They use water to dilute it, nothing more.

 

Hmmm. Water doesn't mix with gas last time I checked.

 

it does when it sits in the truck and gets sloshed around in there so by the time it get to the stations wal lah u got some water down fuel.

 

....I just lost a little respect for you right then...[8D]

Have you ever driven a car that had moisture in the gas tank? it doesnt run so well.


I believe what everyone is switching to (if they already haven't) is an ethanol mixture...this came up in a thread a while back. No one waters down gas..in fact all of the little stations get their fuel from about 2-3 distributers. The biggest difference station to station is the additive (chevron-techron, texaco-havoline, etc...) and yes some of those additives make a difference in your engine...but mostly only as far as how clean it burns, not necessarily mileage.


I'm still averaging 35mpg..and I typically dont drive all to conservatively.

 

yea but look at ethanol its a alcohol base and if you leave alcohol opento moisture or allow itto get moisture it will absorb water. so ifyou have gas with ethanol in it while its in your tank it will absorb as much water as it possibly can. allowing you to have moisture in your tank which will make your car run like crap.

 

I'll start off by saying that I don't have an answer for the question being debated in this thread. The fact that water is highly miscible in ethanol, however, does not necessarily predict that substantially more water will dissolve in a 10% ethanol/90% gasoline mixture than in pure gasoline. Those making the claim that either gasoline or 10% ethanol/90% gasoline is being or can be "watered down" to any appreciable degree should find a reputable source(s) that agrees with their idea and cite the source for the forum.

 

I've never believed that gas stations water down their gas with water. That said, I would be convinced as RonJ would. Produce some reputable research showing that some gas stations have been using water to dilute their gas, and then I'll buy the explanations about alcohol bonding with water molecules.

http://www.startribune.com/cars/11354696.html
This explains that in the winter, the cold environment lowers your gas mileage by increasing the time it takes your car to warm up. While in this state, your car doesn't run off of your o2 sensor, it just runs off generic map settings. Your car is horribly inefficient during this time.

I've heard, too, that winter gasoline is more inefficient. I did a quick google search, but I couldn't back this up. I'd have to look for longer to refute it or convince myself of it.

 

I'll pay the extra few cents and go to a notable gas station like Irving or Shell. Usually the smaller gas stations have the slightly cheaper prices cause 'I believe' they use additives in their gasoline. I dunno about water or more ethanol or what they use, but I've had enough experiences to lead me away from them.

However i've been getting slightly worse gas mileage aswell lately. I hope not all gas stations are cheaping out on their gas now....

The prices have dropped lower in my area again, 2.88 a gallonat a shell where i got my last fill up.

 

Do you use V-Power or a lower grade? I decided to only use the highest quality Shell in my Civic, but I'm not sure if it makes a difference over the middle of the line stuff. The main reason I use Shell is I read an article on Yahoo that Honda is one of the few companies who work with several gas stations such as Shell to make better gasoline. It runs excellent, but than again, I'd hope it does as it's an '08.

 

Iusually just go with 87 octane. Didn't really notice a difference when I tried the mid grade a few times. But I dunno maybe I'll start using it now because of my su****ions.

Interesting to know about honda and shell working together. You use the high grade.. is that the v-power? Runs good on it?