i can’t be the only one who runs regular in a GT right?

[331GT]

My biennial trip to an American fuel station always confuse me a little, it normally follows these steps :

• Pull up at pump, wonder what grade I should be putting in the hire car.
• Decide on the cheapest grade (it's a hire car), start the faff with the credit card.
• After a few mins, suddenly remember that the pumps don't like my UK cards and the process stalls when it asks me for my zip.
• Remove card, go inside to pre pay.
• Marvel at the selection of pills and little bottles at the cashiers desk that guarantee to keep me (and it) up all night, think about picking something, then chicken out.
• Wildly overestimate the amount of fuel I want to prepay and triple check with the cashier that I wont be charged for it if I don't use it all.
• Fiddle with the flip up leaver thing and get a bit frustrated with it, like a spotty teenager who cant drop his zip quick enough for his first BJ.
• Now I get to look cool for a few mins, leaning against the car pretending I know what I'm doing.
• That quickly changes to confusion when the pump shuts off and its about a quarter of the cost of doing it in the UK.
• Drive off, silently worrying about how much they will charge my credit card.
• Reassure the misses and kids that it was easy and all went to plan.

WD

hahahahaha. this is good.


and i cannot remember the last time i saw a pump with one of those levers you have to flip up to actually start pumping. good riddance though.

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[WD Pro]

Your post cracked me up! But I wanted to mention that it took me a minute to understand what you meant by "hire car." Here we only use the word "hire" to refer to a person or company who provides a service. A car or other inanimate object can't be "hired," in America, it is rented, borrowed, or loaned (but yes I figured it out, just a funny thing about language differences)

-Z

Yes - tourist 'rental' car

hahahahaha. this is good.


and i cannot remember the last time i saw a pump with one of those levers you have to flip up to actually start pumping. good riddance though.

I had actually forgotten about that secondary lever, I was referring to the one that holds the pump handle on so it flows without having to squeeze the handle (we have to stand there squeezing them in the UK)

WD

 

[jwt]

Your post cracked me up! But I wanted to mention that it took me a minute to understand what you meant by "hire car." Here we only use the word "hire" to refer to a person or company who provides a service. A car or other inanimate object can't be "hired," in America, it is rented, borrowed, or loaned (but yes I figured it out, just a funny thing about language differences)

-Z

Now ask about ground floor versus first floor

 

[jwt]

Or if your in California and no matter what you do the bloody pump wont dispense so you assume the pump is broken and try another one and keep doing that until the cashier shouts over the tannoy you need to ensure the rubber vapor cover is fully engaged. The what now? Look down at pump handle and realize that the rubber boot around the nozzle is meant to cover the gas cap and when fully compressed releases the gas.

 

[ZeroTX]

Or if your in California and no matter what you do the bloody pump wont dispense so you assume the pump is broken and try another one and keep doing that until the cashier shouts over the tannoy you need to ensure the rubber vapor cover is fully engaged. The what now? Look down at pump handle and realize that the rubber boot around the nozzle is meant to cover the gas cap and when fully compressed releases the gas.

They tried that at a few places in Texas (what a pain in the REAR) and eventually they were all removed, because they're a pain in the ass. California sucks. Don't California my Texas.

 

[velocityblue5.0]

Or if your in California and no matter what you do the bloody pump wont dispense so you assume the pump is broken and try another one and keep doing that until the cashier shouts over the tannoy you need to ensure the rubber vapor cover is fully engaged. The what now? Look down at pump handle and realize that the rubber boot around the nozzle is meant to cover the gas cap and when fully compressed releases the gas.

in NJ, stage 2 vapor recovery had to be decommissioned by some point in 2019…..i had to get our municipal fuel station completely decommissioned to go to regular nozzles/hoses now (much like diesel) and it’s so much better. the vapor recovery ones constantly would crap out and just stop pumping…guess NJ realized how stupid it was and didn’t do anything, so to comply with DEP regs now, you have to get rid of them lol

 

[illadvised]

I've done most of my adult driving in California, but also a lot in FL. Are the pumps really that bad for all of you, or do gas companies just have shitty pumps in other states? Or are your cars broken?

Is everyone in Texas used to sticking only the tip in, or holding the pump from 2 feet back like watering plants? The vapor recovery things on all these pumps here work fine. It's a weird thing to complain about since you just shove it in and squeeze the handle like any other pump, the only difference is you don't get that nice gasoline smell.

I get gas like twice a week and they always work fine and I've never heard of one breaking or stopping. Maybe we are all just used to them here, but I've never heard of anyone complaining either. I've literally never heard anyone mention it before lol. Even my visiting grandparents had no problems with their shitty old work truck.

 

[sk47]

I don't understand paying near 50k and over for a car and trying to save 6 dollars a tank dumping 87 in it. It makes no sense at all.

Hello; There are at least two reasons. One is many of us pay over 100 grand for a house but we will turn off the lights in rooms we are not using.
The other is why pay for something you do not need? If a car or truck needs the higher octane, then it makes sense.

 

[Mike Pfeifer]

One of the worst things that ever happened was the fuel companies got away with labeling the different octane ratings as though they were equivalent to quality. With words like Premium and Regular. Maybe it had some reason at one time, but not really any more.

 

[WildHorse]

Interestingly, our Euro cars specify a minimum of 95 (RON) :

Our N.American cars also say max 15% Ethanol.

 

[T.O.Bullitt]

I don't understand paying near 50k and over for a car and trying to save 6 dollars a tank dumping 87 in it. It makes no sense at all.

Sure it does, ‘cause you’re paying more for an increase in performance that is barely detectable:
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a28565486/honda-cr-v-vs-bmw-m5-ford-f-150-dodge-charger/

 

[WildHorse]

Sure it does, ‘cause you’re paying more for an increase in performance that is barely detectable:

Really eh ? Fill 'er up with 87 and have at her at the track, then report back.

 

[sk47]

Really eh ? Fill 'er up with 87 and have at her at the track, then report back.

Hello; Track driving = OK for higher octane. Street driving = not needed and not really any place to use the extra power.

 

[velocityblue5.0]

hey gents….(and lady)…i was feelin frisky today, and i put in 89

 

[T.O.Bullitt]

Really eh ? Fill 'er up with 87 and have at her at the track, then report back.

What does that have to do with 99 % of the driving most people do, whether they own an M5 or a CR-V?

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