Thoughts on Gasoline

Very informative post. Most people will do as they please, and justify their actions with piecemeal facts. I believe it's a pay now or pay later scenario. I also believe you get exactly what you pay for. Carry on.

 

Pay now vs pay later doesn’t always mean pay now is the best option.

Literally takes but a few minutes to run a net present value calculation in Excel.

And that’s assuming something does fail due to 87 vs 89 or 93 and you keep it long enough to care.

 

I normally fill up at Costco. Choice of 85 or 91. I always use 91. It is cheaper than c-store options. Truck runs great, mileage slightly exceeds the published norms. Also, I am in Colorado and at altitude.
Am I making my truck dependent on 91?
Thanks

 

Unless I see manual say over 5000ft you can pump 85oct I will be using 91.
Also note that Costco is top-tier gas vs Sams is not rated as top-tier gas.

 

I read it all and really appreciate the information. In the last 12 months of ownership, I only put 3553 miles on my 4R so yes this information is critical to the longevity of my vehicle. I drive 20-30 miles/wk just to make sure seals stays lubed. I currently only use Shell 90 non-ethanol gas and it is expensive but I don't drive it enough to feel it. However, my company issued Frontier got 25k miles on it since I got it in February and use Chevron 89 in it. Well, the Jag has a 91+ min octane on the gas cap so no choice but go premium in it.

 

Great post, @TexRunner. I was wondering if you could explain the differences of the winter blend, summer blend, the “cleaner- burning” gasoline requirements (like in CA), the addition of ethanol, and extra detergent additives (touted as top tier). How all this could work into the health and lifespan of an engine, along with the octane rating.

 

The gas companies all say that their additives do something like prevent carbon buildup.

I’ll occasionally put some seafoam in my crankcase to clean up varnish, and I’ll put the extra in my fuel (it treats fuel too). Seafoam costs 8$ and you can clean out your engine and fuel system. The most effective thing is spraying it directly into your throttle body (see Project farm video)

 

It doesn't really do much, maybe on small carberated engines it would be helpful.

 

What is 85 octane, and is it safe to use in my vehicle?
The sale of 85 octane fuel was originally allowed in high-elevation regions—where the barometric pressure is lower—because it was cheaper and because most carbureted engines tolerated it fairly well. This is not true for modern gasoline engines. So, unless you have an older vehicle with a carbureted engine, you should use the manufacturer-recommended fuel for your vehicle, even where 85 octane fuel is available.

source: https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/octane.shtml

 

@TexRunner Thanks for the wealth of information. It should be very informative for most people. Unfortunately, you can lead a horse to water.............

I've always run 89 from the big reputable companies until now. With the Magnuson supercharger I've got installed, I can only run 91.

While most people including myself, can be susceptible to sticker shock at the gas pump, in my case, it just doesn't add up to that much over the course of a year. I usually only put on about 10k on my primary vehicle as I also have other vehicles. That means getting 91 only costs me about $700 a year.

 

Where do you get ethanol free gas from?

 

My thoughts on gasoline, it's too dam high$$ compared to when USA produced our own! That's all I'm gonna say or I'll get banned. & I sure as H3LL do NOT want that!! I also don't care about MPG/Quickness (Which I find NO issue getting up to speed onto hiway on ramps or passing) or I wouldn't own this vehicle
I've burned 87 in 2 FJ's 1 Tacoma TRD Sport ,1 4Runner TRD OR & have only filled up this TRD PRO since I brought it home full from dealership. Have 1/2 tank & just over 500mi on it. I never worry about long term effects because I trade @70-80k miles.

 

I'll gladly accept a free $700 from anyone who doesn't consider it to be a meaningful number.

 

In 2022, USA had field production of over 6.5 billion barrels of crude oil and petroleum products, and an additional 439 million barrels of biofuels plant net production, giving us a grand total of over 7 billion barrels of net production.

We imported 3 billion barrels of oil in 2022.

We exported 3.5 billion barrels of oil in 2022.


It's demonstrably false that we don't produce oil here - in 2022 we were a net exporter of oil.

Meanwhile when it comes to finished motor gasoline, our net production was 3.5 billion barrels against 36.5 million imported barrels and 316.5 million exported barrels. Again, a net exporter.

On the diesel/home heating fuel front, we produced 1.8 billion barrels, imported 68.6 million, and exported 439 billion barrels. Net exporter here as well.

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_sum_snd_d_nus_mbbl_a_cur.htm


When it comes to prices, we've had it much worse on an inflation adjusted basis, which is the only measure that really counts:



So that's demonstrably false as well.


The real anger should be at the value of the dollar, which has been eroded by cheap and easy money...but gas prices isn't where that's hit the hardest. Nor the price of cars.

No, where it's really taken hold is home values. If you're going to be mad about something, home prices are what you should really be mad about.

I'll get off my soap box now.

 

Lucky. No ethanol-free in the NE.

 

just move to colorado and run 85

 

Yes, apparently it was mandated for colder temp areas. Something about idling to warm up in the winter, now it's all year round.

I remember in 2004 when they switched and my Acura TL would small like crap because of it.

 

We should refill the SPR then.

 

I’ve owned my 2nd gen since new, almost 34yrs ago and I have always put the cheapest, rock gut gasoline I could find.
Guess what? It still runs great.

 

We're too busy drawing it down in an idiotic attempt to manipulate prices when they're too high, or to fund additional government spending.

This isn't one specific administration or party either.

 

The SPR drain stopped right at midterms.

 

While 2022 represented a large selloff, Congress has been mandating sales for the better part of a decade.

There's more or less two week's worth of oil in there from a volume standpoint, but if we ever really needed to use it, we'd be hosed we can maybe only withdraw about a quarter of our daily usage at a time from a practical perspective.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that we shouldn't be buying or selling to manipulate prices, or to fund spending.

The best solution to high prices is high prices, followed by consumers and producers acting rationally.

 

Doing my very best not to go political…..the coincidence of using the TAXPAYER’S SPR right up to the midterms is uhhhh….smelly at best for me.

 

Politics is like NASCAR. You can root for Ford or Chevy, but ultimately it's just a bunch of people going in circles.

 

I apologize for my posts, I just got back from filling up at Costco @$3.90/gal and was a bit wound up…..sorry.

 

87 is less than $2.70 at my local Costco.

 

We live too close to California……

 

At some point there will be a massive earthquake and then Nevada will have beaches!!

 

Levels in the SPR really did a nosedive beginning about the summer of 2021 (US EIA data HERE) by an unprecedented degree relative to other administrations. We presently sit at levels not seen since 1983 and with high levels of insecurity in major foreign oil producing regions. Tootsie, Flashdance, Trading Places, and National Lampoon's Vacation were released in 1983

 

And I’m not totally convinced it matters who the mail is addressed to at 1600 Penn Ave in relation to that - as in, we would have seen something like that happen either way.

The sale was a response to inflationary pressures.

Meanwhile, politicians on both sides of the aisle proposed a gas tax holiday back in 2022 to counter the surge in gas prices.

I would have gone with a surcharge. When prices zoom upwards, you need people to respond normally by cutting back on their consumption. Nobody really did - that made the surge worse. So we had a big old release to help the supply side of things.

The problem we face now is that people are unwilling to dial back consumption when it makes sense to do so. If we were ever in another WWII type scenario, we’d be screwed because people on the Homefront would be unable to cope with the notion of tightening their belts.