Did anyone else notice we now have unleaded with 91 octane instead of 93?

[odie vti]

Hi guys, I was filling up the other day in Shell gas station in Commonwealth (across Technohub) and I went down to check if the gas attendant was pumping Fuel Save Unleaded... normally when I look at the pump, I see the Yellow box sticker that says "93" octane (95 for premium and 95+ or 97+ for the most expensive one.... 100+ octane pa nga kapag Petron Blaze)... BUT TO MY SURPRISE, A WHITE STICKER OVERLAY SAYS "91 OCTANE"... I thought it was only Shell, but today I had a fill-up at Flying V in Commonwealth cor. Elliptical Road, and the usual Thunder Unleaded with 93 octane also had a white sticker overlay saying 91 octane. NOTE: This only applies to the CHEAPEST UNLEADED FUEL. PREMIUM GAS (like Shell Nitro+ and Petron XCS still have 95 octane rating, and Shell Nitro+ Racing and Petron Blaze still the same 95+/97+/100+ octane rating).

Looks like we're getting screwed again by the oil companies.

We are already getting low-class, low-grade, and dirty fuel (especially diesel, which is the root cause of many CRDi system failures and problems), and NOW THIS... even lower class / lower grade fuel for the basic unleaded... BASICALLY A DOWNGRADE. I think this is a "SILENT CAMPAIGN" by the oil companies. They never let the public know through media, print or otherwise. Yeah, they lowered the prices of fuel alright, but lowering the quality as well???? Tsktsk. This just means MORE PROFIT FOR THE OIL COMPANIES (you see, a lower octane rating means this is a cheaper fuel to produce) and MORE DAMAGE to our engines (lower octane may sometimes cause more engine knock and pinging... although some cars ECU have a knock sensor and easily adapt to the octane change, but some cars can't cope with really low octane... on the other hand, countries like the United States have 87 octane as the cheapest unleaded fuel around, and 89 for the premium and 93 for the super premium). This also translates to LOWER ENGINE PERFORMANCE, WHICH MAY LEAD TO LOWER OR LESSER FUEL EFFICIENCY... our engines have decreased power thus more throttle is applied to accelerate rapidly than before.

Any one else noticed this "silent campaign" or shall we say "silent deception"?????

[istan]

But ur informed that its 91 octane by the sign. Just don't gas up with that if u don't like. They have other products.

[BratPAQ]

gagawin daw standard na yung 91 octane. di ba 91 octane and up ang mostly recommended sa mga kotse? except for those sports car etc.

[jhnkvn]

1. Uhh.. the only reason why ang taas ng octane natin is thanks to ethanol doing its job in raising it.

2. 87 is considered "regular" and anything with an octane of 91 and above is already considered premium. When did 91 octane become the gold standard? Last time I checked, my Sonata simply requires 87. Hell, even the 2.0 turbocharged GDi Sonata can run without knocking on 87 octane fuel.. although doing so gives a disservice to the engine; gawin at least 91 octane naman yan. And yes, the tens of thousands of Civic FDs you see plying the roads everyday have an octane rating of 87.

3. By the way, you're equating lower octane with lower quality fuel. That is incorrect.

4. The only thing octane says is that "I will not knock your engine if you feed me the appropriate or better rating"

5. Want more engine performance? Throw away your spare tire. A 50lb reduction (assuming full tire) is way more tangible in "better" performance than the performance difference a 91 to 93 octane would give you.

6. Depending on the engine, there might be a plus in peak horsepower if doing higher grade fuel. But a plus in the torque band? That's harder to come by.

[odie vti]

I started this thread because I just feel we're basically paying the same amount per liter for a lower class fuel... more shortchanged, actually. As a consumer, I would want the best value for money.

[Nicotoy]

A friend from Shell mentioned that it had something to do with revised DENR ratings or something like that. If you'll notice, some time ago, Shell Nitro+ was rated at 93 Octane alongside FuelSave Unleaded, which was also at 93 Octane at the time. With the recent revision, FuelSave is now rated at 91 and Nitro+ is rated at 95. As for the technical specifics, I don't know.

[fourtheboys96]

I started this thread because I just feel we're basically paying the same amount per liter for a lower class fuel... more shortchanged, actually. As a consumer, I would want the best value for money.

as mentioned by another member, low octane rating is not synonymous to low fuel quality.
since you have access to internet, you can google the role of octane on car engines and why using fuel with octane higher than what is recommended is a waste of money.

[kisshmet]

I started this thread because I just feel we're basically paying the same amount per liter for a lower class fuel... more shortchanged, actually. As a consumer, I would want the best value for money.

this notion is valid only in the onset when they implemented the change but afterwards they adjusted the price to a lower level corresponding to the octane reduction

as for the misconception that lower octane is more dirty than higher octane gas is simply untrue. high octane gas produce more energy when burned providing more power to kick the piston, that extra power cause more wear & tear to the engine of your car in exchange for extra mileage (if the traffic is free flowing)

[miked]

Looks like we're getting screwed again by the oil companies.

We are already getting low-class, low-grade, and dirty fuel (especially diesel, which is the root cause of many CRDi system failures and problems), and NOW THIS... even lower class / lower grade fuel for the basic unleaded... BASICALLY A DOWNGRADE. I think this is a "SILENT CAMPAIGN" by the oil companies. They never let the public know through media, print or otherwise. Yeah, they lowered the prices of fuel alright, but lowering the quality as well???? Tsktsk. This just means MORE PROFIT FOR THE OIL COMPANIES (you see, a lower octane rating means this is a cheaper fuel to produce) and MORE DAMAGE to our engines (lower octane may sometimes cause more engine knock and pinging... although some cars ECU have a knock sensor and easily adapt to the octane change, but some cars can't cope with really low octane... on the other hand, countries like the United States have 87 octane as the cheapest unleaded fuel around, and 89 for the premium and 93 for the super premium). This also translates to LOWER ENGINE PERFORMANCE, WHICH MAY LEAD TO LOWER OR LESSER FUEL EFFICIENCY... our engines have decreased power thus more throttle is applied to accelerate rapidly than before.

Any one else noticed this "silent campaign" or shall we say "silent deception"?????

wala naman effect ang octane rating sa power eh. knock suppression ability lang naman yan. actually Regular gasolines packs more power than those higher octane gasoline fuels. thus, you can go farther with it.

[basti08]

Actually kung mapapansin nyo, tinanggal na din nila ang "UNLEADED" name sa mga fuels na 91 octane.

"Shell Fuel Save" na lang ang dating Fuel Save Unleaded 93 octane at "Petron Xtra" na lang ang dating Petron Xtra Unleaded 93 octane.

Base on my experience, mas malakas ako sa gas sa Petron Xtra vs. Petron XCS.