Regular or Premium gas?

[moonraker]

Well, I feel lucky - here in Russia we can still buy 80 octane. Not at every gas station but not difficult to find.

[oldandtired]

I travel a lot both on local trips of 60-70 miles round trip to trips of between 6000 and 11000 miles. The fuel they sell in the small town where I live does not seem to be of the same quality as what I purchase even 30 to 50 miles away. Using the same octane fuel,87-octane, driving the same relatively local roads, just buying the gasoline elsewhere results in a 3-4 mpg difference. Different required blends for different states or geographical areas are not the reason and there are no altitude differences or the like.I would love for the State to test the local gasoline, but they only inspect the pumps for output. Our fuel is also more expensive than the gasoline in larger cities nearby, but that is a different issue, but it sure seems like I pay more for poorer quality fuel.
The differences around the country using the same vehicle, buying whatever the lowest grade regular is (typically 85-87 octane) are startling. At the same speed, 70mph, I get around 23mpg locally using the local fuel. On the 6900 mile trip I took this Summer, the vehicle averaged over 27 mpg for the trip and now is back to around 23mpg at 70mph.

[keith oh]

Here in central Ohio, at the interstate stations, 87 oct. is less than $2 today.

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by keith oh

Here in central Ohio, at the interstate stations, 87 oct. is less than $2 today.

$3.20 here

[russcc]

You all may remember Bod Dole, senator from Kansas, in the corn belt. When Bob was confronted with the fact that ethanol was no good for anything, he agreed, but said "we have to take care of the farmers". Based on political BS vs sound science.

[Ross F-1]

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Originally Posted by Old Henry

...
Not only can our old cars with stock engines run as well on the lowest octane available as on any higher octane, the higher you drive in elevation, the even lower octane you can burn. ....

Not like there's a choice; as soon as you get above about 3,000 ft, the gas companies reduce the octane for you! Around here (5300+) I haven't seen 91 octane in 30 years, even before ethanol. Regular is 85.

On a trip thru Iowa earlier this year, I gassed up at many places that had three pumps; Regular, Super, and Premium. The Regular and Super had the exact same octane ratings, but the Super cost 30 cents/gal more. Most places couldn't tell me what the difference in the gas was, but I finally found a gearhead who told me the Super had no ethanol.

[sidevalve8ba]

On a trip to Colorado this summer I encountered 85 octane regular for the first time, mid-grade was 87 octane. I was in my late model DD and being curious I dug out the owners manual. It said in no uncertain terms to NOT use any gas less than 87 octane even though lower octane might be encountered at higher altitudes. This car is a Ford product.

Here in Virginia regular is 87 octane, mid-grade is 89 and premium is 93 octane for what that is worth.

[Old Henry]

Octane facts and myths: http://mn.gov/commerce/weights-and-m...ctaneFacts.pdf

From Popular Mechanics here: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...a5308/4345737/

Q: I live in Arizona and use 87-octane regular. In Utah, Idaho and Nevada, stations were selling 85-octane as regular gas. This forced me to pay more for midgrade 87-octane. Is this the latest petroleum-industry scam to get more of our money? Will my car run okay on this bogus 85-octane regular?

A: Octane is the ability of a fuel to resist knock, and high-compression engines tend to knock more. The obverse of that is that lower-compression engines can run on lower-octane gas. Air is thinner the higher above sea level you go. Less air going into the cylinders means less pressure at top dead center when things go bang. It's a lot like lowering the compression ratio in the engine, reducing the need for high octane. Cars will run just fine on lower-octane fuel when they're well above sea level--and all of those states are. Hopefully, by the time you get back down to denser air, you've burned off most of the low-octane stuff, and can refill the tank with higher-grade fuel.

[Dodge]

I am going at this from the Model T side of things. I used 87 octane for years with no
problems, then when they started putting alcohol in the gas it would start on one crank
from dead cold. But when you stopped and the engine heat soaked it would not start
unless you dumped ice water on the intake manifold. This is a hand crank car.
I called BP who owns ARCO (the gas I was using) and told him my problem.
He told me the older cars need to crank a little longer on the new gas when warm.
I told him I was the cranker and getting tired of it.
He suggested going to mid range 89 octane and I have't had the problem since.
So something is going on.
Dodge

[Karl]

In New Zealand you get two choices regular which is 91 and Premuim which is 96 to 98 depending on where you buy it. I know I get better milage in my modern with Premuim but as it costs more I'm not sure its cost effective to use . Gas is expensive here 1 litre of regular 91 is about NZ $2 which equates to NZ $9 per US Gallon or US$5.68 per gallon at todays exchange rate .Karl

[Mart]

I think the numbering used in NZ may be the same as in the UK. We have 95 as regular and 98 as premium. But the system is not the same as the numbering in the USA. The fuels are roughly equivalent, but our numbering comes out higher.

Mart.