By David Eidell (06/08)
Mexico's petroleum industry is wholly government owned. Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX for short) manufactures, distributes and sells gasoline, in a state owned monopoly. PEMEX gasoline stations are common. They are franchise operations, with the franchisee providing the land the electricity and the manpower to operate the station. Some of the newest PEMEX super stations in central Mexico, have integral mini-marts, car wash, and lube and oil changing facilities. Two grades of unleaded gasoline and two grades of diesel are sold in Mexico:
NOVA
Nova has been eliminated altogether and now Magna-Sin unleaded is Mexico's regular-grade gasoline.
MAGNA SIN
This 88 octane unleaded fuel is sold from a bright green pump, and is Mexico's most popular unleaded gasoline. It's octane level is somewhere around 88 and is far superior to the silver pump "Extra" which it replaced in 1990. Most vehicles will run acceptably on "Magna" (as it's popularly called in Mexico). However, some very heavily laden motor homes and tow vehicles can find themselves in a position where Magna Sin, is just "border-line" in preventing knocking and pinging. These vehicles will have to have their ignition timing adjusted to prevent engine damage, or use the more costly 92 octane Premium gasoline.
PREMIUM
Mexico's newest gasoline, is also it's best effort to date. Premium gasoline is found all over Mexico now. Only very rural tiny gasolineras will be minus this grade of gasoline. Premium has an octane rating that's equivalent to name brand US premium gasoline. All of Mexico's premium grade gasoline is refined in a Texas refinery. Premium, does not seem to contain the Additive "MTBE" found in California fuels, and has successfully powered many turbocharged sporty import cars. Because it is a USA product Premium fuel is touted as being "UBA" or Ultra-Bajo-Azufre (ultra-low sulfur)
MEXICAN DIESEL
Mexican diesel fuel used to be so cheap that big freight trucks could haul their load from the border with Guatemala to the US border for under a hundred dollars. Even through the cost has multiplied to just over two-dollars per gallon in 2008, diesel fuel continues to be a bargain, at about 55% of the cost of diesel fuel sold in the USA.
ULTRA LOW SULFUR DIESEL
The states bordering the boundary with the USA have switched over to American refined ultra-low-sulfur-diesel exclusively. Outside of the border states only Mexican low-sulfur diesel can be found. Because of the complexity in getting rid of sulfur after it has been extracted from motor fuel, it is not expected that Pemex is going to expand the area of ultra-low-diesel for the next several years. If and when ultra-low-sulfur is displayed on Pemex signs it will have an annotation of "UBA".
CURIOUS ABOUT PRICES?
As of May 2008, the price of regular gasoline seems to be around two dollars forty cents a gallon, and premium fuel two dollars ninety cents a gallon. Diesel is somewhere around two dollars ten cents a gallon (the vagueness here is mandated by a revaluing but fluctuating peso with relation to the US Dollar)
RVers who wish to utilize Mexican diesel fuel, should prepare for possible dirty fuel (this is a very rare occurrence) by installing a pre-filter ahead of the factory installed fuel filter. Fuel/water separators, such as the "Raycor" brand, are very popular in Mexico, and protect fuel pumps and injectors against water and particulate contamination damage.
You may find vendors of auxiliary filters quite easily by referring to your telephone book yellow pages under "Filters, Warehouse". These specialty businesses provide truckers and farmers with filter elements, housings, hose, and other related parts.
Many seasoned travelers to Mexico, have found that protecting their gasoline powered RV, with a large gasoline pre-filter, makes perfect sense. Spin on filters, designed for diesel engines, work perfectly well with gasoline. Reducing the fitting size to the correct diameter will allow original fuel line hose to be retained. Generally, these very large filters (about double the size of a car oil filter) are installed in the fuel pump suction line, between the tank and the engine fuel pump. The location allows the filter to protect the fuel pump as well. This idea works every bit as good on diesel or gasoline engines. Don't worry about the filter restricting flow to the fuel pump. The area of the large filter allows for fuel flows that are indistinguishable from an unfiltered line. A good filter model is one that is referred to as a "Primary Filter" for a Detroit Diesel engine. The filter house personnel can provide a filter mounting base that is compatible with the spin on element.