What is the difference between the cheap gas the expensive gas? I understand they have different additives but is my car any better off paying extra money for gas? People have told me don't use their gas and when I ask why I've never received a good answer, can some one tell me why ARCO sucks and Shell is good? Feel free to interchange gas comapanies at will these were just the first 2 that came to mind.

87 240 rustbucket

I recently had this discusison with my mechanic and he explained to me that the ethanol content varies from brand to brand, and those with higher ehtanol contents lead to greater and faster carbon buildup. Fuel like Shell and Marathon (accoring to him at least) have a lesser content of ethanol and as a result will cause less build up and better performance in the long run.

Could be a load of crap, I haven't reseached it, but it makes sense.

Sam

The story I am told is that the higher priced stations get the gasoline off of the top of the tank. While the cheaper stations get the gas / dirt off of the bottom of the tank. In my area the cheaper stations only differ by 1¢. So I pay more. The higher priced staions tend to change their filters more offten.

This is just the story I have been told. I figure that for a penny a gallon I will go to the name brand stations.

Brian

86 240GL
86 740GLE
& others

Im running arco 89 octane. I havent had a problem with it yet. In fact I have 4 volvos running arco 89. Oops, I forgot, my daughter told me she was running 87 in her B23. All the cars run fine. Been running arco for years.

Just my 2 cent worth.

90 240
78-240
82-240
87-740

Lawrence

I was driving an '87 Renault 25 2.1L around Europe this summer and the mileage was really incredible. Since I don't give too much credit to the french folks, I guess it must have been the high-octane fuel in Europe (like 98!)

Rene
--
1988 745 GLE B230F M46. Toronto. 370000Km. Suspension upgraded and lowered (B23FT ready for installation). 1982 242 GLT project (B23ET LPT to be included) Also in charge of GF's 1986 244

I rate gas like this; crappiest to less crappiest.Highest number is the loser petro.1-10.Last place is 10.Arco,(10)Mobil(9)Texaco(8)Off the wall brands,Shell premium(7,usually the most consisten quality).Finally,a light came on in California,and Union 76 is starting to take that rotten MTBE OUT!. GOT TO GET IT in San Diego. ED

I always buy major brands as their quality control is normally good and they turn over their inventory quickly. When the seasons change their refineries wholesale their out-of-date gas off to the no-name discount joints. And where do you suppose their slightly-off-spec stuff goes - into their own stations? That's what you're getting for saving a few cents per gallon. I don't have any high-performance cars, and have not noticed any difference in fuel economy between brands. But on a recent long summer trip, my kids in the 83 240 seemed to get a bit better mileage while in Canada than the California (RFG) parts.

Greetings,

I'm not too sure what the difference is btwn gas brands, but I notice an improvement in gas mileage when I use Chevron gas.

My B23 has 12:1 compression, so I try to use 94 octane. Occasionally I'll run a tank of 92 if 94 isn't available.

I put 3500 km on the car during a road trip to California this summer and noticed a decrease in gas mileage when I was forced to use 91 octane in California. In city driving I've noticed that I get better gas mileage with Chevron 92 vs. Shell 92. I'm not sure why, but other volvo owners in Victoria have experience similar results.

Hopefully someone with a more scientific background will shed some light on this subject.

Cheers,

Jaak

wow.. i really wish that i lived in canada.. all i can get around here is 92 octane... california is incredibly wierd... but anyway, i just wanted to say that i would love to live in canada....
JD

The greatest place on earth!

C-Eh-N-Eh-D-Eh!

This isn't my opinion directly, it is a cut and paste but based on my Organic Chem knowledge I tend to agree.

"An octane number is only a measure of gasoline's ability to resist pre-ignition, also known as "knocking" or "pinging." If your vehicle does not ping or "run on" after the ignition is turned off, then you are using a gasoline with a high enough octane number. Any extra money that you pay for higher octane is wasted, as it will not contribute to increased mileage. Since fewer gallons of high octane gasoline than low octane gasoline can be made from a barrel of crude, it is a poor national energy strategy to waste crude oil to produce unnecessary octane."

If Canada is the greatest place on earth, why do all my Canadian friends want to move down here, Norhtwest, Washington. Any way, enough international rivalry, My 85 745 seems to run the best on Chevron, and I use just 87 octane, Jim

Depends.

