Four things you don't talk about on the internet: Religion, Politics, Oil and Octane. Ha ha. I run the factory recommended 89 in my 2018 RAM. As I'm employed in the oil industry I basically purchase fuel at the outlets that sell the gasoline that I make at work...paying my own paycheck if you will. There is also some savings of pennys per litre to be had and a points system, a linked bank card savings sytem etc.
Fresh fuel: Visit high volume fuel dealers and you will have a better chance of getting fresh fuel. The storage tank volumes are turned over on a more regular basis. That said , I have no idea how you can tell which is a high volume vendor or not in all truth. It might also be true that if it's a high volume vendor your gonna wait in line for a pump maybe?
Brand loyalty: It is fine (IMHO) to have brand loyalty if for no other reason then to take advantage of the different points and penny saving plans that each may offer. Just don't think for New Your minute that you are actually buying gasoline that your fav brand produces on any given day. Fuel producers and vendors are only legally required to sell you fuel at the advertised octane rating posted on the pump. Fuel producers routinely buy and sell fuel volumes from each other in order to maintain contracted supply volumes to there retail outlets. Refiners routinely shut down refinery operations to perform major unit maintenance outages (we call them "Turn Arounds") and this typically might result in a fuel volume short fall for that refiners retail outlets. That refiner purchases fuel from other produces to keep the retailers tanks full. You may never notice this when you purchase fuel from your fav vendor.
Octane -v- more refined (better) fuel: Remember this, a refiner wishes to spend no more time, energy or money producing your fuel then they have to, while still meeting the specs of the fuel. Yes there are standards of production quality as relates to fuel specifications but this does not mean that by virtue of the octane rating you are getting a "better, cleaner, more refined fuel. You are simply buying a fuel that has the advertised octane rating.
Seasonal Blending: We have all heard the term but many do not (perhaps) understand what it means. The fuels component parts are blended to give the best performance dependent on the seasonal time of year which relates directly to the predicted/historical ambient temperature conditions. As the ambient temp changes so does your fuel blend. You'll have noticed in the summer that when you spill fuel while refilling the lawnmower on a 85F day that within short order of having hit the pavement the gasoline readily vaporizes and disappears. If you took that same "summer blend" fuel and spill it in the same spot in Dec, Jan, Feb (for those of us in Northern climates) you will not see the same rate of vaporization...it will take a degree longer to vaporize. In summer months due to the available heat provide by mother nature fuels vaporise at an increased rates. The fuel blend changes (gets heavier,..less light ends) to attempt to keep the rate of vaporization to a semi constant level. A measure of this vaporization testing is called RVP (Reid Vapor Pressure) This helps your intake system perform to it's best and reduces the possibility of "carb or intake icing"( haven't heard of an instance of that for decades). Leading into the winter months the fuel is blended to increase the light end components which help reduce engine flooding conditions and help with better engine start performance during lower ambient temperatures. Remember that it's not the fuel liquid that burns, it's the fuel vapor (mixed with air) that burns in your engine. If the fuel does not vaporize it can not ignite correctly.
Did I mention I use 89 Octane yet?
T.
