Who's got good gas?

SS Crew · July 19, 2005

I found this in Car and Driver magazine - I found it interesting.

cokedrvrbjw · July 20, 2005

"Who's got good gas?"

Me, usually first thing in the morning.

MrQuadrasteer · July 20, 2005

Something I'd like to throw in- keep tabs on your mileage from station to station to see which gives you the best results. Most already know that some brands give better mileage/performance than others, so it pays to keep tabs. Case in point-

I used to use Kroger gas because of the discounts. Then I found kroger gas robbed me of nearly 2mpg over the Shell gas I use now

Well worth the effort

willieboy · July 20, 2005

The mileage point is good to bring up. I just noticed the same thing. In town the hit is fairly small, but on the highway, I am looking at 3.5-4.0 mpg difference between the value stations (walmart, HEB, Kroger) and the big name stations (Cheveron, Exxon). Those value stations are almost a dime cheaper per gallon, but that does not even come close to breaking even.

For instance, normally when I fill up I need about 25 gallons of fuel.

Value Station(~13 mpg): 25*$2.08=$52/325miles=$0.16 per mile

"Good Stuff"(~16.5mpg): 25*$2.18=$54.5/412 miles=$0.13 per mile

So with those numbers and some calculations it cost me $68 to use value gasoline to go 412 miles while it cost me $54.50 to use the "good stuff," a difference of $13.50.

Now, in town my differences are pretty small; Value = 12 while the Good stuff = 13 mpg.

Value(12): 25*$2.08=$52/300 miles=$0.173 per mile

"Good Stuff"(13): 25*$2.18=$54.5/325 miles=$0.167 per mile

So with those numbers I am looking at $56 to use value gasoline to go 325 miles while it cost me $54.50 to use the "good stuff."

Therefore my conclusion is that from now on I will fill with the "good stuff", spend more per gallon, but save money in the long shot, meaning I can get that Westers tune sooner than expected, YEAH!!

04-silver · July 21, 2005

The mileage point is good to bring up. I just noticed the same thing. In town the hit is fairly small, but on the highway, I am looking at 3.5-4.0 mpg difference between the value stations (walmart, HEB, Kroger) and the big name stations (Cheveron, Exxon). Those value stations are almost a dime cheaper per gallon, but that does not even come close to breaking even.

For instance, normally when I fill up I need about 25 gallons of fuel.

Value Station(~13 mpg): 25*$2.08=$52/325miles=$0.16 per mile

"Good Stuff"(~16.5mpg): 25*$2.18=$54.5/412 miles=$0.13 per mile

So with those numbers and some calculations it cost me $68 to use value gasoline to go 412 miles while it cost me $54.50 to use the "good stuff," a difference of $13.50.

Now, in town my differences are pretty small; Value = 12 while the Good stuff = 13 mpg.

Value(12): 25*$2.08=$52/300 miles=$0.173 per mile

"Good Stuff"(13): 25*$2.18=$54.5/325 miles=$0.167 per mile

So with those numbers I am looking at $56 to use value gasoline to go 325 miles while it cost me $54.50 to use the "good stuff."

Therefore my conclusion is that from now on I will fill with the "good stuff", spend more per gallon, but save money in the long shot, meaning I can get that Westers tune sooner than expected, YEAH!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

whow, them brain cells just took a beating

Tell you what, get your Westers tune, buy good gas and be done with it.

J/K good work/numbers

John

OUMike · July 25, 2005

Hmm...I dunno. I think personally gas is gas. I think I have this attitude because my pickup has 190k miles and I get pretty decent mileage.

IMO $.03 per mile isn't really worth messing with. I live close to both Value stations (Kroger) and the "good stuff" (Exxon and Shell), so I always stop at the Krogers.

However I think this next fill up I'll gas up with Shell just to do my own personal expirement. Because I don't have a gas gauge it'll be more difficult so I'll just do a couple of 200 mile tests.

willieboy · July 25, 2005

The whole reason I started paying attention is because my gas gauge is completely unreliable. Anyway, give it a shot and let us know how it goes. I will be curious to see if there is a difference in someone else truck.

BTW, I used to think just like you, .03 cents is no big deal. I was surprised at the difference when I looked at over the cost per 325 miles. Especially when you are talking about that cost over a year (~10000 miles). It really does start to add up now that fuel prices seem to stay over $2.00 per gallon. Three years ago I would have never bothered with this...

asilverblazer · July 25, 2005

In the link to the web-site there is a tab for a list of retailers. I would like to see some kind of advertisement for "Top-Tier" where I get fuel so that at least I know it is "supposed" to be top tier.

SS Crew · July 25, 2005

In the link to the web-site there is a tab for a list of retailers. I would like to see some kind of advertisement for "Top-Tier" where I get fuel so that at least I know it is "supposed" to be top tier.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline Retailers

Gasoline retailers must meet the high TOP TIER standards with all grades of gasoline to be approved by the automakers as providing TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline.

In addition, all gasoline outlets carrying the brand of the approved retailer must meet the TOP TIER standards.

Additional gasoline retailers are added to the TOP TIER list as they meet the standards. The retailers known to be on the TOP TIER list are shown below.

TOP TIER Gasoline Retailers:

QuikTrip

Chevron

Conoco

Phillips

76

Shell

Entec Stations

MFA Oil Company

quoted from Top Tier Gasoline

blue2kzr2 · July 26, 2005

I've seen the list before and am REALLY curious why Exxon/Mobil and Hess are not on there. I use either one in my truck, I'll use Mobil if it's less than around $.04/gal. more than Hess, which it generally is. I have a credit card that gets me 3% on Exxon/Mobil purchases and 1% on anything else.

I'll periodically use a Gulf station, it's across from a Mobil and is generally less than the Mobil, but it's been a LONG time since I put that in MY truck, I put 12 gals. or so into my dad's Dodge the other day though...