Non-top tier gas + additive to save money?
 

This isn't exactly a question of efficiency as much as it is a question of economics, so I put it here. Typically I would fill my car with Chevron (something about the blue everywhere makes me feel good), but I didn't feel like driving 2 miles just to get to the cheaper Chevron station in the next town so I just filled at a Valero. Typically I avoid Valero/ARCO since it's "lower quality" gas, but I read that the only difference is a small amount of detergents, so I poured 2 ounces of Marvel Mystery Oil in the tank since it's composition suggests that it's a good cleaner.

1 quart of MMO costs about as much as 1 gallon of gasoline, but the additives in gas are well under 1% of the composition, so adding just a few ounces should be bringing the "cleaning power" up quite a bit? So I saved maybe 1 dollar on the actual gasoline getting Valero, and then dumped 30 cents of MMO back in.

Thoughts?

...that's exactly what GM Owners Manual recommend when using "...non-Tier 1..." gasolines, so you're doing it right.

I burn the cheapest fuel w/o additives. No problems.

Really? :O

Gonna buy more Valero from now on, my credit card gives 3.3% off on gas so that makes up the difference between them and ARCO.

Same here.
I tried adding a bottle of Techron Fuel System Cleaner to a fill-up in my Mustang last Summer. It made NO difference in FE, but it cost over $85.00 per gallon. :eek: ($7.99 + tax for a 12 oz bottle) I'll just continue purchasing my fuel from Safeway and not adding anything to it. :)

I've found good results with Lucas Fuel Treatment. The small 4 oz. bottles are expensive, but you can by it in quart and gallon sizes.

I buy the cheapest gas without going out of my way. No additives.

I recently looked into this very same thing for my cruze. I have been unable to find any data supporting the benefits of using top tier gas in your vehicles. If anyone knows of any published data (non-biased) could you please post the link. Otherwise the website Top Tier Gasoline actually has a list of top tier gas suppliers if anyone is interested.

Top tier fuel is likely unnecessary. That said, if it does somehow keep the fuel system cleaner, then an occasional fill-up at a non-top tier fuel station will not significantly affect fuel system cleanliness.

I've never had a fuel system failure, and I've always run Arco gas for hundreds of thousands of miles.

FYI- Costco fuel is the cheapest in my area, and it is now Top Tier (ie equivalent to Chevron, Texaco, etc.)

It is very unlikely that cheap gas will ruin a fuel system, and even if it did, fuel systems are easy to service.

Please don't use "ect.". It makes me crazy-er.

No additives, no problems, I use the cheapest gas I can find regardless of the brand. Before E10 we did clean injection systems. The older injector pintle designs seemed to be more prone to clogging and poor spray patterns. Newer designs combined with E10 fuel have eliminated water in fuel here.

regards
Mech

Most fuel in a given area, comes from the same tank farm. When they pull up to the rack and load, it's generic. There isn't a bulk tank for every brand or filling station. If a company like BP's bulk tank goes empty before it can be refilled, they trade fuel with Shell. The differences are in the additives (snake oil) that they add. At my friends BP station, the fuel delivery man adds a large packet of additives "Invigorate" as he is filling the underground tank.

Just use the cheapest fuel you can find.

If you want top tier. Buy race gas.

The engine that I used for drag racing only had a 8.5 to 1 compression ratio and didn't therefore require higher octane fuel, 87 octane was fine. However, using 110 octane race fuel shaved several tenths off my time slip. It wasn't the octane rating that helped. It didn't need it and in fact makes it harder to ignite the fuel. It was the composition of the fuel itself and quality, that made the difference.

The only problem now is race gas is $8 - $10 a gallon. ($4 when I was using it)

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Apologies; I sometimes make spelling, grammatical, etc mistakes.

Same here. I used to buy mostly Arco, but then a "Golden Gate Petroleum" station opened up across the street, and they don't charge the extra 35 cents for using a debit card, so I started going there. But I've also gone to 7-11 (Citgo) and even other "no name" stations if it was "time to fill up" without making any effort to find anything other than a cheap price.

A couple of tanks ago, I needed gas and the station available was a Shell station. I knew the price would be quite a bit higher, so gritted my teeth & filled it up. But I was also curious, as I've heard over the years that Shell gas gives much higher mileage. But in the end, I don't think it made much difference - the tank before was higher mpg, and the tank after was about the same. Of course, there was no rigorous testing involved - just my day-to-day driving, always trying to get the best mileage I can...

On a related note, I was once warned that using Arco gas would "ruin" my engine in addition to yielding worse mileage. My "old" Jimmy - the '85 I drove forever - had almost exclusively been fed Arco gas since the day I bought it new. I gave it to my parents a few years ago when I got my "new" 2000 Jimmy, and they still drive it!! The engine has never been overhauled even once in almost 30 years and, without hypermiling, it always got 25 mpg on the highway (EPA said 18, as I remember). So it's gonna be hard for anyone to convince me that Arco gas will "wreck my engine" OR yield bad fuel economy!

I was always told that chevron gas burns cleaner then Arco gas, and my 91 Mustang pings with Arco, and doesn't with Chevron (Both 91 octane) so idk. It doesn't make that much of a difference to me personally pricewise. It's only .20 more here for chevron compared to Arco.

Arco is not a Top Tier gasoline, Chevron is.

Chevron supposedly does "burn cleaner" because it has more detergents than Arco.

Apple Valley is at a bit of elevation, so I'm surprised that your Mustang pings on Arco 91 octane up there. That little bit of elevation should reduce your octane requirements.

Also, I thought premium fuel in CA was 92 octane? That's the way it is in Oregon.

Only 20 cents more doesn't sound like much, until you multiply it by how many gallons of fuel you use. In my case, that would be an extra $3 every time I fill up. Of all the ways I spend money, burning it is among my least favorite.

87-89-91 is what we have up here. And yea idk. It only happens when I put my foot down, which is the only thing I do when I drive that car. As for the extra cost at fill-ups, eh.. It's kind of a peace at mind thing, I would rather spend the little extra money even if it doesn't do anything, just to be 100% sure.

Oregon/Washington has 87, 89, and 92 octane. The mid-grade is a blend of 60% regular and 40% premium fuel. Often times it is cheaper to pump half a tank of premium and half a tank of regular to achieve 89.5 octane. The TSX calls for 91 octane, so I will sometimes do a half regular and half premium fill.

When I worked in the oil patch, even for a 'top tier' oil company, it was an open secret that all gas was the same. Additives made the difference. Even then I bought 'Murphy'/Walmart gas.

These days I buy rot-gut gas (like 'Murphy' and put in an occasional Shell or BP especially when on the road). But when I get to where I can get 'pure gas' (non-ethanol gas) I prefer it, but I see no benefit if it cost 10% / gal or more premium over E10. I get the better mileage in town and on the road (talking with petro-chemistry friends, there really is a 10% additional amount of energy per gallon over E10 gas).

We purchased a used gas guzzler, 2004 Nissan Morano, a couple of years ago. It gets 21/29 on E10. But it rides SO much better than our 1997 Saturn SW1 did. (And my bones don't fold up the way they used to). Locally I do use my 2000 Ford Ranger, but it normally gets 27/35 without trying (small engine, manual), but the ride is a bit rough these days, even after having shocks worked on. Still it does runs to Lowe's or HD pretty good. -- my goal reading here is to figure out how to 'do better' without doing anything to rabbid.