[old-tank]

The local gas stations finally stopped their 5-10 cent a gallon surcharge for pay-at-the-pump with a credit card. Now they started selling gas with 10% ethanol. It all started with WALMART and H-E-B (local supermaket chain) gas. I live 30 miles east of San Antonio and work there, so I can drive some of my modern vehicles for a fill there even though they can digest the 10% ethanol (the local gas is also 10-20 cents a gallon more than San Antonio).
So, since Citgo is the only gas that is 'real' it goes in the old iron since my nailheads do not like the 10%...the beer is even cheaper and colder at these little Mom-Pop stations.
Willie

[Aaron65]

Almost everything around here is 10%...therefore, almost all of my old cars heat soak and start a little hard hot. I've just accepted it.

[Dan Cook]

It's the same here, all gas is 10%. It started several years ago when they would only use 10% ethanol in the Winter months and switch to regular gas in the Summer. It seems nobody noticed when they started using 10% all the time.

Dan

[bhclark]

From what I can tell, Marathon still sells 100% gasoline here in the Midwest.
I buy it at the local chain, United Dairy Farmers.

[gino70c]

Sorry to rain on your parade guys- Buying Citgo fuel should not even be considered. Let me remind you all that Citgo & Petro Express (another Citgo brand) is 100% owned by Hugo Chavez President of Venezula. He is proclaiming to bring the Unites States to it's knees by increasing the price of crude oil. Note: Venezuela is one of the largest suppliers to the United States, providing about 1.5 million barrels a day of oil and oil products. Nuff said?

[imported_buick5563]

Here we go.
Buckle up, Fellers.
Giddy up!

[Rawja]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/citgo.asp

[NTX5467]

When I got my '68 5467 gas tank looked at last year, about this time, after 15 years of sitting, the mechanic said it was in decent shape and just rinsed it out good. He claimed the "old gas" didn't corrode much back then, but the newer stuff DID. His "fix" and advice was to add Marbel Mystery Oil to the fuel to help combat the nasty things that new/modern/E10 fuels can do to fuel systems. When I read the side of the can, it did mention just what he talked about and how much concentration would "do the trick."

When "RFG" (reformulated gasoline/oxygenated fuel) first came out, the Chevron website had a very detailed discussion of it, what it did, fuel economy loss, driveability issues, etc. Back then, MTBE was the oxygenate of choice, later replaced with 10% ethanol. Ethanol has been in the blends for years, just not in the current 10%+ amounts. My '70 Skylark ran fine on it, back then, with few of the issues that the Chevron website mentioned, but the 3-5% loss in fuel economy was accurate.

Funny things . . . when leaded fuel became unleaded fuel, it was mentioned that it took about 5% more base stock to build one gallon of unleaded than leaded fuel--which was the amount of the "shortfall" in the next fuel supply crisis back then. Oxygenated fuel is supposed to burn cleaner, but it seems not to, needing all kinds of very upscale additives to keep the intake tract and fuel injection systems "clean". LOTS of interactions that now need "cleaners" to "fix" so things work "as designed".

Just some thoughts and observations . . .

NTX5467

[old-tank]

My guess that if E85 is selling for $.35 a gallon less than unleaded, then probably at least the wholesale price of 10% is less also==>more profit or a lower posted price to increase business. Also Citgo will never be in the ethanol business. Aside from the crappy driveability and less energy of 10%, I have a real problem using food to produce a subsidized fuel.
Willie

[NTX5467]

A local convenience store group (2 owned by the same person and his wife) have Mobil gasoline at the store. Their sign claims "No Ethanol In Our Gas", but I haven't researched what Mobil is (or has been) doing to get away from the mandated approx 10% ethanol fuel blend for our Ozone Non-Attainment Area up here.

Ed Wallace claims that BMW Minis have been having failed fuel pumps due to some stations having too much ethanol in their fuel, more than the "May Contain Up To 10% Ethanol" pump posting. Fuel samples from the failed vehicles' tanks confirm (probably) E85 getting into the wrong tanks. Haven't seen this on our side of things, though, at the GM store.

Regards,
NTX5467