Some states you will see that regular is 85.5 octane and others 87 octane. That is usually due to altitude, but most modern engines with a ECM can adjust to what you feed them.

A refinery or bunk storage tanker loading rack will load out a whole variety of gasoline and even meter out a brands specific additives. Going to an Exxon station DOES NOT mean the gas came from an Exxon refinery. It means it is Exxon spec. 87 octane gasoline is not all the same either. 87 octane means it is blended to be 87 octane EQUIVALENT. It could have more high octane "blended" to bring poor quality fuel up to that level or just be be mid grade. They could do this by mixing in a little 100 octane or a lot of 92 octane. An actual octane (C8H18) is extremely stable and difficult to detonate (make you engine knock) a heptane (C7H16) is unstable and easy to detonate but add enough octane to heptane and you have 87 octane. All actual octanes are not the same either. Just because a molecule is made up of 8 carbons and some hydrogen does not mean it will burn the same. IF the carbons are in a string with the hydrogens bonded on the sides it will burn different than 8 carbons cross bonded as clump with the hydrogen on the outside. That is one of the reasons why refineries now have reformers.

Most high octane fuel for either high performance engines or blending now comes from alky units that take iso butane and iso propane blended together with either pure sulfuric acid or hydrofluoric acid to form high octane.

Here is another interesting fact concerning gasoline prices.
Last year US oil producers recovered more barrels of oil than at any time prior to 2020. In fact 5% more that the previous records set during 2019. Plus consumption is down 2%. Petroleum company profits however are up to 332,874 million in 2022 from 173,475 million in 2019 a 191% revenue increase. The previous record high was in 2014 at 218,790 million

Hey, gas prices doubled and oil company revenues did the same. Amazing huh.

PS the most recent record low petroleum revenues was in 2016 at 100,651 million and 112,118 in the 2020 covid period

heck When I flew a fair amount I used aviation gas when I had to. Mostly used regular car gas. Even high test was cheaper than Avgas. Understand...I lived at an elevation of 60 feet. I didn't fly higher than 5000 ft so I didn't have to worry about (vapor lock) the different gas except I couldn't use lead free gas. I used High test in my Cessna 170. Otherwise regular in my Cessna 140, Ercoupe and the TriPacer. They used 80/87 octane avgas anyway

Woah, $4.49 in the 90s sounds rough! Luckily, gas prices around here (Phoenix) haven't hit that high in my memory. Still, filling up my little sedan these days feels a lot more expensive than when I first started driving.

I tend to use GasBuddy to find the cheapest stations around. It's saved me a few bucks here and there, especially when prices are fluctuating. Just a thought in case you're looking to stretch that tank a little further!

Just filled up for $2.87 per gallon.

Premium non alcohol that I run in the Model A is hovering around $5 a gallon, I don't have to run the premium but its the closest non alcohol fuel and the A-Bone loves the stuff. We don't have a state income tax, so all the sin taxes are high, booze and smokes are some of the highest in the country. Everyone is getting soaked by high costs, our homeowners went up $500 in one year. We've had some bad years locally when it comes to fire damage, they are going to get their money one way or another and have to keep all the investors happy including some folk's retirement plans. I just glad I planned for retirement, continually surprised at the number of people that act like it snuck up on them and caught them by surprise. How can anyone blame anyone for some of the cost increases when it is obviously just based on greed, I have to agree with Pogo or whoever it was that said "I have met the enemy and he is us."

I should have been a little more specific, I was referring to the premium.

Most places I've lived, the E10 grades were 87, 89, and 93. E0 is 91.

Here in the Midwestern capital of fruits and nuts, the E10 grades are 87 and 91. E15 is 88 (there is no mid-grade E10), and E0 is also 91. I've seen E85 very infrequently, I don't remember its rating.

Since ethanol slightly increases the octane, and it's lower than other places, I suspect here in MN they use lower grade gas as a base for their ethanol.

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Common sense isn't so common.

I've got a friend in California I keep in touch with by texting. I love busting his chops about various things. Of course the price of gas and the pending 50¢ additional tax per gallon to combat emissions topped the list.

This was his latest reply...

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Speaking of California and gas prices, some think that a California bill regarding oil company profits and gouging could really hose the market in the SW. If it does, our state AG needs to file suit under the interstate commerce provisions.

Lombardo letter warns California law could drive gas prices higher in Nevada, Arizona

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Release the Kraken

It should say "alleged" gouging but when did the Left ever admit that before going after someone.

Starting in 2025 (?) California wants to impose an additional 50¢ tax per gal of gas as part of their plan to finance reducing emissions. I'm thinking the Governor knows the people wont stand for it so he would basically get the oil companies to cover the cost of the new tax by lowering their profits/costs.

Make sense??

LOL!! I think the phrase you are looking for is "Fat Chance".

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Release the Kraken

We can take cracks at Californians all day long but a friend of mine in the L.A. area has driven his '32 Highboy for over thirty years as a nearly daily driver and has never put the top up. He told me once that when it looks like it might rain he puts Rain-Ex in his hair. I envy those guys, the only thing better than a ragtop is a bike and at my age I can't make it through another bike wreck, I might stand a chance with some tin around me.

The one that makes we wonder is the variance in diesel fuel.

At the Mt Cobb Exit of I-84 there are 3 gas stations, A Mobil, and Exxon, and a Sunoco. Their diesel cost $3.99/gal.

10 miles away on Keyser Ave in Scranton is another Mobil, their diesel is $4.49/gal, and many truck fuel up there since it's an industrial/warehouse heavy area.

I think it would be worth it to drive 10 miles to save 50 cents a gallon, especially when a fill-up may be 100 gallons.

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BTDT, Got The T-Shirt