[subego]

Who am I kidding? I mean gas.

$3.64⁹ in the burbs.

That’s 96¢ a liter. Suck it, Europe.

[Waragainstsleep]

Approximately $1.96 a litre here. Sometimes a little more depending if I'm in the city or the countryside.

[subego]

Is it normal in the UK, linguistically, to have the divide be city and country?

Here, we have city-suburbs-country/rural.

The country is a two hour drive from the city, so it’s usually just split city-suburbs, and city-folk ignore the country.

[ghporter]

Regular averages about $2.99 here in northwest San Antonio. We just got back from Galveston; the average price (according to Gas Buddy) is about the same, but instead of about a 20 cent range, it’s an 80 cent range. And most stations on the island charge a premium if you use plastic instead of cash. Not cool.

[Laminar]

Buying a truck to commute in was a poor choice. I need to get my car working again so I can get a little relief. It's about a half hour ordeal to drive to Costco and fill up there, but with a 36 gallon tank and with Costco's prices consistently 20-30 cents/gallon cheaper, it's usually worth the hassle.

[ghporter]

There are an amazing number of “commuter pickup trucks” throughout Texas. All clean and shiny all of the time - clearly NOT in any way a “working vehicle”. Our gas prices aren’t nearly low enough for me to consider that sort of daily commute vehicle…

[subego]

It’s been awhile since I’ve driven a pickup. Do they still handle like garbage when they’re empty?

[Laminar]

No, the half-tons have specifically been designed for suburban dad commuter duty with a plush ride and more rear legroom than a luxury car.

[BLAZE_MkIV]

I saw one of these "trucks" the other day hauling a bunch of 2x4s. He had them sticking out the rear window of the cab because the truck bed was 3 feet deep.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

No, the half-tons have specifically been designed for suburban dad commuter duty with a plush ride and more rear legroom than a luxury car.

Makes sense.

That was the big thing which confused me when I started to see pickups become DDs.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

I have a Honda Ridgeline. It drives better than the equivalent family SUV and fits 4x8s just fine. Carried a ton of lumber in it over the past year. .

[Waragainstsleep]

Originally Posted by subego 

Is it normal in the UK, linguistically, to have the divide be city and country?

Here, we have city-suburbs-country/rural.

The country is a two hour drive from the city, so it’s usually just split city-suburbs, and city-folk ignore the country.

Compared to you, all our country is basically suburbs. There isn't a massive variation on prices across the whole country since most of the cost is tax. I wouldn't be surprised if the spread was no bigger than 20c a litre or so.

Some cities cost more than others, some countryside is more than other. I think a lot of it depends how far the station is from the depot or the main transport routes.

Most tankers going any distance will come through a city to get to a country station so thats why that city will be a few pennies cheaper. Farm produce will go the other way for obvious reasons.

Supermarkets traditionally have the cheapest fuel as they often use it as a loss leader to get people in to shop. Not always though. Theres a small station a few miles from me which is cheaper than anywhere I know despite being in a fairly awkward place Which makes me suspect they are fiddling the meters to give smaller litres or something. Assuming you can't water down petrol.

[ghporter]

It’s interesting to note that Houston-area gasoline prices are often notably HIGHER than prices here in San Antonio. We don’t have refineries here - they’re in the Houston area. But we have petroleum company HQs, like Volero. Drive 30 minutes outside of the “San Antonio Area” in any direction, and regular gas can be 25¢ or more higher per gallon. It’s weird.

Often, the farther west you go in Texas, the higher gasoline prices are. About 16 years ago, I spent a summer in Crystal City (the heart of spinach country), and when regular cost $3.50 or so here in SA, it was $4.25 or more there. In the Big Bend area (around the “boot heel” of Texas) last year, regular was 50-70¢ more per gallon than in San Antonio.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

Assuming you can't water down petrol.

Water in the gas tank is bad.

When I was maybe 6 or 7, I was playing with a bunch of neighborhood kids, and one of our neighbors said we could “have” his car. It was a convertible with the top down, so we could climb in and out. I imagine he was thinking we would pretend to drive it, and we weren’t going to cause any trouble without the keys.

We did pretend to drive it. We also “gassed” it up with a few gallons of water.

He was very angry, but I’m not exactly sure WTF he expected. I didn’t get in trouble, so my dad saw it the same way, but he did tell me never to do it again.

[ghporter]

Given time, fuel and water will separate naturally. It has a density of from 0.71-0.77 (depending on formulation) so it will “float” on water.

Clean up/remediation is often basically siphoning out the contaminated fuel, which can be salvaged by further siphoning off the gasoline down to just above the level of the water.

Way back when, some vehicles had a drain plug in the gas tank to facilitate cleaning out contaminated fuel - contaminated at the source or pump, rather than at the curb.

[Waragainstsleep]

I wasn't imagining you'd water it down with literal water. Just something cheaper than gasoline that won't murder your engine too badly.

[subego]

Literal water is funnier.

[subego]

Up to $4.39⁹ in the burbs.

