Originally posted by: jagec
Originally posted by: Eli
Bah, nonsense.
Every state has quite stringent gasoline testing practices. They are NOT selling sub-par gasoline. It is all in your head.
Arco is supplied by BP/Amoco.
This line of thought is no better than thinking that Plus or Premium is somehow better(quality) than Regular.
with most gasoline chains I would agree, but me and multiple friends have calculated our mileage under different brands, and Arco is the only brand that really kills it. My friend with the Pontiac Sunbird (which sucks) noticed the biggest difference. His car was getting incredibly bad mileage with Arco, like 18-20 mpg. He switched to Shell, and instantly got ~24 mpg. IMHO that's still awful mileage for a 4 banger, but it's a huge leap up. Similarly, my Celica always ran worse with Arco.
Part of it could be that they use a lot more ethanol than many other brands.