Costco gas

And the samples. Traveling cross country to get where I want to camp, Costcos are usually just off the highway with restrooms, gas and samples. A few round trips around the circuit and you have a meal. I forget which state it was, but there were a couple that had double cheeseburgers before Covid. Not so much anymore.

Oh yeah no problems with Costco gas in any vehicle since 2000.

 

They should bring that out to you along with the samples while you wait in line for gas

 

Waiting in line for gas ? Nah that’s some 3rd world problem.

that said seems like I’m the only one with the Costco issue. Oh well

 

maybe your truck is lactose intolerant to costco gas

 

Quite possibly. That's why the forum is here. Good to poll others to see if my experience is "unique" or if others have issues.

 

Honestly you can probably run 91/93 at Costco for a similar price as 87 at shell. I would do that. It'll make a bigger difference than just switching. I dont care what anyone says, the 3.5 runs better on higher octane. I still use Costco. Most of the time it's 87, but I throw in 93 when prices are lower.

 

I almost exclusively run my truck on BJ's Gas, and it does fine; I also use the non-ethanol and 88 octane gas whenever I stop at a Sheetz (I'm in PA) that actually has it. Apparently, 88 is safe run run in all gas-powered vehicles newer than 2001.

 

There are about 3 refineries left in the US these days. Pretty much all gas comes from the same place. The only difference is the cup full of additives that they put in a 80,000 gallon truck. The additives are so minutely different that there is no point in wasting your time with one brand or the other.

Top Tier is a joke. Nothing more than marketing. Don't waste your time with that nonsense either. Still the same refineries.

 

My 2.7L 2TR-FE is pretty robust whether I get Shell, BJ's, or cheap mom-and-pop gas, but this reminds me of something that happened over 20 years ago. My dad was in the Navy for 25 years, and we moved a lot. My parents bought a brand new 2000 GMC Safari conversion van before we moved from Virginia Beach to Oak Harbor, Washington specifically for driving across country. It had a TV and VCR in the back for yours truly to be entertained on long drives, and could tow 5,000 pounds, so it hauled a UHAUL containing my dad's Harley and some of our other stuff with ease.

Anyway, this happened in late 2000, not long after we moved to Washington. The van needed gas BADLY, so my dad refueled at a local no-name independent station in Oak Harbor. Not long after, the CEL came on. This was a brand new van with like 5,000 miles on it, maybe not even, with the 4.3L Vortec and 4-speed automatic. I don't remember what ended up happening, or even if my parents had to bring the van to the dealership, but either way the CEL went away and that van never gave us any mechanical problems in the four years we owned it. It had several electrical problems, the A/C had to be recharged every spring, and something had to be done to the brakes under recall...



My parents never refueled the van, the 1996 Pathfinder we also had at the time, or my dad's Harley at that gas station again! In 2020, I met a guy with a 1999ish GMC Sonoma at a gas station. We got to talking about our respective trucks, and he told me that his truck (which had the same 4.3L as our old van) wouldn't run right on anything lower than 89. My truck runs fine on everything, though it does get better gas mileage on 89-91; I experimented with 93 back when it was barely over two bucks a gallon at the heigh of the pandemic, but didn't notice a significant enough improvement to make the extra cost worth it. I run 87 now, and my truck (2.7L/auto/2WD 2nd Gen) gets about 23 MPG on the highway.

 

$1.64 (CA Tax included) for hot dog & drink is awesome too!

 

I even ran Costco regular in my 7,000 RPM SCCA car with no issue.

And my 2.7 gets whatever GasBuddy says is cheap close by.

 

Why 91 in a Tacoma?

 

Also, the aforementioned 1996 Nissan Pathfinder didn't run good on anything but 91 or higher. My dad bought that Pathfinder new in 1996 and traded it for the Tacoma that he bought for me in September 2009 when I got my learner's permit.

The owner's manual recommended 91, and most gas stations went from 89 to 93, so my parents put 93 in it. One time in the summer of 2006, my uncle borrowed the Pathfinder during a family reunion and assumed it took regular, so that's what he put in. It subsequently developed a mild knock, and at the time that Pathfinder was supposed to be my first vehicle, so I went ballistic on my uncle when I found out about this. Luckily, the knock went away.

 

Because the origins of this engine required it to run on 91+. But Toyota magically tuned it for 87.
Same goes for the 4slow of the last gen. Big debates about it on the Fj forum

 

Right now I am using my Bonus Card to get 40 cents off per gallon at Giant; BJ's still cheaper...

 

Oh I don’t want a debate. Moving on.

 

This. Also, keep in mind that it may take a few tanks of gas to see an improvement. If it's really tank to tank differences between the Costco and others for you, I would guess it might the THAT Costco, rather than Costco fuel. Maybe they have old tanks with extra debris in them. Some specific stations suck, not their fuel.

 

Gas station is less than 1 year old. First I was super happy it was here but now … eh…

truck in my eyes runs great on chevron. Not sure what else to say here other than to add my data point. I received plenty of others to the contrary.

I will try 91 at costco next. I think I tried that once

 

That, or try the chevron fuel additive. Maybe it's just spoiled with the techron. Each truck can have it's own quirks. At least that is how it is with the Tundras. Some give no f**ks and others are picky eaters.

 

Not all stations are TOP TIER.