Never using racetrack gas ever again

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

I really do not understand people who buy no name cheap gas [only to save 3 or 4 cents a gallon] then they add Techron or Bio-Plus or Regane or Amosoil Fuel System Cleaner or MMO to their gas each time they get gas to bring the gas up to speed like a well maintained Mobil or Chevron station.

Most no name gas stations have overall poor maintenance..I does not matter if they are a super busy station off I-95 or anywhere else..It means nothing..For most people it is only a matter of time before you have a issue.

Looks like most people here have been overall very lucky so far with their cheap gas..I do know of several people who had to pay over 1K bucks to get their car back on line after their car dropped dead on I-95 due to bad fuel from Race Trac and other no name stations.

I have never had to add anything to my gas in about a million miles..I did add Regane one time to see if I can see a difference..I saw zero difference.

I you get gas at a top-tier station that has good maintenance you will never have to add a thing to your gas..I have been getting gas at one Mobil station forever..They are always checking the filters and the tanks..The station is kept spotless and you eat can off the toliet it is so clean..When I travel most [if not all] Mobil stations are just as well maintained.

Even though all gas comes from the same place if you stick to a top-tier gas station you most likely will not have a issue..Sure you can get a bad tank of gas anywhere but you will most likely have it at a no name station due to poor maintenance.

I know this is going to fall on deaf ears but it just IMHO.

 

[ARB1977]

My wife uses racetrac...no issues to date. I do add FP60 PLUS every fill up.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Warstud
Octane is part of your timing.


Not really

 

[AccordV6MN]

Yeah, my bad reading.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
Even though all gas comes from the same place if you stick to a top-tier gas station you most likely will not have a issue..Sure you can get a bad tank of gas anywhere but you will most likely have it at a no name station due to poor maintenance.

I know this is going to fall on deaf ears but it just IMHO.


Your opinion is ok by me, but note that we buy several THOUSANDS of dollars of gas every month! I simply cannot recall a single fuel related issue, and I track everything closer than ever these days.

Mostly Racetrac and Hess, as they are the cheapos around here.

 

[D.K.]

Originally Posted By: Shannow

Octane is part of your timing.


Not really [/quote

It doesn't? I thought modern cars with knock sensors could adjust timing on the fly in response to many variables, including the octane level of the gasoline in the engine.

 

[boosted]

To low of octane is your problem. Doesn't the spec v call for premium anyways? Even a 95-99 DOHC Dodge neon calls for premium from the factory.

 

[TC]

Racetrac may or may not be decent gas, but it shouldn't be so poor quality that your ride would choke on it.

It doesn't happen often, but there's certainly precedent for dishonest station owners diluting bulk gasoline with waste oil and other "filler" petro-fluids. Just enough to pad their profit margin without causing engines running too poorly. I'm not suggesting this is what happened to you, but just saying that I've read this in reputable publications. Or, as others have pointed out, possible water contamination. Or the wrong octane fuel in a given tank. Obviously, say bye-bye to that station and buy elsewhere.

 

[TC]

A few weeks back I purchased "premium" gas from a Union 76 (Conoco) station but noticed afterwards that the receipt showed 87 octane. (Luckily they charged me the lower rate too, so it wasn't a rip-off, just a mistake in the way their pumps were programmed.) The 87 octane button was taped over as "Out of order," so I KNOW I correctly pressed the "Premium" button -- it wasn't an error or oversight on my part. The point being, mistakes like this clearly happen at stations, and it stands that the fuel truck drivers who fill the tanks must make mistakes as well, such as putting the wrong fuel in the tanks. (It would be illogical to assume they're somehow immune to such mistakes.) Lesson learned: If you find a station you think is reliable and competent -- and cheap, of course -- stick with 'em.

 

[WMSmotorhead]

Some station owners just don't take good care of their tanks... Most gas quality can be traced to handling and storage... The raw product isn't THAT much different from station to station.

How the station owners and transporters treat the product is the BIGGEST difference IMHO.

 

[RTexasF]

I had similar problems with Valero gasoline in both car & lawn equipment. Although I thought it was a load of hockey before I now am one of the Top Tier fanboys.....Exxon in my case.

 

[PsycoBob]

Originally Posted By: TC
A few weeks back I purchased "premium" gas from a Union 76 (Conoco) station but noticed afterwards that the receipt showed 87 octane. (Luckily they charged me the lower rate too, so it wasn't a rip-off, just a mistake in the way their pumps were programmed.) The 87 octane button was taped over as "Out of order," so I KNOW I correctly pressed the "Premium" button -- it wasn't an error or oversight on my part. The point being, mistakes like this clearly happen at stations, and it stands that the fuel truck drivers who fill the tanks must make mistakes as well, such as putting the wrong fuel in the tanks. (It would be illogical to assume they're somehow immune to such mistakes.) Lesson learned: If you find a station you think is reliable and competent -- and cheap, of course -- stick with 'em.


The station I used to work at would sell premium at 87 octane price if we ran out. Happened 3 days in a row after Katrina, when the talking heads on the news were predicting shortages from supply issues that never arose. Our sales doubled from the panic.... And the hot rod guys figured out real quick that they should come fill up quick on cheap 93.

Take a close look at the label- it says minimum rating of 87, whenever techs change filters, the spilled fuel is dumped into the regular tank. Same with the weights & measures guy. Premium delivery won't fit? Guess where it'll go. It'd cost more to truck it elsewhere.

FWIW, we use 10micron spin-on filters in our dispenser pairs, one shared 87, one shared 93. They get changed every 6 months or so. Non-bypass heads & filters. Average daily volume is 8500gal, for 8 dispensers.

 

[Garak]

Thanks for the info, PsycoBob. It's good to know your place is diligent with filters and so forth. As I've mentioned in other threads, the stations I frequent are pretty good about it, too. I'm business partners with one person who used to work for a petroleum service company, so he knows which places are well serviced.

With the premium for regular price, we had that for a day with a Shell. Their regular with ethanol was contaminated by excessive water, so the pump automatically shut down. The mid-grade soon followed, so they sold premium (pure gas up here) all day at regular prices.

 

[Zoridog]

This reminds me of a problem my wife had at a local discount gas station. Her car ran like [censored]. They filled her car (and probably many others with diesel. The delivery vehicle filled the wrong tank at the station.

The station paid for the tow and tank purging.

Gas stations are only as good as the people who run them.