Sunoco stations with 4 different octane choices?

[Luftmasse]

So what is it with Sunoco Gas station having 4 different flavors - 87, 89, 91, and 93. Why not eliminate the 91, if already have 93 like the other gas station does. I don't see what is the point of having 91.

Is there a difference from 91 to 93?

 

[Garak]

Some vehicles call for a 91 minimum. Some people owning a vehicle calling for a 91 minimum may not want to pay for a 93, at least not on an ongoing basis (i.e. me).

 

[Rolla07]

More selection..supreme(premium) in canada is 91octane. Petro canada has 94 octane... just south in ny they have 87,89, and 93 (no 91). I dont think there is much difference. Granted you can equally argue about how many choices you guys have in grocery stores. Ie. Multiple brands of ketchup...much more selection than up here...i wouldnt complain about having more selection and more options. I put 87 in my cars and dont lose sleep. (OEM recommends 87 or higher)

 

[Newman88]

I thought it had to with altitude? The higher up the lower the octane. Like in my location 3000'+ above sea level REG is 86 Med is 88 and Super is 91.
Just recently ive seen some gas stations upping the octane to 87 89 91.

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by Rolla07
More selection..supreme(premium) in canada is 91octane. Petro canada has 94 octane... just south in ny they have 87,89, and 93 (no 91). I dont think there is much difference. Granted you can equally argue about how many choices you guys have in grocery stores. Ie. Multiple brands of ketchup...much more selection than up here...i wouldnt complain about having more selection and more options. I put 87 in my cars and dont lose sleep. (OEM recommends 87 or higher)
Petro Canada does not have 94 octane, at least in Ontario. Sunoco used to have "Ultra 94" but they have been gone for years now. Highest in Toronto is 93 octane Shell.

 

[Luftmasse]

My point is if you are gonna offer 93 octane, don't offer 91 like the rest of the other gas stations. They only sell 87, 89, and 93 only.

 

[PimTac]

Way back when I used to get gasoline at a Hancock station that had a dial which the octane could be selected. It didn't work but it was a reminder of older days when some wanted real Ethyl.

This was before unleaded gas became the standard.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by PimTac
Way back when I used to get gasoline at a Hancock station that had a dial which the octane could be selected. It didn't work but it was a reminder of older days when some wanted real Ethyl.

This was before unleaded gas became the standard.

Tetraethyl lead was extremely effective at boosting the octane rating. These days oxygenates do that.

It could have just been controlling the amount of TEL added.

 

[Revving2Redline]

When I was in DFW all QTs had 93 octane.Since its E10 I think that could make sense and high octane to prevent detonation on all those exotic cars rolling around.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by painfx
So what is it with Sunoco Gas station having 4 different flavors - 87, 89, 91, and 93. Why not eliminate the 91, if already have 93 like the other gas station does. I don't see what is the point of having 91.

Is there a difference from 91 to 93?

2 octane points is a huge difference. I know it sounds like a small number, but it's a massive difference in terms of potential performance. For instance, in a Honda Civic Type-R the power rating is 306 HP with 91 octane. I remember seeing some video where the operations head of the Honda factory in Swindon went for a test ride in someone's new Type-R. He mentions that with 98 RON it was rated at 316 HP. I don't think the guy taking delivery quite understands the difference between RON and AKI, or at least didn't quite understand at the time.

I only wish we could find 93 octane around here. There are quite a few engines these days that are tuned for maximum performance with 93 AKI. If there's anything higher than 91 AKI, it's made with street legal 100 AKI octane unleaded racing fuel.

 

[TiGeo]

The better question is, what is the price difference per gallon between 91 and 93?

 

[SHOZ]

In my area Casey's, a chain out of Iowa, sells 91 premium. Almost all others are 93. A couple of years ago it use to be 92 and 93 was hard to find. The 93 I buy at a Mom and Pop is cheaper by 30 cents than the 91 Casey's sells. And one Casey's sells 93 with no alcohol as 'recreational fuel, meant for outdoor power equipment. It's about 50 cents a gallon cheaper than the road tax premium.

 

[Audios]

Most of the no names around me have 4 flavors, and the majors have 3. 93 is only 10 cents more than 91, so not really worth it IMO unless Im just throwin 5$ into a customers car to get the light off. It probably comes down to the station owner and where hes getting his pumps. Once Sunoco stopped with the 94, I noticed alot of pump had the 4 options, so maybe they buy their used or older design ones in the no brand stations. Ive also noticed no more vapor recovery hoses.

 

[Olas]

Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by painfx
So what is it with Sunoco Gas station having 4 different flavors - 87, 89, 91, and 93. Why not eliminate the 91, if already have 93 like the other gas station does. I don't see what is the point of having 91.

Is there a difference from 91 to 93?

