Bell Performance, Inc.
tel 407-831-5021
1340 Bennett Drive
fax 407-331-1125
Longwood, FL 32750
www.bellperformance.net
BELL PERFORMANCE FUEL ISSUES SERIES:
COMMON PROBLEMS FACING GASOLINE USERS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Gasoline is a cleaner fuel which does not face the same storage issues that diesel fuel does.
What are the biggest problems/complaints that consumers have about their gasoline fuel?
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Recent gas mileage drops
Poor performance, rough vehicle operation or loss of power compared to the past
A forced switch to ethanol blends
Gasoline is required to be additized before point of sale, but the effective level of additization
has decreased by 50% since 1996. Many consumers may benefit from use of aftermarket fuel
treatments to negate som or all of these issues.
GASOLINE VS. DIESEL
To be clear, gasoline-related problems aren’t nearly as severe or widely reported as problems
with diesel, biodiesel or the universally-reviled ethanol blend. This could due to a number of
relevant factors.
Gasoline is a “cleaner” fuel than diesel, in the sense that gasoline, during the distillation process
at the refinery, is the lighter fuel that comes off first. Lighter means it has shorter molecules
(because shorter molecules are lighter-weight) and it boils or burns at a lower temperature than
heavier fuels like diesel. The lighter-weight gasoline’s smaller molecules burn more cleanly than
diesel and have the volatility and lower auto-ignition temperatures need to power today’s
sophisticated spark-ignition engines.
Gasoline supplies tend to be used at a faster rate than diesel, which is stored for longer period
of times and is therefore more apt to be subject to problems caused by quality breakdown in
storage, oxidation, microbial contamination and water contamination.
GASOLINE OF TODAY COMPARED TO THE PAST
But that’s not to say everything is as it should be with gasoline and the vehicles that use it.
The quality of gasoline isn’t quite what it used to be. What we mean by this is the gasolines of
today don’t burn as cleanly or provide the same level of vehicle performance as they did in the
past. Some of the performance drop has been masked by substantial improvements in engine
technology and vehicle engineering. But the quality of the fuel itself doesn’t match up to the
high-quality pure fuels of days gone by.
Why is this? The demand for petroleum fuels is greater than ever while the supply goes in the
opposite direction. More people around the world are driving and demanding more gasoline.
Bell Performance – Common Problems Facing Gasoline Users
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Bell Performance, Inc.
tel 407-831-5021
1340 Bennett Drive
fax 407-331-1125
Longwood, FL 32750
www.bellperformance.net
This fact coupled with less oil being found, pumped out of the ground and refined. It has
become more and more difficult to find new sources of petroleum around the world. At the same
time China, India and other formerly third-world countries are joining the Western World’s thirst
for petroleum, bringing with them a vast influx of more and more consumers. This means more
people trying to use a smaller supply. So refineries have to both run at bigger capacity and also
squeeze more gasoline out of every barrel of oil they process, to meet this increased demand.
Over the years, refineries have resorted to using the chemistry of cracking methods to increase
the yield of gasoline from each barrel of oil. Recall that refineries process the components of
crude oil by using distillation processes – heating the crude oil up and splitting off the different
fractions like gasoline, diesel and propane by allowing them to cool and run off at different
temperatures. By normal distillation methods, a 42-gallon barrel of oil will yield 15-18 gallons of
gasoline. But refineries have learned that they can increase this yield (and increase their profits)
y chemically splitting heavier, non-gasoline part of what’s left behind. Larger molecules that
would normally be part of heavier diesel and fuel oil get split apart into the size molecules found
in gasoline. And this means more gasoline from each barrel and more profit for the refinery,
which needs every penny it can get in today’s tough business climate.
Unfortunately when you “crack” gasoline, you might end up with molecules like gasoline
molecules, but these molecules have open spots which make them more likely to be susceptible
to attracting impurities (like oxygen or heavy metals) and to breaking down more quickly. In
chemical cracking, you create unstable molecules in the fuel blend (remember that gasoline is
actually a mixture of different length hydrocarbon molecules). These unstable molecules not
only don’t burn as well but also make it easier for the gasoline to pick up undesirable things in
storage (like oxygen) which cause it to have a shorter storage life.
