[m5james]

Originally Posted by DanG

As most of you know, BMW recommends Shell gas for our BMWs. Maybe for that reason, Shell premium is a rip off in my area. Shell premium is $.50 more expensive than regular. It is currently $3.89 per gallon in the Seattle area. ARCO premium is $3.25. ARCO is a top tier gas. ARCO charges $.30 per gallon more for premium than regular.

So I only use Shell when my grocery points gives me more than $.70 per gallon off which is rare.

LONG story short but I found out that my E34 M5 run better on Shell that it did any other gas, so I'm going to assume the same applies for most BMW's. The gentleman who owned the Shell station my construction company had an acct with gave me a long speech about additives and why this could apply to BMW's.

Fast forward to today I've got a buddy who works for a contracting company that repairs pumps and other equipment at gas stations and I had a similar discussion with him. While Arco is Top Tier, he said they BARELY scrape by to get that certification. While it can be debated that gas all comes from similar refineries, it's not debatable the Shell, Chevron, Texaco, Arco, etc have different additives to make theirs different than others. With that said, I still use the Arco station off the exit to my house for daily use, but if it's weekend where I know I'll be out playing with others, I'll surely fill up with Shell beforehand. I also have used the GasBuddy app to find the lowest price, cash only station nearest my work and home, then plan accordingly to hit those stations.