Gas

[RachelnLa]

Now that I have an expected delivery date for my car, I am determined to not spend any more in gas than I have too. Prices are rising fast!

[CassidyB]

Congrats on the delivery date.. Unless you live in a mountainous area, you can easily hit 47 city

[RachelnLa]

Flat lands of southern Louisiana!

[JohnnOhio]

I've noticed that gas is starting to go up to. I'm hoping for delivery of mine by Memorial Day when they will really raise the gas prices. Bet you haven't slept since finding out your car is coming soon. Hope I get my in time for the national get together in Dearborn. I'm just a few hours DRIVE from there.(in my c max) yea !!!

[Jus-A-CMax]

Same here, we have notoriously high gas prices. Even costco is going up and up which is where my family buys our gas 99.99% of the time and we both use the 91 octane (phew, nearly typed in RON there... ;) ).

 

 I am sure someone will come along and tell me that 91 is overkill, but my answer will always be that the extra 20c per gallon more than pays for itself with my ever increasing mileage. Plus to me Max feels much peppier & responsive... :shift:

[CassidyB]

Jus-A-CMax.. I go with the premium unleaded also... And did the full synthetic on my first oil change.

[plus 3 golfer]

I find a lot of misunderstanding of the benefits of using premium fuel on virtually all forums when regular is all that is needed .  In fact, cars that "require" premium gas generally run fine on regular with virtually the same FE.  Modern engines have knock sensors to detect detonation and adjust the timing accordingly should it ever occur.  The largest fuel-related factor affecting FE is the energy content of the fuel being used.  Ethanol blends have less energy content than pure gasoline.  The energy content of regular and premium gas is virtually the same. 

 

Unless the premium gas has additional additives above the minimum requirements (especially like Techron to keep deposits from forming and to remove deposits) there will be virtually no performance benefit in using premium fuel.

 

Of course, people can spend $ on whatever they desire and believe whatever they want to believe.

 

Many also believe performance will be enhance significantly if they use premium when only regular is required. Here's a C&D test.

 

 

Our tests confirm that for most cars there is no compelling reason to buy more expensive fuel than the factory recommends, as any performance gain realized will surely be far less than the percentage hike in price. Cheapskates burning regular in cars designed to run on premium fuel can expect to trim performance by about the same percent they save at the pump.

 

 

 

 

 

[C-MaxJaxon]

I've tried BP Invigorate 91 and Top Tier 93 octane as well as regular 89 octane mid-grade E10 and even E15, and haven't noticed any difference in power. But of course I'm not driving aggressively anymore now that I have a car that shows how efficiently I'm driving every time I shut it off.

[zhackwyatt]

To me a top tier gas that meets the recommended octane rating for the car is better than a lower quality gas with a higher octane.

[plus 3 golfer]

To me a top tier gas that meets the recommended octane rating for the car is better than a lower quality gas with a higher octane.

Exactly, because Top Tier members agree to meet a higher spec for detergents (octane or gas grade has nothing to do with Top Tier). Problem is we don't know which stations sell "lower quality gas" than Top Tier stations.  To most, premium implies "higher quality" gas but  it simply relates to higher octane and not better detergent packages.  You know what you are getting with Top Tier gas (regardless of grade).  

 

From experience with a VW Passat, I had deposit issues using non-branded / non Top Tier suppliers' gas.  Paying a few extra cents / gallon for Top Tier gas rather than finding the cheapest station which is usually not a Top Tier station solved my issues.  Deposits can affect combustion and lower your fuel economy.

 

Also, didn't I read here that someone did have issues with deposits and had a CEL?

[Jus-A-CMax]

Well, learn something new everyday...

 

I've been using the costco gas for more than a decade now in all our familiy cars including a Camry, 3 x Jaguar Vanden Plas and not a single clogged engine or fuel filter from use and I can say Costco gas is used 99.99% of the time. Now Arco is a different story, we had huge issues with that company in the older Jags.

 

I am sure there are merits in the top tier gas, but each to their own I guess.

 

Good reading and very informative discussions fellas  :rockon: 

Edited February 6, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[plus 3 golfer]

I use Costco also. Costco claims to have 5x the EPA detergent requirements in there fuel. I have no reason not to believe them. But when on the road I try to find Top Tier stations.

 

My issues with deposits was with Sam's Club fuel about 8 or so years ago. There are likely many marketers that can meet the Top Tier requirements but for whatever reason choose not to get certified.

[darrelld]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Plus 3 Golfer" data-cid="8474" data-time="1360112420"><p>

I use Costco also. Costco claims to have 5x the EPA detergent requirements in there fuel. I have no reason not to believe them. But when on the road I try to find Top Tier stations.My issues with deposits was with Sam's Club fuel about 8 or so years ago. There are likely many marketers that can meet the Top Tier requirements but for whatever reason choose not to get certified.</p></blockquote>

 

Just filled at Costco this weekend, first time I could completely fill the tank since my Filler Inlet problem.

[roninsd]

Jus-A-CMax.. I go with the premium unleaded also... And did the full synthetic on my first oil change.

CassidyB, you've already had an oil change?  What was  your mileage?

