Arco gas?

Paul D. DeRocco wrote:
>> "Elmo P. Shagnasty" > wrote
>>
>> Here's what you do: run several tanks of Arco, and figure out how many
>> cents per mile it costs to run.
>>
>> Then run several tanks of Shell and figure out how many cents per mile
>> it costs to run.
>>
>> It's all about the fuel cost per mile, and not at all about the price
>> per gallon at the pump.
>
> Unless you drive the same trip all the time, I think it'll take way more
> than a few tankfuls to average out the noise in that measurement. I went
> through ten tankfuls of regular in my car, and ten of premium, and got
> slightly better gas mileage with regular (about 1%), which I don't believe
> for an instant, especially since the car feels slightly better running on
> premium.

you measured but you don't believe it???

anyway, depending on whether you have a knock sensor, running a car
tuned for regular on premium /will/ result in slightly inferior gas
mileage. higher octane means lower combustion rate, so the gas needs to
be ignited earlier. if it's tuned for regular [with no knock sensor],
that won't happen, and you'll be getting less from each combustion cycle.

>
> It might be possible to make this measurement if your car has an MPG meter,
> and you do the same test run on a particular piece of road at a particular
> speed, on windless days.
>

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> In article >,
> The Real Bev > wrote:
>
>>>> I noticed that Arco is the cheapest priced gas around.
>>>> Is there anything wrong with it or it bad for Honda engines?
>> Gas is gas, unless part of it is water :-(
>
> Gas is gas, until the vendor adds its additive packages.
>
even then, different producers use differing catalysis yielding slightly
different base product qualities. results are within a few percent, but
they exist nevertheless.

In article >,
"Paul D. DeRocco" > wrote:

> > "Elmo P. Shagnasty" > wrote
> >
> > Here's what you do: run several tanks of Arco, and figure out how many
> > cents per mile it costs to run.
> >
> > Then run several tanks of Shell and figure out how many cents per mile
> > it costs to run.
> >
> > It's all about the fuel cost per mile, and not at all about the price
> > per gallon at the pump.
>
> Unless you drive the same trip all the time, I think it'll take way more
> than a few tankfuls to average out the noise in that measurement. I went
> through ten tankfuls of regular in my car, and ten of premium, and got
> slightly better gas mileage with regular (about 1%), which I don't believe
> for an instant, especially since the car feels slightly better running on
> premium.
>
> It might be possible to make this measurement if your car has an MPG meter,
> and you do the same test run on a particular piece of road at a particular
> speed, on windless days.

Cars can run better or worse on different octane ratings. I've
experienced cars with an aggressive lean burn mode run less efficiently
when the octane is too high. The symptoms were exhaust buzzing, loss of
power, and reduced milage during light throttle cruising.

High performance cars may be physically designed for 91 octane. Most of
these can run on on 87 octane too but the engine will loose some
performance as the ECU tries to avoid pre-detonation conditions. I've
heard that lower octane reduces the milage but I haven't experienced
that personally. Driving conditions is likely the biggest factor in
what happens with de-tuned operation.

Good info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

Paul D. DeRocco wrote:

>> "Elmo P. Shagnasty" > wrote
>>
>> Here's what you do: run several tanks of Arco, and figure out how many
>> cents per mile it costs to run.
>>
>> Then run several tanks of Shell and figure out how many cents per mile
>> it costs to run.
>>
>> It's all about the fuel cost per mile, and not at all about the price
>> per gallon at the pump.
>
> Unless you drive the same trip all the time, I think it'll take way more
> than a few tankfuls to average out the noise in that measurement. I went
> through ten tankfuls of regular in my car, and ten of premium, and got
> slightly better gas mileage with regular (about 1%), which I don't believe
> for an instant, especially since the car feels slightly better running on
> premium.

Heh. My car runs better when it's clean.

--
Cheers, Bev
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(On going to war over religion "You're basically killing each other
to see who's got the better imaginary friend." -- Rich Jeni

Gene S. Berkowitz wrote:

> In article > ,
> says...
>>
>> "Ashton Crusher" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > On Sat, 21 Jul 2007 21:45:27 -0700, wrote:
>> >
>> >>I noticed that Arco is the cheapest priced gas around.
>> >>Is there anything wrong with it or it bad for Honda engines?
>> >
>> > I hate ARCO. Too many of them won't let you use a credit card without
>> > making a trip inside because they charge more for the gas if you
>> > charge it.
>>
>> This is strictly illegal in the state of Texas.. A provision of the state
>> Deceptive Trade Practices Act prohibits it, and fines and prison
>> sentences can result.
>
> Once again, credit SURCHARGES are illegal in Texas; cash DISCOUNTS are
> not.

You must be a lawyer... ;-)

What, pray-tell, is the difference between the two to the consumer?

"Gene S. Berkowitz" > wrote in message
> Once again, credit SURCHARGES are illegal in Texas; cash DISCOUNTS are
> not.
>
> --Gene

Exactly correct, Gene. From the original post, it would appear that he was
referring to
credit surcharges. A cash discount would come off the pump or advertised
price.

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> In article . com>,
> wrote:
>
>> I noticed that Arco is the cheapest priced gas around.
>> Is there anything wrong with it or it bad for Honda engines?
>
> http://www.toptiergas.com
>
> Here's what you do: run several tanks of Arco, and figure out how many
> cents per mile it costs to run.
>
> Then run several tanks of Shell and figure out how many cents per mile
> it costs to run.
>
> It's all about the fuel cost per mile, and not at all about the price
> per gallon at the pump.
>
> I found that Shell is the lowest cost per mile fuel overall.
>
> If you have an older car, you may want to run several tanks of Shell 93
> in it first to get the additional cleaners through the system to clean
> it out. Again, see toptiergas.com.
>

Maybe. But maybe only in the local blend you're using.

wrote:
> I noticed that Arco is the cheapest priced gas around.
> Is there anything wrong with it or it bad for Honda engines?
>

It is really easy to find out. Carefully check your gas mileage running
your favorite gas and then try the Arco and check.

I have an older carburetor 'non computerized' engine tuned for 91 or
higher octane. When I run ESSO premium I can get over 350 highway miles
to a tank or 23 mpg and have one normal 200 mile trip to test mileage on.

When I run regular, I drop to 275 'max' per tank and when I run any
alcohol mix, I am 'out' of gas before 225 miles. On both of these the
engine has a serious bog and rattle over 65 mph no matter what gear I am
in, it just can't push the wind...

I was stuck once and tried 'Olco' premium gas and was pleasantly
surprised to have all the power and all the gas mileage of ESSO.

If I run Petro Canada or Shell gas of any octane, I get the 225- 250
mile per tank and loss of power. Petro Canada 'fuel' is so bad my
engine won't even idle stable on it. These folks boast fancy additives
and who know how much alcohol...

Your Honda isn't likely to have near the extremes my old Jeep engine
has, but it still could show a difference, if not, then your engine will
not likely mind the brand.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's - Gone to the rust pile...
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

wrote:

> I noticed that Arco is the cheapest priced gas around.
> Is there anything wrong with it or it bad for Honda engines?
>

A Honda engine is no different than any other. As for ARCO, they pulled
out of my area so long ago that I didn't even realize they were still in
business.

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:

> If you have an older car, you may want to run several tanks of Shell 93
> in it first to get the additional cleaners through the system to clean
> it out. Again, see toptiergas.com.

Shell 93 doesn't have any more DETERGENTS than any other grade. Its just
a higher octane. And as far as detergent effectiveness, Shell is (at
best) second or third in rank. Chevron is definitely better.