<VV> Fuel Prices per Octane

[Dale Dewald]

On 7/25/2013 00:57, J. R. Read wrote:
> ?Not TOO long ago, there was a $0.10 difference in price between grades - 87 - 89 - 93.? Then it seemed to go to a $0.12 or $0.13 difference per grade.
>
> Today I filled up the vert at BP.? 87 was priced at $4.159 - the price they show on the big sign by the side of the road.? 89 was $4.309 and 93 was another .30 ABOVE THAT - at $4.609 per gallon.
>
> I really don't want to restrict my Corvair driving during the non-salt months, but I'm going to start watching those pumps and the price differential beween grades a lot more closely.? Yeah, I know there is a "gas buddy" site.? Does it give the 93 octane price?
>
> Later, JR
The last time I observed only a $0.10 price difference between grades 
was when gas sold for $2.30-$2.75/gal.  At that time the $0.20 price 
amounted to about 8% extra for the premium grade. Now that gas is about 
$4.00/gal the same 8% is about $0.30.  Note that practically ALL 87 and 
89 octane gas is 10% ethanol which gets a government subsidy. Shell and 
BP premium (there are others) are typically non-ethanol and are 
therefore proportionally more expensive because they do not contain the 
subsidized price alcohol.

It seems that even the Shell and BP 93 octane sold around Kalamazoo had 
some ethanol content.  I have been using the stock fuel pump (since 
1977) in all of our Corvairs and never had much of a problem as long as 
I used non-ethanol premium. This trip we suffered from several cases of 
vapor lock so I guess the handwriting is on the wall and it is time for 
me to convert the fleet to electric pumps.

Dale Dewald
Hancock, MI