A word about fuel, fuel mileage and fuels effects on your engine.
Over the past years as the price of fuel has gone up I have seen much to support the claim that not all gasoline is the same. Yes I have heard the local television news claiming that it’s all the same. But I do know without a doubt that a gallon of gas can be as different to your car as a Twinkie and an apple would be to your body.
I have seen the effects of low quality fuel on engines as well as on their vehicles fuel economy and peoples automotive repair and maintenance expenses.
I challenge the skeptics to try this test.
Fill up at the local grocery store or super membership store, track your mileage, note how your vehicle runs i.e. the power, starting, average gas mileage etc.
Now visit this web page toptiergas.com, locate a station on this list and run three tanks of fuel through your vehicle. Track your mileage, track the price, and track how your vehicle runs.
(Don't change from regular to super, just change the brands of fuel)
Before you panic over the price, keep this in mind; 20 cents a gallon on a 20 gallon tank equals $4.00, about 1.223 gallons of gas. If you get 18 miles per gallon you can drive 360 miles per tank. If you spent an extra 20 cents per gallon and got 20 mpg you could drive 400 miles. You saved 20 cents per gallon, yet you drove 40 miles less. Now stick with me here. You had to buy an extra 3 gallons of gas to go the same distance. You not only burned more fuel, made more pollution but by the math $2.80 x 3 = $8.40 - $4.00 = $4.40/20 = .22 you actually spent an extra 2 cents a gallon. Now you may not get two miles to the gallon more, I have seen people actually go from 36 mpg to 44 mpg. Do the math. This Honda was saving 20 cents to loose 8mpg a net loss of 80 miles per tank, at a savings of $2.00 per tank. I discovered this when the car was brought to me for hard starting and a loss of power, the fix was a change of fuel.
My concern is not fuel economy per tank, as an automotive maintenance and repair professional, my concern is much more the long term effects on your vehicle and your wallet.
What is the difference?
Yes the base product is the same. If you want to make cheap gas equivalent to quality gas then you can add some additives. Now be careful when it comes to additives you really get what you pay for and a few are no more than snake oil. The proven additives are not limited to but include Techron, (concentrate) at $12.99 for a ten gallon treatment, BG 44k at $23.00 for a 15 gallon treatment or Valvoline syn at $19.00 per 12 gallon treatment.
An average added cost of $1.59 per gallon. - 20 cent saving = added cost of $1.39 per gallon.
Now lets talk about the engine damage.
As an automotive professional I get to see many cases of extreme carbon build up. I see plugged fuel injectors and also repeated and timely trips to the shop for that dreaded check engine light. Many times these issues are created by the desire to save at the pump.
FACT: Generic low quality gas produces more carbon build up in your engine. Carbon build up creates timing control issues, injector flow problems, hard starting, and many other problems that will cost you more than the $4.00 per tank to repair.
So next time your paying for an $800.00 fuel pump or a $150.00 de-carbonizing of your engine, remember the four dollars that you thought you saved on a tank of gas.