on 10/2/02 2:04 PM, Gordy Jones at westyutah@YAHOO.COM wrote:

> I have been told that Texaco and Chevron high octane are the best options for
> gas for older VWs. Are there any brands to for sure stay away from? and what
> about conoco or amoco? thanks

The Vanagons (all flavors except desiels) are designed for regular gas. High
octane doesn't really do anything for (or against) them. The Vanagon engines
do not have the modern management system that some later VW engines had (VR6
for instance) that could take advantage of higher octane, but still use
regular.

But to the more general question of what are the best brands...I think I'm
safe in saying that the "best brand" of gasoline can vary depending on
locale. In most major US metropolitan areas, any of the major brands seem
pretty indistingushable to me. In general, if you don't get gas within a few
hours of the gas station tanks getting a delivery, you probably aren't
likely to see much difference. Delivery tends to cause a mixing of
fluids...including water, which you really don't want to pay for. Once the
tank has had a chance to settle the water separates from the gas, and you
get clean gas.