Hey guys, I just got back from my auto class and my professor shared a couple helpful tips on how to get every gallon of gas that you pay for. Correct me if Im wrong but again, these tips come from a guy who used to work for a pipeline for 31 years. I'm sure many of you already knew about these but I figure it would be helpful to some.
- Try to pump your fuel in the early morning when the ground temp is still cold => Colder temp= denser gas.
- When you are pumping, DO NOT squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. Keep it at the slowest mode, which will minimize the vapors that are created while pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return, and if pumping fast, some will become vapor which gets sucked up and back into the underground tank.
- Most important: its best to fill up when your tank is Half Full or Half empty. Less space/air => less evaporation.
- When you see a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks, Do Not fill up because you will most likely be getting all the mixed up fuel with dirt and other liquid on the bottom.
I hope these tips become helpful to some of you guys, especially those who's complaining about their bad mpg

 

Good thread, never really thought about most of those

 

I have heard about when the Tanker Trucks are filling not get any because it stirs up of the dirt and etc at the bottom...makes since with the fast pumping and vapors too.

 

Not too mention...I usually only use BP and Shell...they truly do have better quality of gas IMO(even some other companies have gotten better). However I do track my mpg often through the cars digital measuring and through dividng the miles by actual gallons. BP usually give me a little better mpg. Lucas Oil deep fuel system cleaner(the best imo)or chevron techron fuel system cleaner along with stp(gumout,prestone) gas treatment (those are the two products that I use anyway) can help out in cleanliness, performance(mpg, etc), and longevity of a car.

 

Those fuel system cleaners are not needed if you use Shell/Chevron/BP gas.

 

True, but every 3k-5k ole Lucas Oil deep system cleaner is useful...cant be bad for the motor even if in a worse case scenario. But better gas equals cleaner fuel system. I just wish I had a local Chevron around here.

 

Not for me. It is most important to fuel up on thursdays on an empty tank to take advantage of Shell's 5 cent/g discount + use of Giant supermarket points which take an additional 10-20 cent/g off

 

or that.

 

thanks for the pointers. never really thought of any of that but i did hear about the dirt mixing with the tankers. hahah. i usually see them at 2-4 am though.

 

meh, I'm wayyyy to lazy for all of that lol. Been using 7-11 gas since day 1 of the car pretty much. Its all the same stuff.

 

90% if gas is from the same pipeline regardless of where you go your best bet for better gas mileage is to find a station that doesn't run a 10% ethanol mix

 

Good luck finding that now days.

 

I fill up at the same place every time, and my mileage can fluctuate by 1-2 MPG from one fillup to the next. I wouldn't put too much faith in one company's gas giving you better mileage than another's. The driving you do has a million times more impact on your gas mileage than the brand you fill up with.

 

Also, the lucus additives are pure crap.

 

Correct. You can sit outside of just about any given oil refinery for a week straight and you will see a broad spectrum of differently labeled tankers going to and fro.

 

you can also get a few more drips if you turn the handle upside down (since the hose makes a U shape while filling).

I say why not, since you've technically paid for the stuff that gets left in the hose.

 

The gas might be coming from the same source, but not all gas is created equal. It has to do with the additives that the providers put in them. Especially if you're running boosted applications, you WILL notice worse performance and sometimes even CELs running discount noname gas. One of my old Subarus used to ping like crazy and throw CELs if I filled up with garbage gas.

Here's a list of top tier gas stations (from http://www.toptiergas.com/):
76
Petro-Canada
Aloha Petroleum
Phillips 66
Chevron
QuikTrip
Chevron Canada
Rebel Oil
Conoco
Road Ranger
CountryMark
Severson Oil
Entec Stations
Shell
Esso
Shell Canada
Exxon
Sunoco Canada
Kwik Trip / Kwik Star
Texaco
MFA Oil Co.
The Somerset Refinery, Inc.
Mileage Stations
Tri-Par Oil Co.
Mobil
Turkey Hill Minit Markets
U.S. Oil

 

I knew most of these, but thank you for sharing anyway. Good reminder as the prices climb again...

 

The difference is both in the detergents used by the station and most importantly the age of the gas that station is getting. The major brands get fresh gas, the cheap brand names get older leftovers. How else do you think they're able to sell it significantly cheaper. You always get what you pay for.

 

I don't see BP/Amaco on that list, unless I'm overlooking it? Amaco used to be some awesome fuel...

