Hey everyone.

So I was talking with my friends dad the other day who bought one of the new BMW X3's, and while he was talking to the guy at the dealership they said to stay away from Sam's Club and Costco premium gas as it has apparently been known to ruin engines?

I've never heard of this before, but I fill up my car with Costco's gas and would like to stop if it actually is bad for your car...Has anyone else heard of this?

Thanks a ton!

 

false rumor is false

 

Octane rating is octane rating. However it may not have additives, detergents and cleaners like other fuels do. Can get a bad "batch" of gas anywhere that could ruin an engine...so you'll be fine.

I run 93 without any ethanol but make sure to run some cleaners now and again.

 

False, I've been filling up at sams for about 7 years now and never had a problem. The only reason their gas is cheap is bec. they buy huge volume from the distributors

 

nope.

the reason costco/sam's price is lower than ur avg gas station like exxon/mobil/76 is because costco/sam decided they will not make much profit off of gas. they make their money from the stuff u see inside the store. plus gas companies kno that costco is selling gas to only their members. hence giant gas companies dont care about costco/sams lower gas price.

my friend works as some sort of vendor relationship expert for costco.

 

I've been using costco gas on all my cars. No problems, infact... I think i've gotten better gas mileage from costco gas than I did chevron. I hate chevron.

 

Alright. Thanks everyone!

 

Good to know. I fill up at Costco 95% of the time.

 

That's because they don't put any additives in their gas...

 

If you haven't been there, check out:

http://www.toptiergas.com

Apparently BMW, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and Audi weren't satisfied with the way many gas companies were reducing the detergent content of their gasolines, presumably to save costs.

To quote their purpose in forming Top Tier Gasoline:

"The intention of the TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline standards is to create a winning situation for gasoline retailers, auto manufacturers and drivers. Currently, many gasoline retailers provide fuels with lower-quality additive packages that can build up deposits on fuel injectors and on intake valves. Others can build up deposits in combustion chambers and may lead to intake valve sticking. These lower levels of additives can have negative impacts on engine performance and vehicle responsiveness."

Their standards for gasoline to meet (developed by BMW, General Motors, Honda, and Toyota) are listed there, as are retailers that meet the standards.

 

I've been using Costco gas for years and I've never had any issues.

 

I always wondered how their prices were so much lower.

 

Im not too sure but my friends have been telling me to get Petro Canada 94. But I heard theres not much of a different between that or Shell's 91 V-Power, so anyone with any suggestions or inputs?

 

Does anybody know who provides the gas to Costco?

 

I've used Sam's gas as often as I can. I've ran data on thru my AP on my old WRX and Evo and there's no difference. Powerwise, it seems like the Shell 93 is butt dyno stronger than all other brands I've tried.

From what I was told by a good friend in the energy business back in Houston, is that Sams and Costcos run short term contracts with distributors for a fixed or spread price (like a future), so the gas you get last month may be from a completely different source than the gas you fill up on today and same for the gas you might get next month.

Bottom line is, regulations mandate fuel specs like octane, so yes, 93 is 93.