Good news: If you like the smell of petrol, it’s perfectly normal.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/why-does-gasoline-smell-good/
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/why-does-gasoline-smell-good/
Why does gasoline smell so good?
- Thread starter Shel_B
- Start date
I think these people have been sniffing a little too much of it. It smells terrible.
When I worked in a research lab we had a flammable materials cabinet that was specifically used for the most dangerous chemicals. I called it the cancer cabinet. However, it had the most pleasant scent(s) out of all of them.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
The 91 E0 I purchase for the motorcycle has a wonderful aroma. plus it's right at chest level so you get a good potent sniff.
While in college I didn't drive too much, after college I was in apartments and couldn't work on much gas power stuff--so when I got a car, I didn't work on it, not even oil changes. While still renting I traded my gas powered car for a diesel, and started doing my own oil changes. Then bought a house, and finally! had to get some OPE.
First trip to the fuel station to get gas for the lawn mower: wow, I don't remember this stuff smelling this bad! it had been a long time since I bought gasoline. I still think it smells worse than diesel fuel. I'm just more used to it now, as I haven't had a diesel car in almost 10 years.
First trip to the fuel station to get gas for the lawn mower: wow, I don't remember this stuff smelling this bad! it had been a long time since I bought gasoline. I still think it smells worse than diesel fuel. I'm just more used to it now, as I haven't had a diesel car in almost 10 years.
I like the smell of gasoline.
Back in the late 1990s, I lived in California and remember the foul smell of the gasoline because it contained MTBE. Do they still put that stuff in the gas in CA?
Back in the late 1990s, I lived in California and remember the foul smell of the gasoline because it contained MTBE. Do they still put that stuff in the gas in CA?
Following a hot car burning race gas on a country road is a great smell.
Otherwise nope.
Otherwise nope.
NO! In 2005, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act that removed the oxygenate requirement for reformulated gasoline (RFG) Its use also declined in the United States in response to environmental and health concerns.
And just to be clear, MTBE was in gasoline throughout the US, not just in California.
Its got to be a genetic thing, some people love it, others despise it. I absolutely love the smell of gasoline. Even rotten gasoline, like what you smell in junkyards, is somewhat pleasant. Diesel/kero/jet fuel, on the other hand, absolutely churns my stomach, which is bad considering I mess with jet engines for a living.
Same with ATF or gear oil. Some people seem to not be able to stand even a whiff of it... personally I've had both drench my shirt and it didnt bother me a bit.
Same with ATF or gear oil. Some people seem to not be able to stand even a whiff of it... personally I've had both drench my shirt and it didnt bother me a bit.
I like the smell of race gas! I'm indifferent to pump gas, and despise the smell of diesel before or after it's burned.
And Jet fuel, holy crap, the worst smell known to man.
Two stroke exhaust with a quality oil is heaven itself.
And Jet fuel, holy crap, the worst smell known to man.
Two stroke exhaust with a quality oil is heaven itself.
Last edited:
My dad had to go out of his way when I was a little kid to find leaded gas for an old 389 Grand Prix he had. I remember it have a unique smell.
Gasoline in this non-attainment area is still required to be oxygenated. Ethanol is used instead of MTBE. You CANNOT buy ethanol-free gas in this area.
I became an organic chemist because I loved the smell of organics in the high school chem storeroom, at the gas station and anywhere else the smell of organic chemicals was present. I am now 75 and STILL love to smell them. Esters and aromatics....oh boy!
When I moved to California in the late-1990s, I remember the gasoline having a foul odor that I had not experienced in other parts of the U.S. I thought it was due to MTBE, based on what someone had told me. Is there something else that gave California gas the different odor compared to other parts of the country?
I love the smell of Napalm in the morning. The smell, you know that gasoline smell..... the whole hill....smelled like victory.
Last edited:
I also like the smell of gasoline. I won't say it's something I seek out, but it's not foul. I agree that diesel/kero/JP8 are terrible. I was a paratrooper and hated walking out to the running aircraft and inhaling burning jet fuel.
I don't mind the smell of gasoline. What I do love is the smell of tobacco... until you light it on fire.