[Thorzdad]

Wars tend to do that.

[reader50]

On the theory that prices would go up, I topped up my tanks on Wednesday. $4.80 a gallon. Unless you are crazy and prefer Chevron - $5.07 a gallon.

I expect it to be higher now, but have forgotten to look recently.

btw - why would anyone prefer Chevron? They've been ripping people off for as long as I can remember.

[ghporter]

The only thing Chevron has going for them is their Ardman advertising. I like the animation, but the ads do NOT convince me to buy their products.

[reader50]

$5.50 at the local Stickup, er Chevron. Well, $5.49⁹ like that makes it better. Wish I had an EV.

It's worth it in my opinion (though I won't buy at Chevron). Considering what the Ukrainians are going through, I'd accept $10 per gallon if it enables them to win.

Afghanistan people didn't care enough about their country to fight for it. Not even with the numbers on their side. Compare that to people who will fight for every foot, regardless of the odds.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

That’s a completely apples to bananas comparison.

[subego]

Originally Posted by reader50 

Chevron

Not a lot of Chevrons that I notice around here. Mostly BP, Shell, and Mobil.

Out in the burbs has more variety… Speedway seems to have the best prices.

[ghporter]

Regular is $3.70-$3.80 around here. Diesel is crazy; some places have it for $4.60, others for $3.20 - and these prices could be at the same brand stations.

[andi*pandi]

I would expect texas to be cheaper.

Gasbuddy shows 3.93-4.89 range, with my closest being 4.19. Better gas up I guess judging by the $5+ I've seen elsewhere.

[Waragainstsleep]

I had to pay £1.68 a litre for diesel earlier today.

[Laminar]

Costco stops the pump at $100, which is something I learned yesterday. I had to restart, but only needed another 0.6 gallons after that. We're leaving Friday for a road trip to Texas. Fortunately, this takes us down the cheap-gas corridor, though we've still had to increase the gas budget for the trip.

[ghporter]

It’s creeping up here. Now it’s $3.99 at the “reasonably priced” places. Don’t be in a position to need gas near a major highway, or there’s highway robbery afoot. I saw $4.35 for regular at a place blocks away from a “large suburban street” yesterday.

Funny, we’re paying more “because of lower supplies and higher demand”, but oil company profits are skyrocketing too. Makes you go “hmmmm,” doesn’t it? This reminds me of some laws in the Gulf Coast states that came up after Katrina: you can’t jack up gas prices along an evacuation route. It’s called “profiteering,” and even in Texas it gets you some harsh penalties.

[Waragainstsleep]

Tesco is £1.58 for diesel but doesn't have any. 2 miles away Texaco is £1.73. Ludicrous.

[Brien]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

It’s creeping up here. Now it’s $3.99 at the “reasonably priced” places. Don’t be in a position to need gas near a major highway, or there’s highway robbery afoot. I saw $4.35 for regular at a place blocks away from a “large suburban street” yesterday.

Funny, we’re paying more “because of lower supplies and higher demand”, but oil company profits are skyrocketing too. Makes you go “hmmmm,” doesn’t it? This reminds me of some laws in the Gulf Coast states that came up after Katrina: you can’t jack up gas prices along an evacuation route. It’s called “profiteering,” and even in Texas it gets you some harsh penalties.

Pushing $6 for premium on some parts of teh west coassst here.

[ghporter]

The going price for regular around here has dropped by about 15¢/gallon over the past week. It’s at about $3.84 or so in a lot of places, down from $3.99.

I think it’s turning out to not be the cash cow that some speculators expected. Over the pandemic, a lot of people managed to cut down on driving because…they couldn’t go anywhere.

Not that there isn’t a lot of verbal whining and griping going on around the pumps, but seriously, if your “commuter” vehicle is an F250 that’s tricked out (and frankly has never seen an unsaved road), you’ve done that to yourself. And Central and South Texas is “The Land of the F150 and F250.” They’re everywhere, and most of them seem to be the “tall car with a big open trunk” rather than a utility and work vehicle.

But (ok, I’m venting here) a LOT of those “tall cars with a big open trunk” also have “Farm Truck” license plates, which means they’re also cheating the state out of registration revenue. Grr.

[subego]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

an unsaved road

Y’all roads need to find Jesus.

[reader50]

Must be next to the Road Less Traveled. I'd been wondering where that was.

[ghporter]

Remember, the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.

Stupid dyslexic fingers…. I hope my point was made anyway. These types of trucks (and their operators) are kind of obnoxious for several reasons. Their drivers can’t park worth a flip, and I’ve even seen, more than once, an F250 or similar sized truck parked in a “COMPACT ONLY” space - and not because there were no other spaces, just that this was closer to the building.

Geez guys, do you also cruise the gym’s parking lot to get the closest spot? <Super irony mode on to MAX>

Anyway, regular gas prices are still falling here. I saw $3.81 at a “not low cost leader” station this morning.

