Cheap, off-brand gasoline is bad for engines, AAA says

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Kedis82ZE8

'15 CX-5 AWD GT w/Tech Pkg
Contributor
http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/08/autos/aaa-cheap-gasoline/index.html

The automotive group found significant differences in the quality of gasoline sold at fuel retailers in recent testing.
The off-brand gasolines can cause "19 times more engine deposits" than recognizable brands, which have more detergent in their mix. The problem can occur after just 4,000 miles of simulated driving.
"Such carbon deposits are known to reduce fuel economy, increase emissions and negatively impact vehicle performance, particularly on newer vehicles," said AAA.
The "top tier" brands with more detergent additives are much better for the car and mileage.
The list of top tier gasoline brands that passed AAA's test includes the nation's major consumer brands: Exxon Mobil (XOM), Conoco (COP), BP (BP), Shell (RDSA), Chevron (CVX), Citgo, Phillips 66 (PSX) and Valero (VLO).


"AAA was surprised to learn the extent to which detergent additives impact gasoline quality," said John Nielsen, AAA's managing director of automotive engineering and repair. He said the top brands "kept engines remarkably cleaner than other fuels we tested."
 
I would like to see the details of the "simulated driving" where they ran a clean engine on each of the top tier fuels (seven) for more than 4000 miles and then tore down the engine and measured the deposits. Then they have to repeat the same test on each of the off-brands and tear down the engine and measure the deposits. They have to clean the engine between each of the test and reassemble for the next test run. Can they justify the cost of this type of test for this article? Are they catering to the people who advertise on them and are just quoting their test data?
 
There exists an ASTM standard engine. It has one cylinder, two valves, etc. very simple engine. Easy to tear down and measure and rebuild. Amoco research lab had banks of them. That is how gas used to be tested. I assume test engines are still used.
 
Well, this report might add 10 or 20 cents a gallon to my gas purchases. I always ran the least expensive gas in my older Acura TL and it did fine for 100k miles (but it was premium, so don't know if that has different standards for cleaners). And I know all the gas in the CA Bay Area comes from the few same refineries. But it's a new car and DI to boot, so I may play it safe. Not enough data.
 
Seabright said:
Well, this report might add 10 or 20 cents a gallon to my gas purchases. I always ran the least expensive gas in my older Acura TL and it did fine for 100k miles (but it was premium, so don't know if that has different standards for cleaners). And I know all the gas in the CA Bay Area comes from the few same refineries. But it's a new car and DI to boot, so I may play it safe. Not enough data.
Click to expand...

It may come from the same refineries but the question is -- what detergents do they add to the gas for say Exxon, Shell as opposed to USA gas, Speedy, etc.
That's the question that needs to be answered.
 
Well, "cheap" is a confusing term, because Costco sells the cheapest gas around, and it is Top-Tier. Valero also started selling Top-Tier gas and they are one of the cheaper stations around.
 
In my manual it states adding additives to the fuel can harm the emissions system.
 
I am surprised that Sunoco is not on the list. I have been using them exclusively for years without any issues. My problem is where I live top tear stations a few and far between.
 
wlong01 said:
Seabright said:
Well, this report might add 10 or 20 cents a gallon to my gas purchases. I always ran the least expensive gas in my older Acura TL and it did fine for 100k miles (but it was premium, so don't know if that has different standards for cleaners). And I know all the gas in the CA Bay Area comes from the few same refineries. But it's a new car and DI to boot, so I may play it safe. Not enough data.
Click to expand...
It may come from the same refineries but the question is -- what detergents do they add to the gas for say Exxon, Shell as opposed to USA gas, Speedy, etc.
That's the question that needs to be answered.
Click to expand...
Yeah. different brand of gas may come from the same refinery but they blend their own additive packages before it is dispensed from the terminal to the gas stations. Many additive packages are patented such as Shell's Nitrogen Enriched Cleaning System and Chevron's Techron.

And many brands of premium gas such as Shell V-Power NiTRO+ do contain more detergent to provide better protection against gunk.
 
You think it might be the owners of these top tier gas stations are also AAA preferred shops with the road side services. Politics people--
 
Newer cars like the CX5 that use DIRECT INJECTION are subject to problems with bad gas. Older cars were not as susceptible to cheap fuel but direct injection engines are.
 
