Some useful tips for gassing up at the Pumps
01-15-13, 08:43 AM
#16
Out of Warranty
My brother brought up another (apparantly) good tip....something that usually doesn't affect me, as I usually pay inside, not at the pump. He said, with a credit card, always remember to hit the "End Transaction" button if the pump has one. Apparantly, if this is not done (though he said it has never happened to him) someone behind you can piggyback off your transaction.
01-15-13, 08:59 AM
#17
Guest
Posts: n/a
I've broken every last bullet point posted and the cars run fine lol. I know technically its better but never been an issue.
If anything I have to say I like the new GS fuel flap which is like the Germans, you just push to open instead of needing a button or lever inside the car.
If anything I have to say I like the new GS fuel flap which is like the Germans, you just push to open instead of needing a button or lever inside the car.
01-15-13, 09:10 AM
#18
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Independent station owners, whatever the sign out front says, tend to buy from the cheapest source available (within limits of course, you won't find Pemex here for good reason). Rack prices - the wholesale price of gas - vary from day to day and is played like the commodities market across some 225 cities and towns in the US. That's why those no-name tankers pull up to your station, they may be hauling Shell, Texaco, or Exxon today, as ordered by the station owner/manager . . . but they may be hauling something you never heard of - a generic gasoline that's holding a sale.
With even an average convenience store selling nearly 5,000 gallons of gas per day, a few cents per gallon saved at wholesale can make even a marginal station profitable. Currently, on average across the country the gross margin for gasoline is 16.3 cents/gallon, or 5.6 percent. That's entirely fair, considering the station has to pay utilities, handle cash, service the facility, and pay staff out of that margin. If the station owner can purchase perfectly good gasoline at wholesale for a couple of cents less by playing the market, that is pure profit, translating directly to his bottom line. 2¢ per gallon on a 5K gallon wholesale purchase is a quick $100/day boost in profits. For independent gas station owners, and often some franchise holders, it pays to play the market.
With even an average convenience store selling nearly 5,000 gallons of gas per day, a few cents per gallon saved at wholesale can make even a marginal station profitable. Currently, on average across the country the gross margin for gasoline is 16.3 cents/gallon, or 5.6 percent. That's entirely fair, considering the station has to pay utilities, handle cash, service the facility, and pay staff out of that margin. If the station owner can purchase perfectly good gasoline at wholesale for a couple of cents less by playing the market, that is pure profit, translating directly to his bottom line. 2¢ per gallon on a 5K gallon wholesale purchase is a quick $100/day boost in profits. For independent gas station owners, and often some franchise holders, it pays to play the market.
For consumers, if you want to be sure your engine runs clean and free of deposits, it's a good idea to run a jug of Techron or Seafoam through your tank every few months. At least that way you know you are getting the cleaning agents you are paying for.
I also agree on the Techron, though if you use Chevron gas regularly, you won't need it.....Techron is just another name for the highly-rated Techroline package that is already blended into Chevron gas at the pump. Regular use of Shell, with its V-Power detergent additive, will also probably preclude the need for Techron or BG-44K....though, of course, it never hurts.
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-15-13 at 09:14 AM.
01-15-13, 09:27 AM
#20
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
You can overfill the tank a few times, maybe, and get away with it, but it does risk damage to the charcoal-canister from raw gas soaking through it.
If anything I have to say I like the new GS fuel flap which is like the Germans, you just push to open instead of needing a button or lever inside the car.
01-15-13, 10:17 AM
#21
Out of Warranty
Through the '50's and '60's carmakers played a game of hiding the filler neck. First was the gas flap, but that wasn't cool enough. My uncle's Cadillacs (and one of my ancient project cars) hid the filler under the portside tail light. On my '47, you pressed the reflector below the left taillight, but Unk's '52' and onward models with tailfins, required a similar process to swing up the light assembly and reach in for the gas filler.
You know gas monkeys in every corner gas station in the land wasted plenty of frustrating hours searching for the fuel cap at the beginning of every model year. Owners took sly pleasure watching the search as they poked and prodded every piece of chrome aft of the rear wheels - and there was a LOT of it. By the late '60's most car companies followed GM in placing the filler behind the spring-loaded license plate in the rear bumper.
If you didn't scrape most of the hide off your right hand just getting the nozzle into the filler neck, you had your hand rinsed in raw gas when the tank was full and the shallow angle of the filler allowed the tank to upchuck about a pint of gas before the automatic shut-off could respond, Even worse was your greater risk in a rear-end collision, where the filler would be driven into the tank and fuel would pour out under the car. Ford's Pinto got a lot of negative press for this, but truthfully, it was only one of many cars so designed.
I really appreciate the automakers for making the gas flap easily found and operated today, but I'd appreciate it a bit more if they spent a little more money securing it. I don't recall just which luxury car maker did it, but I seem to remember some cars having a leather tab that rolled up in the gas flap that hung down the fender when opened to keep the scratches and most of the fuel spills under control. Why can't they do that today? If it confuses too many drivers, maybe they shouldn't be allowed to pump their own gas.
