Pilot Gasoline - Beware!

[walilisseu]

Last weekend I had a very upsetting situation using 89 octane from the Pilot station in Mountain Home, ID. As I was traveling to Boise I filled up at this station, then after spending the weekend there, I filled up there again on the way home without getting gas from any other station. I got to Twin Falls and my finicky filly stopped and would not start again! :( After quite a story of getting the bike stored for the night and then returning with a trailer the following evening, I trailered her (MUCH saddness :crybaby: , but even the reliability of a BMW can't fight BAD GAS) to BMW of SLC and they discovered / told me she'd been feed some poor fuel!

It appears Pilot stations :kaboom: are everywhere throughout the US, but you won't catch me using them EVER again.

[mtrevelino]

I never never use these "fly" by gas stations. I stick with Chevron, BP, Sunoco, or Exxon (even though I do not like the red dye in their premium fuel) for fuel in my bike and cage. You will get people who say gas is gas and that it all comes from the same pipeline. Agreed that it does come from the same pipeline, but each "branded" fuel supplier adds their own additives. My feeling is that you get what you pay for.

[meese]

I've used all the major truck stops (Pilot, Loves, Flying J) without any problems. I've also pulled into a truck stop, saw the "May Contain 10% Ethanol" stickers on the pumps, and pulled right back out.

You can get crappy gas at any station, regardless of brand or label.

[Steve_R]

I've used all the major truck stops (Pilot, Loves, Flying J) without any problems. I've also pulled into a truck stop, saw the "May Contain 10% Ethanol" stickers on the pumps, and pulled right back out.

You can get crappy gas at any station, regardless of brand or label.+1 to what Ken said. :thumb:

[BennyBob]

+1 on Ethanol avoidance. One other thing I do is, if I get to a station and see the tanker truck, I go to another station. When they fill the tanks it always stirs up whatever may be there and takes several hours to settle out. Not worth the risk of pumping crap into my tank.

[Tat_n_Telle]

+1 on Ethanol avoidance. One other thing I do is, if I get to a station and see the tanker truck, I go to another station. When they fill the tanks it always stirs up whatever may be there and takes several hours to settle out. Not worth the risk of pumping crap into my tank.


And there is the problem - you never know exactly when the tanker truck left. It could be 10 minutes down the road and you would have never seen it at the station.
Your best "insurance" is to only patronize large volume dealers, not the small, out of the way, no-name stations where the tanks are more likely to have contaminants. Oh, and always get a receipt for your gas. If you do get a bad tankful that causes damage (towing, parts replacements, etc) your only chance of going back on the station owner is the dated and timed receipt slip, proving you bought fuel there, and then shortly afterwards your bike died due to bad fuel.

[DanDiver]

I've used all the major truck stops (Pilot, Loves, Flying J) without any problems. I've also pulled into a truck stop, saw the "May Contain 10% Ethanol" stickers on the pumps, and pulled right back out.

You can get crappy gas at any station, regardless of brand or label.

I don't think that I have seen gas in Florida without the possibility of ethanol. You end up with about 85% of the 'power" and millage for the same price as without!

[cfell]

Engine "junk food"...

A few years ago, a "name brand" dumped a bad load of fuel in New Orleans.. years before the hurricane hit..

They ended up having to take the "Name brand" to court.. and after a couple years the folks who managed to join the "class action" suit were rewarded with enough money to pay for their car repairs...

Of course the "Name brand" learned their lesson..

[meese]

I don't think that I have seen gas in Florida without the possibility of ethanol. You end up with about 85% of the 'power" and mileage for the same price as without!I will say that the 10% ethanol stations are labeled on the pump itself, and usually a few cents cheaper. Not 85% as cheap, but maybe 5-8 cents/gallon cheaper. I'll still avoid them, although they do manage to lure in a few unwitting drivers looking for a bargain.

Come to think of it, our CA gas is "oxygenated" during the winter months, usually using ethanol but not strictly labeling it as such. Sigh.

But I still can't figure why in the hell we're wasting perfectly good feed crops making inferior gas when there really is enough oil to go around. Gotta keep those farmers subsidized, I guess.

[BMWWANDRR]

I got a bad tank just this past weekend leaving the Chicken Rally. Small station...I should know better. The poor girl coughed and sputtered, cut off at idle, for about 400 miles. But she kept on pulling my wife and I and the trailer. Finally, after 5 tanks of gas and some Sea Foam she came to life. +1 on not using the small stations and 10% ethanol additives.

[Florian]

no choice on 10% ethanol here in the MidWest, we have to use it per Congress' mandate.


F

[Moonshine]

Meese,
I have never had a american farmer threaten me with death or death to America, so I don't have any problem with the American farmer providing fuel for my vehicles and by the way the corn used to produce ethanol is not the same type of corn used for food production. I have a multi fuel GMC Yukon and when I am pulling my 24 foot van trailer with a heavy load (wife's 1967 GTO) I prefer to use E85, ya thats 85% ethanol it has much better pulling power. I also have a dirt track sprint car that runs on 100% ethanol with "0" problems. I run my BMW LT and my Buell Ulysses on the ethanol blend fuel all the time 94,000 miles on the LT and never a fuel related problem.