"Gas from ARCO is bad"

[Antranik1]

This absolutely drives me up the wall!

Everybody and their mother seem to think that Arco sells gas that is not only inferior to other gas stations, but is simply not good for your car. Doesn't all gasoline come from the same refineries?! I have an image of a refinery and chevron, 76, exxon, arco trucks are all loading up there. Sure the chevron truck might add some additives to make it "better" but that doesn't mean Arco is bad!

I've heard from countless people that after they switch from Arco to something else that their car runs better/faster. That is such a crock. I own a buick that runs better with a full tank of gas versus a tank that's near empty, regardless of the type of gasoline. Why this is, I don't know, but too many people think that Arco has inexpensive gasoline because there's something wrong with their gas.

I mean come on, if they were selling gas that makes your car go bad, I don't think they'd be in business anymore considering the millions of customers they have. What is true is that Arco doesn't accept credit cards. They only accept cash or atm/debit cards. I'm guessing that Arco, as a merchant, doesn't have to pay the CC companies the extra 2-3% in fees and their gas is coincidentally 2-3% cheaper! Maybe that is one of the reasons why they can sell gas for a lower price, not because it's "bad!"

Ugh.. end rant. :)

[Drs_Res]

I use ARCO all the time. No problems.

[Fnord]

I dunno...

I fill the 10 gallon tank of my Prius with ARCO gas and get 47.3 mpg (473 miles on 10 gallons).

I fill the same tank with SHELL gas and get 53.2 mpg (532 miles on 10 gallons).

Same vehicle, same driver, same route, same week ... if it isn't the quality of the gasoline, then maybe it's the phase of the moon?

[Lisa Simpson]

I think people associate inexpensive with bad. Arco is cheaper because they don't accept credit cards. BTW, the next time someone says that to you, ask them if they think British Petroleum makes bad gas, because BP owns Arco.

[DGM]

I dunno...

I fill the 10 gallon tank of my Prius with ARCO gas and get 47.3 mpg (473 miles on 10 gallons).

I fill the same tank with SHELL gas and get 53.2 mpg (532 miles on 10 gallons).

Same vehicle, same driver, same route, same week ... if it isn't the quality of the gasoline, then maybe it's the phase of the moon?
I'm not say this is defiantly the issue but, some stations add alcohol to the gas to "stretch" the profits. It doesn't really hurt today's cars they just lose some milage.

[Lisa Simpson]

I buy my gas from Costco. The mileage is exactly the same as with more expensive gas.

[Drudgewire]

FWIW, neither Arco nor BP make the "Top Tier" list:

http://www.toptiergas.com/index.html

[Drs_Res]

Does Toptiergas take into account where you are in the country? Because I'm in California and we have different gas regulations out here.

[Disbelief]

Does Toptiergas take into account where you are in the country? Because I'm in California and we have different gas regulations out here.

No, because the top tier gases are above EPA standards and better for your car.


FWIW, neither Arco nor BP make the "Top Tier" list:

http://www.toptiergas.com/index.html

BP is not on the list because it is a voluntary program and BP does not work with the automakers listed. They have a deal with Ford, who promotes the use of BP gasoline.

Anyway, short term you will see little difference in performance, but long term you will see a degradation.

[GT/CS]

I dunno...

I fill the 10 gallon tank of my Prius with ARCO gas and get 47.3 mpg (473 miles on 10 gallons).

I fill the same tank with SHELL gas and get 53.2 mpg (532 miles on 10 gallons).

Same vehicle, same driver, same route, same week ... if it isn't the quality of the gasoline, then maybe it's the phase of the moon?

You drive your car until the tank is dry????

[Fnord]

You drive your car until the tank is dry????

Only once, just to see how far the car would go on batteries alone (4.1 miles at 25 mph). Otherwise, only until that annoying low fuel chime sounds. Even after it does, I can still go another 25 miles on the fuel tank.

I like my Prius.

[GT/CS]

Only once, just to see how far the car would go on batteries alone (4.1 miles at 25 mph). Otherwise, only until that annoying low fuel chime sounds. Even after it does, I can still go another 25 miles on the fuel tank.

I like my Prius.

Sorry, I thought you were saying you fill your 10 gallon tank with 10 gallons of gas. I assume what you mean instead is that you are calculating your mileage then projecting how far you would go on 10 gallons.

[Fnord]

Well ... let's say 9.8 gallons then. 473 miles per 9.8 gallons is still 48.3 miles per gallon (instead of 473mi / 10gal = 47.3mpg), which is still impressive.

I really like my Prius!

[Gravy]

I would think that if there were widespread complaints about ARCO, or any gasoline, that there would be widespread testing to see if it meets regs. Fnord, have you tried ARCO at different stations?

