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29 March 2024

New petrol price: Super instead of Special?

Published
By Vicky Kapur

The UAE took a giant leap on August 1 when, at the stroke of midnight, fuel stations across the country began reflecting the deregulated fuel prices.

Special grade (95 octane petrol) now costs Dh2.14 per litre instead of Dh1.72 per litre that UAE residents paid until July 31. 

Super grade (98 octane) now costs Dh2.25/l compared to Dh1.83/l that residents paid earlier.

In sheer monetary sense, Special grade remains 11fils cheaper than Super grade, with prices of both grades bumped up by 42fils each. 

If you look at the percentage change (do also try out the 'Emirates24|7' fuel price calculator here [www.emirates247.com]) Special has gone up by 24.4 per cent while Super is up 22.9 per cent.

Assuming you used to get a full tank on Dh100 (we’re using the round figure to keep things less complicated), let’s do some simple math. 

Before deregulation, Dh100 would have bought you 58.14 litres of Special grade petrol and 54.64 litres of Super grade petrol – a difference of 3.5 litres. 

Now, however, Dh100 will buy you 46.72 litres of Special and 44.44 litres of Super grade of petrol – a difference of just 2.28 litres per Dh100 spent. 

Considering the advantages of a higher octane fuel, including increased fuel efficiency as well as less engine maintenance requirements in the longer run, will it make more sense for you to go for the higher octane (Super) now instead of the Special grade of petrol? 

The answer, in fact, depends on the car you drive and the grade of petrol that the manufacturer suggests in its Owner’s Manual. 

For, despite what some people claim, if your car’s engine isn’t geared for it, you’ll just be wasting money by upgrading to a higher octane fuel. 

And not just that, you may actually end up causing damage to your car’s engine by arbitrarily switching from the grade that the manufacturer advises. 

Using a lower octane fuel than what the manufacturer suggests may lead to engine knocking, with the petrol-air mix inside the combustion chamber of your car igniting before it is supposed to.

This can cause damage to your engine.

On the other hand, using a higher octane fuel than what the manufacturer suggests may result in a slight additional energy as a result of the fuel’s combustion, but since the machine is not geared to leverage that slight additional power, it’s only going to go waste at best and cause damage to your engine at worst.

In short, whatever the price, you should stick to the grade of fuel that the manufacturer has specified for your vehicle.