Okay I have heard for years that Mexican gasoline is bad for your vehicle. I know people that live in TJ and commute to SD for work and they fill
their cars with American gasoline because the Mexican gas is not good for vehicles according to them. Is this true?
If the gas is not good for the vehicle, does anyone have a suggestion on what to do for your vehicle after burning Mexican gasoline? My friend
replaces his fuel filter every few years post trip.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated.Ateo - 1-24-2014 at 08:46 AM
It's fine. Never had any problems.bajalearner - 1-24-2014 at 08:50 AM
I don't know but I used PEMEX gas for about a year until I started back buying US gas because of the rumors of problems with PEMEX. I did not have
any problems with the PEMEX gas.
It appears the cars belonging to MX citizens run for many years on PEMEX. I don't see cars broken down all over the place. Many of the broken down
cars I see appear to have many other problems going on.
I heard recently that PEMEX gas is more expensive than US gas at present. I find that hard to believe.Sandlefoot - 1-24-2014 at 08:50 AM
From what I understand the big difference between US gas and Mexican gas is that Mexican gas does not have alcohol, so you get better fuel mileage!!!
I do get better mileage down here than I do in the states. But the driving conditions are substantially different. I have a little over 40,000 miles
driving in Mexico and never had a fuel related problem.
Happy Trails
Mexican gas is more expensive than gas in a lot of the US. It is 12.32 Peso's a liter which converts to about $3.45 at today's exchange rate of
13.5242.
[Edited on 1-24-2014 by Sandlefoot]Russ - 1-24-2014 at 08:56 AM
I use to always have a spare fuel filter but haven't needed one for over 10 years so I think Pemex is good.David K - 1-24-2014 at 09:04 AM
Pemex is not only good, but it is better than what California forces us to use. No ethanol diluting Pemex gas, so instantly better mileage and better
for the car, the economy, world food needs, and the ecology of our planet!bonanza bucko - 1-24-2014 at 09:05 AM
Pemex has no ethanol in it and it, therefore, gives you better mileage. In my F150 that is about a 15% increase from an average of 13.6 in California
to about 15.5 in Baja. I am a numbers freak so I keep records of gallons in against miles driven and my 4X4 F-150 gets that lousy 13.6 MPG on average
up here over the last 105,000 miles. BTW the Ford digital readout of mileage in the instrument panel is a damned lie....inflates the mileage about
20%. The window sticker on my F150 said it would get 18 MPG on the highway and 14 around town...doesn't. Ford told me that the difference was due to
the fact that my truck is a 4X4 and the gummint imposed the sticker mileage figures after "testing" and the same number was used for 4X4s and 4X2s.
BTW, here's how to tell if there is ethanol in your gas: steal a glass cup measure from your wife and put a half cup of gas in it. Then add two
ounces of water and shake the cup. The gas is lighter and it will be on the top of the cup and the water will be on the bottom.....2 ounces of water
just as you added it.
BTW, the price of corn in the midwest went down to $4.40/bushel from $6+ per bushel last December when the &*^%#%^ gummint announced that they
would not require an increase in the ethanol in gas from 10% to 15% next year. That was good for us because Detroit pointed out that the increase
would harm most autos.
BBJ.P. - 1-24-2014 at 09:07 AM
I have lived in Ensenada for over 10 years and burn nothing but Pemex in all 3 of my vehicles. They all have fuel injection and I have never had a
fuel related Problem.
Belive it or not Gasoline in some places in San Diego is a few cents cheaper than here.
I never use any kind of additive in in my fuel,most of that crap is made to sell and is of little or no benefit to your vehicleBajaNomad - 1-24-2014 at 09:23 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by AustA
Okay I have heard for years that Mexican gasoline is bad for your vehicle. I know people that live in TJ and commute to SD for work and they fill
their cars with American gasoline because the Mexican gas is not good for vehicles according to them. Is this true?
It's a "night and day" difference with the Pemex gasoline that's produced for consumers today in comparison to the Pemex gasoline of 25-30 years ago.
But moreso with the product quality. I perceive it's only slightly better today in the handling of the product through the supply chain.
As far as the quality is concerned with the gasoline (I can't speak for Diesel) available today from Pemex, it is perhaps better for vehicles than the
gasoline available in California (USA). It may not be better for the groundwater, but it runs better in the vehicle. This has to do with the use of
MTBE.
The handling of gasoline in the supply chain is another story entirely. From a consumer standpoint, there are - rightly so - sometimes concerns about
certain stations. Pemex, I believe, has improved standards and inspections, but I believe there are still some opportunities for vendors - who are
less concerned about the quality of the product - to take advantage of their customers.
As of around January 1, the price of Pemex gasoline - at least in Baja - became a little more expensive than that in California, USA.durrelllrobert - 1-24-2014 at 09:39 AM
Mexico exports crude oil(via tanker boats, pipelines and trucks) to the PEMEX-Shell joint venture refinery at Deer Park Texas.
