Costco Gas. Good or bad?

[Kaos]

Just found out they opened up a Costco gas station up in Beacon Hill and I filled up premium at $1.19. Does anyone know the quality of gas Costco uses?

Discuss....

[dj_rice]

Taken from a NASOIC thread



Originally posted by JewPac42
I say dont use it. It is generic gas. Would you fill up at an Arco or a Beacon, or a Safeway? I sure as hell wouldn't. The gas is not as high quality and will leave more deposits in you fuel system.


Actually, places like Costco, Kmart and Walmart all buy their gas from manufactures like BP-Amoco, Shell, Citgo and so on. It doesn't matter who. The retailers, Costco, etc... just buy it based on who sells it for the cheaper price. So one week you might be pumping at Costco and get Amoco or the next week get Shell gas. It doesn't matter. It's the same wherever you go.




I've been pumping from Superstore in both of my cars for 10+ years now and my cars have been fine.

[Tik-Tok]

Go in and ask them who their supplier is. If they don't know, ask for the phone/email of someone who does. The Co-Op by my house (used to) get their fuel from Shell, but it was without the Shell additives, it was decent stuff, but I wouldn't fill up without knowing first.

[Rhystar]

damn, you found my secret gas station, ive been filling premium there for a little while due to gas prices :facepalm:,
i used to only fill at petro and i havent seen any huge change in performance.
Their gas isnt the greatest but it also isnt the worst... like centex and the other "cheap" ones.

[schocker]

Originally posted by Kaos
Just found out they opened up a Costco gas station up in Beacon Hill and I filled up premium at $1.19. Does anyone know the quality of gas Costco uses?

Discuss....
Lol, that has been open for ages. I have used it since it has opened along with my family and a few friends. Never any issues, no change in fuel economy or performance or anything like that. Cant beat the price for premium there.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by dj_rice
So one week you might be pumping at Costco and get Amoco or the next week get Shell gas. It doesn't matter. It's the same wherever you go.

It matters if you want consistency. Shell/Esso/Petrocan gas differs in mileage.

If you got FI that require premium, stick with Shell V Power.

[spike98]

Originally posted by Xtrema


It matters if you want consistency. Shell/Esso/Petrocan gas differs in mileage.

If you got FI that require premium, stick with Shell V Power.

My state 1 jetta friggen HATES vpower, pulls timing like a whore. I run huskey 93 here in town.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by spike98


My state 1 jetta friggen HATES vpower, pulls timing like a whore. I run huskey 93 here in town.

Obviously, if you're tuned for 93, then running 91 is going to pull timing.

Personally, I'd rather have a 91 tuned engine and run V-Power, then 93 and run shitty Husky gas.

[spike98]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


Obviously, if you're tuned for 93, then running 91 is going to pull timing.

Personally, I'd rather have a 91 tuned engine and run V-Power, then 93 and run shitty Husky gas.

Obviously its not as obvious as you may think....im running and have always been running a 91 octane tune.

Vpower has never ran well in the jetta. I wish it would, the airmiles would be nice.

On a side note, why do you think huskey gas is shitty?

[Cooked Rice]

It's all regulated under law. So you're getting gasoline, it works, for stock vehicles it's just fine. It's only when you start tuning vehicles with different fuels with select additives, ethanol blends etc that it will just about run like shit on anything other than what it was tuned with. Ethanol fuels like Husky/Mohawk give it a higher octane rating, it burns cooler, and has a lower BTU, hence why a car will generally burn more of it and give you reduced gas mileage. Same goes with "winter gas".

Note:
Gasoline in Canada is 5% ethanol minimum.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by spike98

On a side note, why do you think huskey gas is shitty?

At work we only had a Husky/Mohawk gas account for our 3/4 ton Truck and 3/4 ton Van. For years they both ran like shit, stumbling, rough idling, etc. and the gas gauges were all fucked up.

My boss finally convinced the company accountant to give us a Shell Easypay instead, and it only took one fill up for the fuel gauges to start working again, and the engines smoothed right out.

I will say this was also regular fuel, not premium. I don't know if the premium is any better, but after experiencing regular, I don't even want to try.

