Sunocos Closing

[sjd]

I stopped using Ultra 94 a while ago (Since I get the same power and better mileage out of Shell's V-Power 91, even though my Mazdaspeed6 claims it needs 93 Octane) but I know this might affect some people here.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/2010/01/19/all-300-sunoco-stations-in-ontario-will-close-or-rebrand.htm

[Travis]

Does anyone know how well the 2008-2010 STI handles 91 octane?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Canadian owners manual says that 93 octane is required yet the US owners manual says only 91 is required. Could it effect the car in the winter?

I'm going to order a 2010 STI within a few weeks... or at least that's was the plan :(

[StewPiddass]

Maybe this means 94 will be available at all the new Petro Can stations... or all Petro Can for that matter :)

[vinnie mack]

well that sucks, Sunoco was my favorite station. This is going to affect many performance vehicles as a lot of people used 94. I assume this doesn't affect Sunoco's race fuels?

My Mazdaspeed Protege claims the same thing as most turbo vehicles do in their manuals.

[thekid]

Maybe this means 94 will be available at all the new Petro Can stations... or all Petro Can for that matter :)

As I'm sure you know, it's available at all the Petro Can's I've come across in Quebec!

[thekid]

My Mazdaspeed Protege claims the same thing as most turbo vehicles do in their manuals.

The MSP only calls for 91, and like Steve, I've found I get the best mileage using the Shell 91 as it contains no ethanol.

[vinnie mack]

ah yes brian you are right i forgot. But i still liked using 94.

[Crossthreaded]

Crap...I'd better cash in my Sunoco points!!

[darcyw]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Canadian owners manual says that 93 octane is required yet the US owners manual says only 91 is required. Could it effect the car in the winter?

:(
I'd be more concerned with the high heat of summer time where the added heat will lower the detonation threshold. i find the b16a2 (honda) engine in the hot summer, with the a/c running, pulls huge timing out to prevent detonation. In a boosted application, i'd be more concerned yet. In the winter, with that nice cold intake air, 91 will likely be fine.

I have a reich racing ecu for my 88 gtx mazda which requires 94 octane as a result to prevent rare and expensive parts from going BOOM! I'll have to turn down the boost or ?

Sunoco hired a consulting firm to gauge public opinion. I happened to get a call from them regarding the proposed changing sunoco stations to petrocan. I told them i used sunoco for the 94, plus they are avid motorsports supporters, plus the sunoco logo looks cooler.

later
darcy

we'll see but i think it just plain sucks.

[twinch]

Well crap. I'm pretty sure the qr25 in the spec-v will be ok...I hope. I guess I'll just have to move to brockville near the Quebec border so I have access to 94 octane. This just sucks!

[Doug P]

Petrocan has stations around the GTA with 94, check their website.

When all the dust clears and the Sunoco franchise owners get their lawsuit resolved I would expect that many Petrocan stations will carry 94, certainly the ones converting from Sunoco considering the tanks are already in place.

I think the whole think sucks, Sunoco has a long racing history, Petrocan has a history of crappy government ownership.

[SVT RACING]

I read on another forum Husky gas stations have the 94 and that they are buying a bunch of the Sunoco's that Petro Can isn't.;)

[alanjones]

Does anyone know how well the 2008-2010 STI handles 91 octane?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Canadian owners manual says that 93 octane is required yet the US owners manual says only 91 is required. Could it effect the car in the winter?

I'm going to order a 2010 STI within a few weeks... or at least that's was the plan :(

Don't know what difference it makes, but Ontario has dirty gasoline compared to cleaner Gas in the US.

[glh]

I thought Petro Can was sold to a private company a year or so ago ?????????

[Doug P]

I thought Petro Can was sold to a private company a year or so ago ?????????

It was, just like the 407. Does not mean that they don't have a dumbass history.

Do you think you will be seeing Petrocrap stickers on any race cars soon?

[sjd]

Don't know what difference it makes, but Ontario has dirty gasoline compared to cleaner Gas in the US.

Source? I'm not saying you're incorrect, I just want to know more about it if that is true.

[Mule]

We have a brand new Sunoco here in Kingston. And yes, they do sell the good stuff. Strange thing happening here is Esso has closed two locations in high traffic area`s and another is dead man walking, also in a high traffic area.
The one that gets me is why Sunoco shut down Marysville ? Lots of customers, handy to SMP, great food at Mikes and a par 4 from the 401 ?
Mule.

[Slowpoke]

Petro Canada Search Engine for 94 octane (or other offerings):

http://www.petro-canada.ca/en/locations/4085.aspx

All outlets that the corpoaration says has 94 in Onatrio:

http://www.petro-canada.ca/en/locations/4085.aspx?MODE=RES&A=&C=&P=ON&PC=+&R=&B=94

[Action Jackson]

Source? I'm not saying you're incorrect, I just want to know more about it if that is true.

I can't look up the sources for you from my phone. In years past Shell Canada put (I believe it's called) MMT in their gas which damages catalytic systems. There were supposedly class action lawsuits against them. Shell USA doesn't use MMT. Also in years past, Sunoco was reported to have some of the cleanest gas in Canada. Last time I've read (which may not be current) Esso topped Sunoco, followed by Petro for gas cleanliness.

[andregt6]

My MSP does run well on 94, boost just seems to come on sooner then V91, but most time I run Shell due to it being near by.

A.

[sjd]

I can't look up the sources for you from my phone. In years past Shell Canada put (I believe it's called) MMT in their gas which damages catalytic systems. There were supposedly class action lawsuits against them. Shell USA doesn't use MMT. Also in years past, Sunoco was reported to have some of the cleanest gas in Canada. Last time I've read (which may not be current) Esso topped Sunoco, followed by Petro for gas cleanliness.