[clidaw]

I usually use Speedway for gas, since the station is just around the corner from our house. We did use Costco last Saturday because it was 45 cents cheaper than the Speedway station. That top tier information was interesting though, so I may go with a convenient shell station and see how it goes.

[plus 3 golfer]

One other point on Top Tier vs other stations.  

 

I'll use Speedway as an example which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon. Are the pumps at Speedway labeled "Marathon" or not? Marathon says their branded gas has more than 2X the detergent requirements of the EPA.   If the Speedway pumps are not branded "Marathon", I'd say that the detergent package in the Speedway gas is likely not as good as the Marathon branded gas.  IIRC, I read somewhere that Top Tier gas generally has at least 2X -3X  the EPA detergent requirements.

 

So, if I used Speedway gas and it's not branded "Marathon" on the pumps, I'd put one (and maybe two cans) of Techron Concentrate or Pro-Gard in the tank about every 5k miles to ensure the engine is clean.  IIRC, Pro-Gard is less concentrated mixture than Techron.   Costco has carried both Techron and Pro-Guard and occasionally has them on sale.

 

Of course we don't know the propensity of the C-Max ICE to "foul-up" on lower quality fuel.  It may do fine on the minimum EPA detergent requirement.  But I always like to reasonably manage such risks.  If I'm using gas that I don't how well it stacks up against Top Tier gas, I'll add a few cans of Techron every so often. 

 

Also, if one want to learn more about gasoline read this. :)

Edited February 6, 2013 by Plus 3 Golfer

[zhackwyatt]

The chevron near me closed down so I started going to Fry's.

 

After about a year my Explorer started hesitating when I stepped on the gas and a few times stalled and few times almost killed me.

 

Took it to the dealer a few times and they could never reproduce the problem.

 

Put a bottle of techron in the tank and haven't had the problem since.

[RachelnLa]

Interesting zhack. My dads edge is doing this. I will have to let him know.

[Jus-A-CMax]

Good stuff +3 golfer  :rockon: 

 

 PS dude, what are you hanging here is your cap is +3, should be on the mini tours or trying for web.com tour dude  ;)

Edited February 7, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[plus 3 golfer]

Good stuff +3 golfer  :rockon: 

 

 PS dude, what are you hanging here is your cap is +3, should be on the mini tours or trying for web.com tour dude  ;)

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. A few years back I did shoot 4 under but I have a high single digit cap.

[Jus-A-CMax]

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. A few years back I did shoot 4 under but I have a high single digit cap.

Thought I would ask, as you seem pretty meticulous, a good trait with top notch golfers that never vary such as their practice or pre-shot routine. No worries.

[Jus-A-CMax]

Here we go...costco $4.17 for 91 RON octane  :rant: 

[RachelnLa]

Yikes! Hurry up Ford. I want my baby! My Tahoe is quickly sucking the gas. I have an out of town trip next weekend. Not looking forward to that gas fillup.

[Jus-A-CMax]

Yikes! Hurry up Ford. I want my baby! My Tahoe is quickly sucking the gas. I have an out of town trip next weekend. Not looking forward to that gas fillup.

 

Relax, this is liberal CA, we generally pay more for our gas than other states (except HI). You could also start throwing the Tahoe into neutral on the downhills to save some gas.

 

Oh man, just watching the local news, this rogue LAPD cop is driving everyone nutz  :nonono: 

Edited February 8, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[mtberman]

+1 on this. Octane ratings are not a measure of fuel quality. The only thing that's certain is this: The higher the octane rating, the lower the amount of energy per gallon of fuel and the lower your actual gas mileage will be.

 

There are basically four ways to buy fuel for a car designed for regular unleaded gasoline. One choice is to buy your favorite regular gas from your neighborhood 7-11, supermarket or Costco. This is fine. Another choice is to buy Top Tier regular gasoline. Do this if you want the best possible fuel. A third choice is to buy Top Tier mid-grade or premium fuel. This is what our Audi calls for, but the C Max engine is not the same as the Audi engine, and wasn't designed to run mid-grade or premium fuel. Doing this probably won't hurt the car but your mileage will be slightly lower and the fuel is easily 30c more per gallon, making this a solid waste of money. A fourth option would be to go to your neighborhood 7-11, supermarket or Costco and buy mid-grade or premium. A lot of people do this, mistakenly thinking that they are helping their car by selecting the "premium" grade. The name is a misnomer. The fuel is a different grade, not a better grade. The only fuel that's "better" is Top Tier and similar fuels, which are proven better than non-Top Tier fuels.

 

Buying a lower quality fuel is no big deal, but buying the wrong grade of it is just nonsensical. I don't blame folks for going to low cost outlets. That's great and I'm all for it, and your car will be fine with it. But really, don't buy the wrong grade of fuel no matter where you fill up. If you want to spend money, go to a Top Tier station, but the proper fuel, and pocket the money you would have spent buying the wrong grade of fuel.

 

And Thank You to the Mobil engineer that taught me all this trivial stuff back in the mid 1990s when the internet was new and I had a Ford Taurus SHO that called for mid-grade. You've saved me a lot of money over the years.

 

To me a top tier gas that meets the recommended octane rating for the car is better than a lower quality gas with a higher octane.

Edited February 8, 2013 by mtberman