Don't be afraid to fill up at no-name gas station
With gasoline prices sky high, we all need to squeeze the most miles out of each gallon.
Our news partners at Consumer Reports say if you find a great price at a no-name gas station, don't be afraid to fill-up. Independent stations usually buy their fuel from the brand name oil companies. That off-brand gas may not have some of the additives designed to clear your engine, but the magazine's auto editors say your car should run just fine on that gas.
And don't waste your money on premium unless your car really needs it. The vast majority of cars are designed to run fine on regular. Premium won't improve the fuel economy for those cars. If the owner's manual or the sticker on the fuel-filler door says that premium gas is recommended you can probably use regular. If it says premium is required, play it safe with the right octane.
Maybe you've heard it's best to fill up in the morning, when the air is cool and the gasoline denser so you get more for your money? Consumer Reports says it really doesn't matter. Stations store their gasoline underground, so its temperature changes very little, if at all, during the day. Any extra gas you might get will be negligible.
More fuel tips and myths from Consumer Reports: Debunking Fuel-Economy Myths.
Our news partners at Consumer Reports say if you find a great price at a no-name gas station, don't be afraid to fill-up. Independent stations usually buy their fuel from the brand name oil companies. That off-brand gas may not have some of the additives designed to clear your engine, but the magazine's auto editors say your car should run just fine on that gas.
And don't waste your money on premium unless your car really needs it. The vast majority of cars are designed to run fine on regular. Premium won't improve the fuel economy for those cars. If the owner's manual or the sticker on the fuel-filler door says that premium gas is recommended you can probably use regular. If it says premium is required, play it safe with the right octane.
Maybe you've heard it's best to fill up in the morning, when the air is cool and the gasoline denser so you get more for your money? Consumer Reports says it really doesn't matter. Stations store their gasoline underground, so its temperature changes very little, if at all, during the day. Any extra gas you might get will be negligible.
More fuel tips and myths from Consumer Reports: Debunking Fuel-Economy Myths.
If your vehicle as computer controlled timing, as most modern cars do, premium fuel will greatly improve the mileage, after a couple of tanks. Â I have a 1991 Taurus with computer controlled timing, and a claim that I only need 87 Octane fuel. Â When using 87 Octane, I get about 20 MPG, with West Coast Plus (89) I get 22-23 MPG, with West Coast Premium/East Coast Plus (91/92) I get 25 MPG, and using East Coast Premium (93-94) I get 28 MPG. Â Remember that the higher the octane the more energy per gallon of fuel, unless that octane is artificially inflated by ethanol, as it is on the West Coast.
We tried some of the no-name gas stations and ended up replacing two fuel pumps. The gas may be the same, but the deposits and amount of water in the underground tanks aren't.
I was robbed at the gas station over the weekend...
The guy came up and said... filler up??
I still cannot figure out Shell's "Nitrogen enriched gasoline".
1st, Nitrogen is an inert gas that will not burn, in fact in hinders the combustion process.
2nd, there is no way to suspend nitrogen in gas. Nitrogen makes up 78% of the air we breath.
Â
Just another marketing ploy they people believe "more stuff is better".
Â
I buy all my gas at stations that do not have ethanol in the fuel. Find them at www.pure-gas.org
 @JeepRex I don't read it as "Nitrigen gas enriched gas". The nitrogen added can very well be part of a molecule and is dissolved? Chemistry is not really my thing tho. Not necessary saying it is not a gimmick.
Great this mass phobia has been addressed! Now, I can sleep.
Â
Sure they may get the fuel from the same source, but chemical additives are done usually by the drivers for the brand like Chevron or Philips.
Â
So no, it is not always the same. Some of the gas is total garbage. You pay extra for the quality and consistency of the brand, plus the additives which are usually quite proprietary and often engineered with the auto manufacturers.
@pbs7mm Gas is gas is gas. There is no "garbage" or "quality", that's the whole point of this article. The *only* difference between gasolines is what additives get added, and those additives do literally nothing for making your car go, all they do is clean your engine, something modern engines don't need in every single fillup, if ever.
I had to have $700 worth of work done on my car to remove carbon deposits that the mechanic attributed to my using gas with out the higher levels of detergents.Be VERY careful.Â
I personally use Chevron for years now.
I have never had a fuel injector problem. Most of my vehicles get 150 or 200k on them before I trade the in.
@mstipton - I buy gas all over - whatever's cheapest (without buying from the really, really creepily cheap). Safeway, Arco, Costco, etc. The biggest issue on keeping your car running is just keeping up on the standard maintenance. today's engines are designed to last well into the 200, 300, 400k miles range.
Â
My Dodge Dakota's got nearly 275k on it and the engine's fine.
@mstipton I wasn't telling you to change your ways. Just letting you know that there are others with different results.  Â
@FormerMarineSgt Thanks for the advice but I'll stick to what I know.
Your mechanic is lieing to you. If the computer and injectors are working properly your engine should not be loaded up with carbon deposits by using any of the fuels available today. Its possible you're doing too much idling in traffic. Stomp on the throttle once a week to help clean it out. @My_Thoughts
 @Blindman  @My_Thoughts Were it some fly by night mechanic you might be right, but with it's having been Gregâs Japanese Auto in Covington I rather doubt they lied to me, that and the fact I haven't had the problem since I stopped using gas from Safeway.
 @My_Thoughts  @Blindman My Greg's JA story: I had a Corolla that was misfiring occasionally. I took it in to make an appointment and they said, "No, just go get some coffee and we'll look at it." One hour turned in to four when finally the mechanic said; "OK, all done." When he handed me the bill, it was about $100. I said, "How come so little, you were working on it over 4 hours?"
Â
He said," I know, but I should have spotted the problem in the first hour. It's my fault so we won't charge you for the extra three hours."
Â
I wish I still had a Japanese car but iffen ever I do... Greg's is the way to go.
When I did shut down work at many of the local refinery, you would see so many different gas station trucks filling up at the same location. Then you see the advertising saying "our gas is different" and I just had to laugh.
Always been this way. Use to deliver fuel to stations and they haven't changed any. They all buy from the same place. There is no competition for fuel prices in the state any more. Any station can buy any amount of fuel for huge discounts during low price times and then sell it at reduced rates but no one does it any more. Also a lot of premium fuels are really just a mixture of premium or regular fuels. If you have an extra amount of regular on the truck the station owner will a lot of the times just have you dump it in the premium tanks.
The only danger from buying from smaller no name stations is the water problem. Some of them don't do a very good job of keeping the water out of the fuel and with underground tanks thats always a big problem.