Anyone putting the Costco or Sams Club 93 into their car?? Seems like it should be fine on it right? The sales man said to only put Chevron in there. I mean Really?

 

I wouldn't use it in my lawn mower. Every off brand gas I've ever put in a vehicle always resulted in a lower mileage then the usual Sunoco I fill up with. Lower enough to negate any price difference.

 

You might find this interesting...

http://www.toptiergas.com/index.html

Dick
09 XF 23Kmiles, Radiance

 

This subject intrigues me. How and why would Costco go out of their way to ensure that their gas is always 'inferior'. They don't own refineries or depots or even a transport company. They buy their gas on the open market from any and all of the big brand names.

It is well know that the ONLY difference from one brand of gas to another is the mix of additives, none of which makes a bit of difference in mileage. It is debatable if the different additive packages makes a long term difference in reliability, durability or any other measurable factor.

The 'top tier' gas scam is the biggest hogwash marketing cr*p I've seen in years. It simply frightens people into believing 'bad things will happen' if they don't use their gas.

 

Have been using Costco gas for the last 10 years on all my vehicles including two Jags and my lawn equipment without any problems at all.
Love the cost savings.
Wish it was available in Canada when I lived there.

 

As long as the fuel meets the minimum RON rating in your handbook the car will run just fine on it and I'll be amazed if you notice any performance difference between brands.
Having said that in the UK it is extremely common for supermarkets to sell fuel, in the same way Costco do, I have dome mpg comparisons on my daily commute over several tankfuls and consistently returned better mpg from Shell & BP vs Supermarket fuel. The difference was around 1mpg, which ain't exactly gonna set the world on fire, but that's the difference in my experience.
Another thing I do believe rightly or wrongly is that the additives ARE superior in cleaning your engine, a few years ago I ran supermarket fuel all the time as it was cheaper, but after a while I'd notice I was getting less mpg than I had been, so I'd stick a bottle of injector cleaner additive in the tank, and the mpg would return to previous levels. I've had this car 6 months now, virtually exclusively run on Shell, but I remembered my usual additive trick and thought I'd give it a go, so I got some BG44K - I've only heard good reports about it, so despite it being twice the price of my usual choice thought I'd give it a go - it made NO difference to mpg whatsoever, so it either means it's useless, or the Shell is keeping my engine clean already and no further improvement could be achieved. I'm not inclined to bother trying another cheaper additive, I reckon Shell is already doing the business.

 

The most imprtant diffference are the additives that some companies use like Chevron and Shell in order to keep your falves/engine clean. It does help a lot.

 

What direct evidence do any of you have that even the supposed 'worst' gas/petrol allows deposits to accumulate or become 'unclean'?

Using one tank of gas with poor additives will not cause an engine to get dirty enough to make any difference. It takes thousands of miles for this to happen, if indeed it happens at all.

Where do you guys in the UK think Sainsbury, Morrisons etc and the others get their petrol?

 

Tear your engine apart and you will see the difference. Your right about long term accumulation. I buy my vehicles to last 200k and 20-25 years. Anything short of this IMO is just plan wasteful. Using cheap gas is just like using cheap oil. Short term no issue except for possible gas mileage. I religiously keep track of my mileage and have only had one vehicle that didn't see a 5-10 percent improvement by using a brand name gasoline. That's my TVR which doesn't like ethanol to begin with, At $3 a gallon remember a 5 percent difference equates to an extra 7.5 cents based on 20 miles a gallon. Costco here for their "premium 92" is more than the closer Sunoco 91 by 6 cents. Considering I'm getting about 10mpg in the XJR that would mean the Costco gas would need to be at least 15 cents a gallon cheaper.

I do however, always enjoy watching the idiots lined up waiting for their "cheap" gas engines idiling getting 0mpg waiting for 5-10 minutes.

As was stated Cosco, Sheetzs and the like do buy their gas from the same refinerys but they also buy it in bulk before it is blended or any additives are put in. They are concerned only with price and have no problems buying gasoline which is late in its lifespan. Remember today gasoline can begin to go bad in as little as 28 days.

Do the math and you'll find it isn't as cheap as one would think, not even for someone who leases their cars every 2 years.

 

I have torn many of my own engines apart at very high mileage and have seen NO difference. Most of my toys are original owner's stuff dating as far back as 1968, with a variety coming from the 70s, 80s and 90s. The only vehicle I presently own that was built in this millennium is my S-type (aside from the GFs Honda), and I see no difference whatsoever ever in any measurable parameter that makes me believe there's any tangible difference.

Let's see YOUR engine torn apart to prove your point.

I'd also like to see your evidence that:

1) gas goes bad in a month (gas companies themselves state it's a year)
2) Costco buys 'old stuff about to go off'
3) Costco buys gas without additives and then blends it afterwards
4) proves via a substantiated technical explanation that additive packages can make mileage go up or down (psssst- it can't, not even the gas company marketeers claim that)

I just love these conspiracy theories...............

 

That's just it, my engine won't neet to be torn apart. Not to be rude buhet
1. I never said gas goes bad in a month I said it can begin to go bad in as little as 28 days. Reads much englash ladley?
2. No I never said Costco buys old stuff but when you are trying to get the cheapest product on the market, you are much more willing to settle. I know nothing about Costco but I do know that's how Sheetz buys theirs.
3. Don't know what they put in it, nor do I care as it gets me worse gas mileage and I'm **** enough to keep track of all my gas purchases. I'm not just basing my opinion on 1 fill up. It is simply over a lifetime of driving.
4. Mileage is just as technical. I can tell you which vehicles I've owned and what brand they get the best mileage on it. Not one is Costco.

If you like Costco, fine with me I don't give a crap. As I stated, I wouldn't even put the crap in my lawn mower as I don't want to tear my engines apart (obviously you do). I prefer to spend less and get better mileage. Just my 2 cents but if you do the math, at least in my area I get cheaper gas at Sunoco rather than driving the 8 miles (3/4 or a gallon of gas) to pay more to get worse mileage.

Learn to read a post next time ther e Mikey. When I'm ready for an engine rebuild at 300k I'll let you know. You'll be a valuable resource for me then. Til then I've seen tangable differences and I save money by not using Costco gas.

 

So, no evidence to offer, just some sabre rattling. OK, that's what I thought.

 

i get better mileage using sunoco gas then any other brand gas including costco which in my area is cheaper than costco gas. What more proof do you need? I also said that's great if you get better mileage and save money at costco (don't forget to include that membership in your cost as well) but in my driving area with the blends we use here and my careful analisis of mileage each fill up in every vehicle i've owned that has not proven to be the case.

go rattle your own sabre, where is your proof contradicting the reality i have experienced. Didn't think so there mikey boy.

again, i would not use costco gas in my lawn mower.

 

Sorry, not interested in continuing this type of discussion.

 

Thought you were just talking out your other hole anyways.

 

Well this thread went downhill fast.

I can see that it is going nowhere and is now just becoming personal.

Please remember guys that personal attacks are not tolerated on this Forum, and if you are going to quote someone then 'do not' edit the quote into something that did not appear in the thread.

The quote in the above post 15 being an example.

So for that reason,

Thread closed