[J-hop]

Originally posted by spike98


Obviously its not as obvious as you may think....im running and have always been running a 91 octane tune.

Vpower has never ran well in the jetta. I wish it would, the airmiles would be nice.

On a side note, why do you think huskey gas is shitty?

likely has more to do with your tuning than the gas, what boost level are you running, those 1.8T turbos are not efficient when you start hitting the 1+ bar of boost range, they just become oversized hairdryers super heating your intake charge.

OP I personally wouldn't worry about it, unless they use husky crap your probably good to go.

[spike98]

Originally posted by J-hop


likely has more to do with your tuning than the gas, what boost level are you running, those 1.8T turbos are not efficient when you start hitting the 1+ bar of boost range, they just become oversized hairdryers super heating your intake charge.

OP I personally wouldn't worry about it, unless they use husky crap your probably good to go.

Its an MKV with the 2.0T engine. Its a revo stage 1 tune. This summer i am going to log some runs with different types of gas to see whats going on.

[J-hop]

Originally posted by spike98


Its an MKV with the 2.0T engine. Its a revo stage 1 tune. This summer i am going to log some runs with different types of gas to see whats going on.

yea that seems to be the response on tex, can't run 91 with the revo 1, stuck to running husky garbage gas

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

I used to have problems on Shell V-Power in my FI Nissan until I had it tuned on it.

[sillysod]

Spike something is wrong with your tune if you are having problems switching fuel suppliers.

I have never had issues with fuel (except when I had water in the fuel in Dawson Creek, and another time when they filled the fuel tanks with diesel by accident)

Unless you are running something with injectors and a custom tune that is on the verge of requiring meth injection there is no way you should be having problems with different brands of fuel.

Chances are if you were having problems the tanker accidently filled the 91 tanks up with 87.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

It didn't like it when the car was stock, but when I was modifying it and had it tuned on it, the car was fine.

[E46..sTyLez]

My subie is tuned to 93 according to the manual, but it says 91 is ok...should I be running 93? Or would Costco 91 suffice?
(See how I incorporated the OP's question just so it's not a complete highjack haha)

[sillysod]

Originally posted by E46..sTyLez
My subie is tuned to 93 according to the manual, but it says 91 is ok...should I be running 93? Or would Costco 91 suffice?
(See how I incorporated the OP's question just so it's not a complete highjack haha)

If your car is tuned for 93 then you need to run 93.

Unfortunately there is no real 93 available in Alberta that I'm aware of.

[googe]

The fact that they buy from the same suppliers does not really matter. After they buy it, they add their own additives (or some don't add additives).

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2007-06-13-bad-gas-usat_N.htm

[heavyD]

Originally posted by sillysod


If your car is tuned for 93 then you need to run 93.

Unfortunately there is no real 93 available in Alberta that I'm aware of.

Husky 94 is real 94 octane gasoline. It's just lower BTU due to ethanol blend. The octane rating is real though.

All gasoline comes from the same refineries. The only different is the additives used by each manufacturer. Places like Superstore may not have the same additives but if your car isn't FI or performance it's probably not a big deal anyway.

[spike98]

Originally posted by sillysod
Spike something is wrong with your tune if you are having problems switching fuel suppliers.

I have never had issues with fuel (except when I had water in the fuel in Dawson Creek, and another time when they filled the fuel tanks with diesel by accident)

Unless you are running something with injectors and a custom tune that is on the verge of requiring meth injection there is no way you should be having problems with different brands of fuel.

Chances are if you were having problems the tanker accidently filled the 91 tanks up with 87.

Ill have to give it another tank and see what happens. I only ran it once. It would studder BAD on WOT. So bad in fact i thought the diaphram on the DV was torn or something.

My SR20 in the previous car loved vpower.

[sillysod]

Originally posted by heavyD


Husky 94 is real 94 octane gasoline. It's just lower BTU due to ethanol blend. The octane rating is real though.

All gasoline comes from the same refineries. The only different is the additives used by each manufacturer. Places like Superstore may not have the same additives but if your car isn't FI or performance it's probably not a big deal anyway.

I know that a lot of off the shelf 93 programs for VW/Audis are from down south and have problems with knocking on Husky 94.

