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Is regular-grade gasoline just as good as premium gas for your car?
Results so far:
| Yes | 53% | 397 votes | Total: 744 votes | |
| No | 47% | 347 votes |
Yes
by Maxwell Payne
Created on: August 21, 2007 Last Updated: March 26, 2009
Regular grade gasoline vs. premium grade gasoline.
Like many products and services in the marketplace today, premium gasoline is one of those higher priced options that will not give the majority of it's consumers anything beneficial to justify spending the extra money. Kind of like those people you see purchasing overpriced water that claims to be superior to other bottled water.
Many gas stations and companies will have you believe that the higher price and higher octane markings on a gasoline make it better for your car then other gasolines. They will tell you that the premium gasoline is filtered, contains more additives,and will make your car run better. The truth is that nearly all gasoline on the market comes from the same crude oil that is many times filtered and purified of contaminants and debris using similar methods.
The only actual difference between competing gasoline stations in their fuel are the additives they put in the gasoline. These additives range from chemicals that claim to clean your engine to additives that claim to boost horsepower and performance. It is important to note that most gasoline companies in order to stay competitive have put the same additives in regular and premium gasolines leaving the main differences of price and octane level as the only differences.
Since most regular gasoline you buy will be filtered and contain some additive unique to that particular station you frequent and since most of you reading this don't own Lamborghins or Formula One race cars, you have no need to spend extra money on already high priced gasoline. You see, the higher octane gasoline does actually make a difference in a few of the high performance engines out there in high performance cars and is even recommended by some of the makers of those cars. But for the majority of us and our cars, the only thing premium gasoline does for us is drain our wallets quicker.
You may be thinking that if some premium gasolines do contain additional beneficial additives that the regular gasoline does not then it might be worth the extra money regardless whether you are driving a Ford Pinto or a Ferrari. But when is the last time you've seen a list of ingredients in your gasoline available to you? You can clearly see the difference between many premium vs. 'regular' products through labels, but gasoline is not one of those products. With that said, you really have no clue what, if any, additional benefits you'd be getting from paying more for a slightly higher octane gasoline that may or may not contain useful additives.
Keep in mind that just because a gasoline is advertised as having good additives in it, these additives could range from engine cleansers (may be useful) to those that change the color of the gasoline (useless). So in closing, unless your car maker strongly recommends higher octane gasoline or unless you plan on racing at the Daytona, stick with regular and both your car and wallet will survive just fine.
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No
by Roger Fullerton
Created on: June 07, 2007
This is one of those "it depends" questions. Most automobiles sold today are designed to use regular (85-87) octane gasoline. These cars include "anti-knock" sensors that detect pre-ignition of the fuel in the combustion chamber during engine operation, and will retard the spark timing if pre-ignition of the fuel is detected. This sensor has been included because pre-ignition can lead to substantial and costly engine damage (cracked or broken pistons and valves), and the manufacturer does not like engine rebuilds or replacements under warranty. Often, however, these engines will perform better (more power, possibly better MPG) with higher fuel octane because the ignition timing will be closer to optimum. The owners manual is the best source for finding the recommended octane for a particular vehicle.
Cars with high performance engines or accessories may require higher octane fuel because of higher combustion chamber pressures. Engines fitted with a turbocharger or supercharger generally require higher octane fuel because of the increased induction pressures, even though the engine itself may have a low compression ratio.
There is no benefit to using a fuel with a higher octane than is necessary for your car and your style of driving. For instance, if you own a newer "economy" car, it probably runs fine on regular.If you try a higher octane fuel for a few tankfuls, you may find that you get better MPG. If so, is the increase in MPG offsetting the increase in the price of the fuel? Does the additional performance justify switching over to the higher octane? If you cannot justify the additional expense of higher octane fuel in terms of dollars saved or actual improvement in performance, there is no reason to spend the extra money.
Brands of gasoline can vary a great deal. Chevron, for instance, bases much of its advertising on the ability of it's gasolines to clean fuel systems and combustion chambers. Chevron adds detergents and lubricants to achieve these goals. Other brands may mix in these or similar additives in lesser amounts, or not any at all, as these additives are expensive and therefore increase the retail price of the gas. Other additives, such as ethanol, increase the octane of the mixed fuel, but some cars may have lower MPG running on an ethanol mix, since the ethanol has far fewer BTUs (units of energy) by volume than does gasoline. Many communities require "winter gas" or "Summer gas" that includes up to 15% ethanol, and a reduction of MPG may be noticed during times that this fuel is used. My 1996 Ford Ranger gets 21-22 MPG on 15% ethanol fuel, compared with 26-28 MPG on straight gas.
Note that additives are generally added at the refinery for a particular truckload or brand. The gasoline is usually the same for all the local retail fuel stations in a specific area, all coming from the same refinery, and additives are what differentiates the fuels. Nationwide, gasoline has to meet certain specifications in order to be sold retail, so the differences in gas between refineries will be negligible.
If you have been experiencing poor starting, rough idling, poor acceleration, knocking sounds from the engine under acceleration, or poor gas mileage, run a few tankfuls of expensive brand-name fuel through the car and see if there is an improvement. If so, it is generally OK to run cheap gas most of the time and switch over to better fuel once in a while to "clean out the pipes". If you are happy with the way your car is running, keep doing what you've been doing.
Learn more about this author, Roger Fullerton.
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