You know gas monkeys in every corner gas station in the land wasted plenty of frustrating hours searching for the fuel cap at the beginning of every model year. Owners took sly pleasure watching the search as they poked and prodded every piece of chrome aft of the rear wheels - and there was a LOT of it. By the late '60's most car companies followed GM in placing the filler behind the spring-loaded license plate in the rear bumper.
If you didn't scrape most of the hide off your right hand just getting the nozzle into the filler neck, you had your hand rinsed in raw gas when the tank was full and the shallow angle of the filler allowed the tank to upchuck about a pint of gas before the automatic shut-off could respond, Even worse was your greater risk in a rear-end collision, where the filler would be driven into the tank and fuel would pour out under the car. Ford's Pinto got a lot of negative press for this, but truthfully, it was only one of many cars so designed.
I really appreciate the automakers for making the gas flap easily found and operated today, but I'd appreciate it a bit more if they spent a little more money securing it. I don't recall just which luxury car maker did it, but I seem to remember some cars having a leather tab that rolled up in the gas flap that hung down the fender when opened to keep the scratches and most of the fuel spills under control. Why can't they do that today? If it confuses too many drivers, maybe they shouldn't be allowed to pump their own gas.
01-15-13, 06:21 PM
#22
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Lil4X
Through the '50's and '60's carmakers played a game of hiding the filler neck. First was the gas flap, but that wasn't cool enough. My uncle's Cadillacs (and one of my ancient project cars) hid the filler under the portside tail light. On my '47, you pressed the reflector below the left taillight, but Unk's '52' and onward models with tailfins, required a similar process to swing up the light assembly and reach in for the gas filler.
You know gas monkeys in every corner gas station in the land wasted plenty of frustrating hours searching for the fuel cap at the beginning of every model year. Owners took sly pleasure watching the search as they poked and prodded every piece of chrome aft of the rear wheels - and there was a LOT of it. By the late '60's most car companies followed GM in placing the filler behind the spring-loaded license plate in the rear bumper.
You know gas monkeys in every corner gas station in the land wasted plenty of frustrating hours searching for the fuel cap at the beginning of every model year. Owners took sly pleasure watching the search as they poked and prodded every piece of chrome aft of the rear wheels - and there was a LOT of it. By the late '60's most car companies followed GM in placing the filler behind the spring-loaded license plate in the rear bumper.
One of the strangest refuelings that we routinely did was to dump both gas and an 8-oz. can of factory lubricating-oil into the tanks of the old three-cylinder, two-stroke Saabs. When those engines started up, they made a unique, high-pitched, flat-nasal sound that was just hilarious to listen to.
Another time-honored rule was that, if you saw a Chevy Corvair coming in, you immediately got a couple of quarts of oil ready.....more often than not, they would have the inside of the rear engine-compartment covered with a thick oil-film because the seals kept failing. You almost always had to add two or three quarts to bring the dipstick back up to the full mark. You also didn't have the nice easy-pour plastic oil-bottles you do today.....adding oil with the old metal cans and the big punch-spout could sometimes be messy.
If you didn't scrape most of the hide off your right hand just getting the nozzle into the filler neck, you had your hand rinsed in raw gas when the tank was full and the shallow angle of the filler allowed the tank to upchuck about a pint of gas before the automatic shut-off could respond,
Even worse was your greater risk in a rear-end collision, where the filler would be driven into the tank and fuel would pour out under the car. Ford's Pinto got a lot of negative press for this, but truthfully, it was only one of many cars so designed.
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-15-13 at 07:18 PM.
01-16-13, 06:53 AM
#23
Through the '50's and '60's carmakers played a game of hiding the filler neck. First was the gas flap, but that wasn't cool enough. My uncle's Cadillacs (and one of my ancient project cars) hid the filler under the portside tail light. On my '47, you pressed the reflector below the left taillight, but Unk's '52' and onward models with tailfins, required a similar process to swing up the light assembly and reach in for the gas filler.
You know gas monkeys in every corner gas station in the land wasted plenty of frustrating hours searching for the fuel cap at the beginning of every model year. Owners took sly pleasure watching the search as they poked and prodded every piece of chrome aft of the rear wheels - and there was a LOT of it. By the late '60's most car companies followed GM in placing the filler behind the spring-loaded license plate in the rear bumper.
.
You know gas monkeys in every corner gas station in the land wasted plenty of frustrating hours searching for the fuel cap at the beginning of every model year. Owners took sly pleasure watching the search as they poked and prodded every piece of chrome aft of the rear wheels - and there was a LOT of it. By the late '60's most car companies followed GM in placing the filler behind the spring-loaded license plate in the rear bumper.
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01-16-13, 07:35 AM
#24
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No, what I think he means is that to open the fuel door, you push on it, and it releases. It is on a spring. Most German cars (my previous BMW and current Porsche) have this feature instead of a release located inside the vehicle. The door will not open unless you unlock the doors.
01-16-13, 09:09 AM
#25
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
good tips and discussion, thanks for posting!
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