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RCB Samba Member
Joined: September 05, 2005 Posts: 4143 Location: San Francisco-Bay Area
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 6:16 am Post subject: What brand of gas do you feed your Vanagon? |
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I dont have first hand experience with this but my mechanic has a collection of valves that look pretty cruddy. He claims the cruddiness is/was caused by cheap gas. He suggests either Chevron or Shell. I sure dont want to start a "gas" war Im just curious to what some of you more knowledgeable wrenchers might have to say. |
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spitsnrovers Samba Member
Joined: December 17, 2005 Posts: 925 Location: Calgary, Canada
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 6:34 am Post subject: |
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When I first got my '88, back in 2005 my mechanic also advised against using cheap gas to protect injectors, etc. He suggested Shell of Esso.
Therefore I have used Esso almost exclusively, and usually top grade. Sometimes I do drop to mid grade.
Haven't noticed any appreciable difference, and haven't had injectors or anything like that repaired in the 6 years I have had the van. _________________ '88 VW Westfalia
'75 Triumph Spitfire 1500 |
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Glenn Mr. 010
Joined: December 25, 2001 Posts: 76940 Location: Sneaking up behind you
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 6:36 am Post subject: |
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Gas is gas, the same truck that fills up at the central depot will deliver it to different gas stations.
Now if the station does not maintain their underground tanks, you can get water and debris when you fill up. _________________ Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"
Member #1009
#BlueSquare |
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RCB Samba Member
Joined: September 05, 2005 Posts: 4143 Location: San Francisco-Bay Area
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 6:52 am Post subject: |
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Glenn wrote: |
Gas is gas, the same truck that fills up at the central depot will deliver it to different gas stations.
Now if the station does not maintain their underground tanks, you can get water and debris when you fill up. |
Hi Glen, appreciate your reply. So the highly touted Chevron with "techron" might end up in the Arco or Shell stations tanks ? |
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Glenn Mr. 010
Joined: December 25, 2001 Posts: 76940 Location: Sneaking up behind you
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 8:18 am Post subject: |
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On Long Island, gasoline is distributed by a handful of "bulk carriers" and i've seen the same trucks making deliveries at different name brand stations.
In my daily driver, 2001 Civic, I put the cheapest gas in and never had a problem. In my Beetle, which has a high performance engine, I put 93 in and generally stick to the stations that are well maintained. I figure if the station looks nice then they probably have newer fiberglass tanks and not 30 year old metal tanks with tons of sediment and rust.
Also if you're not going to drive your car for a month, you should add some of the "blue" fuel stabilizer. It's specifically formulated for gas with ethanol. This gas can go bad in as little as 4 weeks and will attract water. You want the blue and not the red stabilizer. _________________ Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"
Member #1009
#BlueSquare |
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Ahwahnee Samba Member
Joined: June 05, 2010 Posts: 9810 Location: Mt Lemmon, AZ
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 8:23 am Post subject: |
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It is my understanding that additives (such as Techron) are added at point of delivery resulting in a product that is different and possibly better.
Techron in particular seems to be accepted as beneficial by some who claim to know.
I use almost anything but (because of a deal with a grocery chain -- Kroger/Frys/City Mkt/King Sooper) Shell is the cheapest and is what I use when I'm filling up locally.
On my other cars (older, with points ignition) I can easily tell the difference between the no-name gas (e.g. Costco) and the brand names (Shell, Chevron). I can only run the cheap stuff by going up 2 grades or retarding the timing about 4°. |
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RCB Samba Member
Joined: September 05, 2005 Posts: 4143 Location: San Francisco-Bay Area
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 8:56 am Post subject: |
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Good information guys, thanks. Any other comments are also welcome. |
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randywebb Samba Member
Joined: February 15, 2005 Posts: 3815 Location: Greater Metropolitan Nimrod, Orygun
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 11:40 am Post subject: |
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Glenn wrote: |
Gas is gas, the same truck that fills up at the central depot will deliver it to different gas stations.
Now if the station does not maintain their underground tanks, you can get water and debris when you fill up. |
partly true
additive packages DO differ among brands; and premium seems to have a better additive package than regular (at least, the majors refuse to deny the converse of that)
Chevron has sued other brands who claimed their additives were as good as Techron
EPA regs. have reduced the differences among brands, but it appears there may still be some difference
--> does it matter? Likely not for a VW; maybe for your old high-compression, super-cammed up Porsche that you have spent 10 years working on and $90,000...
water and debris is definitely the big issue; and is more likely at a low volume station, esp. one way out in the boonies (you know where you like to camp)
a Racor fuel filter/water separator might be money well spent
I try hard to use only Chevron/Techron in the sports car - I use the cheapest stuff around in the VW & Subaru (which is also a high volume station). _________________ 1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans. |
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WestyBob Samba Member
Joined: June 11, 2004 Posts: 2346 Location: Portland, Oregon
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 12:44 pm Post subject: Re: what brand of gas do you feed your Westy |
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I'll echo I use Chevron whenever possible. I'll also use whatever's available in a pinch like Shell, Conoco and Texaco which all worked fine. BP isn't bad but usually very expensive in my 'hood. Overall I just use regular without any problems.
The only problem I ever had in a vanagon is with the local (Portland) Arco sometimes which is notorious for their additives although often cheapest. In my old air-coolers I could usually burn anything, even Arco, but the vanagons (stock) are a little more touchy.