We have down this road here before !! the mex gas is better for motors than the gas with ethanol from ca...simple,,simple...20 something years ago was
anther story !!55steve - 1-24-2014 at 09:50 AM
The shelf life of Mex gasoline typically is much longer than the Ca. fuel - I've found the Ca. fuel goes bad in about 2.5 months whereas the Mex fuel
has been usable for at least 6 months+. This is in my boats.
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Pemex is not only good, but it is better than what California forces us to use. No ethanol diluting Pemex gas, so instantly better mileage and better
for the car, the economy, world food needs, and the ecology of our planet!
Udo - 1-24-2014 at 09:50 AM
Take a close look at what Bob Durrell said and his source.
Many of us have know this fact for several years.mtgoat666 - 1-24-2014 at 10:01 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Pemex is not only good, but it is better than what California forces us to use. ...better for the... ecology of our planet!
a bit short-sighted to focus on personal vehicle mpg.
the gasoline in socal has additives that improve our air quality. do you remember the 1960s and 1970s air quality in socal? i think emissions
controls and gasoline formulations (and other pollution control efforts) have vastly improved socal air quality from the 1960s and 1970s when air
quality was horrendous.
when you have so many millions of people living in socal, air pollution control efforts are necessary to maintain air quality.
look at the results: air quality has greatly improved in past 40 years at same time the population has risen. nothing is perfect, but the clean air
act and california air quality control efforts have achieved a great success.dasubergeek - 1-24-2014 at 10:59 AM
We're wandering from the point. The gas in Baja is fine, especially Baja Norte, where it comes from the U.S. anyway. I have filled tanks on multiple
vehicles many, many, many times and have never noticed any abnormal dirtying of the fuel filter or any such nonsense.
If you fill up in Baja, know that certain stations are well known for shorting the litres and playing games with the change. (The old "don't reset the
meter to zero" trick doesn't work anymore, because all the new pumps automatically reset when the pump is taken off the cradle.)
If you get excellent service it's usual to tip a small amount, usually by ordering 480 pesos of gas and handing over 500 pesos or something like that.Martyman - 1-24-2014 at 11:05 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by mtgoat666
Quote:
a bit short-sighted to focus on personal vehicle mpg.
the gasoline in socal has additives that improve our air quality. do you remember the 1960s and 1970s air quality in socal? i think emissions
controls and gasoline formulations (and other pollution control efforts) have vastly improved socal air quality from the 1960s and 1970s when air
quality was horrendous.
when you have so many millions of people living in socal, air pollution control efforts are necessary to maintain air quality.
look at the results: air quality has greatly improved in past 40 years at same time the population has risen. nothing is perfect, but the clean air
act and california air quality control efforts have achieved a great success.
Bravo-Yes I do remember. Growing up in Alhambra I thought wheezing was a normal childhood experience
oxxo - 1-24-2014 at 11:05 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by mtgoat666
a bit short-sighted to focus on personal vehicle mpg.
Agreed, Mexican fuel may be better for your engine (that is subject to debate) and your finances, but California fuel is definitely better for the
environment and your health.
[Edited on 1-24-2014 by oxxo]BajaNomad - 1-24-2014 at 12:09 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by lencho
Quote:
Originally posted by mtgoat666
a bit short-sighted to focus on personal vehicle mpg.
the gasoline in socal has additives that improve our air quality.
Probably true, but in the global view, the requirement to include corn ethanol in gasoline, has a number of side effects.
As noted, Pemex uses MTBE - which is an Oxygenate - and is semi-indicative of Pemex taking similar actions intending to aid clean air quality.
If they're not smog-checking the vehicles, though, well...
And MTBE as well, has it's own environmental issues - perhaps even worse than Ethanol. Who knows?
[Edited on 1-24-2014 by BajaNomad]DavidE - 1-24-2014 at 12:13 PM
Kudos dasubergeek your answer by far is the most accurate. 13.82 Magna, 13.88 Diesel, and 14.05 Premium may be cheap to you but it is playing hell
with the family income and transportation prices down here. Yeah. Cheap Two hundred dollars for a ONE WAY bus ticket from Cabo San Locos to the
border.
Baja California fuel is USA made, every last gosh darnned drop of it.
Baja California SUR fuel comes across in barges to Pichilingue. A tiny bit of the MAGNA may be a mix of USA fuel. All of the diesel is made in Mexico
and all of the UBA premium is made in the USA.David K - 1-24-2014 at 03:12 PM
Burning MORE gas than less is NOT better. Ethanol (corn) is causing you to combust MORE fuel for less results with harmful effects... all is not good
for the environment.
A lot of other actions have taken place since the 1960's to lower pollution, and ethanol wasn't one of them. Have you forgotten all gas had lead in it
before the 1970's (except Coleman white gas ... white gas is uncolored and unleaded). Getting more miles per gallon/ burning less gas is a big help.
Ethanol is a filler and provides government bucks (our taxed money) to farms instead of farms growing food and grain.