You are correct, however you are out of date. MMT use was phased out 6 years ago, although some gas companies (including Sunoco) didn't rule out using it in the future, but everything I can find says that they didn't.

http://www.policyalternatives.org/publications/monitor/september-2004-filling-our-tanks-and-brains-wrong-fuel

[Mr2Rob]

Slightly off topic, but does anyone have links to articles that provides up to date information on the quality and origin (crude oil, refineries, etc.) for gas sold in Ontario?

The reason for asking is that I'm thinking of switching to Esso to double up on aeroplan miles, but have in the past always avoided Esso stations due to information I read years ago.

Thanks!

[twinch]

So no Petro Canada's in the downtown area of Toronto with 94? So am I crazy or with all the Lamborghini's, Ferraris, Astons, Bentley's, Ford GT's etc, etc, etc, that I see around downtown in the summer, are they just filling up with 91octane? I'd think that there would be a market for 94 octane in the downtown core.

[Terrh]

my cars have without fail always ran better on US 93 compared to canadian 91/94. It's just better fuel over there.


When I'm buying fuel in ontario (which is often) I'm always buying it at shell anyways.

[Fast Eddie]

I read on another forum Husky gas stations have the 94 and that they are buying a bunch of the Sunoco's that Petro Can isn't.;)

I heard from a reliable source that the Sunoco here in Alliston is going to be a Husky.

Is there a guide that suggests octane ratings according to compression ratios?

[1337trix]

i was at the petro canada at eglinton and avenue rd today

they have new pumps with Ultra 94 all over them - it was even sunoco yellow where everything else was petro red


looks like the ultra94 is staying for sure

[SmokeScreen]

I think since Petro Can closed their refinery in Oakville a few years ago they have been using other companies refined product. They were supposed to expand the Montreal refinery at the time of upgrading to making lower sulfur fuels. It was going to cost too much to upgrade Oakville. Imperial, Sunoco, Shell, Ultramar and Petro Can have been product swapping in some markets for years. Other independants like Pioneer are just marketers and do not refine.

[B6TFestiva]

I have a reich racing ecu for my 88 gtx mazda which requires 94 octane as a result to prevent rare and expensive parts from going BOOM! I'll have to turn down the boost or ?

FWIW, I had a RR ECU in my old B6T powered car with the boost increased to around 15psi. I'm not going to say for 100% sure but there were times where I had 91 in the tank, and I never heard even the slightest knock. You have to remember it has only 7.9:1 compression ratio and the engine is damn near bullet-proof to begin with.

I would always get tiny carbon deposits/specks on the rear hatch with the RR ECU which never occured with the factory ECU. I think that tune is pretty rich (I can dig up a dyno sheet if you want).

[alanjones]

i was at the petro canada at eglinton and avenue rd today

they have new pumps with Ultra 94 all over them - it was even sunoco yellow where everything else was petro red


looks like the ultra94 is staying for sure

My local Sunoco is now Petro C, and they have stuck with the 94. But what about previous Petro C's did they sell 94 before they bought Sunoco ? If they didn't, do they now sell it ?

[twinch]

I just drove to Kingston road and woodbine area and the sunoco has been changed to Petro and yes they have kept the 94. Whew.

[chopper]

suncor purchased petro can and is in a 2 year rebrand strategy, which will also include the selling off of various locations currently under both banners. The current locations selling 94, will continue to sell 94, with potential added 94 locations in the rebrand process.
I was always left with the impression that sunoco 94 can contain up to 10% methanol, BUT shell's premium contains ZERO methanol, thereby SHELL is a better fuel???

[Doug Stark]

certainly the ones converting from Sunoco considering the tanks are already in place.


FYI: Most of the gas comes from one or two suppliers and the drivers add the different 'properties' (marketing) for each brand when they fill up the tankers. The 'boosted' gas and the 'cleaner' gas and what have you - are additives. They spend diddly actually 'cracking' the fuel to a higher RON level - it's 'adjusted' in the old racer way which can be bought by you and I off the shelf at retail outlets that have speed parts or service the racer crowd. I was set straight about this by a relative who retired from Sun Oil last summer.

We had a nice fight over the rubber and plastic killing additive (up to 10%)that Sunoco and Petro like to add to their fuel as well. The maker of my car states right in the manual that NO amount of alcohol should be used. Zero.

[slucas]

I was told by a now retired Shell exec. that during a govt. inquiry into price-fixing in N.B. a few years ago that while working the numbers to justify what they charged for gas they discovered that they couldn't account for more that 1cent per litre differance between regular and their high octane. The inquiry wasn't interested in that little nugget so it wasn't let out of the bag.

Doug; You must not be able to drive that top-of-the-line VW much past Sept. or much before May if it can't use any booze in it's fuel.

[Doug Stark]

Doug; You must not be able to drive that top-of-the-line VW much past Sept. or much before May if it can't use any booze in it's fuel.

Spoken like Jeremy from Top Gear!

[Travis]

Is there a fast way to search for local Sunocos that are still open based on address?

The Sunoco website has a really crappy find locations that requires you know every town name in the area.... :mad: the whole reason I'd look it up is because I'm NOT familiar with the area.

The Petro Canada website has a much better search page.

[h-bomb]

Is there a fast way to search for local Sunocos that are still open based on address?

The Sunoco website has a really crappy find locations that requires you know every town name in the area.... :mad: the whole reason I'd look it up is because I'm NOT familiar with the area.

The Petro Canada website has a much better search page.

Google Maps.

[Travis]

Google Maps.

As far as I can tell, google maps still shows the locations that have closed.