Posted on 06/03/2004 12:18:21 PM PDT by 2nd_Amendment_Defender
High gas prices are emptying a lot of wallets these days, but don't slam the brakes on your summer travel plans just yet. Instead, watch as Bill Gephardt gets to the truth behind these pumped up prices.
Ever heard of a gas myth guys? Well, we use them when we decide what to put in the tanks of our cars and during my investigation I found a lot of you sinking way too much money into these fuel fables.
"I got a 4 banger in my truck. If I had a six-cylinder I'd go to the next one. If I had a V8, I’d go to the supreme.”
“Why?” asks Bill.
“It's a little easier on the motor."
"Higher octane makes it run better, you know what I'm saying?
“How does it make it run better?” asks Bill.
“It just uh…..I don't know, sparks better I guess.”
"Whenever I get better gasoline I'm rewarding my car, I'm saying hey, good job car here's some better gasoline for you."
One thing's clear, you've got octane on the brain. We know it costs more and it certainly sounds more important: high test, low test, premium, regular, midgrade. But what is it?
We'll take a straight chain parrafin that has a very low octane, rearrange it into an aeromatic ring structure that has a very high octane
Huh?
What all that means is octane simply helps reduce engine knock that rattling or pinging sound you hear when the engine fires too soon.
Simple as that to bust four gas myths:
1. High octane is not easier on an engine. 2. High octane does not make your car go faster 3. High octane does not give you better gas mileage. 4. High octane is not a special treat for your car.
Turns out most cars run just fine on gas with a regular octane level, that's 85 here in Utah and there's an easy way to figure out what your car needs.
"I would look in your owner's manual and use whatever octane your manual calls for."
Jeff Utley runs the Flying J. Refinery in north Salt Lake City. He says most of us don't need to give octane another thought.
"In the newer cars and for many years, cars have octane sensors in them, so it compensates for the octane," says Utley.
Did you get that?
Your car is probably smart enough to take care of all that octane stuff for you, and just in case those octane doubts come creeping back, listen to your owner's manual.
Okay, next question.
How should you decide where to fill up?
Is it Choice A:
“It's supposed to be good gas.”
“Do you think it's better than other gas?” asks Bill.
“It's all I put in my car."
Choice B:
"I stay away from 7-eleven, I hear they have bad gas."
Or Choice C:
“I go by price. I try to. It just makes sense to save money where you can, you know.”
What do you think? Is one gas better than another? The ads sure sound like it, but I wanted proof.
At the utility testing laboratory in West Valley, scientists run experiments on substances like gas and oil, figuring out exactly what's in them.
So, armed with the proper equipment, I headed out to collect some samples. I bought regular unleaded and premium from four different gas stations picked randomly: Phillips 66, Flying J, Costco, and Chevron.
Then I dropped them off at the lab for analysis. A couple weeks later.
Except for the octane grades, the fuels themselves look remarkably similar to one another. The tiny differences detected at the lab show up in the fuels additives package, also known as detergents.
“They really basically help remove the coatings and other contaminants that get inside the combustion chamber as well as clean things out.”
Gas companies don't like to talk about the specific mix of detergents they use, kind of like grandma's secret recipe. However, the federal trade commission says no one recipe has been proven better than the other.
In fact, the agency has taken action against companies that claim a switch to their gas will save you money on car maintenance.
So back to our question, how does refinery guy Jeff Utley pick a particular gas station?
“I would probably look for the most competitive station with the cheapest price.”
And like other refineries Utley sells fuel to any gas station owner in Utah who wants it, not just Flying J.
Lab owner Drew Spencer used to believe one brand of gas was better than another.
Based on what you know now, which kind of gasoline do you want to buy?
“Frankly, it doesn't really matter,” says Spencer.
And Joe, well he had it right all along.
“I go by price, I try to. It just makes sense to save money where you can, you know.”
So here it is, the Federal Trade Commission and the American Automotive Institute both tell me the formula for gasoline is the same from coast to coast. Now, I have the test results in Utah to prove it.
-Javin
Isn't it a little too cute by half for you to go back to the time of the 1st gulf war and quote the previous all time high. How about checking out the mid 1990's, prices were mostly in the teens and twentys.