This applies to petrol and diesel in Europe. All the fuel for all the brands comes from the same bulk tanks. However, the additives, and there are many of them, are added at the time of filling the tankers to the individual company's "recipe". Premium fuel like She'll V Power has an even higher package of additives. I agree with the above that I wouldn't add any old off the shelf additive although I do use Millers diesel Eco in mine with branded fuel.

I do not agree that the likes of Costco and the supermarket fuels we get here are top tier and this comment comes from years of stripping engines and having the opportunity of visiting a fuel distribution terminal where this lot was explained to me. These big discounted retailers don't cheap sell on volume or customer loyalty, they market an own brand fuel with a minimum additive package which is no different than cheap own brand baked beans. They are not your friends, they want your money and certainly in a small diesel engine on a modern car it can ruin the emission components like EGRs and DPFs. Gasoline engines are less effected but certainly on low mileage stop start duty they can cause similar problems with fuel injectors and cats.
 
Tom 6-6 said:
You think it might be the owners of these top tier gas stations are also AAA preferred shops with the road side services. Politics people--
Click to expand...
"TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline is the premier standard for gasoline performance. Eight of the world's top automakers, BMW, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Audi recognize that the current EPA minimum detergent requirements do not go far enough to ensure optimal engine performance.

Since the minimum additive performance standards were first established by EPA in 1995, most gasoline marketers have actually reduced the concentration level of detergent additive in their gasoline by up to 50%. As a result, the ability of a vehicle to maintain stringent Tier 2 emission standards have been hampered, leading to engine deposits which can have a big impact on in-use emissions and driver satisfaction.

These automakers have raised the bar. TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline help drivers avoid lower quality gasoline which can leave deposits on critical engine parts, which reduces engine performance. That's something both drivers and automakers want to avoid."

"Gasoline retailers must meet the high TOP TIER standards with all grades of gasoline to be approved by the automakers as providing TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline.

In addition, all gasoline outlets carrying the brand of the approved retailer must meet the TOP TIER standards."

So I highly doubt "it might be the owners of these top tier gas stations are also AAA preferred shops with the road side services."
 
Anchorman said:
I do not agree that the likes of Costco and the supermarket fuels we get here are top tier and this comment comes from years of stripping engines and having the opportunity of visiting a fuel distribution terminal where this lot was explained to me.
Click to expand...
Check the Retailers' list at TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline website and Costco gas is on the list.

Costco gas is different from average supermarket gasoline. Costco gas is certified as TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline and they also said it on the gas pump. Their detergent additive package is supplied by Lubrizol which is now owned by Warren Buffett.
 
yrwei52 said:
Check the Retailers' list at TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline website and Costco gas is on the list.

Costco gas is different from average supermarket gasoline. Costco gas is certified as TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline and they also said it on the gas pump. Their detergent additive package is supplied by Lubrizol which is now owned by Warren Buffett.
Click to expand...

So just about every gas is top tier gas. Arco and Costco are the cheapest gas stations around here and both are on the list.
 
Scythe024 said:
So just about every gas is top tier gas. Arco and Costco are the cheapest gas stations around here and both are on the list.
Click to expand...

The cost of the extra detergents and additives are really minimal, the extra premium you pay for Shell/Chevron is mostly profit for these companies. However, it is possible that these brands are somewhat better, but I can't find objective data on it anywhere.

I personally do try to fill-up with Top-Tier gas, now at a close-by Valero that's also cheap. Before Valero had Top-Tier, I would typically fill with 76, which was less convenient and more expensive. I've been doing this mostly for the sake of the direct-injection system. With other cars I owned (without DI), I would simply fill with the cheapest gas around, provided they had a good amount of turn-over.
 
Last edited:
ALafya said:
The cost of the extra detergents and additives are really minimal, the extra premium you pay for Shell/Chevron is mostly profit for these companies.
Click to expand...

Who says it is? Its the cheaper budget brands that make the most profit - over here that is the supermarkets and ASDA which is Walmart are amongst the biggest culprits. All of the company’s selling fuel want to maximise profit and if there is any slack, the retailer will take it. The additives are expensive and the big name brands are the ones with something like a conscience.
 
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