If you get VAST or someone to write a custom tune for Husky 94 I'm sure it would work fine. I just run 91 tune for everything here in AB, but I will be putting my meth kit on this weekend so I can run the race gas file.

[GQBalla]

do you need a costco card for costco gas?

[black13]

Originally posted by GQBalla
do you need a costco card for costco gas?

I'm wondering the same. Or can you use a family members card?

[npham]

Costco membership card. You don't have to show it to anyone, so as long as it is a membership card, ie Amex or the regular one, you will be fine.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by sillysod


I know that a lot of off the shelf 93 programs for VW/Audis are from down south and have problems with knocking on Husky 94.

If you get VAST or someone to write a custom tune for Husky 94 I'm sure it would work fine. I just run 91 tune for everything here in AB, but I will be putting my meth kit on this weekend so I can run the race gas file.

I ran Husky 94 exclusively with OTS tunes for my EVO X and never had nocking issues mostly on the 91 octane tune but I did run the 93 octane tune for a bit which didn't knock. However I didn't feel any notable performance gain over the 91 octane tune so ran the 91 tune mostly just to err on the side of caution.

[962 kid]

Originally posted by sillysod


I know that a lot of off the shelf 93 programs for VW/Audis are from down south and have problems with knocking on Husky 94.

If you get VAST or someone to write a custom tune for Husky 94 I'm sure it would work fine. I just run 91 tune for everything here in AB, but I will be putting my meth kit on this weekend so I can run the race gas file.

Weird, Rage2's old car could run much higher boost on husky 94 than he could on "real" 94 from chevron.

[clem24]

Last summer I used Costco premium in my LGT and could get 24MPG in the city... This year only about 22MPG. So not sure if anything has changed. But the premium is the best price that you'll find anywhere in the city. Plus if you're a Costco member, sign up for a Costco Amex card. It's free and they give back $$ in the form of a rebate cheque at the end of the year. And I think gas at Costco is more per dollar than regular purchases. One great thing I like about their gas station is they have an extra lane between all the pumps so cars can sneak past into the far pump and don't have to wait for everyone to vacate a line.

One of the best kept secrets of Costco: buy the executive membership + get the free Amex because they give 2% cash back on each card. I bought one and share it with my mom. We don't live in same household but they don't know that. Anyway, the membership is $100. I just got our annual rebate cheque for $95. That already pays for the membership. On top of that, there's still the rebate cheque from Amex which is another 2% for regular purchases and 4% for gas I think, for EACH OF US. So yeah, in a way, they pay US to shop there hahahaha.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by clem24
Anyway, the membership is $100. I just got our annual rebate cheque for $95. That already pays for the membership. On top of that, there's still the rebate cheque from Amex which is another 2% for regular purchases and 4% for gas I think, for EACH OF US. So yeah, in a way, they pay US to shop there hahahaha.

Hahaha, that's exactly how I mathed it out when I justified the executive membership + AMEX! Except when I signed up, I got $20 in gift cards and was told to expect another $10 in the mail after I get the AMEX card. So the membership only really cost $70 before the rebates.

http://folkpolitics.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/argentinasoccer_women.jpg

[Guillermo]

^^you guys DO realize thta using credit cards for all of your purchases just drives up the cost of everything we buy, right? so, you're really not getting anything back, and in fact, using credit cards just gives more of your money to the credit card companies. (it can cost the retailer up to like $3 per credit card transaction, but most consumers are unaware of that.)

i use credit cards too, but i'm just saying... we need some serious regulation of the credit card industry.

[BensonTT]

Hey any of you guys notice the Mohawk on 32ave Ne is closed?

[btimbit]

Originally posted by spike98


Its an MKV with the 2.0T engine. Its a revo stage 1 tune. This summer i am going to log some runs with different types of gas to see whats going on.

There's your problem, REVO is known to be a bit of a hit or miss, especially when it comes to reliability.

[J-D]

Originally posted by Guillermo
^^you guys DO realize thta using credit cards for all of your purchases just drives up the cost of everything we buy, right? so, you're really not getting anything back, and in fact, using credit cards just gives more of your money to the credit card companies. (it can cost the retailer up to like $3 per credit card transaction, but most consumers are unaware of that.)

i use credit cards too, but i'm just saying... we need some serious regulation of the credit card industry.

