Live in NY but race in NJ and gas is 20 -30% cheaper there so I try to buy there and at the same place(Sunoco).there are track days where my car will put up (for what it is)some pretty good mph numbers; last time we went,we were running late and I thought i would have enough to get there and race and gas up on return trip.not so dic lit up reserve fuel and gas guy at raceway park was M.I.A. so a quick drive back onto rt 18 the only gas was some no name place (Delta)put in 7 gals. and crossed my fingers well I was pleasantly surprised when I ran my best MPH to date in the heat 117 all five runs.Still uneasy 'bout the gas I used most of it up and filled up just before I crossed back to ny.Estatic about the mph I figured a cool nite it should pick up a little more so Lebanon Valley has a street nite Tues first pass 12.78 @ 103 ???? WTF is this?? next pass little better 105 I know the elevation is higher than RP But thats a lot of mph to lose, let the car cool hood up 20 min even though car was not running hot DIC said 185o gonna make another pass while driving back to the lanes I stopped and when I wernt to go again thought I was in first but was in third let the clutch out and I heard that dreaded detonation rattle I went to the gas guy and put in 5 gals unleaded 100 octane each pass after that the mph improved107 109 last pass 112....the logical conclusion was the place in NJ is probably selling regular out of his premium pump that would also explain my erratic MPH in the past as sometimes I hd enough NY gas to get to track and race and those days the mph was up....SO the big question is we pay for hi test (93)but how do we know what we're getting when premium and regular were pennys apart there was no incentive but 50 cents and up per gallon that could be a lotta dough is there any way one could check their own gas to make sure you get what you pay for also who checks it.I'm sure this problem is probablly more widespread than we realize.a friend who lives near a gas station(in NY) would see the owner arrive early (before dawn) and pump regular directly into the premium tank he didn't realize what he was doing until I told him what I suspected in my case.Does nybody sell a test kit or is there some method I could employ to check the gasoline's octane or we at the mercy of the gas station owners?

 

Paragraphs dude, Paragraphs. It's hard to follow what you're saying.

 

http://www.gasbuddy.com for fuel prices.

all most all fuel is now 10% EtOh or ethanol. That has a big difference in performance.

 

sorry limited education

 

Prob. is paying f/premium and getting regular performance and car suffers how to make sure you're getting premium

 

Altitude, humidity and temperature all play a role in performance.

 

All true,alt.temp and humidity play big part except detonation told me gas was not premium and for such a big change in mph 103 vs 117 in was more than A.T.H.especially for a late model fuel injected carif it drops off that much the engine controls are making adjustments as a result of poor fuel.......So how do you check gasoline?

 

There is a little sticker on each fuel pump. It is your states department of Agriculture who is responsible for yearly wts and measures ( a gallon is a gallon and octane rating is as stated) with telephone number.

If you believe that the fuel is incorrect, contact that department.

 

Octane fuel test kits
http://www.fueltestkit.com/gasoline_...hanol_E10.html

 

Great website, I wonder what this means for those crappy octane boosters. Octane is a rating, similar to a ratio of measurement, not a substance chemical or product you can add to gas.

 

I drive 120 miles round trip every day. Last summer when gas was so expensive I started looking at different stations to see if I could get better mileage our of any particular brand. As it turns out the BP 87 octane was at least 1 mpg better than the rest...stayed consistent until the prices started to plummet. Next thing you know I lost about 3 MPG and all the other brands did pretty much the same.
I can only guess that they started stretching the good gas with more corn or something similar to how fast food chains put soy in their burgers to make the real beef go farther. (I thought it was a law that fuel retailers had to display that info but I didn't see it anywhere.)
At the time I was driving a 2007 V6 Honda Accord or the wifes Nissan Altima 2.5 and I checked every tank for mileage. Both were affected the same.
I have since sold the rice burners and bought myself a vette so I lost my baseline. I don't know how gas compares this year to last but I'd be interested to know if anyone has similar thoughts.

 

abut the time your fuel mileage dropped is when the 10% etoh was added too almost all fuel

 

AU N EGL Great site what they're saying is it is more likely fuel was contaminated w/water than persons unknown putting reg. in premium pump.However,the potential profits vs. getting caught makes me think there really is a problem.I just don't think the dept. of weights and measures has the resources to even scratch the surface.I worked for city of Yonkers NY just outside NYC(retired 25 years)pop. appx.500,000weights and measures office was next to ours they had two inspectors to check all scales in all supermarkets all gas stations and anything else that was sold by weight or volume and I tend to think this is probablly typical.I don't remember EVER a gas station accused,getting caught, or proscuted for shorting,or substuting fuel with the exception of one a guy from india had a bunch of gas stations in NYC an employed his fellow countrymen problem was anybodythat found out about his scam he killed.does anybody know if the big oil co. self police?p.s if memory serves me correct the guy f/NYC he had a device he attached/put on or in pumpto slow fuel delivery,pump would read a gal but you got 8/10

 

buyer beware

Find a low cost high volume station. should be the freshest fuel

 

also the octane rating on the tank is the MINUMUM rating. It could be more at some places.

 

Also not to mention the various jurisdictions all over the country have different legal requirements on gasoline depending on the time of year, etc. Something like 15 or so different "boutique" blends depending on where you live.

 

This depends on your state. Here in Ohio, they are not required to display Ethenol content.

Also, to an earlier comment about yearly measurement and octane testing. This is also different in many states. For example, here the only testing that takes place is 5 gallons are pumped out of each nozzle into a 5 gallon container with precise increments marked near the neck. 5 gallons has to = 5 gallons. Interestingly, almost all of the tests I watched performed where the pump did not pass the test, the difference was in the consumer's favor.

Octane testing is not mandatory here.

 

don't you meen edukayshon

 

It's spelled ED-YOU-CAY-SHUN......WENT TO THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS...WHEN ALL THE GUYS I GREW UP WITH WERE SHOOTING HERION AND DROPPING ACID I WAS IN TRADE SCHOOL THEY WEREN'T BIG ON PARAGRAPHS OR PREPOSITIONS BUT IT GAVE ME THE FOUNDATION FOR ALL PHASES OF AUTO REPAIR.I'M THE GUY THEY COME TO WHEN THEIR MECHANIC OR DEALER CAN'T FIX THEIR CAR .LIMITED FORMAL EDUCATION,YES, BUT i'M NOT STUPID AND I'M VERY GOOD AT WHAT I DO.I DON'T HOWEVER, TAKE OFFENSE I'VE HAD MY ***** BROKE BY THE BEST IN FACT I THINK IT IS PRETTY FUNNY,BUT PEOPLE READING THIS FORUM DON'T KNOW ME AND I DON'T WANT THEM TO THINK I'M SOME KIND OF DOPE.