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Old 04-02-2007, 03:34 PM   #1
static808
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branded (chevron) or generic (costco) gas??

kaotic's topic led me to thinking about the brand of gas we all put in our cars. is there any research or information about the quality of brand (shell, chevron, etc...) and non-brand (costco, etc...) gas?? with prices the way they are, i've been putting costco gas for quite some time (might as well since we pay for membership already, and theres one 1.5 miles away). performance and mileage have been exactly the same with what we used before, which is strictly chevron (love that techron). i was thinking of simply using costco gas and throwing in some concentrated techron (or any fuel cleaner) every few months with my gas savings. can i stick with this "cheap" course of action, or should bite the economic bullet and go back to good ol' chevron?? thanks again for any input and advice...!!

--B

ps: all in all, we will save just under 200 bucks a year by going the cosco route, for both of our cars, so its not just a couple of bucks we're debating over...
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Old 04-02-2007, 03:43 PM   #2
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Yes, I think brand does make a difference. BP Amoco is supposed to be good. Around here however, every station uses ethanol for all three grades. Every station, 10% EtOH, it pisses me off... I don't want to start an ethanol debate on your thread but it is a fact it decreases mileage. Walmart and Sams Club are a couple of the few that don't use ethanol. So, by using cheaper fuel without ethanol, you can actually get better mileage here.
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Old 04-02-2007, 03:52 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PetersRedYaris View Post
I don't want to start an ethanol debate on your thread but it is a fact it decreases mileage.
thats why i stay away from arco. thats what buggin me though, i know why arco sells their gas soo sheap, but dont know why sams club and costco can sell so low without using ethanol. i know that the brand name gasolines use more and better additives (v-power, techron, etc...), but im curious to know whether the base gas is the same.
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Old 04-02-2007, 04:26 PM   #4
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15,000 miles +, all but three tanks were Shell 87. 33 solid MPG the life of the car, 80% city. I'll take it.
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Old 04-02-2007, 05:22 PM   #5
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34-35MPG using a mix really. For a while I put Marathon fuel but I changed routes and the gas station became a little out of my way, so I started using Mobil. Same mileage really. I'm kinda concerned about the "sludge" effect, but I think it's a Shell gimmick really.
Citgo gas royally sucks. I had to use it last Friday and I probably lost 5mpg! :(
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Old 04-02-2007, 05:39 PM   #6
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how about Kroger? spend 100 bucks from Kroger get 10 cents off for your gas? That's what i did.
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Old 04-02-2007, 06:51 PM   #7
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Heh, I used to work for fred meyers (kroger owned company, that chain has gas stations too) and the gas they use is pisswater...I would stay away from cheap gas...you are more likely to get what you pay for. There are some cheap gas stations where I live that have had problems with water in their gas and other bad fuel issues.

Remember kiddies, you always get what you pay for!
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Old 04-02-2007, 07:50 PM   #8
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i would like to know too since Safeway gas is pretty cheap in comparison to Chevron. however, all my friends and their families use Safeway gas, and they have more problems with their cars than me and my family. we only use Chevron. so that's why i'm hesitant to use Safeway in my Yaris. but then again, when i had my GTI, the best mpg that i got was with Safeway...
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Old 04-03-2007, 09:39 AM   #9
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I don't know about Safeway gas, but Safeway diesel blows.
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Old 04-03-2007, 10:00 AM   #10
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I think it also depends on what type of vehicle your driving. My old '87 Chevy astro van would run the same no matter what you put in it, except for arco crap. Same for my '89 Chrysler LeBaron turbo. My ex has a Toyota matrix and she was putting safeway/costco gas in her car and after 10,000 miles it was running pretty slow. You would romp on the accelerator and the car would almost die. She took it to the dealership and they asked her what type of gas she was using. She told them Safeway and Costco. They said try 2-3 tanks of Chevron. Sure enough that 1.8L came back to life in about a tank. They said Toyotas don't like cheap gas. In my Yaris I put 7-11 (citgo) gas in once and noticed a decrease in performance, so I never used it again. The dealer here gave out free gas cards for conoco when I bought my car and that is mostly what I use along with Shell and Chevron. I haven't been able to afford chevron lately because gas went up 30 cents in a week
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Old 04-03-2007, 11:21 PM   #11
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Top tier, standards vs. unknown

This site identifies and explains what the top tier gasoline producers are.
http://www.toptiergas.com/

Just some food for thought.
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Old 04-04-2007, 12:18 PM   #12
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I think our Yaris puts little demand on the fuel we put in their bellies...I would just treat gasoline like a commodity and go for the cheapest deal you can find. Using the cheap stuff or best stuff matters very little...leave this worry to the Corvette/BMW set ;-)
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Old 04-04-2007, 12:53 PM   #13
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Just save some money and get the cheapest gas you can find at each fill up. Every one knows which local station usally has the cheaper gas. Save your money. Unless you race your Yaris and have hoped up your engine for top grade or higher octain gas.
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Old 04-04-2007, 12:58 PM   #14
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for peace of mind, i'm sticking to Chevron and nothing else. but ahhh, Safeway is so much cheaper!
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Old 04-04-2007, 01:06 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jokill View Post
This site identifies and explains what the top tier gasoline producers are.
http://www.toptiergas.com/

Just some food for thought.
thanks, i've seen that website before. im just a little skeptcial since it all seems like a marketing ploy to me. they throw a bunch of numbers and tests in your face, but i still dont really know who "top tier gas" really is. for all we know, its all those companies banding together and forming group to attempt and outsell every other gas company. the information on that site is limited to the tests they use (very technical and unintelligible to the common person) and the gas companies that "pass" their standards. i thought most branded gas was good, but i didnt see exxon/mobil on that list, and that's supposed to be a pretty damn big oil company who makes pretty good engine oil. sorry if im showing too much concern about the brand of gas i use, i was just curious if anyone else out there had some hard facts regarding the cleanliness/quality of brand name gas versus generic/wholesale gas. one tip given by a few mehcanics is to simply use the wholesale gas, and then twice a year throw some chevron techron concentrate in your tank. the bottle of concentrate is equivalent to 10 fill-ups at chevron (kinda weird fact!), and the techs claim that techron does indeed clean out your tank, injectors, etc... i think i'll go this route, since doing costco gas with techron concentrate twice a year will save me about $160/year total on both our vehicles. over the life of our cars, that's well over $1K...

--B
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Old 04-04-2007, 01:33 PM   #16
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I go to 7-eleven for the regular gas for city road, which is the cheapest among the stations in my area. When I have a long trip on highway, I usually use Chevron because I got 46 MPG on the way to Las Vegas the Spring Break.
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Old 04-07-2007, 09:17 AM   #17
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I have to fill up every 2-3 days, and try to time it so that I am near a QT. I have never had any problems with their fuel. I had an xB a couple of years ago that was really picky about what I fed her. Most gas made her "ping", but not QT. She mainly did it in the summer, when it was 115 degrees. Drove me crazy. A couple of time I would have to stop at a cirkle K, all the signs said texaco, but they were actually selling Shell. Car ran so bad. When i mentioned it to my mom, she said they stopped getting gas there too because their cars were pinging.
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Old 07-27-2007, 06:48 AM   #18
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I've seen what using Cheap John Gas can do to an engine. I have a 1989 Chevy S10 with a 4.3 engine. Was using cheap gas and the engine had so much gunk & sludge build up that my mechanic had to use chemicals to clean it out. He had the valve covers off the engine when he showed me. What a Mess?
Bought a 2007 Yaris sedan. Will use only Shell or Chevron gas from now on.
The little extra cost is cheap insurance & piece of mind.
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