how would someone know if company car used cheap gas instead of premium
12-04-2016, 06:40 PM
#1
how would someone know if company car used cheap gas instead of premium
mine has fleet lease on the car proof for 2009 ls3. although the car runs perfect. how would i know if they put in cheap gas or whatever, or would that make me run into troubles in the future? mine had company fleet vehicle on car report in one of the sections
Last edited by vettez4; 12-04-2016 at 06:50 PM.
12-04-2016, 06:56 PM
#2
Burning Brakes
The cars electronics will automatically retard the timing to prevent dentonation (ping) to protect the engine. Thus cheap gasoline will diminish the performance of the vehilcle, but the retrarded timing done through the computer will protect it. You should be o.k. Hard to tell if cheap gas has been used in the car unless you can get records of gasoline receipts. The only potential problems that may occur is if excess water got in the fuel or dirt. For debris in the fuel never fill up your car if you see a tanker truck refueling a gas station. When they are dumping fuel in the underground tanks they are stirring up all the debris and water in the bottom of the tanks and you will suck this into your car at the same time possibly clogging up your fuel filter at the same time.
12-04-2016, 07:00 PM
#3
The cars electronics will automatically retard the timing to prevent dentonation (ping) to protect the engine. Thus cheap gasoline will diminish the performance of the vehilcle, but the retrarded timing done through the computer will protect it. You should be o.k. Hard to tell if cheap gas has been used in the car unless you can get records of gasoline receipts. The only potential problems that may occur is if excess water got in the fuel or dirt. For debris in the fuel never fill up your car if you see a tanker truck refueling a gas station. When they are dumping fuel in the underground tanks they are stirring up all the debris and water in the bottom of the tanks and you will suck this into your car at the same time possibly clogging up your fuel filter at the same time.
12-04-2016, 07:19 PM
#4
Melting Slicks
The cars electronics will automatically retard the timing to prevent dentonation (ping) to protect the engine. Thus cheap gasoline will diminish the performance of the vehilcle, but the retrarded timing done through the computer will protect it. You should be o.k. Hard to tell if cheap gas has been used in the car unless you can get records of gasoline receipts. The only potential problems that may occur is if excess water got in the fuel or dirt. For debris in the fuel never fill up your car if you see a tanker truck refueling a gas station. When they are dumping fuel in the underground tanks they are stirring up all the debris and water in the bottom of the tanks and you will suck this into your car at the same time possibly clogging up your fuel filter at the same time.
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Yaupon (12-07-2016)
12-04-2016, 07:21 PM
#5
Melting Slicks
You should be just fine. Some premium fuels do contain better detergents that would help to keep carbon deposits to a minimum but overall it isn't effect performance in the long run. A lot of fleet vehicles don't require the user to pay for oil changes or fuel so it is very likely that they used premium fuel and had the fluids changed on time.
12-04-2016, 07:30 PM
#6
You should be just fine. Some premium fuels do contain better detergents that would help to keep carbon deposits to a minimum but overall it isn't effect performance in the long run. A lot of fleet vehicles don't require the user to pay for oil changes or fuel so it is very likely that they used premium fuel and had the fluids changed on time.
12-04-2016, 07:39 PM
#7
Le Mans Master
I've used fleet cars from city, county and state motor pools and other than diesel pumps, have never seen more than 'regular" gas pumps. Cheap gas can cause detonation and the ECU can only do so much to prevent it. Other results could be excess carbon buildup on the piston tops (run it near redline to see how clean or dirty the exhaust looks). Dirty fuel injectors and fuel filters can also be the result of using 'cheap' fuel w/o the detergents better fuel contains.
12-04-2016, 07:51 PM
#8
Melting Slicks
TerryL have you ever seen a state or city fleet car that was a corvette? I'm guessing this was a company owned car. Taxpayers would burn my town hall if they were driving Corvettes. haha.
12-04-2016, 08:00 PM
#9
Team Owner
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"Premium" tires are generally better and of higher quality than "cheap" tires.
Same for an expensive suit vs. a cheap suit.
But not so for gasoline. "Premium" just has a higher octane for cars that need it. It isn't necessarily of higher quality than regular, or "cheap" gas.
Same for an expensive suit vs. a cheap suit.
But not so for gasoline. "Premium" just has a higher octane for cars that need it. It isn't necessarily of higher quality than regular, or "cheap" gas.
12-04-2016, 08:18 PM
#10
Melting Slicks
"Premium" tires are generally better and of higher quality than "cheap" tires.
Same for an expensive suit vs. a cheap suit.
But not so for gasoline. "Premium" just has a higher octane for cars that need it. It isn't necessarily of higher quality than regular, or "cheap" gas.