 

Not this website again.

You do know this site is owned and operated by QuickTrip, right? Yes, QuickTrip... that huge oil company which has stations all around the country. You also know that the original domain was registered by GM, right? Yes, GM as in General Motors... one of manufacturers QuickTrip quotes as a partner with the top tier gas theory. All of this used to be searchable until mid-2010 or so when the website suddenly became privately registered. You can still get results if you look hard enough though.

Trusting that website is pretty much the same as asking Coca-Cola if you should drink Powerade or Gatorade... then acting surprised when they bust out a bunch of info supporting Powerade.

 

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/gastips.asp

 

i really don't care about the brand of the gas at all. i just pump from whichever station that is the cheapest or more convenient. what matters most in determining MPG is how you drive, not the gas station.

i don't believe in any of that aftermarket fuel cleaner stuff. sure, you may notice a 1-2mpg more but again, it comes all down to how you drive, day and time, and temp. i don't see the logic in spending $15 on a fuel cleaner to get an extra 1-2mpg. that extra $15 would've gotten me more miles!

 

Yaya next it will be my EV station charges your battery with better electrons then yours.
I get the best gas mileage with stations that don't put ethanol in and most of big guys do so I fill up with other guys like CITGO. I get notacable better MPG and I drive 600 miles a week!

 

I've heard this before from my neighbor . I tried this before and I don't see a differents. I pump 57.00 dollars every 4 days. I drive city and highway 70 miles a day.

 

 

I usually try to fill up late at night or in the morning. I just go to the Sams club or Costco and put 91 in since thats the highest we have out here. Sams club 3.40 for prem Chevron shell 3.80 around there for prem plus I have to drive an Extra mile or 2 to get there

 

I dunno about the early morning thing. Here all gas is volume corrected to 15 degrees Celsius, so (theoretically) you're getting the same amount of gas.

 

 

you'd be suprised.

there are over 100 stations in Louisiana and 5 of them within 10 minutes of me that are ethanol free..

Link to Ethanol Free gas stations in every state.

http://pure-gas.org/

 

Unfortunately all the station here in Maryland have ethanol including Costco.

 

Up here only Shell 91 is ethanol-free...

Rockstar21 you're pretty lucky to have so many ethanol-free stations up there.

 

I used to fill up with regular unleaded at the cheapest gas station I could find, usually an ARCO station. I went there regularly with my boat which had an outboard 2 cycle motor. I burned up two cylinders in 1 year using ARCO gas. After the engine was rebuilt (not changing the third cylinder out) I only used premium from a Shell, Texaco or Chevron station and the third cyclinder lasted another 6 years.

Maybe this was just the fuel grade used. Regular was at the rated octane required by the motor manufacturer. But to this day I will not fill up at an ARCO.

 

So says Acura:



http://techinfo.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SN/B100600.PDF

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/acura-servicenews-bulletins-588838/ - June 2010

 

i tend to do all of the above things....but even if i dont i get the same gas mileage....

 

great info except if you get gas in either NJ or Oregon.

 

I dont know if it just the Acura Dealership out here but, u know when you buy a car from them, and they fill it up with gas they put 87 and go to Arco.

A while ago me and my cousin and sister were @ Acura getting something done to one of there cars and we were talking to a salesman about 91 octane and they said O when we put gas in our cars wether it's the gas station or in the back we just put 87 in it. I was like .

So basically when a customer buys a brand new or used car from there lot there not getting 91 there getting 87...

 

thats the point where i say "Great! order me another one and i'll go fill it up myself."

not that i'll ever buy a new car... but if i did, i would prefer they do as little with the vehicle as possible... and i will never buy any vehicle with a "dealer badge" or sticker...

 

first of all it's cheaper for them
and second most people would never even notice a difference
(but when i test drove a used WRX for the wife, i could tell something was not right, as far as the octane level or what not, it seemed kinda low on power, and just not running right from the shitty gas)

alot of dealers will take it off for you, if asked though (and if they refuse, fine then either pay me or lose a sale)

 

i just want to put one hole in that theory though, the ground temp DOES NOT change that fast (and we are talking a good couple of feet down, and not just the surface temps,

let alone how many gallons are in their tanks, a couple of 1000 at least, which again does not warm up in only a couple of hours (at least very much, which again is insulated by the ground, and maintains a relatively mild temp; think of basement temps, with being surrounded by all that earth)