Lowest Gas Prices!!

[OnyxBlackheart]

Actually, that is wrong. Here in Fort Worth, Texas, I have seen 2 gas stations showing. $1.09 Maybe just a price war between the two.

 

[hopster]

I'm one of the poor souls that needs 91 (or my car is anyway)... That's what ya get for having a super high compression engine...

Eclipse Turbo here...


-Hop

 

[rollininmy64]

bump!

 

[Schmo]

Ok, I agree that most cars don't need more than 87 octane but to say that 99% don't might be stretching it. Most sports cars call for premium gasoline and a lot of trucks with the bigger motors do too. Hell, even an dodge intrepid with the 3.5L V6 calls for 89 octane or better.

If your car doesn't require a particular octane... save your money. I just think that saying only 1% of vehicles need more than 87 is a little low. 2 out of my 3 cars require 89 or 93.

 

[Schmo]

<< bump! >>



Why exactly do you feel the need to bump this thread when someone just posted? Wait, I know... your post count is only 3.

 

[Britboy]

According to that FTC info you should only move to higher octanes if your engine knocks badly. My accord knocks a little bit if I practically floor it but that's all, so I'm not worried. 87 all the way for me.

"Only about 6 percent of cars sold in the U.S. need premium gas, the AAA says. Still, premium gas accounts for 20 percent of all gas sold"

No point wasting money, I need it for hot deals.....

 

[TXHokie]

I saw a news program where it says even if you car ask for the good stuff, if it doesn't knock with the lower octane, you don't need it. So say if your car requires 91 and you put it 87 and floor it going a bit uphill and there's no knock, then you should be fine. If not bump the octane up to the next level. I did it to my current car and it runs fine so I'm sticking with 87. Why pay an extra $.20/gal? That's a saving of over $100/year for me. May not sound like much but $100 goes a long way on an Anantech Hot Deal Forum . My last car I baby it like crazy giving it good gas, changed the oil every 2500mi., even spent money on that lube crap and the engine still blew up on me at 120k miles anyway.

 

[athakur999]

<< I saw a news program where it says even if you car ask for the good stuff, if it doesn't knock with the lower octane, you don't need it. So say if your car requires 91 and you put it 87 and floor it going a bit uphill and there's no knock, then you should be fine >>



Most recent cars that say they require premium will still work okay with 87 octane. However, they do this by retarding the timing to prevent knocking. So yeah you can save $2 at the pump but at the expense of performance. You may also have worse fuel economy if you use 87 octane, so you'll erase much of that $2.

 

[LoqT]

Regarding prices in Fresno, the gas station up in the North side of town where suburbia is costs $1.15 a quick 2 mile drive from here yields a shell station that's selling it for 98 cents for regular.... Fresno has the lowest prices in the country right now.... We're the armpit of Ca but damn is our gas cheap! hehe

 

[kendogg]

ball and brookhurst mobil.. premium gas I got for $1.54..

damn I hate the gas mileage on my integra

omg why is gas so cheap in canada

 

[chopstxxx]

theres a shell in woodside, CA that sells regular for 2.37 ish. HAHAH down the street its like 1.80, still a ripoff but nothin compared to 2.37.

 

[Saurk]

<<

<< Another dumb thing many people do is buy premium gas when 99% of cars in the US are tuned for 87 octane. Can you tell everyone how you know this, and please provide us with facts to back up your statement so that it doesn't come off as one of the most lame remarks on the forum. >>



Have some more coffee, Senior Member Seattle (can I just call you Chief?), this is so true it hurts. Look in ANY owner's manual for the past lebenty years or so - almost all domestic cars do the 87. Some notable exceptions to this LONG ESTABLISHED INDUSTRY WIDE PRACTICE are many Acura, Volkswagen, and Honda models. It's about the only dumb thing these brands do, the price difference obviates any achieved efficency gains. >>



It depends on the car, but this is generally the case. People often don't read their owner's manual, because it's mostly common sense. This is one little bit of useful knowledge you can get outta all the boring 'yeah, duh' info in an owners manual.

87 octane is between $1.55 (Beacon, where I buy gas) and $1.90 here in San Jose. That's a pretty big difference in prices, and no reliable data to show any gain in performance for the expensive station's additives. It was cheaper about a month ago, goin' back up it seems.

 

[PandaBear]

Another dumb thing many people do is buy premium gas when 99% of cars in the US are tuned for 87 octane.

If you have any top model cars, most likely you will need 91 or above. Like Prelude or Integra GSR etc.

 

[catnap1972]

re: use of premium in cars that don't need it...you certainly CAN cause damage. Premium gasoline can leave deposits if used excessively in a car that doesn't need it, and as others have stated, has a lower energy content than regular (why do you think it prevents knock), costing you more in the long run.

