"Cost" of Octane... ???

[JoshuaTree]

Has anyone else noticed that the price difference between "regular" (87 Octane) and "premium" (93 Octane) has been steadily growing? Before the oil price shock, the delta was about $0.20-0.22/gal. Now its up to $0.34/gal and seems to be rising. As most of the current 'non-econobox' cars (and trucks?) take premium, I think something smells, and its not Limburger cheese...

[Lamnidae]

f'k the cost of gasoline fuel, WTF went on with the cost of diesel fuel... Hmmmm?

[Avatard]

I personally find it hilarious, and so indicative of people's ability to believe hype that so many people put higher octane fuel in their car than it actually requires, thinking they are doing some "good" by using "more expensive" gas, when in fact lower octane gas actually offers more power and BTUs...unless your car has the cylinder pressure or spark advance requirements to actually make use of premium.

...And yeah, what's up with diesel?

Used to be less than gasoline.

[Lamnidae]

Originally Posted by Avatard

...And yeah, what's up with diesel?

Used to be less than gasoline.

yes it was traditionally less than gasoline..... Until summer last year, then it became more expensive than regular gasoline. I'm thiinking it could be due to the ammount of gasoline being used, with supply and demand, the cost of diesel just finally increased.

Most I paid was 4.85$/gal for diesel when I had that Cummins 6.7L (miss the truck, but not the engine). That was painful when you've got a 36GAL tank. But man would she roll, could get 600+ miles out of a tank w/ ease.

[Cutty72]

still about a dime diff here between them. But I don't look at the price of premium now, cause there is a lot of snow on the ground...

[Papa_Complex]

It used to be a difference of about $0.05 per L here between regular and mid-greade, and mid-grade and super. Now it's more like $0.09.

[Gas Man]

Originally Posted by Avatard

I personally find it hilarious, and so indicative of people's ability to believe hype that so many people put higher octane fuel in their car than it actually requires, thinking they are doing some "good" by using "more expensive" gas, when in fact lower octane gas actually offers more power and BTUs...unless your car has the cylinder pressure or spark advance requirements to actually make use of premium.

...And yeah, what's up with diesel?

Used to be less than gasoline.

Allot of the increase in diesel fuel is related to the change from low sulfer diesel to ultra low sulfer diesel.

[Lamnidae]

Originally Posted by Gas Man

Allot of the increase in diesel fuel is related to the change from low sulfer diesel to ultra low sulfer diesel.

Ah. TY GM, now *THAT* makes sense.

[shmike]

Originally Posted by JoshuaTree

Has anyone else noticed that the price difference between "regular" (87 Octane) and "premium" (93 Octane) has been steadily growing? Before the oil price shock, the delta was about $0.20-0.22/gal. Now its up to $0.34/gal and seems to be rising. As most of the current 'non-econobox' cars (and trucks?) take premium, I think something smells, and its not Limburger cheese...

Definitely noticed.

It used to be about $.10/gallon delta for each grade. Like you said, I've seen it in the $.30's now.

My truck calls for 89. I used it religiously when new.

During the race season when gas was $4/ gallon and I was getting about 7mpg while towing, I down graded to 87.

Seeing no noticeable difference, I never switched back.

[101lifts2]

Originally Posted by Avatard

I personally find it hilarious, and so indicative of people's ability to believe hype that so many people put higher octane fuel in their car than it actually requires, thinking they are doing some "good" by using "more expensive" gas, when in fact lower octane gas actually offers more power and BTUs...unless your car has the cylinder pressure or spark advance requirements to actually make use of premium.

...And yeah, what's up with diesel?

Used to be less than gasoline.

Higher octane has more energy content, but lower octane is easier to ignite and burns a tad faster.

When gas prices are low, using higher octane doesn't make any sense.