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Save Money and Not Harm Your Car! Go Generic at the Gas Pump!

By: Scott Siegel As the price of gas continues to go up more consumers are thinking about using generic gas from gas stations that are not part of the international gas companies. The question in many drivers minds is, can I get the same quality of gas from ABC station as I can get from Shell or Exxon? Will the ABC 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.

By and large gas produced at refineries is a generic product. An example often used to illustrate this is California because it has a standard different from most other states. In California all gas sold has to meet specific environmental specifications. Because of that all gas in California terminals are produced to the same specifications. Since all the gas is the same, gas refiners often share and exchange gasoline and store it at shared terminals in common tanks.

The gas that is made at one refinery is the same as any other refinery. They all produce what is known as generic gas. The chemicals that are added to the generic gas is what makes one company's gas different from another's. Each brand has it's particular recipe of additives.

This adding of the brand additives usually takes place when the gas is being put into the tanker truck for distribution. In essence all the companies are starting with the same generic gas as their main component. You can now see why generic gas is really the same as the branded gas.

Just to make sure, studies have been done to see if there is a difference between generic gas and branded gas. A cooperative study was done by ABC News and the Maryland State Comptroller's office.

Scientists at the Fuel Testing Lab performed a myriad of tests on generic and branded gasoline. The gasoline was tested for many things including contaminants like excessive sediments or diesel that might have gotten mixed with the gas. The scientists put the fuel into a special test engine to make sure that the fuel was all 87 octane. The chemists at the lab even made sure that the fuel was properly formulated for the current season as mandated by regulations.

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 estimated that the average consumer can save between $100 and $200 per year by using generic gas. Save yourself some cash next time you fill up. Go to the generic station.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

Scott Siegel has written a 143 page manual of industry insider secrets on saving gas and money at the pump. Visit us to discover how you can get better gas mileage. Find out how to increase gas mileage.
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