2 octane points is a huge difference. I know it sounds like a small number, but it's a massive difference in terms of potential performance. For instance, in a Honda Civic Type-R the power rating is 306 HP with 91 octane. I remember seeing some video where the operations head of the Honda factory in Swindon went for a test ride in someone's new Type-R. He mentions that with 98 RON it was rated at 316 HP. I don't think the guy taking delivery quite understands the difference between RON and AKI, or at least didn't quite understand at the time.

I only wish we could find 93 octane around here. There are quite a few engines these days that are tuned for maximum performance with 93 AKI. If there's anything higher than 91 AKI, it's made with street legal 100 AKI octane unleaded racing fuel.



91 to 93 is two numbers, which is an order of magnitude away from two points.
TEL and BTX are available on eBay and will push your octane past 100, never mind a piddly 93

 

[Pelican]

Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by Rolla07
More selection..supreme(premium) in canada is 91octane. Petro canada has 94 octane... just south in ny they have 87,89, and 93 (no 91). I dont think there is much difference. Granted you can equally argue about how many choices you guys have in grocery stores. Ie. Multiple brands of ketchup...much more selection than up here...i wouldnt complain about having more selection and more options. I put 87 in my cars and dont lose sleep. (OEM recommends 87 or higher)
Petro Canada does not have 94 octane, at least in Ontario. Sunoco used to have "Ultra 94" but they have been gone for years now. Highest in Toronto is 93 octane Shell.


I can guarantee that Petro Canada has 94 octane, as that's what I use, it's only $0.03 per litre more than cents than 91.
Also the only "Grade" that doesn't have ethanol is the highest as all the others are a result of mixing the highest with the lowest

Shell only has 91 as the highest

 

[SevenBizzos]

Originally Posted by painfx
My point is if you are gonna offer 93 octane, don't offer 91 like the rest of the other gas stations. They only sell 87, 89, and 93 only.


I don't even get the 89. Just go 87 and 93 (or 91, 94, whatever it is). Once E15-88 showed up around here, a lot of the stations abandoned the 89.

 

[Gixxer8989]

Originally Posted by Pelican
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by Rolla07
More selection..supreme(premium) in canada is 91octane. Petro canada has 94 octane... just south in ny they have 87,89, and 93 (no 91). I dont think there is much difference. Granted you can equally argue about how many choices you guys have in grocery stores. Ie. Multiple brands of ketchup...much more selection than up here...i wouldnt complain about having more selection and more options. I put 87 in my cars and dont lose sleep. (OEM recommends 87 or higher)
Petro Canada does not have 94 octane, at least in Ontario. Sunoco used to have "Ultra 94" but they have been gone for years now. Highest in Toronto is 93 octane Shell.


I can guarantee that Petro Canada has 94 octane, as that's what I use, it's only $0.03 per litre more than cents than 91.
Also the only "Grade" that doesn't have ethanol is the highest as all the others are a result of mixing the highest with the lowest

Shell only has 91 as the highest


I can confirm that Petro Canada absolutely does have 94 octane gas in Ontario. Not all stations carry it but there is usually 1 in each city that does. I drive to the USA a lot and it seems like more and more they only have 93 as premium not 91.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Only my '93 intech V8 in my Mk Viii needed high octane - it would actually knock hard when i tried a mix in of 87. My jetta turbo just wants a couple gallons premium on top of a tank of 87 - any more slow burn juice , it gets sluggish and unhappy.

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by Gixxer8989
Originally Posted by Pelican
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by Rolla07
More selection..supreme(premium) in canada is 91octane. Petro canada has 94 octane... just south in ny they have 87,89, and 93 (no 91). I dont think there is much difference. Granted you can equally argue about how many choices you guys have in grocery stores. Ie. Multiple brands of ketchup...much more selection than up here...i wouldnt complain about having more selection and more options. I put 87 in my cars and dont lose sleep. (OEM recommends 87 or higher)
Petro Canada does not have 94 octane, at least in Ontario. Sunoco used to have "Ultra 94" but they have been gone for years now. Highest in Toronto is 93 octane Shell.


I can guarantee that Petro Canada has 94 octane, as that's what I use, it's only $0.03 per litre more than cents than 91.
Also the only "Grade" that doesn't have ethanol is the highest as all the others are a result of mixing the highest with the lowest

Shell only has 91 as the highest


I can confirm that Petro Canada absolutely does have 94 octane gas in Ontario. Not all stations carry it but there is usually 1 in each city that does. I drive to the USA a lot and it seems like more and more they only have 93 as premium not 91.
Nice, I'll have to check my local PC. I usually go to an independent station near me, so I rarely buy gas from a franchise.

 

[Snagglefoot]

It's interesting that someone would seek out the highest octane to get the best performance from their vehicle. For vehicles that can advance the timing to take advantage of the higher octane, this makes sense. But, what is " best performance"? I take it to mean greater acceleration. The other way to get greater acceleration is to nail the engine and move the shift points to 6,000 rpm. You can do this without having to buy a higher octane fuel.