Well, you get ripped off then. My mother-in-law lives right down the road from a larger lake with a boat launch and there are two stations with 100% gas AND its usually .5-.10 cents cheaper.
I don't own a boat and my Nox won't float to the pumps ;D. I have no problem with the ethanol in gas. The gas in lower NY has had it for years and it all contains ethonal. I try to by my gas in NJ which is about 30 to 40 cents less than NY and they have only full serve. It's about $3.00 a gallon in NJ now. I do not know if the fuel sold at the mariina is ethonal free anyways.
I don't own a boat and my Nox won't float to the pumps ;D. I have no problem with the ethanol in gas. The gas in lower NY has had it for years and it all contains ethonal. I try to by my gas in NJ which is about 30 to 40 cents less than NY and they have only full serve. It's about $3.00 a gallon in NJ now. I do not know if the fuel sold at the mariina is ethonal free anyways.
LOL, that's probably right. I try to buy mine at a local grocery store that offers rebates for shopping there. It's a nameless brand. I'll have to take a closer look at the pump to see if it states the ethanol content.
If I have a choice I hit up a top tier. I also will drop a cheap bottle of STP gas treatment after filling up. I typically will see a 1-2mpg increase when doing this. I also suggest running a complete fuel injector every 3000 miles or so.
I allowed my first tank with the STP additive to run down to a quarter tank. Checked my avg and I'm hitting 25.8mpg using mixed driving. The best I had before this was 23.4. Could just be a fluke but the additional additive seems to work. I'm going to try this out a few more times & will post back. I'm assuming that if you use a top tier station that has higher levels of additives you would yield the same result.
CuHead, I wouldn't think about using it now or back in the day. But I remember some guys use to use it back in the 50's/60's
Some even put mothballs in their tanks.
Re: Re: "Top Tier" gas recommended in owner's manual
Last time I saw tanker filling up the local chevron it was a non
marked tanker. Not a big believer in top tier myself. Also been tracking MPG for years on spreadsheet and I've seen some of best numbers from a local 'race trac' .
Gas is a tricky thing. Most large brands carry the cleaners and detergents that are needed for long term fuel intector cleaning. Using bad gas will not create an issue is days or weeks but in time you will have a slow drop in power and performance and the only way to clear it up will be to replace injectors.
Having driven cars with dirty injectors and then putting in a new set you would be suprised how much power can be lost and with it going away slow you neve know you have an issue.
Using higher octain is not a worry unless GM states it is Required. In my Turbo ECO with the GM tune it a a must to use premium just to prevent a broken piston since I now see 23 PSI of boost.
The stock Nox and Terrain have no need for the higher octain as it will do noting but cost more money.
As for what gas you get can be interesting too. In this area and I am sure most others many independent stations and even some larger brands buy their gas from several refiners. We have many no name stations here that one day could have Sunoco or Shell and then the next day some generic blend of gas with few cleaners. They often buy on a exchange that offers surplus fuels and they pass the savings along.
The key here is the new DI systems are fairly new and I am not sure how they will react to poor fuel. In mine view good fuel will be more critical with the high pressure systems as our DI engines do not have 110 PSI into the engine but we can see near 2000 psi. I have a fuel presure gauge on my SS Turbo and the PSI numbers shock even the most hardened techs as they are just now seeing them.
The bottom line is you can use what ever and may get away with it but if you use the proper fuel you increase your odds of not having future issues. It is the you can pay me now or you can pay me later.
For several years my dad used Race Track in Newnan, GA, in Olds Cutlas......drove up to see us and upon leaving back south, he was about 5 miles out of town and called that his car stalled. Towed to Olds dealer and had 2 fuel injectors replaced. Off brand gasoline, you just don't know what additives they are leaving out or not putting enough in. DI engines are a different breed and I really make sure it is tier 1 gasoline, I am using.
Very rarely if ever do I use tier 1 gas. I've been using Speedway gas for over 10 years with no problems and don't know anyone who has. Granted, I won't use "Joe Bobs discount gas" or any other like that, but any nationally know brand - yes.
Once a year I pour a bottle of Techron in the tank(that's the same stuff in Chevron gas). Best cleaner on the market.
Very rarely if ever do I use tier 1 gas. I've been using Speedway gas for over 10 years with no problems and don't know anyone who has. Granted, I won't use "Joe Bobs discount gas" or any other like that, but any nationally know brand - yes.
