Drivers Turning to Lower-Grade Gas

NY Times

June 18, 2008

By IAN URBINA

ARLINGTON, Va. — As the price of fuel continues to climb, more drivers are trying to save 20 or so cents a gallon by using regular or midgrade gasoline, even when their owner’s manuals recommend premium.

For gas station managers, fuel suppliers and motorists across the country, the run on the cheaper fuel has led to more uncertainty at the pumps, as some stations have run out of the cheaper grades.

“Even people with the high-end cars are cutting corners and using the cheaper stuff,” said Dominick Vallera, the manager of a Shell station on Capitol Avenue in Hartford. “It’s got us constantly guessing how much to order.”

For nearly 48 hours last week, Mr. Vallera had to put yellow bags on pump handles and white signs over the meters for the regular gas pumps because he had run dry.

Because the companies that supply his station are paid by the delivery, Mr. Vallera said, they want to deliver more often, so their trucks carry only the amount that has been ordered in advance, not any extra to top up a station’s storage tanks. If motorists show up in large numbers and use more than the predicted amount of regular gas, a station may run out before the next delivery, he said.

Brian Alterio said he visited three stations last Thursday along Woodhaven Boulevard in Queens before finding one with regular gasoline left to fill his 2004 Acura. Even though the car’s manual says he should use premium, Mr. Alterio, 59, said the occasional pinging from his engine, caused by using the lower-octane gas, was worth the savings.

“When premium hit $4.10 a gallon, I realized there was a sliding scale between performance and economizing,” said Mr. Alterio, who is a manager for Canon Business Solutions.

For Art Pushkin of Dix Hills, N.Y., that line came when premium hit $4 a gallon.

“The car doesn’t take off like it used to, but I can live with that,” said Mr. Pushkin, who began using regular gas in his 2006 Infiniti about three months ago after consulting his car dealer.

The savings have helped, but not enough, Mr. Pushkin said. In recent weeks, he and his wife have begun relying more on the family’s second car, a Lexus hybrid S.U.V. that averages 25 miles a gallon, roughly seven miles more than the Infiniti, he said.

“I still use the Infiniti, but we are not going back to premium,” he said.

Automotive experts say that following the manufacturer’s instructions is advisable, and that some high-performance cars can experience knocking and hesitation when accelerating, and possibly some engine damage, if regular gas is used when a higher grade is recommended.

“The only thing I’ve noticed is more money in my wallet,” said Steve Altman, standing alongside a black 2007 Mercedes-Benz on Lee Highway in Arlington, across the Potomac River from Washington. Mr. Altman said that he made the switch from premium gas two weeks ago, and that his car ran no differently than before. Still, he plans to add a fuel injection cleaner at the end of the month, just in case.

Even among the luxury cars, many can use lower-octane fuel with only a slight drop in horsepower or gas mileage, most experts said. Most nonluxury cars do not require higher octane gas.

The shift toward regular and midgrade gasoline is part of a longer-term move away from the more expensive fuel.

In 2007, premium accounted for 9.4 percent of all gasoline sales in the nation, down slightly from 9.5 percent the year before, according to Energy Department data. Ten years ago, premium claimed 16.6 percent of the market.

Jeff Lenard, a spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores, said the biggest shift over the last year had been to midgrade from premium.

In the association’s survey of 3,368 convenience stores that sell gasoline, premium sales in March were 0.4 percent lower than in April 2007, measured by volume, and sales of regular gasoline nationally fell by 1.4 percent. But midgrade volume rose 15.6 percent in that time, the association found.

Even so, car makers are introducing more models that need the premium grade. The number of new vehicle models that either require higher octane fuel or run better on it has risen steadily to 282 this year, from 166 in the 2002 model year, said Robyn Echard, a spokeswoman for Kelley Blue Book, an auto pricing guide.

John Watts, the owner of Watts Petroleum in Lynchburg, Va., which sells gasoline to gas stations, said he was delivering far more regular gasoline than ever. Mr. Watts said he had also been getting many more calls from station managers who wait until the last minute to order because they do not want to buy more than they need, because the prices — even for regular — are so high.

“Things have gotten to where everyone is trying to game the system, and no one can afford to lose,” he said.