 

[PullMyFinger]

Premium gasoline can leave deposits if used excessively in a car that doesn't need it

PROVE IT! I strongly disagree with this statement. What type of deposits? Does it leave the unused octane just laying around? (Sarchasm)

Don't believe everything that some shady mechanic tells you.

 

[Cooltech2k]

[/i] >>

Actually, government regulations ensure that all gas is almost exactly the same[/i] >>




I Will get almost twice as many miles to the gallon with Chevron than with maverick... Also With maverick my car seems to have alot less get up & go..



I Do Not believe at all that all gas is the same

 

[SilentRunning]

O.K. everyone here is defintion of octane pulled from about.com

A value used to indicate the resistance of a motor fuel to knock. Octane numbers are based on a scale on which isooctane is 100 (minimal knock) and heptane is 0 (bad knock).

A gasoline with an octane number of 92 has the same knock as a mixture of 92% isooctane and 8% heptane.

pullmyfinger : As for deposits, the deposits are from unburned hyrocarbons (read that as carbon buildup). Additionally the computer detects more than detonation. It also detects the presents of unburned fuel exiting the cylindersthrough the use of the oxygen senor (emmisions controls). The detection of which would cause the computer to try to lean out the fuel air mixture.

pandabear: Top model cars do not require higher octane. Smaller cars such as you mention with six and four cylinder engines designed for performance often run at higher compression ratios to offset their smaller displacement. And it is these higher compression ratios that cause the need for higher octane gasoline.The majority of vehicles that require higher octane fuel have a compression ratioof 11:1 and higher. I drive an '96 Impala SS with the Corvette LT1 engine (260HP)and all the is required is 87 octane. However, my baby is a '65 Olds Dynamic 88 with a 425 high compression engine(400HP) that requires premium.

So for everyone out there just read your owners manual, and if that doesn't work check your filler cap. Usually the octane required is posted on or near the filler cap on modern cars.

 

[krakken]

<< >>

Actually, government regulations ensure that all gas is almost exactly the same[/i] >>



I Will get almost twice as many miles to the gallon with Chevron than with maverick... Also With maverick my car seems to have alot less get up & go..

I Do Not believe at all that all gas is the same[/i] >>



How the heck does this "maverick" get away with selling such watered down gas? Second.. what kind of car do you have, I have NEVER seen that kind of difference with the type of gas.. albeit I have seen some difference never twice as many miles per gallon,, exaggerating maybe?..
Ok, now I get it, maverick is anyone not Chevron. for that kind of exaggeration do you work for Chevron? I dunno, I've just never seen that much of a difference.

 

[Schmo]

<< I saw a news program where it says even if you car ask for the good stuff, if it doesn't knock with the lower octane, you don't need it. So say if your car requires 91 and you put it 87 and floor it going a bit uphill and there's no knock, then you should be fine. If not bump the octane up to the next level. I did it to my current car and it runs fine so I'm sticking with 87. >>



Well, that is not totally true! In many performance cars, like my Boxster S, the onboard computer will retard your timing to prevent knocking. So if I put 87 octane in it and floor it, it will not knock because of the onboard computer but I will lose performance because of the adjustments made to prevent knocking.

So, yes, if the car doesn't knock, you are ok but it doesn't mean that everything is the same as if you used the recommended 93 octane.

 

[MisfitsFiend]

Augh...1.99+ in Chicago...:disgust:

 

[emaij]

Anyone want to explain why Costco gas here was $.50 cheaper than everywhere else 3 weeks ago and now it's the same.. in some cases slightly higher, than the competition.

 

[Schmo]

I really can't figure gas prices out this summer. They have been all over the map and rapidly changing in big increments (and occasionally decrements).

 

[PullMyFinger]

Yeah, prices here in CT have been up and down all summer. Currently, $1.41 is the best I've seen for regular and $1.56 is the best I've seen for premium.

Silent Running:
I agree that a car's computer can analyze more than just the knock sensor. My original comment was only addressing the point that the computer has no way of determining octane level other than by listening for knock.

Regarding carbon build-up, if your car has carbon build-up, then it's a fuel ratio/spark problem and not an octane problem. I don't believe the difference in flame rate between low and high octane gas is sufficient to cause large amounts of unburned hydrocarbons to form deposits, especially with all of the detergents in today's fuels.

Most owners manuals state a minimum octane level but not a maximum. Besides, the potential damage caused by fuel with too low of an octane level is significantly worse than the potential for deposits from fuel with a high octane level. Just my 2c (and opinion).

BTW, nice toy. It must be fun pulling up along side some squids in a Mustang GT and then waving bye bye as they look at their reflection off your back bumper and suck down the smoke from your tires.

 

[Dante921]

wow, i live within 10 miles of the cheapest gas in the US, in northern Atlanta. i may have to stop by soon.

and of course, i'll be buying 91 octane since that's what owner's manual for my Jetta 1.8T reccomends.

 

[TXHokie]

PC hiccup...pls ignore