Two reasons I don't use Brand-X gasoline are that I'm less certain that the octane number on the pump correlates with the octane number of the gasoline in the station's tanks, and because I'm not sure what ELSE is in the station's tanks.

I've had a tankfull of Mobil gas with a parafin-like precipitate out and clog a fuel filter on a SAAB I was told it ONLY happened with Mobil and ONLY on SAABs but who knows.

Presume it was "additives".

Like many others, I think my cars usually runs like **** on Exxon.

That may be psychological, though. I still associate "Exxon" with "Valdez" and have a mental picture of their CEO arguing that Alaskan beaches are normally black and oily.

Reason I usually use Sunoco is it's the only 94 octane available close to both work and home, the Texaco is only 93 octane, and with a turbo with knock sensors I like to have that "extra margin of safety" for passing.

-Punxsutawney Phil

"...a mental picture of their CEO arguing that Alaskan beaches are normally black and oily..."

But they ARE normally black and oily. Following a spill.

Is that why they nicknamed him "slick?"

--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

Slick, which rhymes with sick, trick, and some other less pleasant but even more descriptive terms.

That's right. It's a pr issue.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

Which rhymes with tissue, all s'not cracked up to be.

You mean those icky PR icks don't tell everything?

--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

Shore thing, there is something fishy. They expect someone to swallow every line they cast out, after all, there's a sucker born every minnow.

Speaking of fish, are you finished yet? There may be a sucker every minnow, but they all play a different tuna and some even sing those bass notes.

Now, before you quahog into this, clam up. I don't like you musseling in, but I don't want you to take reef over it, either.

It's my Cod given right to speak this way and I don't care if you beach or not. If surfs you right to harbor feelings -- don't feel blue, they'll tide you over.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

Don't bait me, Chumly, you may think you are pretty shark, but I'm bullheaded. I am far from finnish, in fact on the grand scale of things, you hardly mackeral 'tall. Don't flounder around and algae you later.

Please direct me to 94 octane paradise.Pinko gov Red Davis has the electricity and gas screwed up in Kalifonia.

hey, its a price we all have to pay for living in one of the biggest F'in states...smog.. i really dont care that i can only get 92 octane.. its helping the fact that smog has actually decreased... its cleaner here, around sac, anyway..
just my $.02
JD

NMI

When I was in the Compuserve automotive forum there was a guy there who swore that the oxygenated fuel we here in New England are forced to use from October to April showed only a 2% decrease in fuel economy. He allegedly worked for Chevron and had the inside scoop on their test results. At my last job, several of us anal-retentive types who keep track of fuel mileage recorded and 8-10% decrease in mileage over the winter months. Most of us had 25+ mile commutes, so the extra warm-up time running with a rich mixture was not major contributor to the decrease.

Meanwhile, the EPA who directed the oil companies to use MTBE to save us from air pollution has ended up poisoning us with contaminated water instead. In this semi-rural part of CT, deep wells 200+ feet away from gas stations have been found to be contaminated with this carcinogen. To quote Will Rogers, "thank goodness we don't get all the government we pay for."

MPG is NFG with RFG during WT- yes it does go down and it ain't all due to the cold...
--
www.fidalgo.net/~brook4

The Chevron guy, and all the EPA types who are avoiding this issue must be high on MTBEs.

Last time a Brickboard discussion splashed into RFG I looked this up, and duh, just like diesel fuel and jet has a higher caloric density than gasoline, RFG has a LOWER caloric density than normal gasoline.

Well, so why WOULDN'T gas mileage go down???

At the moment I live in a RFG area and drive to my client co. in a non-RFG area. During winter months I do ALL my fillups in the non-RFG area. Besides better quality -higher caloric density - gasoline, the gas is cheaper.

Typical that gov't do-good programs will have an effect 180-degees from their intended target, ie. saving us from air pollution would poison more people.

-Punxsutawney Phil

'98 V70T5M, 101.5 k mi.

94 octane paradise is somewhere else- go for it!

yes MTBEs is a nasty poison
but all gas in south FLA is in the same tanks at the port
it only gets branded when pumped in to a truck
or if additaves are added [hi-test mostly]
but cheaper grades are all the same gasthat
came on the same tanker
pump off into the same tanks