[reader50]

All prices are for regular.
$5.49⁹ at a local off-brand station. But they sell low-detergent gas, so consistent use may increase engine deposits.
$5.69⁹ at ARCO.
$6.19⁹ at the Stickup.

[Laminar]

I saw $3.50 yesterday for "88 regular" which is kind of weird for around here. Costco is around $3.54.

[Thorzdad]

Prices here have been holding more-or-less stable at $3.24.

[Demonhood]

Originally Posted by reader50 

All prices are for regular.
$5.49⁹ at a local off-brand station. But they sell low-detergent gas, so consistent use may increase engine deposits.
$5.69⁹ at ARCO.
$6.19⁹ at the Stickup.

Pretty similar to here.

Wait, there's a gas station/convenience store named "The Stickup"?
Isn't that like naming a bank "This is a Robbery"™ or a theater "Fire!" ??

[andi*pandi]

Filled up halfway with $25 at $4.15 yesterday. Would have been cheaper if I'd had their "card" which even the clerk said was a PITA because unlike a loyalty card this card needed your bank info. Yeah no.

[Laminar]

My truck says I only have 34 miles left in my 36 gallon tank. Pray for me.

[ghporter]

We spent last week in Western Texas, in the Fort Davis area. This is pretty close to the part of Texas where there are tons of oil wells. And the price of regular was between $4.19 and $4.39. I thought that was amusing…. Here in San Antonio it’s been dropping; from $3.56 last weekend to the mid $3.40s now.

Interestingly, we passed some enormous wind farms up on mesas along I-10. Closer to the road were a lot of functioning oil wells. They have “pump jacks” that actually pull the oil to the surface.

There are essentially two sizes of pump jacks, smaller ones’ “rocking part” is about 15 feet long, and large ones have a 30-40 foot beam. ALL of the large ones we saw (scores and scores of them) were idle. Most of the small ones were idle too. At a time when people are having to pay much higher prices for petrochemicals, the oil companies were not producing as much crude as they could have.

[subego]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

The theme from Dallas is in my head.

And now it’s in yours.

[subego]

Been awhile since I’ve needed to drive.

City prices here are mostly $4.99⁹. A couple were $4.79⁹, but I couldn’t tell if those were bait-and-switch.

[reader50]

Originally Posted by subego 

A couple were $4.79⁹, but I couldn’t tell if those were bait-and-switch.

The industry maintains a Top Tier Gas website. It gives the reasons for high detergent gas, and most importantly, has a subpage with ...

The list of participating gasoline brands. I copied the ones offered in this area, and (outside of emergencies) buy from them exclusively. Haven't had any engine failures since.

[subego]

I was thinking more along the lines they had some fine print I didn’t see. “Cash price” and “with car wash” are the common culprits.

That’s a handy list though. Surprised BP don’t play that.


Edit: looking at that list, it solved the mystery of the “unusually cheap” place I drive by on the way to the suburbs. It’s right next to a Costco. Totally forgot they have cheap gas.

Edit2: looks like my fave, Speedway, isn’t on the list.

[Laminar]

I usually fill up with Costco E10 87 octane as it's by far the cheapest around. The last tank I ended up stopping at a Kwik Star because I didn't have time to drive all of the way to Costco and wait in like for a half hour. I went with their E15 88 octane as it was quite a bit cheaper, and my display is showing a full mpg improvement on this tank so far, which doesn't really make any sense. We'll see what the hand calculation says when I fill up again. My only thought is that they just went from winter gas to summer gas and that's the improvement I'm seeing.

[ghporter]

Typically, higher ethanol mixtures have less energy density. Ethanol seems to help with emissions, though. The industry has settled on a “up to 10% ethanol” standard for most mixtures, probably due to the combination of better emissions levels and “not too much” of an energy density hit.

But I also think that there are smarter and smarter engine management systems out there that can take the ethanol content into account, especially with a “flex fuel” type engine.

My vehicle manual specifically states not to use higher than 10% ethanol fuel. Between fuel system part sensitivity to alcohols and the way the engine management system is configured, that makes sense. And I think it’s pretty odd (and amusing) that grain alcohol can hurt polymer components that laugh off gasoline…

GasBuddy says that regular gas costs from $3.33 to $3.93 in my area (up to about 3 miles from my location). My usual place is at the H-E-B grocery store I shop at, and their price is $3.42, and that “lowest price” of $3.33 is at a non-branded convenience store that’s technically closer, but not “conveniently” closer. I’m not going out of my way (and to a less than familiar location) for 9¢ a gallon. That would save me at most $1.17 on a fill up from a dry tank - and I NEVER get below where the “refuel” light comes on (roughly a 50 mile range) without filling up.

[MacNNFamous]

3.80ish here. Not really a big deal. When it was $4 a gallon in 2009, that was a big deal. Adjusted for inflation, that's $5.30+. $4/gallon here is not that high imho.

[reader50]

Originally Posted by subego 

I was thinking more along the lines they had some fine print I didn’t see. “Cash price” and “with car wash” are the common culprits.

It could be worse. "$4.29⁹ with puppy"