The premium for premium

[2000cs]

Two questions on the premium gas stations charge for premium gas:
1. What are you seeing?
2. What is reasonable?

Been doing a lot of driving lately. TN to CA and back, just got back from Cincy, etc. We usually prefer Shell premium (car requires 91, Shell here is 87, 89, 93) because it has been consistently good and we have their rewards ($0.10 off all grades, occasionally $0.20 off).

I’ve pulled in to a number of stations with a competitive price on the sign only to find midgrade and premium to be much more. Last night mid was $1.00 more than regular and premium was another $1.00 on top of that. Today I filled up and the premium from regular to 93 was $0.80, which I still think is high. Regular price here is around $2.79 +/- now for reference.

I feel like $0.40-0.60 is a reasonable spread from regular to 93 and I find that at my usual stations. But I’m seeing these super-premia more and more.

Doesn’t sound like much but one fill up at more than a $2.00 premium meant over $30 for the tank in just extra pricing.

[Maynard]

Upstate NY: it's about 3.85 for regular, 4.45 for premium (my last purchases). So 2.79 for regular makes me green with envy (as does the implication that your tank is at least 15 gallons - I guess the 'good' thing about my 13.7g peanut is that it won't cost too much to fill it). I can make it an envy 3-some 'cause I can only get Shell if I'm over by the Hudson valley; near home they don't have any local stations.

But why torture yourself trying to find out what others are paying - it isn't like you're going to order some cheaper gas from S. Carolina on Amazon. Just find a listing for what they pay in Europe and US prices will all feel a lot better.

[2000cs]

Originally Posted by Maynard

Upstate NY: it's about 3.85 for regular, 4.45 for premium (my last purchases). So 2.79 for regular makes me green with envy (as does the implication that your tank is at least 15 gallons - I guess the 'good' thing about my 13.7g peanut is that it won't cost too much to fill it). I can make it an envy 3-some 'cause I can only get Shell if I'm over by the Hudson valley; near home they don't have any local stations.

But why torture yourself trying to find out what others are paying - it isn't like you're going to order some cheaper gas from S. Carolina on Amazon. Just find a listing for what they pay in Europe and US prices will all feel a lot better.

Really just curious if the premium has increased widely or just a few stations. Only been noticing it the last few months.

15 gal (actually 20) in the Volvo XC60, 25 in the RAM (pickup, will take regular), about 22 in the 750Li. Volvo and BMW require 91+.

[Alfisti]

Yeah the mark up is real here. It's about 1.50 a litre for regular (89) and 91 is a solid 1.85 or so. No idea what that is American gazoinks.

[chassis]

$4.20 for premium, $1.50 less than the high in mid-2023. Approx $1.10 more than regular.

[iminhell1]

Car asks for premium. Just like kids will ask for every toy they see on TV. Don't mean you buy them everything.

You'll get the same MPG out of poverty fuel as you will the top shelf stuff. Long distance stuff, always go cheap.

[2000cs]

Originally Posted by iminhell1

Car asks for premium. Just like kids will ask for every toy they see on TV. Don't mean you buy them everything.

You'll get the same MPG out of poverty fuel as you will the top shelf stuff. Long distance stuff, always go cheap.

Or if the MPG is less (due to automatic timing adjustments to prevent knock), the extra fuel burned is cheaper than premium, I’d guess.

When I had my M5, first time I took it in for service the tech showed me how they could tell what octane I was running. Becomes a warranty issue. So there’s that on newer cars.

Also I’ve noticed almost every vehicle with a turbo these days wants 89 or 91 (one reason I bought the RAM is it is NA and only needs regular).

Volvo is out of warranty but a 4-banger with turbo and supercharger is probably going to fare better with the recommended octane. We’d like to keep it a few years more, and it is just now out of warranty.

[UncleWede]

I was excited this week that regular dropped below $5. 91 is the best we get, that is still about $1 more.

[Donatello.]

$4.50+ here in PA for a while.

[SW111]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

When I had my M5, first time I took it in for service the tech showed me how they could tell what octane I was running. Becomes a warranty issue. So there’s that on newer cars.

Please tell us how they knew what octane you were running.

Thanks

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

Two questions on the premium gas stations charge for premium gas:
1. What are you seeing?
2. What is reasonable?

I buy Shell V-Power in the Cincinnati region.

1) Cheapest this week: $3.84; closest to me, and the one I buy: $3.94; regular $2.88 & $2.95, respectively. So, a buck difference between low and high.
1a) Last I checked (a month ago), according to AAA my old stomping ground in San Francisco came in high/low at $5.60 and $5.20. How's that for a tiny spread!
1a1) Ironically, it was at a major's station on Upper Market Street in the City that I bought the cheapest gas ever. Not indexed for inflation, of course. It was 22.9¢ per gallon in late 1972, which was a full penny less than I was paying for major gas up on Boston Mountain in Northwest Arkansas a week prior. I should've taken a photo!

2) Gasoline is a commodity, and at retail I don't think "reasonable" is much of a factor in the markets where commodity products are sold. Think eggs.

Originally Posted by SW111

Please tell us how they knew what octane you were running.