Once a year I pour a bottle of Techron in the tank(that's the same stuff in Chevron gas). Best cleaner on the market.
You may find that your car may only be at 80% of what it was and over time a slow loss of performance is seldom noticed.
Not everyone dies smoking but you increase your odds of not getting cancer buy not smoking.
The bottom line this is not a 100% it will happen to you deal. It is a case where if you follow the recomendation you increase the odds of better long term performance. Cars are like Humans and the better long term care the odds increase you will miss problems later be it a plug injector or a cardiac.
If you don't follow the recomendation you may get away with it but if you do follow the recomendations you increase the odds that you many not have an expensive failure. GM is only offering this advice to make sure you increase your odds for a vehicle with a long term trouble free life. It is in their best interest for you to get the most trouble feee miles our of their vehicles to better have a chance to sell you a new car again.
Okay, I'm confused. My owner's manual says to use a 87 octane. At the gas stations I stop at, all national chains that have been around forever, the regular unleaded is an 87 octane. Therefore it meets the requirement of the owners manual (I was reading the pump and the book at the same time during my first fill up just to be sure ). I was at a Speedway that's been around since the dinosaurs roamed this area. ;D
It seems to me that if the regular unleaded meets the requirements of the engine per the manual, I'm not going to shell out loads more for the expensive stuff. I know some stations sell something less than 87 as their "regular", but those are stations I rarely venture to and have never filled up at -and my friend wonders why she's on her third car-. Am I missing something?? ???
BTW with the 87 octane, I'm meeting the mpg estimates and even getting a little better on my last highway drive.
Okay, I'm confused. My owner's manual says to use a 87 octane. At the gas stations I stop at, all national chains that have been around forever, the regular unleaded is an 87 octane. Therefore it meets the requirement of the owners manual (I was reading the pump and the book at the same time during my first fill up just to be sure ). I was at a Speedway that's been around since the dinosaurs roamed this area. ;D
It seems to me that if the regular unleaded meets the requirements of the engine per the manual, I'm not going to shell out loads more for the expensive stuff. I know some stations sell something less than 87 as their "regular", but those are stations I rarely venture to and have never filled up at -and my friend wonders why she's on her third car-. Am I missing something?? ???
BTW with the 87 octane, I'm meeting the mpg estimates and even getting a little better on my last highway drive.
It is not the octane but the quality and additives in the fuel. You can use 87 but they would like you to try to use better name brands that use aditives that will keep the fuel system clean and functioning properly.
Over time some poor quality fuels can clog and scale up and you can slowly lose performance to the point you don't notice the slow drop. Octane is not the issue but the cleaners in the fuel. The better stuff tend to have more or better cleaners vs the cheaper stuff. It is like steak You can eat anything but generally the better cuts of meat cost more.
I always used the cheapest gas I could find until I had to fix a leaking lower intake gasket on my 99 S10. After 12 years of cheap gas and no "noticeable" performance loss, the intake was so badly build-up with carbon I was surprised it still ran. When I got my terrain I started using top tier only to prevent this. After repairing the S10 and cleaning all the gunk out, I started using top tier in it as well. Then the no "noticeable" performance loss theory went out the window for me. The truck runs way better than it had for atleast 6 years. The performance of an engine will degrade with carbon build-up even if you can't obviously tell. Perhaps the non recommended cheap gas is leading to fuel pump issues for some people. My 2 cents.
Since my Terrain is not a NASCAR model, I don't really care about perseived lower performance over time. All my cars gave me exactly what I expected of them - using 87 octane gas.
Also since the majority of car owners only keep their cars, on average, 4 to 5 years, what's there to worry about?
I handle the carbon build up problem by regularly using Techron and getting out on the highway once in a while. I would think after 12 years, any car will show signs of aging.
hyperv6, Some will argue that the car mfg's want their cars to last forever - can't make money that way, but I do agree with you on that.
SonoGal, I've never seen gas less then 87 octane. Where are you at?
I don't buy the cheapest gas I can find, just a lower cost gas then the big boys. I don't consider Speedway gas as a cheap gas.
Maybe a definition of "Cheap gas" is needed. Does it mean a BP station selling a gallon at $3.90 is a cheap gas because the Shell station across the street is sellinfg a gallon at $3.95? Or do you mean any gas at a 'Billy-Joe-Bobs gas station and petting zoo"???
Is anything other then BP,Shell,Mobil cheap gas?
What brands do you all consider cheap gas?
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