I don’t know ho wit is where you’re all at, but locally, my Premium grade gas costs an extra $0.20 per gallon more than regular.
I have a 19 gallon tank on Buddy, so paying that extra $3.80 when I’m already paying more than $50 a week isn’t killing me.
Apparently, some folks are either stretched too tight or, more likely, they haven’t figured this out yet
Demand for high-octane fuel is at its lowest in nearly a quarter of a century and is now primarily consumed by a core group of luxury-vehicle owners — and even some of them are putting lower-grade fuel into their tanks to save money.In 1997, high-octane garnered 16 percent of the nationwide fuel market share, according to figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Last month, premium had only 8 percent of the market. Last year, premium gasoline consumption fell to about 35.6 million gallons of gas per day, the lowest in 24 years, the agency said.
“We’re down to the core, die-hard audience that believes they need 93,” said Tom Kloza, publisher of the Oil Price Information Service, a New Jersey firm that provides petroleum pricing and news information.
I don’t “need” high-octane gas, but I like it. I don’t get knocks going up western Washington’s many hills, and from what testing I’ve been able to do over the years, I get better mileage with it.
That’s about right. I get better mileage too. Now my engine is chipped, so I needs that 93 octane anyways…
Some of the higher-end cars need premium because the engines are higher compression to get that better performance. Most of the Lexus line uses premium. Suck it up, yupsters!
And for grins, so does that favorite of the Birkenstock crowd, Subaru. The normally-aspirated base models burn regular, but that engine barely gets you around. The spiffier, upscale versions have a turbocharger, which ups the compression and thus requires premium.
It’s about miles per dollar, not miles per gallon. I found out that my very bland 6-cyl Dodge pickup gets enough better mileage on mid-grade to make the price differential worthwhile. Same with my motorcycle, premium more than pays for itself there.