Car likes the cheap stuff

[Mazda Lover]

Just food for thought.

The last couple of times I've gotten gas it was at Arco. Normally I never go there but it just happened that I was really empty both times and it was the only station close by. Here's the shocker for me...both tanks posted the best mileage I've ever got on the car...with hand calc'd averages of 26 and 28 in mixed driving with some wailing for each tank.

I never get this good from my usual stations, Costco and Chevron, more like 22-23 for the same type of driving. I've heard Arco is shit and should be avoided, but now IDK. Car ran fine.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

[Black Metal]

Knock city

[jman46]

Not out of the norm, people say BJ's gas blows, but I've always run every one of my cars on their 93 with 0 issues. I only use them or Shell. My car got horrible mileage/performance on Mobil, Irving, BP and Gulf.

[4G63]

Wtf is Arco?

[Stingray69]

With all the variables in driving through a tank of gas I wouldn't attribute the differences to the gas. Costco gas isn't the cheap stuff? After watching modern marvels on the history channel it is my understanding all the gas comes from one of the same pipelines. The additives are then added at "the rack" which makes it slightly different. I think power content per gallon is very similar. Who gives a shit about mileage anyway?

[Mazda Lover]

Originally Posted by Black Metal Knock city

Ha from the land of 85 octane..jk...I know you can get 91 in UT.

[Black Metal]

Originally Posted by Mazda Lover Ha from the land of 85 octane..jk...I know you can get 91 in UT.

LOL E85 mix FTW! But yea our gas here sucks in general.

[Dash08]

LOLZ

It all comes from the same refinery, regardless of the name on the station.

Chevron with techron is the same gas as Arco, they just add a different detergent.

[Mazda Lover]

Originally Posted by Stingray69 With all the variables in driving through a tank of gas I wouldn't attribute the differences to the gas. Costco gas isn't the cheap stuff? After watching modern marvels on the history channel it is my understanding all the gas comes from one of the same pipelines. The additives are then added at "the rack" which makes it slightly different. I think power content per gallon is very similar. Who gives a shit about mileage anyway?

You're right Costco is cheap, but then I saw the same fuel delivery truck at my local Costco and Chevron so I figured it was the same gas. Maybe I'm wrong? As for mileage, here in Nor Cal I kind give a shit cuz we get raped on cost and now a refinery fire yesterday has gas set to go thru the roof. +.50 in a day.

[Stingray69]

Originally Posted by Mazda Lover You're right Costco is cheap, but then I saw the same fuel delivery truck at my local Costco and Chevron so I figured it was the same gas. Maybe I'm wrong? As for mileage, here in Nor Cal I kind give a shit cuz we get raped on cost and now a refinery fire yesterday has gas set to go thru the roof. +.50 in a day.

It's all from the same refinery/pipeline with different additives. The best thing you can do for mileage is with your right foot not at the pump.

[vballbwing]

Originally Posted by Stingray69 It's all from the same refinery/pipeline with different additives. The best thing you can do for mileage is with your right foot not at the pump.

Unfortunately, CA is just one off. Because of their emissions laws/standards, gas you get pump there comes from a state refinery, not a federal standardized refinery. This is one of the reasons why CA is always about 30-50 cents above the national average in gas prices.

The crude may come from the same pipeline, but the gasoline has different additives for emissions standards and why it's very difficult to find any octane ratings higher than 91.


...besides, why would you want to stop using your right foot anyway?

[Jason43]

Some of these places could be watering it down with 87. It's not unheard of.

[Dash08]

Originally Posted by Dash08 LOLZ It all comes from the same refinery, regardless of the name on the station. Chevron with techron is the same gas as Arco, they just add a different detergent.

Originally Posted by Stingray69 It's all from the same refinery/pipeline with different additives. The best thing you can do for mileage is with your right foot not at the pump.

I basically said the same thing before you, yet you got all the thanks.

Fuck you guys.

























LOLZ

[Stingray69]

Originally Posted by Stingray69 With all the variables in driving through a tank of gas I wouldn't attribute the differences to the gas. Costco gas isn't the cheap stuff? After watching modern marvels on the history channel it is my understanding all the gas comes from one of the same pipelines. The additives are then added at "the rack" which makes it slightly different. I think power content per gallon is very similar. Who gives a shit about mileage anyway?

Did you not read this in post #5 ?

Originally Posted by Dash08 I basically said the same thing before you, yet you got all the thanks. Fuck you guys. LOLZ

No need to get butthurt, we agree.

[Dash08]

Originally Posted by Stingray69 No need to get butthurt, we agree.