[technoextreme]

I mean come on, if they were selling gas that makes your car go bad, I don't think they'd be in business anymore considering the millions of customers they have. What is true is that Arco doesn't accept credit cards. They only accept cash or atm/debit cards. I'm guessing that Arco, as a merchant, doesn't have to pay the CC companies the extra 2-3% in fees and their gas is coincidentally 2-3% cheaper! Maybe that is one of the reasons why they can sell gas for a lower price, not because it's "bad!"

My dad's story is that he doesn't trust the cheap gas stations to even maintain their equipment correctly. Though that's his opinion of using a mom and pop gas station.

[Fnord]

I would think that if there were widespread complaints about ARCO, or any gasoline, that there would be widespread testing to see if it meets regs. Fnord, have you tried ARCO at different stations?

Only the three nearest my home. Also the two Shell stations nearest my home.

[Gravy]

Only the three nearest my home. Also the two Shell stations nearest my home.Interesting. That's a big difference. If you think all other things are basically equal, and assuming you're using the octane that's recommended for your Prius, you might consider reporting the discrepancy to your state Bureau of Weights and Measures.

[PhantomWolf]

I dunno...

I fill the 10 gallon tank of my Prius with ARCO gas and get 47.3 mpg (473 miles on 10 gallons).

I fill the same tank with SHELL gas and get 53.2 mpg (532 miles on 10 gallons).

Same vehicle, same driver, same route, same week ... if it isn't the quality of the gasoline, then maybe it's the phase of the moon?

Not to plug them or anything*, but Shell uses an aditive that gives you better fuel efficency. This has been tested in consumer trials over here and has been shown to in fact work. It gives about 5-10km per tank in a normal car (a Prius would likely extend that much further)



Disclaimer: I may or may not be a contractor for this particular company..... :whistling

[GT/CS]

Is the Arco selling blended gas (Ethanol)?

[jberryhill]

Don't sweat it.

In a few months we'll convert to water engines, since "that guy" has once again invented the car that runs on water.

You know... "that guy" who invents the car that runs on water, every couple of months.

[Math Maniac]

I think it's fairly standard industry practice for some areas to use gas from one refinery for distribution because it's impossible to have a refinery from every company in every area of the country. The difference, though, is the additive package that's unique to each brand.

This is what I've been told in the past by a refinery firefighter...but I realize that it could be wrong as I have not studied this for myself.

[PhantomWolf]

I think its fairly standard industry practice for some areas to use gas from one refinery for distribution because it's impossible to have a refinery from every company in every area of the country. The difference, though, is the additive package that's unique to each brand.

This is what I've been told in the past by a refinery firefighter...but I realize that it could be wrong as I have not studied this for myself.

That's pretty much correct, there are exceptions, like over here one of the stations, Gull, imports their mix rather then getting it from the refinery everyone else does, but for the most part they get the basic product and add their own additives to it.

[TjW]

Don't sweat it.

In a few months we'll convert to water engines, since "that guy" has once again invented the car that runs on water.

You know... "that guy" who invents the car that runs on water, every couple of months.

It won't matter. It will be suppressed again by "them". You know, "them".

[SpaceMonkeyZero]

Well ... let's say 9.8 gallons then. 473 miles per 9.8 gallons is still 48.3 miles per gallon (instead of 473mi / 10gal = 47.3mpg), which is still impressive.

I really like my Prius!

How does the Prius drive in 2 feet of snow, uphill?

I really like the idea of hybrids... I'm just waiting for one that can handle the horrible weather I get during the winter, and have room for a family... and haul stuff, and let my dog run around inside.

A neighbor of mine has a Ford Escape hybrid and he curses it during the winter. Funny thing is, on the escape, when the batteries are charging (as he puts it) the gas mileage is worse than the plain gasoline Escape.



Anyways. I remember the Sunoco's in my area used to sell 86 octane gas, and that would always cause weird noises from my engine.

[Rolfe]

I find my car's petrol consumption varies a lot depending on my driving patterns. A lot of stop-start, or going FAST on a motorway gets much less mileage than steady 50-60 driving. The first time I really noticed this was when I was on holiday in Germany. I was doing a lot of motorway driving, but possibly going slower than I realised because of the traffic, and being careful among all these maniacs driving on the right. Anyway, I really thought there was something about either the petrol or the roads in Germany that was improving my mileage.

Now I've moved to Scotland I'm doing a lot more steady 50-60 driving and getting great mileage routinely. But even so, sometimes I think it's better with the petrol bought at Lothianburn. Almost certainly not, though. I think where I buy the petrol, and how fuel-efficient my journey happens to be, are not independent variables.

Rolfe.

[Fnord]

How does the Prius drive in 2 feet of snow, uphill?

With snow? Dunno. I live in Anaheim.

Without snow and uphill? It easily passes any Ram, Tundra, or other monster-wannabe truck going uphill. Going downhill, I've often seen the MPG gauge register 99.9mpg.

Of course, this is on Hwy 15 between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. If you've driven this route, then you know the "hill" I'm talking about.