The Truth About Gasoline: Is There Really Such a Thing as Better Gas?

You know about gas, don't you? You know it combusts in the engine, making that boom-boom sound to get your car moving. But is there really such a thing as better gas? Let's take a closer look at what's actually in gasoline and why some formulations are better than others.

What's in Gasoline?

Gasoline is not just one type of fuel; it's a complex mixture of various hydrocarbons, additives, and other substances. The composition of gasoline can vary depending on the source, refining process, and intended use. Some common components of gasoline include aromatic compounds, alkenes, alkanes, and sulfur-containing compounds. Additives like detergents, dispersants, and anti-knock agents are also added to improve performance and reduce emissions.

The Importance of Fuel Formulations

Fuel formulations play a critical role in determining the performance and longevity of an engine. Different regions have unique environmental conditions, which affect the optimal fuel formulation for specific engines. For instance, California has stricter emission regulations than Norway, resulting in distinct fuel blends for each region. Shell's experience in developing fuel formulations for high-performance engines is unparalleled, with a 75-year history of understanding and improving engine performance.

Understanding Engine Deposits

Engine deposits are a significant concern for engine longevity and performance. These deposits can form on various engine components, including intake valves, stems, and combustion chamber surfaces. Low-quality deposit control additives can accumulate in these areas, causing them to stick or even become stuck. In contrast, high-quality fuel formulations with effective deposit control agents can minimize the formation of unwanted deposits.

The Role of Lubricants

Lubricants play a crucial role in engine performance, protecting moving parts from wear and tear. The oil lubricates the piston ring, allowing it to slide smoothly against the cylinder wall. However, if the oil cannot reach its intended destination, such as the top piston ring, it can become contaminated with fuel combustion byproducts. This contamination can lead to premature wear and reduced engine performance.

Shell's Approach to Engine Lubrication

At Shell, we take a holistic approach to understanding how lubricants interact with gasoline and engines. Our technicians are trained to assess engine cleanliness, weighing factors like scuffing on journal bearings and other components. By developing specific methodologies over 75 years, we've differentiated ourselves from competitors in the industry.

The Science Behind Engine Lubrication

Engine lubrication is a delicate process that requires precise balance between lubricant and fuel properties. The ideal lubricant should be able to reach all areas of the engine without contaminating the combustion chamber or fuel system. Shell's engineers have developed innovative solutions, such as 3D printing and magnification, to better understand this complex interplay.

Is There Such a Thing as Better Gasoline?

In conclusion, there is indeed such a thing as better gasoline. While all gasoline blends share some similarities, differences in formulation can significantly impact engine performance and longevity. By understanding the complexities of fuel composition and engine lubrication, manufacturers like Shell strive to develop high-quality gasolines that meet the needs of various engines and driving conditions.

The Importance of Engine Lubricants

Engine lubricants are critical for maintaining optimal engine performance. A well-designed lubricant should be able to:

* Reach all areas of the engine without contaminating the combustion chamber or fuel system