Same for an expensive suit vs. a cheap suit.
But not so for gasoline. "Premium" just has a higher octane for cars that need it. It isn't necessarily of higher quality than regular, or "cheap" gas.
12-04-2016, 09:16 PM
#11
Team Owner
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Maybe that oil guy LBD could chime in on this . . . ?
EDIT: Re-thinking . . . does "more additives" necessarily mean higher quality?
Last edited by Bruze; 12-04-2016 at 09:18 PM.
12-04-2016, 10:11 PM
#12
Drifting
Even the cheapest gas must have minimum EPA-mandated additives that are reasonably ok. Yes, engines that have run consistently on top tier gas will be cleaner, run a bit smoother, and give a bit closer to factory fresh performance at 50,000 miles than those run on cheap gas. But it’s not as though cheap gas will ruin an engine. It simply takes away a bit of performance as the engine ages, and slightly increases the odds of having a fuel-related maintenance problem.
As far as regular versus premium, comments are similar. Knock sensors should retard timing and prevent octane-related engine damage from running regular, but engine controls are not perfect. Thus, there’s a slight increase in odds of having knock-related engine issues if the engine has run consistently on regular.
Short of tearing down the engine for inspection, which is a major maintenance job and would rather obviously be a silly way of determining whether you were at risk of maintenance issues, I don’t know of any way to tell whether an engine has issues. Some might suggest boroscope inspection, looking for deposits, but that isn’t very precise so would be of questionable value.
The last issue raised by some in this thread is whether premium top tier has better additives than regular top tier. Some brands claim they have extra additives in their premium, but the cleanliness standards for all top tier grades are so high that the added benefit of premium over regular at a top tier station is small. As an insurance policy though, one aspect of using a premium from a top tier brand that advertises extra additives in premium is that whatever small benefit there is, is mostly in “clean up” capability. Said another way, if you’ve run top tier since the engine was new, added benefit of extra top tier over basic top tier is essentially zilch, because the engine started out clean and the basic top tier additives will keep it clean. But if the engine has run on cheapo gas and has gotten a bit dirty as a result, the extra additives in that brand’s premium might be a bit better at cleaning up the deposits from the cheapo than the basic top tier package would be.
As far as regular versus premium, comments are similar. Knock sensors should retard timing and prevent octane-related engine damage from running regular, but engine controls are not perfect. Thus, there’s a slight increase in odds of having knock-related engine issues if the engine has run consistently on regular.
Short of tearing down the engine for inspection, which is a major maintenance job and would rather obviously be a silly way of determining whether you were at risk of maintenance issues, I don’t know of any way to tell whether an engine has issues. Some might suggest boroscope inspection, looking for deposits, but that isn’t very precise so would be of questionable value.
The last issue raised by some in this thread is whether premium top tier has better additives than regular top tier. Some brands claim they have extra additives in their premium, but the cleanliness standards for all top tier grades are so high that the added benefit of premium over regular at a top tier station is small. As an insurance policy though, one aspect of using a premium from a top tier brand that advertises extra additives in premium is that whatever small benefit there is, is mostly in “clean up” capability. Said another way, if you’ve run top tier since the engine was new, added benefit of extra top tier over basic top tier is essentially zilch, because the engine started out clean and the basic top tier additives will keep it clean. But if the engine has run on cheapo gas and has gotten a bit dirty as a result, the extra additives in that brand’s premium might be a bit better at cleaning up the deposits from the cheapo than the basic top tier package would be.
I'll get it next time, promise! 
12-04-2016, 10:53 PM
#14
Melting Slicks
Just to let you know that some carfax reports show "fleet" or "corporate" when in reality the vehicle was actually leased. I leased an SUV from a leasing company and it showed up as a fleet vehicle. I know this because I purchased it when the lease was over and carfax was pulled when I traded it.
I wouldn't worry about it as most people that lease take good care of the vehicle knowing it will be inspected pretty closely upon return.
Hope this helps.
I wouldn't worry about it as most people that lease take good care of the vehicle knowing it will be inspected pretty closely upon return.
Hope this helps.
12-04-2016, 11:18 PM
#16
Team Owner
So, to answer the original question, there is absolutely no way for you to know what kind of gas was used in a car unless you have the receipts for that gas.
12-04-2016, 11:22 PM
#17
Melting Slicks
If whoever the original user was used sub par gasoline it very well could have some serious deposits on the valves. Highly unlikely but is a possibility.
12-05-2016, 10:57 AM
#19
Burning Brakes
12-05-2016, 12:20 PM
#20
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I don't think that's there's any way to know what a previous owner did with a vehicle unless you can talk to him.