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Premium downgrade?

Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 6:40 am
by Herb
I'm wondering, what is everyone's premium fuel rating where you are?I've noticed over the last two years or so that many local refineries have downgraded the premium fuel from 92 to 91 octane. Not that I expect that one point will have a dramatic impact on my GT, however the manual does call for 92.Consisdering that premium fuel is already over $1.00CAN per litre I'm wondering if brand loyalty is of any use anymore.I've been filling up at Esso for years, but I know that the local Cheveron's premium fuel is still at 92. Only thing is that Esso provides a points system which I have used on occasion to redeem for fuel on a financially lean week.

Re: Premium downgrade? (Herb)

Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 6:41 am
by AKLGT
we only have 90 grade here. lately, i've been putting a mix of 89 and 90 in because of the big price differences. may just get some octane booster...

Re: Premium downgrade? (trdvibe)

Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 8:49 am
by Herb
Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »we only have 90 grade here. lately, i've been putting a mix of 89 and 90 in because of the big price differences. may just get some octane booster...Hmm, that's an interesting idea. The Chevron stations here also offer a 94 octane grade. I wonder if there would be any savings mixing a 94 with 92, 91 or 87.

Re: Premium downgrade? (Herb)

Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 10:50 am
by pissedoffgokart
I was always told that the octain was related to altitude. It kinda made sense, I could get 93 - 94 octain in New Mexico but here in Denver, you can only get 90-91. I could be completely wrong on this but it makes sense.

Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 11:32 am
by Jahntassa
Down here in Atlanta they do 87, 89, 93 (I think...) I know the Premium is generally 93, but i've seen it 92 in spots. Unless i've gone stupid and completely forgot.Also, premium is now up to $2.15

Re: Premium downgrade? (Herb)

Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 3:05 am
by Charlievibe
I believe ours is 92 here and it is running ~$2.10/gallon, depending on the station.

Re: Premium downgrade? (Charlievibe)

Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 7:07 am
by Psychobroker
91 is the best in CA. It's been this way for a few years now, used to be 92.

Re: Premium downgrade? (pissedoffgokart)

Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 9:37 am
by MadBill
.Quote, originally posted by pissedoffgokart »I was always told that the octain was related to altitude. It kinda made sense, I could get 93 - 94 octain in New Mexico but here in Denver, you can only get 90-91. I could be completely wrong on this but it makes sense. There's more air pressure at sea level, so coming down from say 5,000 to 200 feet is like adding a slight supercharge, so the engine needs more octane to prevent detonation. The oil companies take advantage of this to save money by blending lower octane fuels for higher altitudes.

Re: Premium downgrade? (Herb)

Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 9:44 am
by canadavibegt
I am a Chevron addict now..... Used to be a Shell guy.....We can get 87, 89, 92 and 94 at most but some only offer 87, 89 and 94....... Personally I use the 92 in my GT....... Once in a while I treat it with some 94......Gas right now is going from 99.9 per liter for 87 to 91.9..... I just bought 92 oct.... for 99.9 in Abbotsford...... yippy........

Re: Premium downgrade? (Herb)

Posted: Tue May 25, 2004 10:49 am
by Stang2Vibe
around me, regular is usually 87, mid-grade is 89, and premium is either 92 or 93, depending on the brand. Most Sunoco stations and some BP stations offer 94 as a "Super" grade.For 93 octane yesterday, I paid $2.15 per gallon. Hurry up with the OPEC meeting!

Re: Premium downgrade? (silverawd26)

Posted: Tue May 25, 2004 1:25 pm
by johnsoax
Premium (93) is $2.39 here in Chicago land.

Re: Premium downgrade? (johnsoax)

Posted: Tue May 25, 2004 3:17 pm
by Psychobroker
Quote, originally posted by johnsoax »Premium (93) is $2.39 here in Chicago land.91 @ $2.54/gal here

Re: Premium downgrade? (Psychobroker)

Posted: Tue May 25, 2004 10:55 pm
by jake75
Paid 2.09 9/10 Shell 87 in Columbus, OH 5/23. Get a 5% Shell gas rebate using Citibank Shell MC so that helps some. TV station reported other areas of town at 1.99 9/10.

Re: Premium downgrade? (pissedoffgokart)

Posted: Wed May 26, 2004 12:40 am
by SWiRv
Quote, originally posted by pissedoffgokart »I was always told that the octain was related to altitude. It kinda made sense, I could get 93 - 94 octain in New Mexico but here in Denver, you can only get 90-91. I could be completely wrong on this but it makes sense. When I was researching the differences between the 2 engines (Base vs. GT), I spoke with a Toyota mechanic to get his opinion on the octane requirements. Basically, you're right -- altitude makes a difference. He said that you could probably get away with 87-89 up here in the Rockies, but once you reach sealevel, 91 or better will save the engine. Still, he recommends using the appropriate octane fuel.