Dude, I was kidding.

I don't give a fuck about thanks. LOL!

Pretty funny you actually took that seriously. Fuck man, I'm a dinosaur here. Only the veterans get my humor anymore.

Humbly, I'll seek my entertainment elsewhere.

[Ray Danger 2020]

When I'm in town I get gas from the same gas station (GetGo, it's a local grocery store gas station). When I'm out of town I try to use either Sunoco or Shell. I've never had any issues with super cheap gas but I try to avoid it, just in case.

[Dash08]

For serious now.

Sometimes, cheap gas is better than the expensive shit. Reason being is that cheaper brands don't use a shit ton of additives and detergents. I know that Chevron pumps their gas full of detergents to clean your motor.

The only problem with that is that while these detergents may in fact be cleaning your valves as advertised, they can simultaneously make your engine perform worse than if you were running a cleaner gas blend that is less diluted with heavy detergents.

The big problem with running cheap gas is the quality of the storage facilities and diligence in adhering to a proper maintenance plan.

Gas can get pretty polluted sitting in outdated storage tanks. Especially in metropolitan areas where they have a regular schedule of deliveries. Every time a truck pumps new gas into an old tank, it stirs up all the shit that has collected at the bottom over the years.

All that shit winds up in your gas tank. Car runs like shit. You smite cheap gas stations for good.

They're not all bad, but you'd be surprised how many of them fail at proper maintenance.

[Mazda Lover]

Originally Posted by Dash08 For serious now. Sometimes, cheap gas is better than the expensive shit. Reason being is that cheaper brands don't use a shit ton of additives and detergents. I know that Chevron pumps their gas full of detergents to clean your motor. The only problem with that is that while these detergents may in fact be cleaning your valves as advertised, they can simultaneously make your engine perform worse than if you were running a cleaner gas blend that is less diluted with heavy detergents.

So basically Chevron is unnecessary because we have no fuel passing over our valves being DI and all. Thus no need for heavy detergents. Cheap gas it is...so long as the station appears to be well maintained.

[h0ckeyman]

Originally Posted by Stingray69 Who gives a shit about mileage anyway?

I don't know why some people say "Who cares about gas mileage anyway"...while it doesn't have to be a #1 priority, I sure as shit care. That directly translates into money in my pocket...Money that I'll use for more mods

[doctavus]

This explains it perfectly.

I have put some cheap gas station branded shit in my car a few times and it drives the same and mileage even went up on one of them.

Too bad I didn't read this earlier, I went to Shell.

[Zbrit00x]

Originally Posted by Mazda Lover So basically Chevron is unnecessary because we have no fuel passing over our valves being DI and all. Thus no need for heavy detergents. Cheap gas it is...so long as the station appears to be well maintained.

Op if you have an accesport, for every tank of gas you use, log some wot pulls on the same road/ temps and other variables and see what the gas tells you that way. Just something Interesting to try if your going through a number of pumps. I tried that locally and found a shell and chevron that made my car knock the least/ none

[Oliverms3]

I don't really care on what kind of brand I use.... I haz corn fever

[Dash08]

I run Union 76 right up the street from my house.

I know the owner and have talked with him quite a bit. He's a car guy and a gas nerd. This motherfucker can tell you how many PPM(parts per million) of additives each of his shipments contain.

Most station owners don't pay attention to that shit. There's really no reason to know it. It's not like they can change it. He just nerds out on it.

This guy is the tits, he DD's a fucking Buick Grand National. Like a boss!

[SpankyCuervo]

What I normally do is run the cheap crap (Arco/Costco) then about once a month I will fill up at a Chevron because of the detergents. I do notice the cheap stuff performs better on the butt dyno. It may be pointless, but it gives me a little piece of mind after I blow through a tank of Techron. Just my 2 cents...

[crankshaft]

Originally Posted by Dash08 This guy is the tits, he DD's a fucking Buick Grand National. Like a boss!

[IshiKage]

Originally Posted by Oliverms3 I don't really care on what kind of brand I use.... I haz corn fever

this although Corn and Shell are tits

[Dash08]

Originally Posted by crankshaft

Are you laughing because you don't like Grand Nationals or because you also own an 86' Buick??

[CW42]

You'd care about mileage if you were only getting 14mpg highway while granny driving like me. I worked out that it costs me almost 70 cents per kilometer. Close to what a taxi would cost me. I'd like to try Shell instead of the gas I'm using, but all the Shell stations here look completely run down and the pumps are all rusted out and aren't even labeled so it scares me off. All the other brands have awesome shiny modern service stations, so I'm not sure what's up with Shell. They still have the old 70's pumps here which is pathetic.

