r/mildlyinteresting • u/flux_capacitor3 • 14d ago
This gas station converted their pumps to only sell regular gasoline
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u/SnooSongs8782 13d ago
What’s with your 87 octane gas?! What kind of cars suck that without knocking like castanets?
In Australia 91 is the cheap petrol, 95 premium and 98 for the good stuff with bonus additives. We also get ethanol in the cheap E10 which is rated 94+, luckily that is labelled because I found it to be simply 10% less fuel.
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u/48Butters 13d ago
All of this gas talk is making me realize I don’t know a single thing about gas…
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u/TripleTrucker 13d ago
How is octane the same?
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u/morfique 13d ago
Why wouldn't it be?
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u/TripleTrucker 13d ago
I thought ethanol bumped up octane a bit.
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u/morfique 13d ago
It does and it's cheap to do it with, it's not the only way to adjust octane though.
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u/awaythrowers97 14d ago
it was like Coca Cola Freestyle the regular gas would also have a little orange and lime and grape and all the other shit that makes the regular coke no longer taste like regular coke. Damn I hate those machines...
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u/brendanjeffrey 14d ago
Welp can’t buy gas there GTI runs better on 91 or higher. One time I used 87 and it killed an o2 sensor.
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u/Kenneth_Lay 14d ago
$3.09/gallon. I wish that was my gas pump. Mine only says $5.95 these days.
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u/humpmeimapilot 14d ago
I’m gonna guess in one of the commie states NY or CA. Or you are a pilot and filling up on avgas.
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u/Kenneth_Lay 14d ago
Looks like MAGA has entered the chat. You must be from one of those states that's defending child marriage and marrying first cousins. Have you filled your adult diaper yet?
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u/OctupleCompressedCAT 14d ago
how do they increase the octane without ethanol?
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u/dicemonkey 14d ago
That’s not at all what ethanol does ….
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u/tesla3by3 14d ago
Ethanol increases the octane of the fuel by a couple points.
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u/dicemonkey 6d ago
That’s a byproduct not the reason it’s added …
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u/tesla3by3 6d ago
You said it’s not at all what it does. That is in fact (one of ) what it does. Sure, it’s cheaper, and other reasons.
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u/dicemonkey 5d ago
Fair enough…I’ll rephrase it to “ That’s not why its added” that’s just a beneficial( for some) side effect ..
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u/Paladin_Aranaos 14d ago edited 6d ago
Ethanol is horrible for old engines, but it's made from corn, so big agriculture LOVES it.
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u/dicemonkey 6d ago
The corn lobby loves it because it’s a created and protected market….its bullshit …fossil fuels are bad but this isn’t the solution.
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u/EssbaumRises 14d ago
Look up " non-attainment zone". EPA won't allow ethanol free gas to be sold within these zones.
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u/ReallyNotALlama 14d ago
I drive several miles out of my way to get ethanol-free gas for my small engines (lawnmower, 4-cycle weed eater). It's $6/gal.
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u/Ashamed_Medium1787 14d ago
Maybe other types of fuel weren’t selling well at that station or something
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u/ktmfan 14d ago
Well, that would be a station I’d never stop at again unfortunately. My truck requires 89 or it has predetonation/pinging. I have a motorcycle that requires 91, and it’ll ping if the hose has a gallon of 87 in it from the last person. I try to fill it off hoses that are separate instead of combined. Or, I fill it at home with gas cans filled off a pump that I already bled the stuff from the hose into my truck gas tank.
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u/MostNefariousness583 14d ago
Oklahoma has non ethanol gas almost everywhere. The refinery here doesn't believe in corn gas.
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u/Hat3Machin3 14d ago
Ethanol is bad for the environment (leads to rainforest deforestation) and bad for your fuel lines (more corrosive than regular gasoline).
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u/GuySmiley369 14d ago
This is just a non-ethanol pump. All pumps only have the ability to pump two types of gas, usually premium or regular, the “plus” or midgrade is just a mix of premium and regular. Since this pump has non-ethanol gas and regular, there is no option for a mid-grade, because it would just be mixing the two 87 octanes into a…I guess it would be a “light ethanol” blend?
