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Can You Save Money With Generic Gas and Not Harm Your Car?

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As the price of gas continues to spiral upward more and more consumers are considering using generic gas from gas stations that are not affiliated with international gas companies. The question in many consumers minds is, will I be getting the same quality of gas from XYZ station as I would get from Exxon or Shell? Will the XYZ gas be OK for my car?

The answer simply is, there is not much of a significant difference between the generic gas and the more expensive gas except for some additives which each company has added to it's gas. To really understand how this is possible a short look at how the gas refining system treats gas makes the picture easy to see.

Gasoline produced at refineries is a generic product. A good example to illustrate the gas terminal concept is California where all gas sold there has to meet the same environmental specifications. Since all the gas in California has to be to the same specifications it doesn't matter whose gas the refiners use, it's all the same. Because of this, the refiners often trade gasoline and store gasoline at shared terminals where all the gas is in common tanks.

The gas that is made at one refinery is pretty much the same as any other refinery. They all make generic gas. The additives that are put into the generic gas are what makes one brand of gas different from another brand of gas. Each has it's own particular recipe or formula of additives.

The brand additives are put into the gas when the gas is being loaded into tanker trucks. All the oil companies are starting with the same generic gas so the main component that runs your car is all the same. You can see why generic gas is really no different than branded gas.

Just to make sure, there have been some studies on the difference between generic gas and branded gas. A joint study on this 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 study results are good news for you. The study found that for the most part all gas was one and the same. The major difference between brands of gasoline is how much detergent additives are put into it. Even taking into consideration the additives the differences between them are very 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 reported that the average gas consumer could save between $100 and $200 per year by using generic gas. To save yourself some cash next time you fill up use the generic station.

Article Source: http://www.article-exposure.com

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

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