Price of 96 octane

[sinned]

Paul Henry presented some info on the price of 96 Octane fuel from around the country on TV1 Breakfast session this morning.

Differences between 91 and 96 octane vary from 5 cents to 15 cents at Servos. This is something Henry is onto. A key issue is the Servos are not displaying the price of the higher octane fuel on the main price displays. I heard one TV journo make the point that discounting and price competition tends to be limited to base level products and this is what is happening with fuel. However the difference is that a lot of vehicles and motorcycles have to run on 96.

I am thinking about what can be done about this price gouging and I that I haven't taken much notice of the price difference 91 - 96.

[p.dath]

Check out the AA petrol price watch:
http://www.aa.co.nz/motoring/owning/...s/default.aspx

[wickle]

Paul Henry presented some info on the price of 96 Octane fuel from around the country on TV1 Breakfast session this morning.

Differences between 91 and 96 octane vary from 5 cents to 15 cents at Servos. This is something Henry is onto. A key issue is the Servos are not displaying the price of the higher octane fuel on the main price displays. I heard one TV journo make the point that discounting and price competition tends to be limited to base level products and this is what is happening with fuel. However the difference is that a lot of vehicles and motorcycles have to run on 96.

I am thinking about what can be done about this price gouging and I that I haven't taken much notice of the price difference 91 - 96.

we dont have 96 it is now 95;;; some months ago difference between 91-95 was 5cents per litre now generally 8 cents per litre

[YellowDog]

I use 95 in the bike, which is the standard grade in Europe.

I don't know where the low 91 grade standard comes from.

My wife's car pinks badly with it in, so it is 95 all around.

Maybe they should make 95 the pricing standard that they display and have 91 at a discount?

Does anyone use 91 in their vehicles?

IMO - Chain saws and lawn mowers is all it's good for.

[p.dath]

I use 95 in the bike, which is the standard grade in Europe.

I don't know where the low 91 grade standard comes from.
...
Does anyone use 91 in their vehicles?

IMO - Chain saws and lawn mowers is all it's good for.

I use 91 in my CBR600F. I've tried 98 (from BP) and 91 in my 1.6l car, found little difference, and tend to use the cheaper 91 as a result.

[Swoop]

Those in Auckland know of the BP Papakura, next to the motorway. There is never any sign of the petrol price, as per a regular service station, on the main sign. You have to go to the pump to find out that it is several cents per litre more expensive than other servo's.
Go to the top of the Bombay's for the "normally" priced fuel.



Also: http://www.price-watch.co.nz/default.aspx

[sharky]

Those in Auckland know of the BP Papakura, next to the motorway. There is never any sign of the petrol price, as per a regular service station, on the main sign. You have to go to the pump to find out that it is several cents per litre more expensive than other servo's.
Go to the top of the Bombay's for the "normally" priced fuel.



Also: http://www.price-watch.co.nz/default.aspx

Apparently it is also the busiest gas station in NZ........ go figure.

[Badjelly]

Differences between 91 and 96 octane vary from 5 cents to 15 cents at Servos.

To the best of my knowledge, a difference in the vicinity of 15 cents only applies at BP, where they have extra-special high-octane stuff that's worth much more (or not) than the ordinary 95. So it's not quite the same thing.

Yes, this is a trap for the unwary. I made the mistake once of filling the Telstar up at BP Kaikoura without looking at the price. But it's not a mistake I'm going to make again.

I don't really object to Close Up publicising this, but seriously, anyone with a vehicle that uses 95 or higher must surely know by now that you look carefully at the price for the fuel you're buying and that BP is much dearer than the others.

On a slightly related note, I lived in the USA for a few years and early on I drove into a gas station and made the mistake of stopping at the full service aisle. I wondered why this guy came up and insisted on filling the tank for me and washing the windscreen and checking the tire pressure. I realised why when I came to pay: the petrol was 20% dearer than it was from the serve-yourself aisle. Another mistake I made only once.

[Gremlin]

yep, BP Ultimate and Mobil's Synergy 8000 or whatever is even more expensive than regular 95 (because its a minimum of 97.5 or something)

Currently, the premium price is around 1.659... I filled in Mangawhai a weekend or two ago... not making that mistake again... 1.809

Hornet 900 likes 91, and gets good fuel economy from it.

Petrol Stations used to list both 91 and 95/96 on their boards... its annoyed me for a while that 95/96 wasn't listed...

[jono035]

98 has been between 1.689 and 1.819 over the past few months at the Mt Eden Mobil station according to saved dockets. Eww.

[CookMySock]

I am thinking about what can be done about this price gouging

Best thing to do about it, is find something more interesting to do, and get a better income.

Steve

[AllanB]

Hornet 900 is happy on 91, and the shop recommends it - OK by the owners book too (think it says 89 or higher).

Depends on the bike - some specify 91 some higher.

I've been running on the last 2 tanks on 95 as phase C of the experiment - still don't notice any difference but I really don't thrash it, and when I am giving it a bit of stick in the hills I'm too busy hanging on to notice a 1 hp gain!!!!!

Anyone got a dyno a bike and time to drain/change tanks to test and real gains?

[jono035]

Hornet 900 is happy on 91, and the shop recommends it - OK by the owners book too (think it says 89 or higher).

Depends on the bike - some specify 91 some higher.

I've been running on the last 2 tanks on 95 as phase C of the experiment - still don't notice any difference but I really don't thrash it, and when I am giving it a bit of stick in the hills I'm too busy hanging on to notice a 1 hp gain!!!!!

Anyone got a dyno a bike and time to drain/change tanks to test and real gains?

Higher octane fuel = less energy per liter... If you're losing power due to lower octane fuel then it's not the power loss to be worried about, it's what the pre-ignition is doing to your engine...

Edit: If you're testing it, just pull off the fuel hose and run the bike from an external container. Could even swap fuel sources with the bike running if you're really keen (and don't mind possibly being set on fire!)

[AllanB]

Higher octane fuel = less energy per liter... If you're losing power due to lower octane fuel then it's not the power loss to be worried about, it's what the pre-ignition is doing to your engine...

No loss at all, all good in the Honda department , I'm just experimenting after reading many comments on KB in past posts regarding 'goes heaps better on 95 etc". Maybe I'm getting too old to notice, or is it just the extra cost gives a perception of running better!

[jono035]

No loss at all, all good in the Honda department , I'm just experimenting after reading many comments on KB in past posts regarding 'goes heaps better on 95 etc". Maybe I'm getting too old to notice, or is it just the extra cost gives a perception of running better!

Same thing with 'audiophile quality' power cables for your stereo. If you expect/want to hear a difference, you will. When I bought my accord I went 'Jap car, should run off anything' and stuck 91 in it. It pinged like a bastard so I now put 98 in it. Still makes a little crackling noises if I'm trying to accelerate in low gear but nowhere near as bad. I think the manual states 95 as a minimum, but the idea of a little bit of safety margin sounds good to me, a 2.4L engine at 7.5k is pretty big to be flailing around that fast.