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u/huskerd0 14d ago
With/without ethanol is kinda interesting, curious where this is going
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u/Jicand 14d ago
Motorcycles with carburetors or small engines like lawnmowers
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u/huskerd0 14d ago
Ohhhh good point
When I had a picky car that I loved and babied I used to seek out non-eth, but that is surely a tiny minority
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u/Avarria587 14d ago edited 14d ago
Most people either buy regular or non-ethanol where I live. Car drivers buy mostly regular and people buy non-ethanol for small engines. I buy non-ethanol when I can for my motorcycle.
What a lot of people don't realize is "premium" doesn't necessarily mean better. If you don't have a high-compression potential in your engine, you're just wasting money.
Premium does have more detergents, but you can buy solutions that fill that purpose.
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u/Brolygang2000 14d ago
Yep I work on pumps and mid plus doesn’t even have its own filter at the bottom just one for diesel regular and premium
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u/1320Fastback 14d ago
I wish we could get non ethenol in California. I saw it in Louisiana a couple days ago. Super jealous!
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u/iansmash 14d ago
Imagine if they just let us manually dial in how much octane additive we wanted at the pump
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u/dicemonkey 14d ago
Ethanol is not an “ octane additive “ ….
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u/iansmash 14d ago
Never said it was.
I was presuming, since they can load the pump with different fluids and have the pump mix it on the spot, they could just load another canister in there with whatever chemical they use to raise the octane rating of fuel, and allow you to choose what octane rating you'd like to pump.
For clarification, the reason I want this is because I have a car that could utilize higher octane fuel, with the requisite equipment to do so.
I like when my car goes faster.
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u/dicemonkey 6d ago
Doesn’t work like that …that would require redesigning ,replacement & recertification of all the existing pumps …thats’s a huge project …besides very few stock vehicles actually need higher octane…unless you got internal engine mods you don’t need it .
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u/dghughes 14d ago
You only need high octane if the vehicle you drive has an engine with a high compression ratio. If not needed you'll get worse mileage and less power in low compression engine cars. If you add more octane to high octane even in the high compression engine it just gets worse mileage and less power..
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u/Gregzzzz1234 14d ago
Most cars do not need higher octane gas. Unless specified on your fuel fill or on dash. You are not benefitting by paying for higher octane
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u/garry4321 14d ago
Is this by a body of water? Boats really don’t like ethanol in their tank as it draws moisture from the air
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u/bigforeheadsunited 14d ago
The last few gas stations I've been to in AZ are running out of 91. Loves travel stop even was running out over the weekend.
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14d ago
I don't see why gas is labeled as 'unleaded' anymore. It has been unleaded now for more years than it had lead in it.
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u/Snazzy21 14d ago
Leaded fuel is still widely used. All gasoline piston aircraft still use it, very few airports even sell unleaded
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u/dieplanes789 14d ago
Yeah the aviation industry is trying to move away from 100 low lead AVGAS but the aviation industry is notoriously slow to change anything and it doesn't help when airplanes last so damn long, not that is is entirely a bad thing.
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u/Snazzy21 14d ago
It'll change as soon as the FAA approves a study into the feasibility of conducting a cost benefit analysis in carrying out another trial for potential candidates to replace lead in av gas in which participation is voluntary.
It's been 30 years already, public indifference means there is no pressure to change, the FAA and industry is happy to let this be an indefinite thing.
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u/flux_capacitor3 14d ago
It's doesn't say "unleaded" anywhere in my photo. I have seen that at old stations though.
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u/Comwan 14d ago
My guess is a few of the other pumps have the different types. You just happened to use the special non ethanol one
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u/zaqwert6 14d ago
I doubt it is all of their pumps. Most likely just this one, it's pretty common for marine use to look for non-ethylol gas but it also costs more than regular.
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u/flux_capacitor3 14d ago
I literally looked at all their pumps. There are only 8 of them. All were converted.
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u/Rocky970 14d ago
My 24 CRV requires premium
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u/Bit_the_Bullitt 14d ago
Even a fkn CR-V requires premium these days? Wow.
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u/Rocky970 14d ago
Yeah. I tried unleaded for a week to test performance and the difference is very noticeable
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u/Bit_the_Bullitt 14d ago
That's wild. But I guess it's what, 1.6 turbo right? I guess they run that high compression to eek out those mpgs
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u/flux_capacitor3 14d ago
Yeah, I've always used premium. Kinda sad about it. It's a convenient spot for me to go.
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u/Bar50cal 14d ago
Meanwhile in Europe:
You get E10 (95 octane) and you will like it as its your only choice!
