I was just wondering if it is safe to use gas from warehouse chains like Costco and Sams Club.

I work at a wireless sales booth inside a Costco. Not for Costco but in Costco. For the past couple days I have been coming in and seeing gas remarkably cheaper than anhywhere else locally.

The lowest station I saw last night was in the $2.70's and this morning gas here is priced at $2.47.

Is there a downside to going with this "bang" for buck gas? I've read some sources that say it is generic gas, and people saying it has caused their engines problems, but for every one of these posts there was one to counter it.

I'm a firm believer in "You get what you pay for", and it seems that something such as this would hold true especially when your dealing with something as big and too good to be true as the oil industry.

 

I'm been running BJ super this summer. My Firebird loves it.

 

It all comes from the same wholesalers.

 

Gas is gas...

That being said, like oil, the main difference is the additives that different companies add. Some are designed to improve detonation and some keep carbon build-up lower then others.

Main thing is that running cheap gas will not harm your car, but does have an effect on how it runs. I say try it, check your fuel mileage on that tank and then decide. Generally the better mileage you get the cleaner and more complete the gas burns. More power and better fuel economy.

 

We had some EGR problems with a new Honda Odyssey after about 2 years of ownership and Costco gas. Dealer said ditch the Costco gas and use Chevron w/ techron, haven't had any problems since. Can't say for sure it was the gas, but not sure what else to think. I haven't tried Costco in my TBI Camaro so I don't know about that.

If you decide to switch the brand of gas you use, wait until you've gone through one or two whole tanks (residual gas left in the system) to decide if it's really made a difference.

 

Off topic question, but your going through 1 - 2 tanks of gas comment raises an additional question.

My Camaro just had a new engine dropped into it, and we're getting ready to fire it up in two weeks as soon as I finish polishing and painting my other SLP runner and bring it to the shop.

The gas that is in the car right now has been sitting in it for 6 months, but the tank is almost bone dry. The fuel gauge is all the way on empty.

Should I have the tank flushed, or just not worry about it since It's such a small amount and assume everything will be A-OK after the first tank or two?

 

I always fill up at a discount station in the neighborhood. I also always use an AMSOIL gas additive which is an excellent detergent. On those occasions when I fill up at a major, I use the gas additive anyway. The fuel system stays sparkling clean.

As for the question about the gas that's been sitting, about the only way to flush it is to remove it. It's usually safe to dilute the old stuff and use a detergent additive. Plan on putting in at least 5 gallons. 6 months isn't that long, though. But, if you haven't been using a detergent regularly, plan on changing the fuel filter once or twice in the near future.

As for the price, I filled up Monday morning at $2.899 before I headed for the airport. Yesterday evening when I got back, it was $2.679.

 

God that is sickening. Gas is still $3.40+ in S.F. I can't remember the last time I saw sub 3 dollar gas.

Starting to get really effin sick of this state.

 

here in Shawnee,OK at wal mart i saw 2.19
----------
i heard that in the city(oklahoma city) it was 2.17

 

Same here in Austin, TX...$2.19 is pretty easy to find & I expect to see sub-$2.00/gal ($1.99 or less) within a month, attherate it has been dropping. Sucks to fill up on Sat. & the next Sat., same station, is 20 cents less per gallon, only 7 days later!

 

Wow... i saw 2.99 here and was suprised. My License is suspended till January, so i am not going to worry about it untill then. I wonder how low it will be then!

 

I can only guess delivery costs, once gas hits land, has more to do with the final retail cost than we know.

South Austin is cheaper than north Austin, by a good 10-15 cents per gallon. The farther north you look, the prices seem to rise.

BTW, in keeping with the subject of thread thread....

I pretty much use exclusively Murphy gas (Wal Mart chain store=Sams/Costco etc type stores, just not in bulk buys) and my car runs GREAT...Passes emissions WAY clean, yet has o smog pump & my cat is a non-AIR tubes cat. So I'm TECHNICALLY illegal, but pass the sniffer test VERY cleanly.

 

I filled up the rental car at the Sacramento airport Arco yesterday for $2.979.

 

Stupid bay area. I'm in Emeryville looking out the window at a Shell Station as we speak, $3.37. I love BART.

 

one of my friends filled up with 1.98! at wal mart last night

 

also to add tho the thread topic. i have used that gas with no problems

 

From a friend....
"We went camping on Padre Island this past weekend and one of the gas stations I stopped at was $1.89 for regular."

Right on the TX coast and this woulda gone into his
04 Cadillac CTS - black on black, 20x8.5" Royale wheels, Eibach Pro-kit, more.... or 01 Tahoe LT - 24x10 wheels, 3/5 drop, ram-air cai, big-brake kit, custom 2-12" sub box IN the rear floor, much more......Neither are cheap cars.

I don't think it was a Warehouse station though, since he jusyt said "station".

 

The way I see it is gas is gas. If one was better they would find a number to say it, but instead they use good advertising. I filled up for a 1.61 the other day, due to an imbecile of a store clerk that set the pumps wrong. Oh and stephen, Slaughter has the cheapest gas in Austin especially around the walmart.

 

Yeah. I hear south is cheaper, but I'm on the north, north side of town. And even if I make it to the club b'fast down south, my tank is full.I could only get like 2 gallons to fill up. It would be worth the 40cents/gallon, compared to the $2.29 around here.

 

To add to the topic, I always thought gas was gas. But, I couldn't figure out why my bass boat was running like crap for the first year that I had it. I was filling up at Wal-mart, H-E-B's, and other chain stores that sold gas cheaper. Shell was a frequent fill up spot on the way to the lake too. It never failed, if I filled up the boat on the way to the lake it would run terrible and bog out. I happened to fill it up at an Chevron on a trip to a lake I rarely go to and the boat ran excellent. Since then I've run only Chevron and the occasional Exxon in my boat and it's been perfect ever since except for the one time I filled up at a Shell station at a marina on the lake....it ran like crap again.

That being said, in my bird I've noticed that I can get consistent 26-28 MPG(mixed driving) with Exxon or Chevron. My mileage drops considerably to 19-20 on Shell or discount gas at the chain stores.

Oh....gas is $2.29 east of Austin to the Bastrop area. The TV news was showing people actually fist fighting over $1.99 gas in south Austin the other night.

 

so you really think that those warehouse gas's hurt performance? and i always thought shell was a good station to go to?

 

Here in NY we have native american reservation gas stations. They don't have to go by any state or federal guidelines. Always 20 cents cheaper than name brand stations.

A local mechanic said when he changes fuel pumps he knows which res gas station the customer used regularly because you could smell a difference and it smelled more like diesel than gas. I guess it just destroys fuel pumps and filters. Something to keep in mind with discount gas. I just use 93 in the'bird from sunoco. The trucks use 87 from anywhere.