Consistancy with a brand

[grbr95]

Is it better to be consistant and use one single brand of gasoline vs. jumping around from brand to brand? I use to be loyal to BP/Amoco, but more and more I find myself just pulling up to Shell, BP, Marathon..which ever one I'm closest to when I need to fill up. Will my engine last just as long even if I jump from brand to brand all the time?

A friend of mine told me it's best to stay consistant w/one brand due to detergents so that they can do their job..because detergency is different from brand to brand.

 

[Eddie]

Volvos' data said some time ago to NOT use one brand of gas consistantly. Their rational was that gas suppliers additive packages worked better on some deposits than others. So to get a cleaner engine overall switch brands often. I just go to whatever major brand is cheaper at fillup time. ed

 

[grbr95]

Anyone have good engine longevity with switching brands often? Or at every fill up? No issues or malfunctions? got high miles?

 

[greenjp]

My old Saturn had 185k miles when I got rid of it, no particular pattern of gas choices. Exxon, Mobil, Citgo, Chevron, Shell, etc. The only constant was a bottle of Techron Concentrate 3 or 4 times a year. Never had any problems with it.

jeff

 

[grbr95]

Greenjp...
Never did a fuel system cleaning where you hook up all the hoses, pump the chemical through it?
I've heard its really a gimmick and that using good brand name fuel is all you need. ???

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

I use whatever brand name of standard-grade 87 regular is available, Shell, Sunoco, Exxon. Never with the "off-brand" gas, even though I'm sure it comes off the same pig in the pipe up from Houston. With Sheetz, Racetrak, and various and sundry 7-11 type gas stations, who knows what detergents they put in it, and worse, how careful they are regarding water in their storage? At 34 or 36 MPG, I really don't care if it's a dime a gallon more, or a dollar either for that matter.

 

[greenjp]

grbr95,
Nope, the Saturn never had any work like that. The regular Techron use seemed to do the trick. The car started up every time, no problem, ran strong and gave great MPGs.
As I understand it, the sort of cleaning you're referring to can be helpful in a car that's got dirty injectors and whatnot. But, it's certainly oversold by dealers and Midas-type places. IMHO using brand name gas and a quality additive from time to time seems to work.

jeff

 

[grbr95]

Greenjp,
Sadly, even my trusted mechanic, whom yes, I still trust, as now purchased a fuel system cleaning machine and he sold me once on having it done. Keep in mind, my car ran perfectly before he did it, and I noticed absolutely no difference in exceleration or MPG after the cleaning. He claimed I would, but I think he read that on the manual for the machine. I think those are beneficial for people who run cheap gas. For the most part, I use Amoco gas sold at BP.

 

[Ken2]

I use the cheapest gas I can find, except ARCO/BP, and add FP60. It is the best and lowest cost fuel. BP's ARCO is the only gas that gives me noticeably lower gas mileage.

I don't think it makes any difference which brand is used. Fleet operations...police departments, etc., use which ever brand is cheapest under the state contract, may be different brands different weeks and they don't even know the brand, and they usually have no problems. The state contract here is Washington is available to any taxing agency...counties, cities, transit agencies, etc. The contract is from a wholesale fuel distributor and no brand name of the fuel is known to the buyer.

That said, if your engine runs better with certain brands, stick to those.


Ken