Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2004 15:04:14 -0500
Reply-To: "sam.cooks" <sam.cooks@VERIZON.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "sam.cooks" <sam.cooks@VERIZON.NET>
Subject: Re: Gasoline War ! ! refineries / different gases / Vanagons &
gas
In-Reply-To: <20040313190747.58610.qmail@web12822.mail.yahoo.com>
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I don't think it is quite that simple. All of the large refineries make
basic gasoline that meets minimal government standards. Then the major
brands add to that the special additives the differentiate their fuel
from others. Some may do other proprietary things to the fuel to make
it "their" formulation. The base gas is what you are likely to get at
no name stations / convenience stores and it is cheaper because it
doesn't have those additives. Whether the additives actually cost as
much as the price differentials is very debatable.
But it is correct that the no name, Exxon, and Texaco, that you might
buy within 5 miles of where you live could have and probably did
originate in the same refinery or at least in the most local refineries
if there is more than one close by. The Exxon and the Texaco (insert
other major brand names if you wish) will have the brand specific
additives, and the no name gas will not have any beyond the minimal.
When I see a convenience store selling brand name gas for about $.10
less than anyone else in town is selling that brand, I am often
suspicious that they have the base gas, not the actual brand name in
their tanks.
So each major brand has some refineries that make base level gas, which
they use and sell to other brands and base gas users.
But each major brand also pays to have base level gas made into it
formulation, both at its refinery and at other refineries.
Probably the largest impact from a boycott of a major brand is upon
their station owners, but it would also hurt their profits from the sale
of their proprietary gasoline formulation. How much it would hurt and
how large a boycott it would take to make them wince is beyond the
information in the articles I have read about how gasoline is made and
distributed in the U.S.
Volkswagen even makes reference to the differences in gas formulations
in a note in the owner's guide for Vanagons, noting that some gases will
not have all of the best detergent additives for keeping fuel injectors
clean. In the Bentley, it is on the first page of the Vehicle Care
appendix.
In a thread a few months ago on the vw-camping list, a number of people
reported having problems with hesitation type symptoms mainly or solely
when they were using no name gas. Fuel injector cleaner would eliminate
the problem for a tank or two and it would reappear. For some a return
to brand name gas would eliminate or improve the problem.
Sam
--
Sam Walters
Baltimore, MD
89 Syncro GL
85 Westy Weekender
84 Vanagon, original owner, soon to be retired, just too many problems
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