[Dash08]

Originally Posted by CW42 You'd care about mileage if you were only getting 14mpg highway while granny driving like me. I worked out that it costs me almost 70 cents per kilometer. Close to what a taxi would cost me. I'd like to try Shell instead of the gas I'm using, but all the Shell stations here look completely run down and the pumps are all rusted out and aren't even labeled so it scares me off. All the other brands have awesome shiny modern service stations, so I'm not sure what's up with Shell. They still have the old 70's pumps here which is pathetic.

I would seriously stay away from those places. If you have the option, go to the cleaner, newer stations.

Think about it. If they can't afford to update their pumps or even throw on a fresh coat of paint, they certainly can't afford to maintain their underground storage tanks.

[G26]

I only use shell, nice station about 2 miles from home. I've used mobil in the past and the car ran like shit multiple times. BP also has run fine for me.

[CW42]

I really wish we had 93 octane here, but it's only in Ontario for some reason.

[JWSpeedWorkz]

I have worked at a shell station for years, in the garage of course but on the topic of fuels and such I thought this was relevant. Our station looks rough, pumps are rusted,old, screens and printers don't work, but you better believe we get or tanks checked and pumped out (to remove the water and sediment) twice a year. Now this may not seem too terribly often, but we sell an extremely low volume of fuel, likely due to our outdated pumps and such. The reason we don't upgrade is because pumps are retarded expensive and we barely make enough on gas to keep the lights on (2 to 8 cents a gallon). We just recently got our tanks re-lined. E-10 was a pain in the ass to convert to. But yeah, to sum it all up, even sketchy stations can provide you with quality fuels, as long as the owner cares about the shit that gets pumped into their tanks. If I knew our fuel was junk, there's no way I would feel ok peddling it to the public.

[CW42]

I'm just wondering why all the other stations here have such bright and shiny ultramodern stations and Shell hasn't kept up with the times. Seems weird. I'm wondering if they're getting ready to close up shop or something. It reminds me of the Gulf stations years ago and then they were gone.

[Standsideways]

Originally Posted by CW42 I really wish we had 93 octane here, but it's only in Ontario for some reason.

i assume you mean Petro Canada's "ultra 94"?

alberta has it now also.

[jimmy]

A lot of my friends were chem majors and ended up in petrochemical industries. Maybe they drank the cool aid, but they said there IS a major difference between cheap gas and "top tier" gas. It's the additives, and you'll find a lot of car manufacturers will recommend top tier only to prolong the life of the vehicle. But those same additives kill your mpg's.
In the end who gives a shit. If you really cared about mpg's you would be driving a prius (and keep your balls in a jar)

[CW42]

Expecting poor mileage from a performance car is one thing but I'm getting almost HALF the mileage I should be getting. It shouldn't cost me 35-40 dollars to drive less than 100 kilometers but that's what I'm paying now.

[Standsideways]

Originally Posted by CW42 Expecting poor mileage from a performance car is one thing but I'm getting almost HALF the mileage I should be getting. It shouldn't cost me 35-40 dollars to drive less than 100 kilometers but that's what I'm paying now.

You also have some issues with your car judging by your threads.

[The Nut]

Wow, intriguing thread. I had no idea detergent modified gas lowered your MPG. I always thought a cleaner engine/fuel system was a better running engine, therefor more MPG. So, here's where we are:
1: Clean engine is good
2: Detergents in gas while they have cleaning power, don't perform as efficiently
3: Our DI engines don't see gas on intake valves so no cleaning value there
4: A bottle of Lucas additive every 4 or 5 fill-ups will clean the fuel system and is far cheaper than filling up every week with the expensive stuff
5: If you happen to live in a state where there's a huge price difference between places like Chevron/Shell and Arco (like here in Cali) this could save you a lot of money
6: (for fellow Californians) I don't know about the rest of you, but even the cheaper (Arco) gas stations are pretty well kept, they better, they have the longest lines!
7: I miss N.J. where we had Sunoco's that had 94 octane premium
Soooo.... use less expensive gas - get better performance & mileage
put occasional fuel system cleaner in to clean everything but the valves
Have money to pay someone else to rip apart everything to get at your valves and clean them for you cause it's going to need to be done anyway.

Sound about right?

[The Nut]

Oh, and fuck Ralph's grocery store for changing their fuel saver program to having the points expire at the end of every month instead of just letting them accrue.

[crankshaft]

Originally Posted by Dash08 Are you laughing because you don't like Grand Nationals or because you also own an 86' Buick??

I just thought it was a funny statement.