Re: top tier gasoline
A couple of things:
1. “Dry gas” is primarily alcohol, but it can be ethanol or methanol. The manufacturer won’t always give you the formula of their product, but they often tell you the flash point. If it is 11C (52F), it is essentially pure methanol. If it is 17C (63F), it is essentially pure ethanol. Ethanol does not take up as much water as methanol, but it’s also not as poisonous.
2. Detergents and additives for gasoline do a number of things. They keep the fuel injectors and throttle body cleaner and working better (less wear of the injectors so the fuel injection pattern is better). They slow down the build-up of deposits on the valves and spark plugs. Deposits on the valves can have adverse effects on the combustion process, which can result in the electronic controls retarding the spark and reducing engine power/fuel economy. Deposits on the spark plugs also affect the combustion process and how much energy is put into the air-fuel mixture to initiate the combustion process.
3. The effect of using a gasoline with less detergent/additives typically takes years, and thus is a very gradual process. I guess the question ultimately is how long you typically own your vehicle and do you want to pay more for gasoline with higher levels of additives/detergents, pay more for gasoline with less detergents/additives because you use more because of deteriorating fuel economy or pay for servicing the vehicle to clean the throttle body, injectors, cylinders/valves, etc. Where do you want your money to end up?
|