Shell 90 grade gasoline

[William B.]

Gassed up my 1967 Corvette in Ft. Myers, Florida with Shell 90 non ethanol @ $3.09 a gallon. In small print it said, "Not a Shell product." Does anyone know who's product it is?

Bill

[Michael W.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

90 is bit of an unusual octane rating too.

[Stuart F.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

We have the same 90 octane up here in central Florida, so I expect it's the same supplier. It used to be at 92 octane, but changed a couple years back. My source is a small independent station that caters to the boating folks in St. Cloud. We also have a Sunoco station on rte. 50 on the way to Speed World drag & circle track near Titusville that has a pump with 110 octane racing fuel (very expensive).

Stu Fox

[Frank D.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

They have racing fuel at a station in St. Petersburg at over $8/gallon...heady stuff. Typically around the Disney area you have 87, 91 and 93 octane and all of it Ethanol-laced. Both of my cars run fine on the stuff though...

[Stuart F.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

Frank;

My son filled his 69 L-89 at the Sunoco station on Rte. 50 with the racing fuel (110) octane. As I recall, it killed a hundred dollar bill. BTW, in case I gave the wrong impression; he had to pump it into 5 gallon containers. He used just two containers. You can not fill directly into your tank. They make sure of that by having a hose that is only about 3 feet long. Guess it's the law. It's no fun carrying those containers in your trunk as your car will reek of gas for several days.

Frank; I thought you were on the north side of Orlando instead of near the Disney properties. If so, that station on Colonial (Rte. 50) should be closer to you. As I recall, you probably don't need that hot stuff for your Vettes anyway.

Stu Fox

[Duke W.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

In small print it said, "Not a Shell product." Does anyone know who's product it is?

Bill

Where ever you live, anywhere in the country, gasoline at the pump may be sourced from a refinery owned by one of the majors, but not necessarily the same one as the station brand, or it could be an independent refiner. The only way to know is to ask the station owner for the name of his fuel distributors(s) and contact them for an answer.

Straight gasoline from the refinery is known in the industry as "BOB" - blend for oxygenate blending.

Ethanol increases octane, so 90 octane without ethanol is likely the highest BOB produced by the refinery, which then becomes a few points higher when ethanol is added ("splashed" is the industry term) to the BOB as it's loaded into the tanker truck for delivery to the retailer.

BTW, for you California guys, the BOB (known as CABOB) used to make California's unique RFG II is only produced at about half a dozen refineries in the state. It's more expensive to produce that BOBs used in other parts of the country, and the explosion at ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance a couple of months ago (along with some production problems at another that I think was the Chevron refinery in Richmond) put a crimp on supply.

Add to this a new tax required by AB 32, the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act (signed by Gov. Quisling) is why the proletariat in the People's Republik of California are paying close to $4/gal. when most of the rest of the country is still below $3.

Duke

[Michael J.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

Add to this a new tax required by AB 32, the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act (signed by Gov. Quisling) is why the proletariat in the People's Republik of California are paying close to $4/gal. when most of the rest of the country is still below $3.

Duke

+1, well said Duke. And the octane rating for our ethanol free premium is also 90, but at our 7,000' foot altitude, that is about all we get anywhere even with ethanol.

[Joe L.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

Gassed up my 1967 Corvette in Ft. Myers, Florida with Shell 90 non ethanol @ $3.09 a gallon. In small print it said, "Not a Shell product." Does anyone know who's product it is?

Bill

Bill-------


Shell is a "Top Tier" gasoline. Gasoline supplied through other-than-Shell channels probably is not. Therefore, a Shell station selling an other-than-Shell product would probably have to disclose that fact for that reason as well as Shell franchise requirements.

The base stock for any brand gasoline may originate from numerous sources, many not connected to the particular retail brand. That's quite common. What makes a Shell-branded gasoline a "Shell product" (and, qualifies it as "Top Tier") is the additive package. All gasoline sold in the US must have an additive package that meets minimum EPA requirements. So, wherever you buy gasoline, you have that protection (which is especially important for modern fuel-injected vehicles). To the extent that the additive package EXCEEDS EPA requirements, it may qualify as "Top Tier". Shell is among the brands that qualify as "Top Tier". "Top Tier" is not just some fancy Madison Avenue marketing term. There are strict standards that must be met for a gasoline to qualify as "Top Tier" and anyone buying "Top Tier" gasoline has a right to expect that those standards are met. Non-Top Tier gasoline MAY meet "Top Tier" standards but there's no guarantee of it.

[William B.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

Once again Joe, thanks for your insight. I'll defiantly ask the Shell station where their non ethanol 90 comes from.

Bill

[Domenic T.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

Hate to say it, but none of ot is what your car was designed to burn.

DOM

[Stuart F.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

Don't quite understand your comment Dom. Surely are vintage engines weren't designed for Ethanol either. In my situation, I add (heaven forbid) add Max Lead 2000 to my 90 octane non-Ethanol to bring it up as close as I can to what I believe my L-76 63 SHP was designed for. I've been using the same formula for over 2 years now and my engine seems to like it.

Stu Fox

[Edmund C.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

Bill: I can find out tomorrow when I get to the office. I work in the energy sector. I wouldn't be surprised if they bought it from their competitor ExxonMobil.

[Domenic T.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

Stuart,
I think we are on the same page. My comment was that back then we just went to the pump and everything ran great. Now we have to work with the gas to get performance. Some change compression, some change timing, and so on.
I haven't tried additives and am willing to do so but I am content and 100% happy with what I have done for 40+ years. I have the same CR, timing and minor mods I tried from the 60's. Engines run like they did back then. The modern fuel just didn't work for me and still doesn't. I tried most of what was posted by knowledgeable people on the TDB's and didn't get satisfaction. My 40+ solution still works better than ever.

Dom

[Bob H.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

Sunoco on 50 is $8.99 per gallon for the leaded 110. Yes a hundred bucks in two containers

[Joe L.]

Re: Shell 90 grade gasoline

Sunoco on 50 is $8.99 per gallon for the leaded 110. Yes a hundred bucks in two containers

Bob-------


In the VAST, VAST majority of Corvettes with stock or more-or-less stock engines, paying this price for fuel is like throwing money down the drain. Absolutely no benefit whatsoever.