Hey folks,

I think I may have mad some small mistakes this winter. I had my 8 on the road until the first snowfall (sometime mid Jan.) and then never took it out again. However to keep things moving, since I didn't properly store it, I have driven it around late at night in the underground parking lot (every 2-3 weeks since Jan.) for a good 20 minutes or so to get the operating temps up and avoid any chance of flooding. By the time I parked it the fans were usually running even after I shut the car down. I still have about a 1/4 tank of fuel in the car now. My question is that since the gas is still from Jan. is it still good? The last few times I drove it around I've kept the revs under 3k just in case. I didn't want to rev the crap out of it in case the fuel was bad. Should I syphon out the remaining fuel and fill up with new stuff? Or should I just limp it to the gas station and top it up with fresh 94 (the last fill up in Jan. was 94)? The other mistakes I made were not topping up the tank while having sit for that long (hopefully corrected by driving it around every few weeks), and not putting in any fuel stabilizer. BTW, if I were to syphon out the old stuff, does anyone know where in the GTA I could get rid of it? I've tried looking on the ON.GOV.CA website but haven't found any definite waste disposal sites for fuel.

sorry for the long post, any feedback and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm hoping to get the car back on the road by the coming weekend.

Thanks!!!

 

My knowledge on this subject is limited to its chemistry. If gasoline sits it evaporates. It's most potent molecular components evaporate first. A common term for old gasoline is "stale gas."

In your case, I don't think it has sat for anywhere near long enough to have any problems, especially since you periodically drove your car inside during the winter. If I were you I would just drive to the gas station and fill it up, to dilute and mix it with "fresh" gas. I don't see there being any problems.

 

I parked my car for three winters. The first two winters I filled up the tank as directed by the Stabil instructions. However I parked it last year without any Stabil with only a half of a tank and had no problems in the spring and had no problems, actually I did end up filling the tank up on the first run. I agree with Illmatic, I don't think that the gas sat long enough (your case and mine) to strat breaking down. Especially in your case where you still ran it periodically.

 

Galaxy_8,

Gas is good for about 4-5 months. I've always put the car away near the end of November and never start it till end of March, begining of April.
Car starts fine all the time.
Only thing I try to do is waste the fuel as quickly as possible without revving the crap out of the engine.
The 2nd fill up I end up giving it a bit of boost...

You'll be fine with the fuel you have now... no worries....

 

Thanks for the quick feedback guys!! I guess I'll just fill it up (gas station is only 6-7 kms away) and go from there. This will definitely reduce the PITA of having to syphon it out and dispose of it somewhere. This week's supposed to nice all week long... maybe I'll take her out for a little spin!!

Thanks again for the quick feedback....I may have been getting a little paranoid!

 

It will also reduce the chances of you getting a good gas buzz going on by huffing it too.