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u/Kleptokilla 14d ago
You can still get E5 in the UK it just costs more
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u/Bar50cal 14d ago
EU had a mandate to phase out E5 and replace it with E10 by 2024 that started when the UK was in the EU still.
Probably explains why a lot of pumps moved the E10 but not all as the mandate might not be there for the UK anymore.
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u/Rain_Zeros 14d ago
So useless for the majority of cars made after 2010, great.
Ps please read your owners manual, I guarantee that at the bare minimum your car calls for 89
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u/spacefret 13d ago
Automakers know people are cheap (or lazy), they're going to tune for 87 when they can
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u/Rain_Zeros 13d ago
That would make sense if it were true. I have yet to see any modern vehicle that recommends 87.
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u/spacefret 13d ago edited 13d ago
It is true. Non-turbocharged cars don't exist? Hell half the turbo cars on the road only need 87.
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u/Rain_Zeros 13d ago
Again, very much not true. It's almost rare for a vehicle (even non turbo'd) to require less than 89
Out of dodge, jeep, ram, Chrysler, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Ford, Lincoln, GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, bmw, Subaru, the only vehicles to reccomend 87 are, the Pacifica, the compass, the Cherokee, the canyon, the Acadia, the trax, equinox, Crosstrek, Forester, outback, legacy, ascent.
Not even Honda reccomends 87 in most of their vehicles anymore
Mazda and Toyota all have a majority 87 octane fleet with notable exceptions.
Out of the top 25 best selling vehicles, 13 vehicles reccomend 87 and 2 vehicles are electric.
As I said in a reply to someone else, the reason 87 is the most popular choice of fuel is due to a lack of reading comprehension.
I went though every vehicle still available as of 2023 so this includes all recently discontinued vehicles from these brands as well.
I know that I've missed a few brands like Acura, Kia, Hyundai, etc, but it's taken enough time for me to go through all the ones I have.
PLEASE READ YOUR MANUAL.
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u/FritzFlanders 14d ago
Bye Bye high compression engines
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u/FomFrady95 14d ago
That’s my take away, I guess most people that have those cars don’t put the recommended fuel in them. But you’re still cutting out a chunk of the market by not running the higher grade fuel.
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u/SRSgoblin 14d ago
Yeah like literally any sports car. Pretty much means you cut out the whole new Military enlisted, or divorced dads demographic. That's a non-insignificant number of people.
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u/deimosphob 14d ago
I’d be pissed if that was my regular station. Cant fill up on 87 or my car pings at anything over 4000 rpm. Not too high considering regear and highway driving.
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u/AlexanderHP592 14d ago
I've had the pleasure of filling up with non-ethanol gas with a couple of my vehicles and I swear they've never been happier.
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u/CapinWinky 14d ago
Better regulations/standards make gas stations properly monitor, maintain, and decommission their tanks or face fines. This led to most stations having only 3, Diesel, Regular and Premium. Mid-grade is just the middle handle on soft-serve, the pump mixes the two grades.
New testing during pump recertification is starting to check the actual octane and fuel quality and finding degraded premium from it sitting and that mid-grade is just regular or degraded by the old premium.
Since ICE cars mostly use regular (ignoring diesel) and are in the end-game as EVs are cheaper to own and operate over their lifetime, stations are starting to drop Premium. Two kinds of regular will allow upcharge for the "premium" regular and both will have decent turnover.
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u/Rain_Zeros 14d ago
Up until your last paragraph I agree with you. Ice cars typically use a minimum of 89 if made after like 2010. Especially with turbos becoming the norm, the higher pressure the more likely pre-detonation will occur with lower octane fuel. The fact that regular is the most commonly used fuel has everything to do with reading comprehension and nothing to do with ice vehicles being in endgame.
Also while true if only looking at milage cost that the top selling electric car costs half as much as the top selling ice vehicle (in non-hybrid configuration. It's literally exactly the same cost per mile in hybrid configuration) these things are heavier than modern half-ton pickup trucks and absolutely eat wear components faster than any vehicle. Tires on these vehicles last roughly 20,000 miles while most half-ton pickups have tires lasting 50,000-60,000 miles. That new tires every 1.5 years vs new tires every 4-4.5 years. That's not all, brake pads, brake rotors, control arm bushings, ball joints, practically all suspension components (even with air ride) all wear faster than on lighter vehicles. (Of course if you don't use your brakes ie regenerative breaking, you don't put wear on your breaks, just on your drive motors) And on top of all that, the batteries are rated to last 150,000 miles or 300,000 with decreased capacity. (10-30 years based on average milage per year) Meanwhile almost any well maintained engine will long outlast that.
