spot market, rather than ConocoPhillips standard formulation.
While the gas was eight cents less expensive than the “real” 76 stations, it was still twelve cents more expensive than nearby obscure brands. I have not observed my car peforming noticably differently on the less expensive fuel, but I would not expect it to have an immediate effect. There seems to be no point in paying twelve cents more and not getting the benefit of the TOP TIER formulation, so I’ll go back to purchasing gas at the Union 76 stations I normally frequent.