[tock172]

Originally Posted by JimD

Once again Tock172 makes a baseless clam, this time that higher grades of gasoline contain more detergents. This is from Shell's website:

"The Nitrogen Enriched Cleaning System gives all three grades of Shell gasoline the ability to clean up gunk on intake valves and fuel injectors. Industry data indicate and car manufacturers recognize that a clean engine is more fuel-efficient, produces fewer emissions and allows vehicles to perform at their best."

That is not all they say, it is simply the most applicable. If Tock has some different information to cite, I am interested. But when the manufacturer says all three grades has the same detergent package, I am going to believe that.

You're cherrypicking statements from the Shell website, specifically marketing copy from the Nitrogen Enriched Gasoline page which discusses their entire range of gasoline fuels.

Here's a statement which applies directly to Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline from the FAQ:

Originally Posted by Shell

Shell V-Power NiTRO+ contains the highest concentration of the Shell Nitrogen Enriched Cleaning System and cleans up faster than Shell regular. In fact, Shell V-Power contains seven times the amount of cleaning agents required by federal standards. The Shell V-Power NiTRO+ formulation was engineered with triple-action protection for optimal engine performance, delivering unsurpassed protection against gunk, unbeatable protection against corrosion, and our best protection against wear.

If that's not enough, here's some more marketing from Shell:

Originally Posted by Shell

• It is the only gasoline that contains the patented and exclusive Shell Nitrogen Enriched Cleaning System
• Actively cleans performance-robbing gunk from intake valves and fuel injectors
• No other gasoline protects better!
• The Shell Nitrogen Enriched Cleaning System uses a patented molecule, which cleans and protects intake valves and fuel injectors. Enriching the molecule with nitrogen makes it more thermally stable and therefore more effective in tough engine conditions with higher temperatures and increased pressures. This is particularly important in modern fuel-efficient engines to prevent the breakdown of cleaning agents.

Originally Posted by JimD

Tock is a good writer but he expresses his opinions as fact. That is common with journalists these days and some other people. It is annoying to me. As an engineer, I was taught to test theories to see if they are correct, not make things up and claim loudly that I know best.

The only thing I suggest is if you think it provides you meaningful benefit that you see is more valuable than the money, then develop some data that supports your theory. Or simply state it is your opinion that is unsupported by facts. You could still be right. If that was the way Tock wrote his article, I wouldn't be criticizing it.

I went to school at a university with a strong reputation for its college of engineering. I am not an engineer. In my experience, engineers have difficulty envisioning the grander scheme beyond the single component they've been tasked with developing, improving or fixing. I think the same thing might be happening here, with a fixation on debating the properties and benefits of premium fuel stemming from you not agreeing with the tone or presentation style of my article.

The world is full of baseless statements (see above examples), but I stand by everything I wrote in this thread and in the article. I never once portrayed any of my own personal experiences to be taken as fact, and in the article, relied almost exclusively on data and literature directly from Shell outside of my own shade-tree experiment, which is fully divulged. I'd encourage you to make an inquiry regarding the content of Shell V-Power NiTRO+, but can warn you that these companies are expectedly coy with their proprietary formulations, as the contents are commonly protected as a trade secret.