Odd that noone has posted this yet...

[H3LlIoN]

I go to the gas station in my Yaris so rarely that I forget which side the tank is on every single time.

[fmicle]

Originally Posted by H3LlIoN

I go to the gas station in my Yaris so rarely that I forget which side the tank is on every single time.

Same here, that's why I love the little indicator on the gas gauge

[fmicle]

Originally Posted by BailOut

I hate to sound like I'm endorsing any particular oil company, but here it goes. Anything in this list should do: http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

... but we hypermilers have run millions of miles of road tests and have found that Shell and Chevron consistently offer the best mileage. This has been tested to the point that whenever someone holds a fuel economy challenge, most of the contestants show up with Shell in their tank.

Okay, so I've never really believed in this before and have always used cheaper brands of gas, as long as the station looked somewhat decent. I can count on my fingers how many times I refueled from anything other than ARCO and COSTCO over the past 3 years.

I've had my Yaris for 2.5 years now and I'm approaching 20k miles on the odometer. Is there a way to check if the cheap gas did any "damage" and how can I clean it up? Will using "good gas" clean the engine over time or do I need to actually do something about it? Are the "injection cleaner" products at the gas stations any good?

I am starting to get swayed by all the arguments here and ever since I started all these projects on my Yaris, adding all the mods, I've become more aware. Just as an example, 3 weeks ago I got the first full synthetic oil exchange... since I'm revving it close to 4,500 rpm a couple of times a day

Any advice will be appreciated

[SilverGlow]

Originally Posted by BailOut

Hi H3LlIoN,

No one has posted that because the cheapest gas is almost never the best bang for your buck. To make a long and scientific story short, the gasoline brands are usually separated by no more than the mandated additives they use. The top tier oil companies spent billions of dollars in research and development to figure out how to make those additives combustible, meaning that they do not rob the underlying gasoline of power per volume, and also burn cleaner in your engine. The cheaper providers do no such thing, so not only does their gasoline not burn as cleanly (which can leave some nasty gunk behind) but it has less caloric content per gallon, meaning you don't go as far on a tank.

All of this means that while you may find a cheaper price at a pump you will most likely end up at another pump sooner, so you actually spend more money on cheaper fuel rather than save anything.

As to why the price of gasoline is going up right now, it is mostly due to the increasing demand in the U.S. (likely from children being back in school, and their parents insisting on shuttling them in their gargantuan SUVs).

Lots of untruths here.

First off, in nearly all instances, gasoline is now a commodity, and the only difference between brand X and brand Y is additive package. The base gasoline on most instances is the same. In other words, most of the Chevron, Shell, Arco, and mom-pop gasoline comes from the exact same refineries, same pipes, same everything...again the only difference is the additive packages....some use Techron, others use chemical XYZ, but all brands have to add additives that meet the mininal requirements of the state and federal government.

Now having said all that, I buy mostly Chevron, for their flavor of additive, knowing full well the underlying base gas is the exact same as the Arcon across the street, or the Mom & Pop down the way.

When you buy gas, go for the best additive packages...really that is the only thing that differs between one brand and another.

Also, no gas company has spent "billions" on gasoline R&D....never happened...gas is not rocket science and has been around for over 100 years.

[YarisSedan]

Really the only difference between "discount gas" and "top tier" gasoline is about 7-12 cents a gallon depending which 2 gas stations you are comparing. So lets say on adverage you fill your tank once a week. Thats about a dollar you save a fillup a week using discount gas. So that means in one year you are only saving 52 dollars. For all the driving around looking for a cheap gas station. To me thats not worth it. Especially if its going to result in more carbon buildup on pistons and valves. Which will eventually result in a lower fuel economy. Even a few percent difference in lower fuel economy pretty much nulls out the 52 dollars you just saved. Not to mention the extra out of way miles to drive to that cheaper gas station. My local area the difference is only about 5 cents sometimes. To me thats not even worth it. That means its only 26 dollars a year i am saving. I can find better ways to save 26 dollars a year such as cutting back on that soda or coffe i drink occasionally.

[BailOut]

Originally Posted by SilverGlow

Lots of untruths here.