I'm sure if we all stopped using credit cards retailers would pass the savings directly onto us consumers! ;p

[sillysod]

Originally posted by btimbit


There's your problem, REVO is known to be a bit of a hit or miss, especially when it comes to reliability.

They all have their +'s and -'s the difference is the support.

APR is definitely the most "safe" and trouble free but it is impossible to really upgrade.

Uni and Revo are both pretty easy to upgrade, but are totally dependent on how good your local vendor is.

Maestro, Vast or SuperToma tunes are probably the best tunes you can get but again it is not something you can get done in 5 minutes at Concept1.

I'd talk to Revo about it and see what they have to say.

[VaN_HaMMeRSTeiN]

Originally posted by npham
Costco membership card. You don't have to show it to anyone, so as long as it is a membership card, ie Amex or the regular one, you will be fine.

You should probably get a card and check out the store too, I hear they have good prices in there.


/not an employee ;)

[btimbit]

Originally posted by sillysod


They all have their +'s and -'s the difference is the support.

APR is definitely the most "safe" and trouble free but it is impossible to really upgrade.

Uni and Revo are both pretty easy to upgrade, but are totally dependent on how good your local vendor is.

Maestro, Vast or SuperToma tunes are probably the best tunes you can get but again it is not something you can get done in 5 minutes at Concept1.

I'd talk to Revo about it and see what they have to say.

Unitronic is the best software I've used so far. I've only used Uni, GIAC, Eurodyne and Revo. But Unitronic also has the best dealer in town, Tunedub. I've heard nothing but good about United Motorsports but no local dealers, but I might mail an ECU out to him to see what's what.

But anyway, with REVO I found, in a 1.8t, that it had really, really weird boost spikes.Big ones too, 30+psi. On a stock engine, stock K03, that's definitely not wanted. That's not bad gas, that's just Revo, because they stopped giving a crap about their tunes for slightly older cars, it's impossible to get support for it now. Same with GIAC and Eurodyne.

[sillysod]

+1 for Tunedub :thumbsup:

[clem24]

Originally posted by Guillermo
^^you guys DO realize thta using credit cards for all of your purchases just drives up the cost of everything we buy, right? so, you're really not getting anything back, and in fact, using credit cards just gives more of your money to the credit card companies. (it can cost the retailer up to like $3 per credit card transaction, but most consumers are unaware of that.)

i use credit cards too, but i'm just saying... we need some serious regulation of the credit card industry.

LOL WTF? Yes *I* am getting something back. All the people that aren't using credit cards are getting nothing back, so sure, they're subsidizing me. Sucks to be them. I am very aware of how much it costs a retailer. How else the fuck would a CC company make money besides collection on interest? It's the cost of doing business.

[J-hop]

Originally posted by clem24
Last summer I used Costco premium in my LGT and could get 24MPG in the city... This year only about 22MPG. So not sure if anything has changed. But the premium is the best price that you'll find anywhere in the city.

just wondering but aren't we still on winter gas? could account for the drop in mileage

[71/454]

Originally posted by spike98


My state 1 jetta friggen HATES vpower, pulls timing like a whore. I run huskey 93 here in town.

I fully agree. Last summer when Husky was out of 94 I filled up on Shell thinking it was the same. I had to turn down the boost it rattled so bad.

[OHNO5OH]

Personal experience with Costo gas.
I usually fill up at Esso, as High River has very few stations to choose from. Before hitting the highway to Edmonton I hit the gas bar at the Costco in Okotoks. Typically I can pull about 380km from the top half of my tank(2L Protege). After hitting Edmonton 375km(St.Albert), the tank was easily 3/8 full.

Now, I realize there are always other factors to keep in consideration when judging MPG(wind, speed, traffic, tire press), but I have done this trip numerous times and always averaged roughly the same MPG. Could have been an off day, but it could have also been the fuel.

I did a little asking around with some of the oilfield guys here in town that have to commute, and most seems to have a similar opinion. Their MPG dropped on Costco(Okotoks) fuel. Take it for what it is, I wont be filling up there unless i'm out of options.