Sensors, along with memory in which to store data the manufacturer and its dealers wish to have available.

These are the same ones that tell the DME what to do depending upon the octane being used. In the cars we've been running, this has been the case going back to at least the mid-90s.

[Esteban]

$4.99 for Chevron premium here in the Inland Empire.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

Two questions on the premium gas stations charge for premium gas:
1. What are you seeing?
2. What is reasonable?

Been doing a lot of driving lately. TN to CA and back, just got back from Cincy, etc. We usually prefer Shell premium (car requires 91, Shell here is 87, 89, 93) because it has been consistently good and we have their rewards ($0.10 off all grades, occasionally $0.20 off).

I’ve pulled in to a number of stations with a competitive price on the sign only to find midgrade and premium to be much more. Last night mid was $1.00 more than regular and premium was another $1.00 on top of that. Today I filled up and the premium from regular to 93 was $0.80, which I still think is high. Regular price here is around $2.79 +/- now for reference.

I feel like $0.40-0.60 is a reasonable spread from regular to 93 and I find that at my usual stations. But I’m seeing these super-premia more and more.

Doesn’t sound like much but one fill up at more than a $2.00 premium meant over $30 for the tank in just extra pricing.

Around here, it's between $.20 & $.40, depending on the station and when the tanks were filled. At Costco I've seen between $.20 & $.30; it's usually $.20, which to me is pretty reasonable. When we take road trips, it appalls me to see $.75+ (usually a full dollar) more for premium (91 octane).

Originally Posted by iminhell1

Car asks for premium. Just like kids will ask for every toy they see on TV. Don't mean you buy them everything.

You'll get the same MPG out of poverty fuel as you will the top shelf stuff. Long distance stuff, always go cheap.

So not true. Before Costco went Top Tier I started to get gas there on my 91 Octane (required/recommended) NA V8 when the major Top Tier stations were quite a bit higher than the Chevron station I was using. After a while, I noticed a slightly rough idle and harder starting. Nothing earth- shattering, but noticeable. I also saw a drop of about 75 miles of around-town driving per tank. I switched back to Chevron or Shell (Top Tier stations) and the idle smoothed out (couldn't tell the engine was running!) and I got the extra miles per tank back. Once Costco went Top Tier I returned. The quality of gas is very important to the cleanliness of the intake system and the fuel-burn.

[KevinC]

Wow, the gap is worse in other places than I would have guessed.

Here in AZ it ranges from about 60c to 90c between regular price & premium at the same station. I'm currently using 76 (Top Tier) and the delta had been 80c but recently was dropped to 65c. Regular there is about $3.54 which is good for my area in SE Arizona. Up in Tucson (about 90 miles from me) I've seen regular as low as $2.70 last week.

[Bc2005]

I always run premium in my M340i, and it performs well and gets great gas mileage. Just not worth the trouble to experiment with running regular unless that’s all that is available at the pump. I did try running 100% gas (no ethanol) a couple times when pumps offered it in areas with a lot of off-road vehicles. It was more expensive, but seemed to improve gas mileage.

It is also a little surprising that some folks in this forum will spend thousands on HP exhaust, expensive unlock fees for special tuning , bigger tire and wheels, and many other performance improvements, but then start wondering if it’s worth it to buy premium gas.

It also seems that running top tier fuel might be more important than octane, due to the direct injection BMW uses. Port injection injects fuel into the port before the valves, so the gas/air mixture scours and cleans the valves. BMW direct injection sends fuel directly into the combustion chamber, which is after the valves, so there is no equivalent cleaning/scouring of valves and valve seats. As always , YMMV.

[cooolone2]

Never understood any concern over has prices for anyone buying a vehicle with a performance engine!?

You gotta PAY to PLAY!

And in all reality, should be ordering a 55gal drum of Race fuel (like Sunoco) to top off your tank when wanting to play

Lol...

But yeah, gone are the days when the separation between octane levels was merely $.10-.25¢

[floridaorange]

a lot cheaper right now - paid $3.85 for 93 octane the other day - couldn’t believe it…

Anyone ever use motor/fuel treatments? Mobile or Liquimoly products?

[Maynard]

I run a bottle of Techron every 5k miles or so, try to time it before an oil change. I was told this is the same as the BMW branded injector cleaner. And Stabil with no-ethanol gas for the winter storage.

[gatorfast]

Costco is the way to go for best value on gas. At least in south Florida, Shell is consistently more expensive than any other brand.

[cmyx6go]

Shell this morning.
Regular $3.61
Plus $4.11
V-Power $4.61

You may be old when you remember there being a $0.05 difference between the grades and when diesel was the cheapest.

[iminhell1]

Originally Posted by SW111

Please tell us how they knew what octane you were running.

Thanks

Here is what I found for the N54 engine's computers,

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

Costco is the way to go for best value on gas. At least in south Florida, Shell is consistently more expensive than any other brand.

I think Costco is the cheapest top tier gasoline here, too. GasBuddy.com says that 45 minutes ago premium was $3.52 at the Costco nearest me.

That's 15 miles away, though, and in a direction I almost never go. The Shell station two blocks away gets my business; V-Power is $3.95 there right now.