* Provide sufficient protection against wear and tear on moving parts

* Allow the piston ring to slide smoothly against the cylinder wall

By using high-quality engine lubricants, drivers can help extend their engine's lifespan while minimizing premature wear.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enforeign you know about gas you know it combusts in the engine it makes the boom boom to get your car moving but is there really such a thing as better gas better gas first a little review what the heck's in gasoline it's not just one thing think of it like a soup instead of onions and vegetables and spices we got different hydrocarbons you might know that Diesel's got a lot of Boom per unit because of its long hydrocarbon chain but it's also a part of what makes it combust under heat and pressure instead of by a spark gasoline is made up of hydrocarbons that are shorter change and sometimes aromatic like this three ethyl toluene typical gasoline contains about 150 different chemicals including Benzene toluene ethyl Benzene and xylene the particular makeup of gasoline is what lends to its utility it's readily vaporized and resistant to pre-ignition again there's so many chemicals in gasoline and there's so many different formulations of gasoline that I can't sit here and tell you exactly what's in it but I can tell you the types of things things that are in it and why they're in it gasoline mixes with air is rapidly oxidized in the combustion chainer thanks to a spark is expelled as water and carbon dioxide in a perfect system that's all you get but your engine's not perfect the repeated combustion can cause carbon buildup and engine wear so what a better gas will do is maximize combustion minimize wear and decrease any contaminant buildup in the engine so we went to the Shell Technology Center in Houston Texas to see the lengths their scientists go to make sure your car is running on the best fuel possible so they walked us through these engines that they taken apart it lets you see just how well particular formulation of gasoline or oil can help an engine run optimally here's two valves from an engine the one from an engine running on gas with the lowest additive content allowed has a thick brown film on it shell team of scientists have a really technical name for it Gunk on the valve that wasn't running premium gasoline some of that gasoline might have sat on the valve and then when the engine was warm and it didn't burn just sat and while it sat it turned into a varnish and then it got heated and then it happened again and so on and so on and so on and so on until Gunk these are carbon deposits that form when you have a low quality fuel the idea is the Shelby power retro Plus premium gasoline would actually help clean those deposits but it will also prevent them from forming if you have a car that already had deposits in there you use it start using Shelby partnership Plus premium gasoline it will remove up to 60 percent of those deposits with the very first tank closed captioning not available clog the valves but it have elements to help get the existing Gunk off of an engine so better gasoline has more of the chemicals that will not only reduce deposits but eliminate them these additives are a little more costly and that is part of the reason that gasoline formulations with better performance and more additives tend to cost more at the pump so let's do a quick refresher on octane ratings the numbers on the pump aren't a measurement of components in the gas they're a measurement of how good that particular formulation is at resisting pre-ignition compared to Octane different countries use different rating systems but overall those numbers rate the gasoline on how well it resists pre-ignition in your engine higher performance engines have more precise ignition time and often have much higher compression ratios in those engines in these engines it's crucial that they run on gasoline with a higher octane rating I'm not saying how high octane gas because that implies the gasoline is high in octane which may or may not be the case because of all the chemicals in gas higher octane rating not necessarily higher octane gas love you semantics semantics scientists also have to take into consideration the heat of the combustion and the byproducts produced by that combustion if a particular mix of gasoline ignites at too low a temperature you get knocking or pinging because it's igniting before it should if the particular mix of gasoline isn't formulated correctly if it's bad gas it can still leave deposits in the combustion chamber these can wear out pistons and even lead to pre-ignition by not letting the chamber get rid of heat the way it was designed a mix of gasoline for high performance engines in California is going to look a little different than the mix that's optimal for the same engine in Norway shelf fuel formulations start in Hamburg developed hand in hand with their work with Scuderia Ferrari in Marinello they can put in a request to the blend lab then they get to test that mix out to see how it performs how well does it clean how effective is it at preventing wear but how can you tell how lubricants and fuel affect the insides of an engine you take apart the engine everyone of our technicians are trained they're trained to to grade them kind of like the industry standards so they grade them on cleanliness they weigh the more wear and you can see that there is hardly any scuffing in in the journal bearings and so forth and so we want to understand that so you want two things a good gasoline doing its job and generating as little wear and build up as possible and an oil lubricating the piston on its Journey right at the edge of the Ring they might come into contact the Piston is where there's a chance that the oil lubricating the engine can come into contact with the gasoline combustion in the chamber the lubricant actually cannot get to the top part of the Piston riff so the top pistol ring is usually start the oil and that's where the fuel that contains an anti-wear component can actually Place wrong so by protecting that top piston ring that's that's really what we talk about everything else below that is the lubricant's job it's also why they spend so much time formulating their oils this is a piston ring that they magnified and then 3D printed the side that's depressed in the model is where that wear happened if it goes into further you're going to lose compression and that dangle engine won't work the way it's supposed to that is why it's important to use the right gasoline and the right engine oil we make it from the beginning basic block the single carbon and build it up that way now we can make it to up to 99.9 pure product very homogeneous just like slipping on on ball bearings it's those cold mornings for those guys who work up in the Portland on Minnesota and uh it's coming around the bend right the winners coming around and you're trying to start the car so if your oil pump is pushing those little tight oil passages is trying to push this engine at 40 below this is what happens between a good product and a slow product and those differences those seconds of differences is what's going to help to protect that engine when you crank that engine a hundred thousand times a year so we opened engines and we looked at valves I mean is there such a thing as better gasoline I'll answer it this way there's such a thing as bad gasoline we saw in the center that some commonly used low quality deposit control additives can accumulate an intake valve stems and cause them to stick While others cause additional combustion chamber deposits so good companies who care about their product in your car are doing tests to make sure that their gasolines as good as it can be the differences between us and to our competitor is the way the methodology that we've developed right along the way the 75 years of Shell's history developing specific methodologies to understand that engine a little bit better than the competitor that's what differentiate does for my competitors hit this little yellow button to subscribe you can also click that little bell it gives you alert whenever there's new stuff one of our first videos we ever did was on gas you know it's probably got plenty of engine deposits communist cars follow us on Twitter and Instagram at donut media follow me at bids Bardo we've got a bunch of apparel check out shop.donut.media don't tell my wife I did a whole episode on gasoline and didn't blow anything up