For as long as I can remember, the difference between all octanes was always 10 cents. Here in North Jersey, where the difference between 87 and 89 octane is still usually 10 cents, some stations, notably off-brand, have begun charging 20 cents more for 93 than for 89.

Is this just upscale marketing? Or is there some practical reason for this?

 

I noticed the difference last summer when we were once again experiencing "record high" gas prices. the difference for a lot of stations around here seems to be 15 to 20 cents too. It's probably just another way our oil friends can gouge us.

 

 

I'm just glad the gas tank is only 13.2 gallons...

 

I think some of this is marketing- they can charge a lower price for regular if they get more for their premium. I bet all stations don't have the same differential, so it is not because the oil companies are charging more, just the individual dealer/station.

 

Slightly off the subject... I'm ordering my PW/B MCS tomorrow (yea!!!) and already arguing with my hubby who says we should run regular gas with an additive to bring the octane to up around 100. He claims the supercharged engine will like the extra octane. Me, I really don't want to be pushing my luck. Anyone?

 

$2.99 this past Tuesday for 93 in Closter, NJ (Bergen County). SAME price for the 89 octane. I was bummed because I paid $3.09 at another station (which is usually the cheaper of the two).
13.2 gallons is much better than 30. :-)

 

In the UK the lowest Octane is 95 which is currently around 92-99p /litre, the higher Octane either 98/99 RON is at least £1.06 /litre

 

That's basically what it is in Colorado. 10 Cent difference between all grades.
Right now, $2.76/$2.86/$2.96 is the cheapest I can find (Shell,7-eleven). Some area's are at $3.03 for 91 octane.

Check out the listing of national prices by county on this map:

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx

 

Yeah, 20 cent difference between regular and premium here. Now that you mention it, I do remember premium only being 10 cents more per gallon before. But I guess the 20 cent difference is probably the same percentage difference as when gas was cheaper and it was only 10 cents.

And as far as octane booster is concerned, buying regular gas and using it will not be a better option as octane booster is expensive. PLUS it will only raise Octane by a fraction of a point, it won't magically turn your 87 fuel into 100 with an 8 or 16 oz bottle. If you dumped a few gallons into your tank, perhaps, but then you might as well just buy 100 Octane unleaded race fuel.

 

A few gallons of the octane booster would end up costing more than 100 octane racing unleaded. Also, the chemicals that are in the octane booster can damage the emissions control system. Because you put the chemical in your car, you caused the damage to the emission control system. Guess who gets to pay for the repair? If you went with either the 93 octane premium or 100 octane racing unleaded that was sold from a pump at the service station, the distributor is on the hook for any damage to the emission control system (as well as the engine) if any damage results from using the gasoline. Net, net go with either the 93 octane or 100 octane gas. Cheaping out with 87 and blending is a false economy.

 

Nothing has changed in the cost to produce a gallon of 87 vs. the cost to produce a gallon of 93. You are seeing an operator taking advantage of a situation in the market.

 

Don't forget to dump some mothballs in the tank, too. :impatient

Really now, the car was designed to run on 91 octane fuel. The engineers who designed it know more about it than your husband. DO NOT let him put anything but gas in the tank. If they sell 93 where you live it will be more than enough and the "supercharged engine will like the extra octane."

 

Operator cost or the wholesale supplier??? Who knows???

I thought I remembered reading somewhere in the past few months of possible shortages of premium...but it could have been a senior moment

 

$0.10 per gallon difference between all grades here in Indy. I miss Iowa, midgrade was cheaper than low grade because it was an ethanol blend.

 

Here in VT it's 10 cents more for 89 and 10 cents more than that for 91/93...except on the weekends at our local Sunoco where all grades are the same price as the 87 octane. You can guess when I fill up!

 

Could also head over to the race track as the MINI is rated for anything as high as 98 unleaded before needing extensive modification. I would put any octance booster in there though as many boosters contain indgredients that will clog up your cat.

And as to the original question I have seen premium 10 cents over midgrade on my road trip last week, but I also saw my local statons are charging 30 more across the board than those down state.

 

Here in NC I've seen some stations using a $0.05 difference. They probably just inflated the regular and mid grade while ending up with the same price for 93 octane. Exxon near work has 93 octane for $2.99/gallon, while the surrounding stations are $3.09 or so.

 

Where in NC are you?

 

Here in Mich we tend to have the tiers of .10 up then .10 up again for 93. That is pretty standard, so $.20 more for 93 then 87. Every so often though I find stations that will have it for lower.

 

ten cent diff between the grades (87, 89, 93 and 94) here in Cincy too. Good news is that we still have Sunoco 94 octane available. Only a mere ten cents more than 93 octane.

 

Let me get this straight... $0.10 more per gallon for 94 octane? And it has the stigma of being NASCAR's fuel? No thanks! I will save the buck or so a tank.