SW17LS

But we're talking about one can of additives to an entire station's tanks full of fuel. Think about how small a dilution that is. I've been using a few local no name stations for several years now and have noticed no reduced performance, no reduced fuel efficiency, no nothing. As for fuel deposits...how long do any of us own these cars really? And does 1 part per 10,000 of some additive keep me from having fuel deposits? I find that hard to believe.

Certainly the difference won't break the bank, and if it makes you feel better to use a big name brand fuel go for it...but thats exactly how the hundreds of millions of dollars they spend on marketing wants you to react.

Its all just hype, and I'm very pleased not to be paying more for it anymore. Lots of stations around here are giving up their big name franchises and going to no name type brands, or independent brands like Liberty because of the costs of keeping the franchise brand, and this is a very affluent area...one of the most affluent areas of the country.

mrBillFL

if you can get it. non ethanol gas.

http://pure-gas.org/

pick your state.
http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=FL

SW17LS

For sure, if you can get it...

bc6152

This is good advice. Don't waste your money on high octane gas when your vehicle calls for regular. Toyota spends a lot of money on engineers to make a car that performs but runs on regular. Simply stick with a secure stable station that moves a lot of gas i.e. Costco, Sam's Club.

Kabajaro

This is a GC/MS scan I did on Monday for gasoline. You could say that each individual peak on the spectrum represents a distinct compound that's inside the gasoline and don't forget those itty bitty tiny little peaks.

We were looking for m-xylene so the sample was spiked with m-xylene (that's it's near 100% abundance but we don't have that much in our cars) and I zoomed in the region from 35-136 m/z and I can tell you that there is a lot of stuff that's in the gas we put in our cars. If you look at the table you can see that there's tons within that small region..now imagine what the full spectrum looks like.

Although companies have probably spent time and money separating these, chances are each of them separates differently thus resulting in some stuff leftover. The chance of you getting a "clean gas" is really low so I think it doesn't really matter where you go, the stuff is still pretty similar.

gemigniani

It's the quality of the additive package that makes one brand of gasoline different from another.
Good quality additves are found in many major brands of slightly more expensive "top tier" gasolines (and not found in less expensive quik stop convenience store or Costco type gasolines) and they keep the engines intake valves and fuel injectors cleaner which contributes to smoother engine drivability and fuel economy which in turn minimizes the concentration of pollutants in that end up reaching the catalytic converter(s) which in turn extends the life of the converters. A major expense owners of modern cars routinely face nowadays at around 100,000 - 150,000 miles is a dreaded check engine light for "catalyst efficiency below threshold".

Of course, Lexus owners who lease or trade every 60,000 - 80,000 miles or so do not need to be concerned about the long term consequences of using quik stop convenience store gasolines.

SW17LS

But again we are talking about one can of additives to an entire gas station tankload of fuel. Meaning your tank you buy has what, a trace amount?

Thats what Exxon, Shell, Sunoco, etc pay advertisers millions and millions of dollars to make you believe. Very effective.

bc6152

I'm with you SW...

DASMan

The claim that just one "can" of additive was poured into a holding tank when gasoline was delivered to a station left me scratching ye ol' noggin.. I really couldn't wrap my mind around it. That made me start searching and I found a product called CGT-Plus Concentrated Gasoline Treatment. And sure enough, on Gallon can treat up to 2,500 gallons of gasoline! Not only that, it can be used to augment poor quality gas when one gallon is used to treat up to 1,300 gallons of gasoline.

I wonder if anyone can find out just how much the stuff costs, just for curiosity sake, so we can see just how badly the gasoline market is ripping us off for.

That's just one ounce of additive for every 19.5 or so gallons gasoline!

Not to mention how much filler is in a standard bottle of fuel additives when all that is really needed to treat an average tank full of gasoline is less than one ounce!

gemigniani

3 minute education:

jollick

Then there is this article.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2007-06-13-bad-gas-usat_N.htm

gemigniani

Very telling article indeed: "Tesoro, which retails gasoline through 800 of its stations and distributes fuel to Wal-Mart and others, views the detergent issue as a gimmick. Tesoro doesn't put in additional additives because "our customers are price shoppers," says Senior Vice President Lynn Westfall. "We don't get any complaints from our customers."

So that shows there really are blue collar gasolines out there for folks that drive Ford Escorts, drink Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and smoke Pall Mall cigarettes.

LexBob2

I've never sought out Top Tier brands of gas. I look for relatively clean stations that appear to do a good volume of business (frequent deliveries) and have never had a gas related problem with a vehicle. I'm probably older than most here and have been driving a long time with personal vehicles, company cars, rental cars etc.

If I happen to hit a Top Tier station, fine, but I certainly don't go looking for them. I frequently use BP these days (not a Top Tier brand) because there is one near me and I have a BP Visa rewards card that earns cents off per gallon,

It's still mostly brand marketing (not a bad thing) more than the actual gas/additives.

Mike728

BP meets the standards for "top tier". They just didn't elect to join the club.

SW17LS

That certainly is a slick little video designed by folks that have an agenda. Do you have an independent news article or something like the USA today article jollick posted?

Thats like asking Lexus who makes the best luxury car, and taking that response as proof that Lexus does.

I share his opinion that detergents are a gimmick.

Wow...nothing elitist about that statement is there?

I don't have a problem using a product that "blue collar" people use. I come from a long line of blue collar wearing, Ford Escort driving, PBR drinking people, people that would have been incapable of making a statement like that. I don't waste money, if I feel something is worth a premium I will pay, I like nice cars, nice things because they are tangibly better. I like to eat at nice restaurants and take nice trips, because the benefit is there.

I see no evidence that fuel from a Shell station is any better than fuel from a Liberty station. If I pull up to get gas and both are right there and its $.01 cheaper at the Liberty station, thats where I go.

Like I said, if you want to use "top tier" gasoline, go for it. To make the insinuation that you are somehow better than people who choose to pay less, the "blue collar wearing PBR drinking Escort drivers" is preposterous, and small.