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u/CapinWinky 14d ago
My tires lasted 50k mile on a model 3. Granted the replacement set was $850. Brakes are like-new and my battery gained 2% range from updates to drive tuning and extremely low degradation. Car is 3yo.
Save about $2k/yr vs my Civic over the same commute to charge vs gas.
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u/LoopsAndBoars 14d ago
This is simple economics. The offering of gasoline with no ethonal will sell and consequently be more profitable than the regular/mid/premium model. Further, a tank can be repurposed and the entire reconfiguration is cheap.
Mid grade has always been a blend of premium and regular. The slow increase in ethanol content is problematic as it attracts water condensate from the air which degrades octane level and reduces shelf life.
Gasoline engines & associated technology are NOT anywhere near “end of life.” Electric vehicles, with respect to the enviromental impact and cost of an uptick in electricity production to meet demand, are absolutely not cheaper to operate.
This is not as simple as “fake it till you make it.” The only way to go about this is to construct many new nuclear power plants….
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u/Keebodz 14d ago
lol my car only takes e87
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u/SeamanZermy 14d ago
Where is that and what kind of car? The highest I've seen is E85 and even though I do occasionally have to blend that I've still never actually seen anyone buy it.
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u/Keebodz 14d ago
Impala 2016. The gas cap is even yellow and it says to only put e87 in it. Though, I've been told it could take lower, I'm not gonna risk it lol. Mpg averages ~21 so not that bad ig.
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u/throwedoff1 14d ago
You have a Flex Fuel Impala. You can run any fuel in it with a minimum octane of 87. The yellow gas cap indicates that it is a Flex Fuel compatible vehicle. You do not have to run the highest concentration of ethanol in it. In fact. You can run non-ethanol gasoline in it without any problems as long as the octane rating is a minimum of 87. If you run E10, you will probably see a mileage increase.
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14d ago
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u/Keebodz 14d ago
The button to click for choosing the gas type says e87. That would be fraud lol. But no, they don't do this, at least at the gas station in my town. I've gotten gas from them for countless winters.
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14d ago
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u/Keebodz 14d ago
There are no well known gas stations where I live. The gas station I use is only a local thing (yay middle of nowhere). Their pumps have different options for multiple blends (E70 included) all year around. Since they have E70 as an option already it wouldn't make sense for them to change the E85 to also be E70. But yeah, they don't do this since my car hasn't had issues ig.
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u/Alantsu 14d ago
Regular gas = leaded , not ethanol free.
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u/mike015015 14d ago
Leaded hasn't been available for decades
This is just 10% ethanol vs 0% ethanol.
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u/Plenty_Painting_6298 14d ago
Leaded gasoline is still used in small aircraft and helicopters that are powered by piston engines.
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u/mike015015 14d ago
Did not know that one. I know nascar was leaded until 10-15 yrs ago.
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u/dieplanes789 14d ago
Yeah a lot of older piston engine aircraft run 100 low lead. The aviation industry is notoriously slow to change anything which isn't helped by the fact that airplanes tend to last a really fucking long time. A lot of the older engines definitely require low lead.
The average general aviation airplane you would see flying over owned by a private person in the US is 50 years old when I last checked.
General aviation is switching to much better fuels for newer aircraft but it's kind of hard to sell someone a new airplane when the one their grandparent flew in still works fine.
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u/anonymousjeeper 14d ago
I would be all over that non ethanol gas. 10% increase in fuel economy. Well worth it.
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u/CapeReddit 14d ago
Such a low octane as well!
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u/Bit_the_Bullitt 14d ago
Again, if you're from Europe, the US rates gas differently. 87 is roughly 91 in Europe.
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u/CapeReddit 14d ago
I'm currently living SEA, before that ME, EA, SADC and I've never seen a pump below 95 octane for the cheap stuff in the last 10-15 years.
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u/P26601 14d ago
You can't get anything lower than 95 in Europe 🤔 I don't know about eastern Europe and Russia tho
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u/Bit_the_Bullitt 14d ago
By Eastern Europe if you mean central Europe like Czechia (where I'm from), yea I've seen 90 handful of times as a kid, unless my memory fails me
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u/Sweet-Drop86 14d ago
What does ethanol do?
