True. But when is the last time you saw an inspector at gas station? The Department of Weights and Measures has better things to do. I remember when gas first jumped in 2007 when the local transport line in Tucson to Phoenix broke ($5-6 gas) and the complaints in AZ about the pumps not dispensing what they should be...one agent was dispatched but no one got their money back nor were any fines administered. Regardless, unless you are using a tank of gas in a week's time the octane rating will reduce with discount gas due to different vapor pressure of the ingredients of gas and possibly cause KR. Gas stations only have two tanks of gas. 87 and 89. For the premium 91 they will mix 89 with toluene/acetone/xylene to reach the octane rating. Formula one racers use about 60/40 toluene to gas ratio which boost them to an octane rating of about 116. Try running pure toluene and you'll have a blast
. The only thing worse than discount gas is E85. Not only is it the biggest load of bullsh%$ that Congress ever dreamed up but its horrible for your engine. It was primarily started to get tax breaks and govt subsidies to those who grow corn (or should I say paid not to grow). To start, the amount of electricity that is needed to refine corn into ethanol tips the energy scale toward the costs rather than the benefits (endothermic). After that, ethanol is a highly oxygenated fuel, and for those of us experiencing declining gas mileage might realize that winter formulas of gas are more oxygenated. In fact, though E85 is usually cheaper than standard gas, the gas mileage you will experience is about 75% of your car's initial economy with regular fuel. And if you really like losing money, E85 engines will not last as long since you are running a highly oxygenated fuel that will cause premature aging, the engines are about $5k more than regular models, also consider the amount of gas you will use looking for a place that carries E85, honestly how many foreign vehicles so you know that run E85?
As for additives for oil, they are a waste of time and counterproductive. You see the oil companies spend millions in developing different formulas for engine oil. All of these formula have a specific balance and using a different additive (even from the same company) can severely disrupt the predefined chemistry and cause heavy oxidation. Lucas unfortunately is one of these. When you go to the store and see there displays of the gear box with Lucas in one chamber and regular oil in the other chamber, it is just that. They simply want to show you how well Lucas is in sticking to/lubricating the gear assembly. However, they are not mixing their oil stabilizer with another companies oil. Try it sometime. Under heat the Lucas oil stabilizer will cause heavy oxidation by trapping air within the oil as it passes over metal and will turn the oil to a creamy color. If you are going to by oil additive wise up and buy a better oil like a synthetic. They are just a few dollars more than regular but last 10K miles versus oil that lasts 3-5k miles. So in the long run you are saving money and the life of your car.
Oh...and if you are using Zmax the next time you are buying these additives pour them on yourself....light a match...and chant "I will not buy stupid SH*# for no reason!"
Check out this website:
http://www.carbibles.com/additives.html