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94 octane gasoline = quieter ICE

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by bb4srv, Jun 15, 2018.

  1. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

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    It is common practice around here.
    Around here Premium is always a minimum of a dollar a gallon more at every station except Sams Club

    I just won’t ever buy Premium fuel and 92/93 octane is very rare as well to begin with
    99% of stations 91 octane is premium with a few 90 octane places
     
  2. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Off topic but I was looking for that video.
    That steep climb video is interesting in view of the Lion Air accident.
    The test pilot must have the anti-stall MCAS system disabled, I assume.
     
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Card transactions are to the penny.
     
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  4. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Is it also common to see mid-grade at a dollar more than regular ??
    THAT is what caught my eye in the original picture.
     
  5. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Is all your premium ethanol free?
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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  7. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

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    It’s about a 50% chance

    93 is never ethanol free 91 almost always is e free

    But 87 is efree at about 1 out of 4 outlets
     
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    How do you tell? You ask, they post on the pump, you test?
     
  9. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

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    It’s legally required on the pump but...

    In my area e free is a big deal, certain stations list all grades as e free right on the big sign

    Other stations list specific grades with ethanol content from zero to e85

    It’s pretty obvious what you get
    Heck there is even an online puregas gas buddy like site that lists e free and another that lists only e85
     
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  10. litesong

    litesong Active Member

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    Yeah, Wisconsin has 936 ethanol-free gasoline (E0) sources & comprises 7% of all the E0 sources in the U.S. & Canada.
     
  11. litesong

    litesong Active Member

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    The majority of limited available ethanol-free gasoline (E0) sources in Canada is 91 octane. British Columbia has quite a number of 94 octane E0 sources, along with other octanes of E0.
     
    #91 litesong, Dec 16, 2018
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2018
  12. litesong

    litesong Active Member

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    There ya go!
     
  13. litesong

    litesong Active Member

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    87 octane E10 blend is a wide octane spread of 114 octane ethanol molecules & 84 octane gasoline molecules. It is the 84 octane gasoline molecules that knock in an 87 octane designed gasoline engine. 91 octane E10 blend is a less wide octane spread of 114 octane ethanol & ~ 88 octane gasoline molecules, contributing to less knocking. Now, if you could have found & chosen 88 octane ethanol-free gasoline(E0), all the gasoline molecules would have been 88 octane & probably would have less knocking, been quieter & provided higher MPG.
     
    #93 litesong, Dec 16, 2018
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2018
  14. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    That's an interesting theory.
    But individual molecules do NOT "knock".
     
  15. litesong

    litesong Active Member

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    Its mathematics: 10% 114 octane ethanol molecules, blended into 90% 84 octane gasoline molecules give a designated 87 octane E10 blend. Individual gasoline molecules may not knock, but millions of 84 octane gasoline molecules are knocking in every cylinder explosion in an "87 octane gasoline" designed engine. "samspade2" knew this, but had to squawk about "theory" & individual molecules, for some reason.
     
    #95 litesong, Dec 17, 2018
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2018
  16. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    The reason IS......that the way you stated it is misleading and wrong.

    In normal operation, there is no "explosion"; there is a controlled burn.
    The mixture of different molecules helps prevent an explosion.
    Just the presence of nitrogen and carbon dioxide in the mixture tends to slow down the burn.

    And finally, "octane" is a measure of a characteristic of the whole fuel mixture.
    A single molecule does not have an "octane number".
     
  17. PT Guy

    PT Guy Senior Member

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    There are two methods to lab-test for octane, the Research Octane Number (RON) and the Motor Octane Number (MON). The U.S. and Canada post the arithmetic average of the two numbers...RON + MON ÷ 2...and call the result the Anti Knock Index (AKI). The AKI is posted on the pump. Other parts of the world use just the RON which runs 6 or 7 numbers higher for the same gasoline.

    The price spreads listed above for different AKI levels is just goofy. Here in the Seattle area we currently have $2.99/$3.19/$3.29 for the three grades of E10. The top grade is usually 91 to 93 AKI.
     
  18. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

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    It certainly isn’t uncommon

    Most stations charge about a quarter less for mid grade than premium,
    So $0.65-$1.00 more for mid grade is quite common.

    Only place that is sometimes bucking the trend is the Indian Casino, got gas for $1.99 a gallon today, noticed mid grade was $2.09
    everywhere else 87 was at least $2.17 on up
    Cheapest mid grade in town is at Sams club for $2.75 a gallon
     
  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    We could probably clear up a lot of debt, be better off, if everyone used the spec'd gas?

    The percent of cars that actually need the higher octane is so low, and yet there the various options stand in a row, with equal billing...
     
  20. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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