Is Cheap Gas Bad For Your Car?

With gas prices getting higher and higher, it may be tempting to fill up your engine with cheaper off-brand alternatives; however, how much damage is this really doing to your car? To find out the answer, AAA did an experiment and found significant differences in how quality of gasoline impacts your vehicle.

AAA found that filling up your engine with off-brand gasoline can cause "up to 19 times more engine deposits" than top-tier brands. This problem can occur after just 4,000 miles of simulated driving. AAA reported that  such carbon deposits are known to reduce fuel economy, increase emissions and negatively impact vehicle performance, particularly on newer vehicles.

The main difference between off-brand and top tier gasoline is that the recognized brands have detergent additives which are much better for the car and mileage. John Nielsen, AAA's managing director of automotive engineering and repair, said that in the experiment they found that cars with high quality gas kept the engines remarkably cleaner than the other fuels tested. "AAA was surprised to learn the extent to which detergent additives impact gasoline quality," Nielson said.

The list of top tier gasoline brands that passed AAA's test include Exxon Mobil (XOM), Conoco (COP), BP (BP), Shell (RDSA), Chevron (CVX), Citgo, Phillips 66 (PSX) and Valero (VLO).


Works cited.

                            Isidor, Chris. "Cheap, Off-brand Gasoline Is Bad for Engines, AAA Says." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 8 July 2016. Web. 18 Jan. 2017.