Can You Save Money With
Generic Gas and Not Harm Your Car?
By
Scott Siegel
http://www.beatthegaspump.com
As the price of gas continues to spiral upward more and more
consumers are considering using generic gas from gas
stations that are not affiliated with international gas
companies. The question in many consumers minds is, will I
be getting the same quality of gas from XYZ station as I
would get from Exxon or Shell? Will the XYZ gas be OK for my
car?
The answer plain and simple is, there is not much difference
between the generic gas and the branded gas other than some
additives which each company has added to it's gas. To
really understand why it is so similar a quick look at how
the gas refining system works makes the picture clear.
Gasoline produced at refineries is a generic product. A good
example to illustrate the gas terminal concept is California
where all gas sold there has to meet the same environmental
specifications. Since all the gas in California has to be to
the same specifications it doesn't matter whose gas the
refiners use, it's all the same. Because of this, the
refiners often trade gasoline and store gasoline at shared
terminals where all the gas is in common tanks.
The gasoline that is produced at one refinery is not really
different than another refinery. They all produce what one
would call generic gas. It is the chemicals that are added
to the generic gas that makes one brand different from
another. Each brand has it's own formula of additives.
Such blending or adding of these brand chemicals or
additives typically takes place when the gasoline is being
loaded into a tanker truck for further distribution. In
other words all the brands are starting with essentially the
same generic gas as their main component. So generic gas is
basically the same as the branded gas.
Just to make sure, there have been some studies on the
difference between generic gas and branded gas. A joint
study on this was done by ABC News and the Maryland State
Comptroller's office.
The Maryland Fuel Testing Laboratory was where a battery of
tests were conducted. The gas was checked for contaminants
like excessive sediments or diesel accidentally mixed with
the gas. They ran the gas through an elaborate test engine
to ensure that the gas was all the same 87 octane level.
They even made sure that the gas was formulated correctly
for the season.
The good news for the consumer is generic and branded gas
had nothing but minor differences. They found that by and
large the gas was one and the same. The primary difference
between competing brands of gasoline is the amount of
detergent or additives the distributors add to it. Even then
the differences are small.
So basically gas is gas and all the gas sold in stations
whether it is from a branded station or a generic station
will work just fine in your car. The biggest difference it
turns out is only price.
It is reported that the average gas consumer could save
between $100 and $200 per year by using generic gas. To save
yourself some cash next time you fill up use the generic
station.
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Scott Siegel is the author of a 143 page manual of industry insider information
on saving gas and money at the pump (beatthegaspump.com). Visit us to learn how
you can get better gas mileage.
Find out how to increase gas
mileage.
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