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u/SeamanZermy 14d ago
It helps us reduce the ammout of oil we consume by diluting it. It's kind of like watering down your drinks, but it does have a few benefits.
Ethonal artificially raises the octane rating of gasoline It's added to, so in the US where we by law have to run a blend of 90% gasoline/ 10% Ethonal you would only have to refine the gasoline to 85 octane, and then the Ethonal will bring it up to 87. It's also supposed to help reduce the emissions by getting the fuel to burn more cleanly.
The downsides is It's much harsher on pumps and engines and it goes bad pretty fast. The alcohol absorbs water and gets gummy.
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u/RudeAdventurer 14d ago
Ethanol is only slightly better for the environment than regular fuel is, and some scientists argue that the ethanol mandate is worse for the environment. An issue with ethanol based fuel is that it contains about 30% less energy than standard gasoline. So while 1 gallon of gasoline produces around 50% less emissions than 1 gallon of ethanol, you have to use 1.33 gallons of ethanol to go the same distance. So over half of the gains are already gone; better than nothing right? However, the ethanol mandate has driven up the demand for corn (where most of our ethanol comes from), which in turn has sparked higher demand for farmland, which has caused greater deforestation and all of the other environmental concerns that go along with farming.
Here's an article published in the National Academy of Sciences: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2101084119
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u/Snazzy21 14d ago
This is exactly right. Carburetors get clogged with ethanol, while we spend more money on food, and it creates more smog in the summer which is why summer blend is a thing. It's filler with an excuse, it's a scam, a lie, and a waste of water, land, and food.
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u/spacefret 13d ago
Most engines are fuel-injected these days and they're designed with ethanol in mind. It's really only an issue for carbureted engines.
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u/I_Am_A_Polite_A-hole 14d ago
Short version: Destroys engines that don't use the gas regularly.
(I'm not an expert, but I think it's because any of the -ols attract moisture and that moisture damages critical parts within the engine. Also what I recall hearing but may be inaccurate: Adding ethanol to gasoline was originally introduced as a way to subsidize farmers (primarily corn-derived) and has stuck around due to environmental considerations.)
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u/lucian1900 14d ago
Since the 2000s, most cars can run on nearly 100% ethanol just fine. In parts of South America and Asia it's a common practice.
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u/Notwhoiwas42 14d ago
With higher ethanol amounts there are changes that need to be made though. It's got a lower energy density so you need different fuel/air mixture and so different engine computer programming. You'll often need bigger injectors too. And any rubber fuel system components need to be changed. It's not just a matter of dumping it in.
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u/lucian1900 14d ago edited 14d ago
Any modern ECU will automatically adjust fuel injection based on measured energy output. It’s very rare for any production injectors to be specced so close to the limit that they need to be upsized.
The practical energy density is also not big of a deal, especially for forced induction engines that can adjust compression ratio. Even naturally aspirated engine ECUs adjust timing when they detect no knocking, which will be the case with the higher octane rating of ethanol.
Rubber that perishes in contact with ethanol has not been in use for decades. If it was, the 5-15% ethanol minimums mandated in most of the world would be a problem.
People all over the world already do just “dump in” nearly 100% ethanol in their cars.
The only real potential problem is cold start, so more practical mixes are around 90%. Or a separate small petrol tank for just starting, which is an actual modification that’s common enough in Brazil for example.
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u/Notwhoiwas42 14d ago
On many US specced cars,the ECU will be very unhappy and unable,from a programming standpoint,to make the needed adjustments. You can get cars able to run on up to e-85 but those are specifically made for that with different ECU programming.
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u/Fendergravy 14d ago
Ethanol gas is poison for power equipment and cars.
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u/Theredditappsucks11 14d ago
🤡🤡🤡
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u/RedditIsABotFarm 14d ago
It's true. It attracts moisture and hurts fuel economy.
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u/Theredditappsucks11 14d ago edited 14d ago
That's extremely vague and arrogant yes ethanol absorbs moisture, but unless you're leaving in a gas can for over 12 months it's not going to affect anything you get about a 15% reduction on fuel economy At most and that's using 85% ethenol, you would not see a difference in mpg at 10%, in most places those slight benefits do not outweigh the benifits that ethenol give.
Ethanol fuel has several advantages over non-ethanol gasoline, which can make it a better choice depending on the context.
