High-quality additives effectively keep injectors, valves and combustion chambers deposit-free, are more expensive and often replaced with cheaper knock-offs.
The fuel from different filling stations comes from a common source: the “base gas” from a refinery. Workers there mix additives mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency into the base gas in order to clean a car’s engine and reduce emissions.
Then, the different gas companies — both off-brand and major brands — put their own additive packages in the gas to further boost both cleaning and performance.
A key difference is that the major brands put more additives in their gas and claim to have some secret ingredients. This extra shot of additives provides an additional level of cleaning and protection for your engine.
We, the consumers, think that we are saving money by seeking out cheaper gas. But what we don’t realize is that the discount gasoline that we are buying actually can cost us money in the long run by compromising our fuel economy and causing deposit build-up in the engine.
