Chevron Techron Gas Better or Not Really?

[polarbear777]

Is Techron the Chevron gas any better for your car? Does it really clean out your engine etc? How would I know it is true? Or not true?

[fuelair]

The Harlan- Ellison-after-he-fell-for-the-Chevron-IIRC-clear-big-balloon-of-exhaust-Test-for-improvment-additives : Get a sample of the exhaust, breathe it for a few minutes, see what happens.

[CORed]

Is Techron the Chevron gas any better for your car? Does it really clean out your engine etc? How would I know it is true? Or not true?

While this is strictly anectdotal, ask any tank truck driver. He will tell you it all comes out of the same tank.

[TsarBomba]

Per Wikipedia, FWIW

Techron, formerly known as techroline, is a patented additive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline#Additives) developed by Chevron Products Company (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevron_Corporation), consisting of a family of compounds known as polyether (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyether) amines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amine).[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techron#cite_note-ChevronCA-0) Techron reduces accumulation of deposits in fuel injectors and on intake valves, and prevents or removes sulfur deposits from fuel sending units.[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)] With the introduction of Techron, Chevron gasolines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline) became the first fuels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel) designated as meeting TOP TIER (http://www.toptiergas.com/) standards for fuel cleanliness. Techron is also available as a packaged concentrate, for use with lower quality gasoline ("under-additized"). Both Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have issued factory service bulletins advising the use of concentrated Chevron Techron in repair procedures for vehicles with certain mechanical problems.

[autumn1971]

Also anecdotal, but I've worked at gas stations under different brands, and the brand on the truck had nothing to do with the brand on the sign. Shell trucks filled Texaco tanks, and vice-versa.
I don't know any more than the OP does, but my guess is that "Top Tier" is a designation invented by Chevron's marketing department defined as including "techron", which is probably just a proprietary blend of additives performing no better or worse than those used by other companies.
Like I tell my kids, it's hard to know if something is true, but if it is advertised, it is almost certainly a lie.

[KingMerv00]

While this is strictly anectdotal, ask any tank truck driver. He will tell you it all comes out of the same tank.

Are you saying there is no chemical difference between regular and premium gas?

[paximperium]

When it comes to gas, the brand matters only as much as the detergents and other "cleaning" agents that they use in it. Some brands such as Chevron and Shell's premium gas then to have significantly higher amount of these additives than required by law and so they advertise accordingly.

Premium gas has a higher octane rating meaning less knocking in high compression engines and high powered engines. While most modern engines prevent knocking by those new fangled computers, you do lose a small amount of power if you use a lower octane than recommended.

Do they make a difference? Yes, but only if you're using a high performance engine. Most gas have a high enough standard that it doesn't really matter if you drive a normal car nowadays.

[Autolite]

This thread reminds me of a buddy of mine who raved about the performance improvement he was experiencing just by adding a few ounces of octane boost (toluene) at each fill up. It even stated on the bottle's label that the octane rating would increase only a couple fractions of one point per tank full. Even if his car's ECC was able to adjust to take advantage of a higher octane fuel, the difference would have been imperceptible by "seat of the pants" testing.

I was about to explain to him what the octane rating actually means and how his "improved performance" was largely in his imagination but I thought better of it. He spent his money and he was having fun. Why spoil that with rationality??? :D

[paximperium]

This thread reminds me of a buddy of mine who raved about the performance improvement he was experiencing just by adding a few ounces of octane boost (toluene) at each fill up. It even stated on the bottle's label that the octane rating would increase only a couple fractions of one point per tank full. Even if his car's ECC was able to adjust to take advantage of a higher octane fuel, the difference would have been imperceptible by "seat of the pants" testing.

I was about to explain to him what the octane rating actually means and how his "improved performance" was largely in his imagination but I thought better of it. He spent his money and he was having fun. Why spoil that with rationality??? :D
The UK motor show Fifth Gear tested out these "power" additives and they all decrease fuel efficiency and power; some to a pretty significant amount.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

ISTR that Consumer Reports has tested gasoline in the past, rated various brands and actually found some differences. I can't seem to get the Googlies right to bring up a reference though.

Whenever I hear brand name Chevron, I think of the ad that used to run on the US TV channels that I watched in Montreal in the 50s. The Chevron commercial included the line, "Remember, if you ever run out of Chevron Supreme, your car will stop." As true now as then I guess. ;)

[polarbear777]

Well if Techron is top tier in fuel cleanliness - "Is that important"?

What could happen if you have 'cheap/dirty gas'?

I just figure it is all a marketing lie / sales pitch.

[paximperium]

Well if Techron is top tier in fuel cleanliness - "Is that important"?

What could happen if you have 'cheap/dirty gas'?

I just figure it is all a marketing lie / sales pitch.
There is no such thing as "cheap/dirty gas" in the US.

Federal and State Laws mandate a certain standard. Certain States have significantly stricter laws than others. Using lower end gas just means certain chemicals that are added into the gas to decrease pollution or decrease wear on the engine meet just the minimum standard.

In modern engines, It'll only make any difference if you drive a million miles or if you have a high performance engine.
http://www.epa.gov/oms/gasoline.htm

[gnome]

I did find this:

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

So if it was invented by Chevron, it's expanded.

The funny thing is when it was mentioned that a Shell truck might fill a Texaco tank, I remembered that both of them were considered "Top Tier". Is it also possible that it's the branding on the truck, but not it's contents, that's irrelevant? For all I know it could be that the "Shell" truck might be filled with Texaco gas on that occasion.

I would like to determine how significant the designation is. I've been using it in my car at the recommendation of the manufacturer (Honda), but I'm open to evidence that it's mainly a marketing phenomenon. For example if Honda was paid to make this recommendation, rather than deciding on it based on its own research.

[Hamradioguy]

Is Techron the Chevron gas any better for your car? Does it really clean out your engine etc? How would I know it is true? Or not true?

Years ago Chevron had an advertising campaign that featured a cartoon characthr named "Hy Finn" (I said it was years ago- check out some of the cars from the late 1950s and early 1960s). He'd always make some goofy remark in the commercials to plug Chevron. My favorite was, "Hy Finn says, 'If your car uuns out of Chevron Supreme gas it will stop.' " That pretty much sums it up I'd say.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Years ago Chevron had an advertising campaign that featured a cartoon characthr named "Hy Finn" (I said it was years ago- check out some of the cars from the late 1950s and early 1960s). He'd always make some goofy remark in the commercials to plug Chevron. My favorite was, "Hy Finn says, 'If your car uuns out of Chevron Supreme gas it will stop.' " That pretty much sums it up I'd say.

Fur shure:

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=4341002#post4341002

;)

[Shrike]

Purely anecdotal (as in, I cannot right now back this up with evidence on the internetz), but the current crop of modern Peugeot petrol engines run bettter on Shell V-Power (or Pura, comparable to Chevron Techron IIRC). They have fewer problems with starting and fouling of the engine.

[CORed]

Are you saying there is no chemical difference between regular and premium gas?

No. What I meant, but didn't state clearly, is the all brands of the same grade come out of the same tank. There is a "regular" tank and a "premium" tank. I believe that gas stations make the middle grade(s) by mixing regular and premium at the pump. Premium has a higher octane rating (knock resistance) than regular.

Most cities have only a few refineries or pipeline terminals that supply all the gasoline in the city.