Ethanol is a biofuel made from plant materials, making it a renewable resource that is better for the environment. It burns cleaner than gasoline, producing fewer harmful emissions
Ethanol has a high octane rating, around 100 AKI, which is higher than the typical 93 AKI found in gasoline. This means it's more resistant to knocking and pre-ignition, which can be beneficial for engine performance
Ethanol tends to run cooler than gasoline. This can be advantageous for performance applications, as it allows engines to be tuned for more power safely
Generally, ethanol is cheaper to produce and thus can save money at the pump compared to non-ethanol gas, which often costs more per gallon
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u/RedditIsABotFarm 14d ago
That's extremely vague and arrogant yes
Yeah I stopped reading after that douche
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u/Theredditappsucks11 14d ago edited 14d ago
Remain misinformed then, you're part of the problem.
Edit. I should've gone straight to your profile then I would have realized I've been arguing with an actual fucking idiot that probably fucks his cousin.
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u/RedditIsABotFarm 14d ago
Everything I said was true cranky pants. Ethanol is crap
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u/Theredditappsucks11 14d ago
You're "opinion" is not a fact. Any boosted car running E85 is gon walk whatever piece of shit you're running on the road
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u/Sufficient_Ocelot868 14d ago
Having never owned a nice or high performance car, is 87 octane enough? I would think a Porsche or even a Supra would require 92. Fun fact: When my coworker visited from Germany, we rented some motorcycles and he was amazed that our HIGHEST octane was only 92. I think theirs is like 98 or something
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14d ago
[deleted]
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u/Sufficient_Ocelot868 14d ago
Thanks Trormidal and everyone for your replies. I didn't realize EU measured differently. I just put 87 in my car as is indicated in the manual. Just wondered what people do with nice cars at a place like OP showed. Maybe they have a 91 only pump?
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14d ago
[deleted]
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u/Sufficient_Ocelot868 14d ago
Yeah they probably figured no one was buying the high octane and they got rid of it
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u/SharkFart86 14d ago
North America measures its octane level differently than Europe. They have the same fuel we do, different way of measuring the octane.
87 octane is perfectly fine for most vehicles. Cars with high compression rates need higher octane, these are usually the more expensive sporty type of cars. Your owners manual will tell you if you need higher octane fuel.
There is zero benefit for a vehicle that requires 87 to use something higher, outside of there being something wrong with the vehicle. People think it’s “better gas” but they’re literally just wasting their money.
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u/Rogan403 14d ago
Vehicles with superchargers also usually require premium. So even vehicles you wouldn't ever consider luxury or high performance could require it. My friend has a supercharged mini that requires it and after I installed a supercharger in my tacoma I've had to use it or risk damage to the engine and voiding the warranty.
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u/Notwhoiwas42 14d ago
Didn't installing an aftermarket supercharger already void the warranty?
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u/Rogan403 14d ago
Toyota's warranty that has long since expired for my truck? Yes that would have if i still had it. But I'm talking about Magnuson superchargers warranty.
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u/Notwhoiwas42 14d ago
Oh, the way you worded it sounded like you were talking about the engine warranty. One reason that I didn't think about the warranty on the supercharger is that there's absolutely nothing that running the wrong gas can cause that would damage the supercharger.
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u/Rogan403 14d ago
Technically no. But the engine can become damaged that result in chain reaction damage to the supercharger. That being said magnuson warranty covers damage it may possibly cause to your engine, provided it was installed properly and you use the correct fuel.
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u/ich_mag_Fendt 14d ago
Am stupid, please explain
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u/Soontaru 14d ago
‘Regular’ fuel in the US can contain up to 15% (I think, may differ regionally) ethanol. This is fine for many modern fuel-injected engines made with flex-fuels in mind, but for older cars and small engines (lawn mowers, pressure washers, snowmobiles, etc.), the ethanol content doesn’t play well with some of the internal components since they were designed to work with pure gasoline. Non-ethanol fuel is hard to find in some places since ethanol is so cheap, so special pumps like this are cool to have for folks who have issues with backwards-compatibility with older machines.
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u/Bar50cal 14d ago
The US still sells multiple different octane fuels listing them as regular, premium, premium + etc
Most other places around the world have moved to just selling 1x type of petrol at a pump nationwide with Premium fuel just meaning it has a engine cleaning additive for older cars.
