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Question of the Day: Are you still using premium fuel?
Jun 20, 2008 | Views: 232
With older cars, a lot of us have no choice but to run premium fuel. Our high performance cars from the 60s have no computers and fancy electronics to automatically detect knock and retard the timing.
But most newer high-performance cars that specify premium fuel can actually run on lower-octane fuel just fine, thanks to these previously-mentioned computers. Of course, there is a trade-off in that power and fuel economy will decrease when using lower-octane fuel due to the computer retarding your timing to compensate. But, if you don't drive aggressively, chances are you won't notice the performance difference. As for the fuel mileage difference, you would need to check your mileage on a tank of each type of gas, figure out what percentage change in fuel mileage you got, and compare that to the price difference between premium and regular gas to see if you come out ahead or not. This will probably differ for everyone.
On the flipside: since it is commonly a 10 cent difference from regular to mid-grade, and another 10 cent jump to premium, the cost difference per tank is the same with $4 gas as it is with $2 gas. So let's say you have a 14 gallon tank. At 20 cents per gallon difference, it costs you $2.80 a tank more to fill with premium than with regular. And that doesn't change, whether gas is $2 per gallon or $4. In fact, percentage-wise, the price of premium is actually less of a "premium" over regular gas now then it was a year ago (10% for $2 gas, 5% for $4 gas.) On the other hand, even a savings of $2.80 per tankful will save you money over time... assuming your fuel mileage doesn't decrease by more than 5%... which, if you get 20 mpg city on premium, and you get 19 mpg city using regular gas, the price difference is a wash.
So, you really need to do some calculations to see if you will save money by dropping down to regular gas in your car. Of course, keep in mind, if you car does not specify premium gas, it is ALWAYS a waste of money to put premium in your tank in the first place.
So tell us: are you still using premium in your car or has your car gone on an octane diet? Let us know in the comments!
But most newer high-performance cars that specify premium fuel can actually run on lower-octane fuel just fine, thanks to these previously-mentioned computers. Of course, there is a trade-off in that power and fuel economy will decrease when using lower-octane fuel due to the computer retarding your timing to compensate. But, if you don't drive aggressively, chances are you won't notice the performance difference. As for the fuel mileage difference, you would need to check your mileage on a tank of each type of gas, figure out what percentage change in fuel mileage you got, and compare that to the price difference between premium and regular gas to see if you come out ahead or not. This will probably differ for everyone.
On the flipside: since it is commonly a 10 cent difference from regular to mid-grade, and another 10 cent jump to premium, the cost difference per tank is the same with $4 gas as it is with $2 gas. So let's say you have a 14 gallon tank. At 20 cents per gallon difference, it costs you $2.80 a tank more to fill with premium than with regular. And that doesn't change, whether gas is $2 per gallon or $4. In fact, percentage-wise, the price of premium is actually less of a "premium" over regular gas now then it was a year ago (10% for $2 gas, 5% for $4 gas.) On the other hand, even a savings of $2.80 per tankful will save you money over time... assuming your fuel mileage doesn't decrease by more than 5%... which, if you get 20 mpg city on premium, and you get 19 mpg city using regular gas, the price difference is a wash.
So, you really need to do some calculations to see if you will save money by dropping down to regular gas in your car. Of course, keep in mind, if you car does not specify premium gas, it is ALWAYS a waste of money to put premium in your tank in the first place.
So tell us: are you still using premium in your car or has your car gone on an octane diet? Let us know in the comments!
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Read comments on this blog post 1 – 10 of 11
- Jun 23, 2008 at 8:08 pm
- My Cobalt SS specifies Premium, but is happy with the regular I've been putting in it for the last several months. In fact, since the Pennsylvania-mandated wintertime alcohol blend went away, my mileage is actually about 15% HIGHER than it was with Premium over the winter. As for the Corvair, I don't even consider mid-grade, much less regular. 10.5:1 compression will do that! On our drive back from picking up the car in Denver, where the guy who sold it to me on eBay lived, my wife put regular in it one time, and it sounded like I had Orville Redenbacher held hostage back there in the engine room! Popping, knocking, and pinging on the gentlist of upgrades. I stopped for a can of octane boost as soon as I could pull off the interstate to get it!
- Jun 23, 2008 at 7:55 pm
- I USE PLUS IN THE MINI EVERYTHING ELSE I USE REGULAR
- Jun 23, 2008 at 1:34 pm
- My Jetta has an aftermarket chip that forces the computer to retard timing (among other enhancements) and therefore I'm forced to run premium. I would anyways considering premium burns cleaner and leaves less deposits resulting in longer engine life and less maintenence. My work van wieghs almost 9000 lbs, has a 5.7l vortec that barely gets 10 mpg regardless of fuel grade and will never get more than 140,000 miles before wear and tear of hauling all that weight and in town driving wears the motor out anyways, so it only gets the cheap stuff.
- Jun 23, 2008 at 8:55 am
- My eldest daughter's recently rebuilt Corvair engine won't run on anything less than Premium now. She's not having any problem with the extra $2.50/tankful the high-test costs her. The extra power and lack of oil consumption are worth it.
- Jun 22, 2008 at 10:45 pm
- I have a supercharged 5.0 mustang that isnt my daily driver and I run 93 in the it. Even if I did drive it everyday I would still run 93 no matter how high gas cost because the money I would have to pay to rebuild my engine from detnation I would be losing money but running anyhting less than 93. Also I disagree with the second to last paragraph and the last sentence in it. "Of course, keep in mind, if you car does not specify premium gas, it is ALWAYS a waste of money to put premium in your tank in the first place."....This is not true. higher octane burns slower because it burns cleaner. In fact your fuel mileage will increase with higher octane fuel. your combustion chambers will be cleaner inside the engine which will lead to longer engine life and better gas mileage longer. PLUS it makes your spark plugs stay cleaner and produces less emisions so why arent you guys willing to pay 20 cent more a gallon for something that will make your car run BETTER FOR LONGER...it is a wise investment to run 93 and I dont care what ANYONE else says about it.What I said is true whether people want to admit it or not.
- Jun 22, 2008 at 1:12 am
- I can run Regular unleaded in MONTE , BUt I have to Run PREMIUM and a Can of Octane booster in EL CAMINO , REASON it only comes out on Speical ocasions, LOL
- Jun 21, 2008 at 11:18 am
- Yep. Premium only for my GTO, because it's not that much more expensive for as little as I drive it. 100 octane unleaded for the Buick, at $7.50 a gallon it makes the extra I pay for the 92 octane look cheap.
- Jun 20, 2008 at 6:21 pm
- Can you pay $25.00 for totally trashed unrepairable rides? The answer is yes, if the gas tank is near full. There were some young men on the same block as pick a part making offers on cars. I'm sure pick a part will be pissed but in the mean time these guys are getting some gas and can still sell to pick a part..
Jerry
- Jun 20, 2008 at 6:18 pm
- We just put some premium in the T Bucket. The rest are running on regular unleaded.
Jerry
- Jun 20, 2008 at 5:22 pm
- unfortunatly i have to run premium as well, if i run 87 the engine rattles and knocks and runs like crap. so even with the fancy computer im unable to run the cheap stuff unfortunatly
Cars > Blogs > Official Motortopia Blog > Question of the Day: Are you still using premium fuel?