As already mentioned, the small station in the woods that seldom gets visited has a greater chance for introducing water and crud. |
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mtwrench540 Samba Member
Joined: October 25, 2009 Posts: 351 Location: monterey,va
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 12:58 pm Post subject: gas |
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i will back you up glenn,my father worked for mobile at a tank farm and across there was exxon and gulf farms,ALL of thier product came down the same big pipeline from N.J.,even diesel! so make your own conclusion,but yes additives are added after the fact! _________________ 87 wolfsberg,74 181w/1915 and lots of patina! learned to fix vw's from hot vw mag in 1964,VWOA instructor,DSM,69 to73,service mgr at different porsche-audi dealers etc,etc,now retired!!! first vw new 64,transplanted 356 eng in 65,400characters are not enough space!! |
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madspaniard Samba Member
Joined: August 18, 2008 Posts: 3795 Location: Alameda, CA
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 1:15 pm Post subject: |
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Costco, no regrets, no ill effects so far...don't see the value of paying extra for Chevron or Shell _________________ 1991 Westy auto w/ Peloquin TBD
"The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad” - Salvador Dali |
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morymob Samba Member
Joined: November 09, 2007 Posts: 4683 Location: east-tn
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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Being loyal to a gas brand stopped a long time ago, now i just require it being able to lite with a match. |
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Jake de Villiers Samba Member
Joined: October 24, 2007 Posts: 5911 Location: Tsawwassen, BC
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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I've used most everything they sell in western Canada and the USA with good results *EXCEPT* for Union 76. Three different vans, three different stations, yet each time the gas caused a niggling high-speed miss on the highway that went away with the next tank of gas.
So, no 76 for me... _________________ '84 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX
'86 Westy Weekender Poptop/2.5 Subaru/5 Speed Posi/Audi Front Brakes/16 x 7 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
@jakedevilliersmusic1
http://sites.google.com/site/subyjake/mydixiedarlin%27
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
www.thebassspa.com |
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msinabottle Samba Member
Joined: September 20, 2005 Posts: 3492 Location: Denver Area, Colorado
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 2:34 pm Post subject: Top Tier Fuels |
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I listened to a long discussion about this on 'Drive Radio,' a local car repair and maintenance radio show. They were rather firm in recommending what's described on this page:
http://www.toptiergas.com/
All I can say, is that after I switched Winston over to Conoco, he quit eating so many plastic pre-filters, and seems to run and idle better. Mileage went back up to 24 MPG after dipping on the cheaper gas at Sinclair.
I should still replace the pre-filter this season--he's gone two years without a new one!
Best! _________________ 'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence." |
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joseph928 Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2011 Posts: 2114 Location: flagstaff az.
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 2:47 pm Post subject: gas |
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Safeway gas, we buy a lot of food, makes the gas cheaper! But then again if it will burn we will come! price! is the god of gas now. _________________ 1987 syncro westy tin top sun roof , GW2.3, rear locker, decoupler, Gary Lee tire rack & winch mount, lift, south african grill, big brakes , rhein alloy ,15 BFG AT, Fiamma 10 foot awning ,140 watt rear 85 watt front solar , mppt, truckfridge, automatic fire extinguishing system, tencent oil cooler, And a RMW SS exhaust! - 1971 bug convertible 1776 engine- 2010 Subaru turbo - 1993 Toyota 4x4 truck - 1999 Harley 95 CI, big bore, Andrews cams . Also 80-84- vans. Stock 65 sunroof bug. |
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reluctantartist Samba Member
Joined: August 13, 2006 Posts: 1927 Location: Bloomington, IN
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 3:29 pm Post subject: |
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I used to be loyal to a brand until everything went to the gasohol fuels. Now if I happen to find a place on the map:
http://pure-gas.org/
If it is close to where I am going I will buy it there. I have noticed a difference in mpg with straight fuel verses the 10% alcohol fuels. For me all of the brands suck, but I will keep Glenn's advice in mind. _________________ 1982 Westy, 1974 412 Variant... Yes, Aircooled's are great! Oh and I do have modern computer controlled vehicles too, but I just don't care about them. |
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?Waldo? Samba Member
Joined: February 22, 2006 Posts: 9752 Location: Where?
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 4:17 pm Post subject: |
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In a diesel VW I tracked the fuel mileage on the same commute over several tanks of fuel bought alternating between two name brands. There was a 10% difference in fuel economy that directly coincided with which brand I used. This could potentially be an error in their measured quantity, but 10% seems like a really big mistake if that's the case. |
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randywebb Samba Member
Joined: February 15, 2005 Posts: 3815 Location: Greater Metropolitan Nimrod, Orygun
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 4:21 pm Post subject: |
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unless you average a large number of fill ups together, then 10% does not sound like an unusual deviation based on how these things work
re the earlier post:
Et-OH is well known to lower mileage, just as it cleans the engine _________________ 1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans. |
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greenbus pilot Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2008 Posts: 1285 Location: Wisconsin: Rustbelt, USA baby!!
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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You guys have name - brand gas stations?
Anyways, the price is always EXACTLY the same anywhere in town, cuz they all jack it up every day at the same time, in the same increments- usually 5 cents per day. I think they all call each other and agree on the days' price.
And, no, I use whatever is handy. Never had any problem. Yet. It all comes out the same pipe, thru Chicago.
So, if all the stations use the same gas, but a couple claim "top tier", why does it all cost exactly the same?
And then, why does it go up even though their tank was just filled yesterday, and you KNOW that gas was paid for at YESTERDAY'S prevailing price, yet it still jumps daily? Oh yeah, - greed. _________________ Sent from a white van down the street. |
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Mark Samba Member
Joined: January 20, 2003 Posts: 1523 Location: Victoria, BC Canada
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 9:27 pm Post subject: |
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Chevron. Not because of any brand loyalty or noted performance-based results but because they're just down the road and usually have the best price during our ongoing gas war. |
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