First off, in nearly all instances, gasoline is now a commodity, and the only difference between brand X and brand Y is additive package. The base gasoline on most instances is the same. In other words, most of the Chevron, Shell, Arco, and mom-pop gasoline comes from the exact same refineries, same pipes, same everything...again the only difference is the additive packages....some use Techron, others use chemical XYZ, but all brands have to add additives that meet the mininal requirements of the state and federal government.

Now having said all that, I buy mostly Chevron, for their flavor of additive, knowing full well the underlying base gas is the exact same as the Arcon across the street, or the Mom & Pop down the way.

When you buy gas, go for the best additive packages...really that is the only thing that differs between one brand and another.

Also, no gas company has spent "billions" on gasoline R&D....never happened...gas is not rocket science and has been around for over 100 years.

SilverGlow,

That's quite a confusing post. Though you seem to disagree with me your entire first, second and third paragraphs confirm exactly what I said, and your statement about there not being billions spent on additive R&D is laughable.

I'm not sure where you get your information from, but as a hobbyist investor I read many company balance sheets each year. I can tell you that from the 1970's through today that each of the top tier companies has indeed spent billions of dollars in additive R&D as they show this as a justified expenditure against their market capitalization, as well as providing their prospectus with a future-positive bullet or two. Every time a fuel regulation changes there is another spate of spending.

I can also tell you that the non-top tier fuel providers simply buy their additives from a tertiary company that offers their stuff dirt cheap, and that stuff is dirt cheap because it only does just enough to meet the mandates in the cheapest way possible.

Please research this topic more before posting again.

[RUFFSTUFF]

Seeing how many of the people here are Yaris owners, other differences in gasoline may be missed...

As an owner of a couple of high compression, high performance vehicles as well as having several friends who have similar, we can tell the difference in performance between top tier gas stations and El Cheapos. The worst of which is a friend and his 2000 Lightning, if he tries to run on cheap 93 octane his engine goes to crap and he'll even get a CEL. So he usually runs Shell, Chevron or Exxon 93 octane and has no problem.
I don't necessarily believe you always get what you pay for, but I definitely believe you don't get what you don't pay for.

[tomato]

So I didn't see Costco on that list you linked, Bailout.
Probably cause they're only a distributor?
Who supplies Costco and how do you guys feel about the quality of their (regular) gasoline?

[BailOut]

Originally Posted by tomato

So I didn't see Costco on that list you linked, Bailout.
Probably cause they're only a distributor?
Who supplies Costco and how do you guys feel about the quality of their (regular) gasoline?

Hi tomato,

Costco isn't on that list for two reasons:

1) They are only a seller, not a distributor, and...

2) What they sell does not usually come from top tier providers.

Costco, like all other discount outfits, only buys the cheapest of anything that they can get their hands on, including fuel. I know from an article I read last year that many of the sites owned by places like Costco and Wal-Mart don't even do their own additive mixing. They simply buy "complete fuel" from whoever will sell it to them the cheapest at the time, meaning they may (and likely do) change distributors quite frequently.

Sometimes you may luck out and get a tank full of locally over-bought top tier gasoline, but it's not likely.

[tomato]

Doh, seller, that's what I meant, not distributor.

Yeah, I see your point. Thanks, Brian.

[advocate]

I've gotten by best yet and my worst yet tank off of Shell gasoline after reading this post. Although to be honest my worst tank had a lot of 90+MPH freeway action. My best tank I got 34MPG with a bit lighter foot.

Overall I'm glad I switched to Shell.

[tomato]

90+mph?

[tomato]

Well, I am amazed that anyone can do more than 15MPH out here in the Bay Area when most of the time, the freeways are parking lots but maybe that's just when I'm driving, uh

[RUFFSTUFF]

Credibility is often lost on those who choose to not maintain it.

[Altitude]

I firmly believe there is something in the water down south-east way that makes people irritable. Or maybe it's just the heat.

[RUFFSTUFF]

Nah, it's only 55 right now. Good football weather... And most of us drink bottled water cuz it's refreshing and comes in those convenient, environmentally deadly, plastic bottles.

[fmicle]

[tomato]

I got your PM, Ruffstuff, thanks.

Tell you what, just to be fair, I will delete my little sarcastic comment, there, but that's it. Your previous comment still isn't coming back, sorry.

FYI We don't usually edit posts for content unless something in there violates the forum rules.

Happy Thanksgiving to all by the way (You too, Ruffstuff )

Sorry about the thread jack, guys.