HIGHER COST FOR LOWER QUALITY
It’s bad enough that the gasoline today doesn’t match up to what it used to be. But drivers gripe
the most about the price they see at the pump. For some reason, gas prices seem to hit a
nerve for drivers, who will complain vehemently about a jump of 10 or 20 cents per gallon, but
don’t seem to mind paying $3.00 for an ATM fee to withdraw cash from a bank.
Why is this? Hard to tell. All we know is drivers want maximum quality and performance for the
least money. This is true whether the driver has a heavy tank-like SUV or a lightweight
economy car designed to meet federal CAFÉ standards for fuel mileage.
THE EFFECTS OF POORER QUALITY GASOLINE FUELS
The gasolines of today don’t burn as completely or as well as before. The effects on the
consumer are poor mileage and performance and a greater chance of combustion chamber and
injector/valve deposits. Deposits in these areas cause the engine not to perform as well as it
did when it was in newer conditions. Combustion chamber deposits contribute to poor vehicle
perform and raised emissions. Deposits in the injectors and valves cut the vehicle’s fuel
mileage, make it sluggish and also raise the emissions.
Bell Performance – Common Problems Facing Gasoline Users
Page 2 of 4
Bell Performance, Inc.
tel 407-831-5021
1340 Bennett Drive
fax 407-331-1125
Longwood, FL 32750
www.bellperformance.net
FEDERAL ADDITIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR GASOLINE: NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE
For the last couple of decades, the Federal government has required that all gasolines contain
certain additives to help control formation of some of these kind of deposits. In theory, this is a
great idea and has really contributed to cutting down on harmful emissions in the environment:
deposits = incomplete combustion = unburned gas and particulates exiting the exhaust. Most of
this is caught by the catalytic convertor (another government-required innovation which has
helped the environment). But this incomplete combustion robs the vehicle of optimal
performance.
What of this federal deposit control requirement? Yearly surveys of gasoline quality and
specification show that the levels of deposit control in practice (as opposed to what’s claimed to
be added at the refinery) have been declining steadily since about 1996 (shortly after the
Federal requirement went into effect). This means the gasolines now make more deposits than
they did 15 years ago, despite the Federal requirement. And that’s not a good thing for your
vehicle or your wallet.
WHAT’S A DRIVER TO DO?
The perception of poor performance and mileage has created a rather large market for “aftermarket” gasoline additives. Some of them are better than others; the great majority of them are
“less than satisfactory”, to be diplomatic. Unfortunately this creates doubt in the consumers’
mind – if they’re going to spend hard-earned money on a fuel treatment, it better meet
expectations. Especially when those expectations are raised by slick marketing and promises
of guaranteed results that seem too good to be true. When the benefits don’t material, drivers
resign themselves to believing all fuel treatments don’t work.
Unfortunately consumer expectations have been inflated by short-lived “snake oil salesmen” in
the marketplace. They bring a product to market backed with extravagant claims that are too
good to be true. Rarely are these products registered with the EPA – a legal requirement
supposed to be fulfilled by anyone selling an old-road additive product. Guaranteed 35%
mileage increase or more? Yeah, right. By the time enough consumers complain about the
worthless product, the crook is gone with cash in hand. The typical life for a company like this
peddling its own version of worthless engine water may only be a couple of years.
Why doesn’t the government do anything about it? This kind of situation falls under the
auspices of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the FTC doesn’t really have the
resources to catch everyone in the short time it takes for them to get in and out of the
marketplace with a few million dollars of ill-gotten gains. So the crooks get off scot-free, most of
the time, and the consumer suffers for it. It is notable that a number of well-known companies,
like STP, have faced FTC lawsuits for untrue product claims and have had to settle for
substantial sums of money.
We can’t tell you what to buy and use in your vehicle. But you will have the greatest chance for
a satisfactory treatment experience if you follow some of these guidelines:
Bell Performance – Common Problems Facing Gasoline Users
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Bell Performance, Inc.
tel 407-831-5021
1340 Bennett Drive
fax 407-331-1125
Longwood, FL 32750
www.bellperformance.net
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Look for additives with proven track records
Multi-functional additives with detergency
Be wary of extravagant claims and hokey concepts
Steer clear of any additive that claims to be able to make the car perform significantly
better than it’s designed specifications
Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Nobody can guarantee you a 35% or
45% increase in your fuel mileage, because everyone drives differently. Reputable products
that actually work tend to be more conservative in their claims, because those are the claims
that will stand the test of time.
Bell Performance – Common Problems Facing Gasoline Users
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