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"GRawesome" (GRawesome) 02/03/2014 at 22:33 • Filed to: None

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I've seen this at one other gas station, but caught it again last night and took a pic.
Why would one choose the 88 over the 87 or 89?
"The 87 makes my engine knock a little, but that 89 is just too damn expensive!"

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > GRawesome 02/03/2014 at 22:35

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Way back in the day a few stations around here had a dial you could adjust.

puddler > GRawesome 02/03/2014 at 22:35

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http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficienc…

Thisnewformatisrubbish > GRawesome 02/03/2014 at 22:36

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With that much ethanol, does it still matter?

midengineer > GRawesome 02/03/2014 at 22:37

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Because its special! Duh

I_AmDeath > GRawesome 02/03/2014 at 22:37

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The 88 is for those middle of the road types who would splurge for the 89 but have buyers regret before buying it and look towards the 87 and say "well I'm too high class for that.." And then deciding to fill there cross over with 88.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > GRawesome 02/03/2014 at 22:42

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Because its special!

GRawesome > Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius 02/03/2014 at 22:45

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Do you know how the dial pumps worked? Did they mix a different combination of high and low octane fuels to allow for a near infinite number of octanes between the 2, or just select fuel from a separate storage tank and there were only 3-4 options?

GRawesome > midengineer 02/03/2014 at 22:47

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Ahh, seems so obvious now! Lol
Doesn't "special" seem better than "mid-grade" also?

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Thisnewformatisrubbish 02/03/2014 at 22:49

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Sadly, yes. All the mileage losses, none of the octane increases.

GRawesome > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 02/03/2014 at 22:51

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So obvious now!
Guess they had to call it something, but is "Special" really between "Regular" and "Mid-grade" in terms of word rankings? I think it used to be called "Okay" but it just wasn't flying out of the pumps like they thought it would.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > GRawesome 02/03/2014 at 22:52

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I would've gone with average; but I guess that isn't much better

Jeff-God-of-Biscuits > GRawesome 02/03/2014 at 22:54

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It's simple: you drive an Olds 88, you put the 88 octane in it.

Thisnewformatisrubbish > vdub_nut: scooter snob 02/03/2014 at 22:56

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They claim it (10%) raises effective octane 2 or 3 points.

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Thisnewformatisrubbish 02/03/2014 at 22:59

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except it's cheaper to mix it to regular octane levels. It may be slightly over-octane, but I wouldn't rely on that at all..

Textured Soy Protein > GRawesome 02/03/2014 at 23:02

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The station probably still only has tanks for 87, 89 and 93. The 88 and 91 are probably blended by the pump.

Makes people more likely to step up a grade, assuming they're not one of the enlightened few who know to only buy as much octane as their car needs.

Thisnewformatisrubbish > vdub_nut: scooter snob 02/03/2014 at 23:03

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I still go for 100% whenever I'm near the 2 stations who carry it. My truck doesn't need the extra calories.

M54B30 > GRawesome 02/03/2014 at 23:08

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There's one station near me that advertises "premium gas - no ethanol" but the pumps are so slow in the cold - about 2 gallons per minute

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Thisnewformatisrubbish 02/03/2014 at 23:10

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There's only one e-free station near me, and I've never had the oppo rtunity to fill up there. Maybe next tank I will

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > GRawesome 02/03/2014 at 23:17

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They can't have my octane. I have special gas.

sees 91

MY OCTANE!

/e36 328i owner

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > GRawesome 02/04/2014 at 06:58

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You got it. Infinite choices. This was the old mechanical pumps, not the digital ones so it somehow changed the flow rate between the lo and hi octane tanks as well as adjusting how fast the price counter turned so you paid for your 88.27 octane.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > GRawesome 02/04/2014 at 08:42

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Sweet, sweet 93... So jealous.

GRawesome > Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius 02/04/2014 at 08:47

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That's very cool, thank you. I did a quick google search for dial gas pumps but didn't find anything within the first few pages. When I have more time I will do some research into these and learn more about them. Maybe write a short post.

What area where they in? Maybe it was a regional thing?

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > GRawesome 02/04/2014 at 09:22

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St Louis area. mid to late 1970s before the digital pumps arrived.

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > GRawesome 02/04/2014 at 09:24

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I have not done an exhaustive search, but look up Sonoco Dial A Pump. From the Wiki... I miss Sonoco. Coolest signs. I have a sign business that my family has run since the 1970s

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Sunoco is perhaps best known to consumers for its "custom blending" pumps, an innovation that, beginning in 1956, allowed customers of Sunoco service stations to choose from several octane grades through a single pump. Sunoco stations offered as many as eight grades of "Custom Blended" gasolines from its "Dial A Grade" pumps ranging from subregular Sunoco 190 to Sunoco 260, the latter a super-premium grade of 102 octane that was advertised as the "highest octane pump gas" and very popular with V8 -powered Muscle Cars of the 1960s.

GRawesome > Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius 02/04/2014 at 10:11

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Did they look anything like either of these? Just did a quick GIS search for "Dial a grade"

I guess you don't really see any Sunoco stations anymore. Though I did see one at the Daytona International Speedway a few weekends ago for fueling up race cars. I think it had either 99 or 101 octane if I remember correctly. I took a few pictures of those pumps, I'll try to post them up here soon.

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > GRawesome 02/04/2014 at 11:37

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Not 100% like the lower picture, but close. It was also a long long time ago.