Gasoline

[Abbey Marie]

Our closest gas station changed hands, and is now a "76". Does anyone here have thoughts on putting this brand in your car? I try to stay with the well-known names, but this station is really convenient. I guess I don't trust the others. Perhaps this is well-known, but not in Delaware?

[fj1200]

Gas is a commodity product. It probably all comes from the same pipeline anyway.

[gabosaurus]

It must be a national brand, since I see them all over Southern California. I only trust the name brands.

[Kathianne]

I gotta say, I'm with Abbey. I pretty much stick with Shell, Chevron, BP.

Here's this:

http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/is-cheap-gas-bad-for-your-car.html

I don't know if that means it's ok once in awhile or always ok.

[Abbey Marie]

Gas is a commodity product. It probably all comes from the same pipeline anyway.

Not necessarily 76, but you don't hear stories about independent stations altering the product?

(There are some really grimy looking stations just outside of NYC that have no known name attached. I wouldn't stop there unless I was riding on fumes).

[Abbey Marie]

I gotta say, I'm with Abbey. I pretty much stick with Shell, Chevron, BP.

Here's this:

http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/is-cheap-gas-bad-for-your-car.html

I don't know if that means it's ok once in awhile or always ok.


That author read my mind. Thanks.

[Abbey Marie]

From Kath's link:


But this doesn't mean that all gas is the same, even though it starts out that way. The fuel from different filling stations comes from a common source: the "base gas" from a refinery. Workers there mix additives mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency into the base gas in order to clean a car's engine and reduce emissions. Then, the different gas companies — both off-brand and major brands — put their own additive packages in the gas to further boost both cleaning and performance.A key difference is that the major brands put more additives in their gas and claim to have some secret ingredients. This extra shot of additives provides an additional level of cleaning and protection for your engine.
But is this extra helping of additives, which jacks up the price, really necessary? And, if you don't use more expensive, extra-additive gas, how soon will your engine's performance suffer?
"It's not like any of the fuels are totally junk," says John Nielsen, director of engineering and repair for the AAA. "If you buy gas from Bob's Bargain Basement gas station because that's all that's available, it won't hurt your car," he says.
The real difference is the amount of additives that are in the gas, Nielsen says. More additives essentially afford more protection — but they also cost more.

The article seems to go back and forth, as Kath suggested. The old, "on the one hand..." thing.

[fj1200]

Not necessarily 76, but you don't hear stories about independent stations altering the product?

(There are some really grimy looking stations just outside of NYC that have no known name attached. I wouldn't stop there unless I was riding on fumes).

I don't hear stories about stations altering product in a harmful way. I've bought some "sketchy" gas in the middle of nowhere for my motorcycle and car and haven't been hurt by it AFAIK. Not to say that I won't choose a brand I recognize over an independent I don't but that's marketing and not reality in all likelihood.

[NightTrain]

Gas station chains love to tell you their gas is superior, but it's all marketing. They all put their own spin on their additives, but it all comes from the same Crude.

In my experience, it's the individual station owners that make the difference of good gas vs. bad gas. Some of the unscrupulous ones have water in their large storage tanks, and a few have even been caught watering down their gas.

I personally stick with Chevron, but that's because the one I go to always has good gas and they're convenient to wheel through in a Suburban pulling a boat.

I've never heard anything bad about 76.

[hjmick]

76 used to be Union 76, they are owned by Phillips 66 who also owns Conoco. They used to be owned by Union Oil Company of California (UnoCal).


I used to use it often when I was living in SoCal, never had a problem.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Our closest gas station changed hands, and is now a "76". Does anyone here have thoughts on putting this brand in your car? I try to stay with the well-known names, but this station is really convenient. I guess I don't trust the others. Perhaps this is well-known, but not in Delaware?

You can run the cheaper gas in your car/truck if you also buy the small bottle of gas additive designed to enhance engine performance. Around the one I buy cost $3.91 a bottle, says use the entire bottle per tank of gas buts thats not necessary.
I put half in per tank-cutting the costs down to two dollars a tank.
That two bucks per tank is money well spent IMHO,
AS IT
1. greatly increases miles per gallon for each tank its applied
2. greatly enhances the car's performance on the road and motor longevity.
3. Buy the one that takes the water out of gasoline , costs no more and prevents car problems with bad gas.

Benefits far outweigh costs , doubly so since I use half a bottle each tank fill up!
Abbey, I suggest you do this Ive been doing this for about 14 years and find the results outstanding.

I usually fill up twice weekly, so its a 4 buck a week cost that pays off big time in the long run , IMHO.-Tyr