BTW do you dispute that we have the cheapest gas in the free world (please don't forget how much is taxes, ($.42/gal in CA.)
And how about adjusting for inflation when you compare 1990 to 2004?
,I'm just tired of all the whining and blaming the very people who bring us this very necessary product, remember the lines in the 1970's.
As I stated if we had to fill up with bottled water or milk we would really be paying a lot.
If you really get mad at the oil cos why not buy their stock and get even with them by collecting dividends on their "greedy little enterprise? LOL!
Baredog
AND drill offshore in CA, the Gulf, and the Rockies. Technology makes these resources more accessible with less risk.
We have a lot of gas available, and we've created a huge need for it.
Instead we get a lot of GASBAGS!
If its stroked and or the valve dome has been opened up, it will push a higher compression ratio...
10:1 or higher and you had better start using higher octane unless you like the sound of your valves pinging
I'd like to clear something up.
Pinging, aka knocking, aka detonation, is not the same thing as pre-ignition or auto-igniton. Detonation, the proper term for it, is also descriptive of what happens that causes the pinging or knocking. It happens when the the compressed air-fuel mixture, after being ignited by the spark plug, combusts spontaneously and explosively (ie detonates) before the flame front reaches it. It occurs when the high temperatures from the flame front break the fuel molecues apart into much more reactive ones, which then combust exposively. Normal combustion is relatively slow and smooth by comparison. This creates a shock wave which is heard as the knocking or pinging. It also hammers on the piston and scours the boundary layer of relatively cooler stagnant gasses off of the cylinder walls and pistons, which increases heat transfer greatly.
Pre-igniton and auto-igntion (dieseling) share some of the same causes. Pre-ignition where the air-fuel mixture ignites before the spark plug lights it off increases combustion chamber temperatures by lenghtening the length of the combustion cycle, allowing more heat to be transferred. As temperature of the combustion chamber and air/fuel mixture is the major factors in detonation, pre-ignition can also lead to detonation.
Your reply should be directed to NotQuiteCricket......He/she has the Escort.
And build more nuclear power plants.
High performance engines require high oct. or boosters so that the gas burns slower to prevent what is called pre-ignition or knocking.
If you have one of these, (few do,) then it is good gas to use.
It is that simple and few people need the stuff.
I use it in my performance boat motor. The cars do not require it.
It *could* have something to do with refining capacity, refining costs, and environmental regulations.
You are *assuming* that because the cost of the raw material is the same, the cost of the final product should remain the same, and that's not a valid assumption.
I also knew of a person that was working on a water injection system. It was a deviation from a system that was used on aircraft engines and it raised the mpg about 40%. I never heard anything more about it. (must have been bought up by a petro co.):-)
Gas destined for TEXAS is the exact same no matter who refined it... believe me, the gas being pulled out by EXXON at the end of the pipeline is not the same put in at the other end... companies have no idea who refined the gas they put in their tanks at the stations.
I drive a 1983 Camaro Z28 with a 350 ci engine. Regular works just fine most of the time - particularly in the spring and fall when the temperature is mild and humidity is low. I will occasionally use premium - when the temperature drops or the humidity gets near 100%. This is about 2 weeks in the summer and two in the winter. The better gas mileage and performance under those conditions make it worthwhile.
One great day I’ll upgrade to a modern fuel injection system (currently a Holly 4) and chip and won’t have to bother with premium at all.
100 mpg?
2 cylinder Briggs & Stratton?
From experience. My car gets 10% lower gas milage with 87 (low grade in Kansas) than with 90 (mid grade). The cost is about 2% higher. 2% increase in price for 10% better milage. I must also add that when I tried premium, my milage went to crap. I am a cheap-A$$ and would not pay a nickle more for somthing if I did not have to. I have proven this over about 5 years with my car. Everytime I question it and go through a testing period, I find the same results again. This is no myth!
Do any of those STP or other brand cleaners really help on that crud?
Back in my Harley days I’d spray a quick small shot of water into the air intake while the engine was cranked up. Blew all kind of black out the pipe. Never hurt the engine.
ROFL!!
No doubt, or at least become obsessed with a better car.
That's strange, my owners manuals for my Expedition, F-150, and Focus all tell me to buy 89 octane, which around these parts is regular unleaded.
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