Premium gas

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Originally Posted By: Studebaker
What is going on with premium gas? There used to be a 20 cent diff from regular, but now it is running 60 cents +?

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I remember when it was two cents difference.
 
Yeah I went down to the beach last weekend and it was a 90 cent difference!

So I'm paying $20 more a tank than I would with regular... Ridiculous!
 
Not sure, the difference seems to vary widely. About a $0.30 cent diff here. Only pump it for the bike, which is factory tuned for 91.
 
I've noticed that the stations that advertise the Premium price on their signs have a much smaller difference than the stations that do not. I like running 93 in my truck when towing for the extra fuel mileage but with the wide variety in prices it makes finding a cost effective station not worth the hassle.
 
It went from 40 cents to 50 here when Shell had their VPower Nitro promotion giving away 100 BMW's in 100 days.
It's stayed there and the other stations raised it also.

Shell is now offering 10 cents a gallon off VPower Nitro when you purchase over 8 gallons when using the Fuel Rewards card.
I seem to remember a something about a 10.9 cent retailer bonus too.

Shell Fuel Rewards
"Dispenser may require a price of up to 10.9 cents per gallon."
 
Reg gas a small markup but they make their money with volume. If they make .10 per gallon net profit but sell one million gallons then their profit is $100,000.00. On the premium they may make .50 net profit but only sell 200,000 gallons and they end up making a $100,000.00 profit.
 
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Yeah I went down to the beach last weekend and it was a 90 cent difference!

So I'm paying $20 more a tank than I would with regular... Ridiculous!


If you continue to buy it they will continue to raise the price.
 
Most every gas station where I live raised it in late 2014 from being .20 higher than regular unleaded to .40-.50¢ higher per gallon. I've seen independent gas stations in bad areas of town charge much more for premium and the gas is possibly months old.
 
I'm finding out my Mustang GT runs fine on 87 octane. It's a $.60 difference here, so I figured I would experiment. I don't drive the car hard anyways and it's not pinging. If I ever go to the track it would get 93.
 
Additive packs are getting better and more expensive, and they load up the premium fuel with add pack. So the price goes higher because the R.O.I. on additive research.

There is a higher profit margin on Premium, and marketing.
 
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Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Reg gas a small markup but they make their money with volume. If they make .10 per gallon net profit but sell one million gallons then their profit is $100,000.00. On the premium they may make .50 net profit but only sell 200,000 gallons and they end up making a $100,000.00 profit.


You are saying that the premium has a higher profit margin due to smaller demand.

The one trend that I notice in Michigan is that when gas prices skyrocket ($3.50+), then the difference between the two grades is consistently smaller, usually around ten to fifteen cents. Why is this? Does the current high difference equal price gouging or are there other logical explanations in addition to SatinSilver's? Do they adjust the profit margin to what they think consumers will tolerate?
 
This is the time of year gas prices are falling. Higher volume grades drop faster than premium, or at least that's always been my observation.

Of course the converse SHOULD be true but it never is- when prices are rising all the grades rise in unison (otherwise premium would be cheaper than regular).
 
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Not sure, the difference seems to vary widely. About a $0.30 cent diff here. Only pump it for the bike, which is factory tuned for 91.


My tuner also recommends 91 for my FZ1. It's about 12 to 20 cents more per litre in Ontari-owe. But it is ethanol-free at many stations, so that's something.
 
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from what I've read, they are now sourced differently. regular gas can be made from dirtier, cheaper crude, such as what we get from fracking. Higher octanes require a higher grade of crude than the cheaper bulk stuff flooding the market.
 
Gas prices are falling and if a station is not selling premium they are stuck with old stock. I see that all the time around Nj,premium is normally 40 cents more. Some stations with old sock are 70,80,90 cents more
 
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