I never got stuck on a gas brand, my local gas station is a local independent and I don't know much about it as long as it works. When it quits working I will go elseware. I am a Costco and Sam's Club member but I travel too far to get there and have never bought Costco gas, it's just not convenient for me.
FYI/IMHO Okay most fuel stations have three plus said choices.....UNLEADED is like 85/87 octane and gets higher octane with obvious higher price you also get ethanol blended in those choices Warning E85 is horrid and will likely jack you somewhere along the way. Chevron, Exxon, Shell, Racetrac , murphy oil(Walmart gas) and QT are known acceptable places in DFW north Texas and fairly confident that almost all come from the same pipeline, tank farm distribution in my local... Winter blended fuels are just about here anywho
GM has stated with higher octane fuels will both improve performance and fuel economy on future engines if we are so inclined to go that path. Hoping to see HCCI get mfg
E85 - don't even try it - the Owner's Manuals very definitely say "DO NOT". Max of 10 or 15% depending on what country you're in. Same with Octane USA specifies "... octane rating 87 (Research Octane Number 91)" EU specifies RON 95 min Australia specifies RON 91 min.
I think it'll be a long time before HCCI becomes mainstream - the automakers are watching Mazda (and maybe VW group) closely, but I don't think they'll jump till it's more proven. Honda played with it for ages but seem to have given up. With higher octanes - we're getting more and more EU/UK cars arriving which will only run on 95 or 98 RON.
Most gas does come from the same tank farms, the difference is the additives which are either added at the tank farm or at the station. So there is a difference in what winds up in your gas tank depending on the brand. Otherwise Top Tier would not certify only certain brands and not others.
IMHO Ethanol blended fuel was/is mandate by EPA ….you can do phase separation on gasoline to reveal ethanol …and what I consider the true gasoline.... most modern vehicles engine ecu will adjust for fuel octane
I know the brand Techron, but have no memory of the proper amount for a ten gallon gas tank. How do you figure the right amount of that product?
The gas is EXPENSIVE for a reason: SMOG. The less polluting formulation is expensive to manufacture. If you look at air quality records and picutres of Los Angeles skyline from the 70's/80's, you welcome this less polluting formulation. Lets look at the driving factor of CA vs SC: Registered Vehicles (2016): 14.8MM vs 1.8MM Licensed Drivers (2016): 26.2MM vs 3.7MM If CA had a smaller population, and with that comes fewer vehicles and fewer drivers, we probably wouldn't need the less polluting formulation. This is also why real estate is crazy expensive here (Keynesian Economics): Too many people (high demand), too little supply. The median home value in Bluffton is $269,800. The median home value in Torrance is $815,300. People outside of expensive real estate markets will have more disposable income.
EVs don't use gas so they aren't contributing to road maintenance via gasoline taxes. Gasoline vehicles are subsidizing the roads for EV owners. The extra $100 for EV vehicle registration fee is insignificant, when you look at the big picture. EV owners still come out ahead. If the registration fee for hybrids goes up, hybrid owners will still come out ahead, esp for those who drive a lot. I'd like a truck too, but not practical. I'm not in construction. I don't have a boat, camper, or toys that need hauling. It would be more practical for me to rent a truck of borrow a truck, and transfer the savings into my mutual funds. It will be comical to see the hordes of people come back to fuel efficient vehicles, when gas becomes expensive again.
In NJ, the tax on electricity goes into the general fund, which is also used for roads, so we're not exactly getting away with a freebie.
For those of us who had to look up HCCI, it looks like Mazda may offer that next year per Green Car Reports blog.
In the midwest, Ethanol was developed by the ag schools as a market for the overabundance of corn. When the concept was still small, farmers demanded the state legislatures make E-85 availability required. The Ethanol fuel tax subsidies were outrageous. After that came about, some technical backlash caused a 10% blend to be offered with tax credits to the stations. Later some states now require 10% blend to be all most stations can sell. EPA was late to the party acting only after the states acted. EPA had to do something as the effects of 10% blend showed up in the atmosphere.
There weren't many cars which could run on E85. SAAB, VOLVO and a GM V6 were the only ones which came here, but they weren't sold for long.
12 oz. bottle treats up to 12 gallons. I pour the whole bottle in my 2016 Prius. (11.4 gallon tank) And now Texaco gas includes Techron. And of course Chevron. Techron Texaco - Gas Stations With Techron and Diesel
