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Same chips in both, made in the same fabs. Any relative price difference is like the difference between regular and premium gas/petrol.

by dboreham 11mo ago

dylan604 11mo ago
wait, are you saying that there's no difference between regular and premium gas?
- timschmidt 11mo ago
  This may surprise you, but gas stations typically only have two grades of fuel stored in tanks. Mid-grade gas is mixed at the pump from the other two.
- PunchyHamster 11mo ago
  no, but made in same place with mostly same ingredients, just different ratio to hit higher octane (and in some cases some extra additives). Also vary a bit between winter a summer, basically in winter they can get away with putting a bit more volatile compounds coz it's colder
- MichaelNolan 11mo ago
  The “regular” and “premium” label at the pump is misleading. The premium gas isn’t better. It’s just different. Unless your car specifically requires higher octane fuel, there is no benefit to paying for it. https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/gasoline-guide/ https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/gasoline-guide/
  - throwaway48476 11mo ago
    You get slightly better mpg on premium, just not enough to justify the cost.
    - addaon 11mo ago
      Not unless you’re adjusting timing. Premium gas has lower energy per unit mass and per unit volume than standard gas.
      - fragmede 11mo ago
        > Not unless you’re adjusting timing. Which, every modern ECU will do automatically based on output from the knock sensors.
        mrguyorama 11mo ago
        Only if it has the physical ability to use more octane. In theory, your average Camry running on 87 is pulling spark timing to ride the edge of knock for best fuel efficiency by being lean, but how much? It was designed to be safe on even kinda shitty gas, that has lower than 87 octane at points, and the ECU is going to err on the side of caution. That naturally aspirated 2AR-FE in a Camry does not have the ability to compress harder, so if you put 93 in it, it may only be able to "utilize" the extra knock resistance up to say 89 by advancing spark timing. Meanwhile your average Golf TSI probably can, and the VW GTI I have demonstrably gets better gas mileage on 93 octane, even though it is "rated" for 87 octane (and therefore has a lower mpg claim than it is capable of), but this was an engine that previously was rated at 91 octane and nerfs itself so hard on 87 that it is dramatically easier to stall, and the power figures are rated on 91 octane anyway. You are almost certainly spending more money on gas even if you eke out a percentage point or two extra mpg on higher octane fuels, as they are priced at higher margins and have lower scale.

Same chips in both, made in the same fabs. Any relative price difference is like the difference between regular and premium gas/petrol.

dylan604 11mo ago

wait, are you saying that there's no difference between regular and premium gas?

timschmidt 11mo ago
This may surprise you, but gas stations typically only have two grades of fuel stored in tanks. Mid-grade gas is mixed at the pump from the other two.
PunchyHamster 11mo ago
no, but made in same place with mostly same ingredients, just different ratio to hit higher octane (and in some cases some extra additives). Also vary a bit between winter a summer, basically in winter they can get away with putting a bit more volatile compounds coz it's colder
MichaelNolan 11mo ago
The “regular” and “premium” label at the pump is misleading. The premium gas isn’t better. It’s just different. Unless your car specifically requires higher octane fuel, there is no benefit to paying for it. https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/gasoline-guide/ https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/gasoline-guide/
- throwaway48476 11mo ago
  You get slightly better mpg on premium, just not enough to justify the cost.
  - addaon 11mo ago
    Not unless you’re adjusting timing. Premium gas has lower energy per unit mass and per unit volume than standard gas.
    - fragmede 11mo ago
      > Not unless you’re adjusting timing. Which, every modern ECU will do automatically based on output from the knock sensors.
      - mrguyorama 11mo ago
        Only if it has the physical ability to use more octane. In theory, your average Camry running on 87 is pulling spark timing to ride the edge of knock for best fuel efficiency by being lean, but how much? It was designed to be safe on even kinda shitty gas, that has lower than 87 octane at points, and the ECU is going to err on the side of caution. That naturally aspirated 2AR-FE in a Camry does not have the ability to compress harder, so if you put 93 in it, it may only be able to "utilize" the extra knock resistance up to say 89 by advancing spark timing. Meanwhile your average Golf TSI probably can, and the VW GTI I have demonstrably gets better gas mileage on 93 octane, even though it is "rated" for 87 octane (and therefore has a lower mpg claim than it is capable of), but this was an engine that previously was rated at 91 octane and nerfs itself so hard on 87 that it is dramatically easier to stall, and the power figures are rated on 91 octane anyway. You are almost certainly spending more money on gas even if you eke out a percentage point or two extra mpg on higher octane fuels, as they are priced at higher margins and have lower scale.