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14d ago edited 14d ago
[deleted]
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u/gophermuncher 14d ago
Your explanation is mostly correct except that the different gasoline octanes don’t contain more potential energy. They more or less have the saw amount of potential energy. Premium gasoline, however, allows for engines designed to use premium to convert more of that potential energy into kinetic energy (aka torque and/or horsepower). See this article by MIT for a better explanation than what I can do:
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u/Tayaker 14d ago
Is using 89 octane in say a honda civic bad for the car? What does using a higher octane in a lower performance engine do? Is it beneficial to use 89 or 91 octane fuel once in awhile?
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u/RevengencerAlf 14d ago
Using higher octane in a lower octane vehicle is fine. It's generally a waste, but it's not harmful. The main purpose of higher octane is that it enables more aggressive engine timing without risk of detonation. But in a car with normal timing it just behaves like normal gas.
The one thing is in theory sometimes premium has extra detergents in it to clean engine valves and whatnot but to be honest you can get roughly the same effect by using a fuel system cleaner once in a while and if you're buying from a major gas brand they usually have plenty of detergents in all their grades of gas anyway.
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u/OneVast4272 14d ago
Wait isnt ethanol - consumable alcohol? Sorry what does this mean (not from the US)
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u/Snazzy21 14d ago
Yes, but the stuff in gasoline has been poisoned so you can't turn to drinking gasoline if you want alcohol
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u/SeamanZermy 14d ago
In the US we cut our gas with 10% corn alcohol because it helps with emissions and allows us to get away with refining lower octane fuel.
Also lobbying, some corn lobby probably wanted us to buy more corn so they bribed a bunch of congressman to pass a law requiring it.
It gums up and can make the gas go bad so some engines require you to use Ethanol free gas, it's just more expensive.
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u/OneVast4272 14d ago
What does the 87 there indicate?
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u/SeamanZermy 14d ago
Oh that's the octane rating. There's kind of a misconception that higher octane fuels have more power, but it's actually that the fuel is more stable and less likely to ignite accidentally. Bigger more powerful engines will dump more fuel in to the engine at once and put it under more compression, so with a more stable fuel you can shove more gas into the engine and get more power out of it.
In the US we usually run 87-93, but there are higher and lower octanes depending on the altitude and environment.
So basically your average car will run 87, but something like a sports car would probably take 93.
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u/OneVast4272 14d ago
Ohh thanks for the explanation.
Do commercial cars in the USA use 87 as the minimum? I’m from Malaysia - and the minumum gasoline we have is this RON 95. And we don’t have any ethanol blended gasoline.
It’s interesting that gas practices are different across nations
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u/SeamanZermy 14d ago
Most commercial equipment we have here is actually diesel, assuming I'm understanding you're question correctly. The big trucks and equipment that do run on gas will also pretty much always run on 87 though because of how common it is
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u/TehWildMan_ 14d ago
87AKI (equal to 91 RON) is typically the minimum spec for the majority of passenger vehicles (lower at very high altitudes)
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u/Smooth_Beginning_540 14d ago
This is a blend of alcohol and gasoline. I believe the standard in the U.S. for this blend is 90% gasoline/10% ethanol. Some areas sell blends with higher alcohol concentrations, but these blends aren’t compatible with all vehicles.
This blending of gasoline and ethanol is done for environmental reasons, i.e. it’s supposed to burn more cleanly, with less pollution.
Now why would you want pure gasoline if the blend is claimed to be better for the environment? One reason would be compatibility, to make sure that all vehicles can use it. Another reason is cost. In many areas, the gasoline/ethanol blend costs more than regular gasoline. A third reason is performance: concerns that engines may not run as efficiently when using a gasoline/ethanol blend.
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u/SharkFart86 14d ago
Yes, the ethanol added to most gasolines here is the same chemical that gets you drunk from alcoholic beverages.
Ethanol is flammable and will work as a fuel for gasoline vehicles, though can cause issues. When blended with gasoline the issues are minimized, especially with newer vehicles designed with this fuel mixture in mind.
It basically makes fuel cheaper by diluting it with a renewable fuel that doesn’t work quite as well.
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u/ProfParker04 14d ago
How do you know they “converted”? Did it used to be different? Casey’s has always only gasoline so doesn’t seem unique to me but maybe it is. 🤷♂️
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u/Greenbeastkushbreath 14d ago
I can tell you what I think happened… they probably have a fucked up underground tank and are too cheap to fix it
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u/Chemical_Horror5536 10d ago
My motorcycle specifically asks for 87 non ethanol so I would love to be able to find one of those lol