Unfortunately, with higher temps coming, the need for higher octane is more likely to be greater... Read on
Regular gas often fine in modern cars
Bob Golfen
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 27, 2004 12:00 AM
Are you wasting money putting premium gasoline into your car or truck?
Most people are, according to automotive experts.
Only about 5 percent of modern automobiles require premium under their manufacturers' recommendation. For the other 95 percent of the cars and trucks on the road, premium fuel makes no difference in performance or reliability.
And many of the vehicles that manufacturers say need premium run perfectly well on regular without any dire consequences or significant loss of performance.
"If you can't tell the difference, the car can't, either," said Mark Salem, a Tempe veteran auto technician and advice columnist.
"The reduction in performance can only be measured on a dynamometer. Most people, including myself, can't tell the difference."
Try telling that to Kelvin Williams, 35, of Phoenix. Despite the climbing cost of premium gas, he's still using it in his Dodge Ram pickup, he said, because regular gas "actually bogs down the car."
"Yes, I have to (use premium) with my truck, it's a Dodge 1500 Sports Edition Ram," Williams said. "With the V-8, it's better for the engine itself."
Salem said he has owned his 1995 Chevrolet Corvette since it was new, and despite the automaker's advice that premium be used, "I've used regular since Day 1."
With gasoline prices on the rise, the use of premium fuel has dropped off nationally as more motorists try cheaper blends to save money. Typically, premium costs about 20 cents more per gallon than regular.
In 2003, sales of premium represented about 12 percent of pump sales, down from 13.5 percent in 2002 when the cost of gasoline was lower, according to industry data. The highest use of premium was during 1994, when it reached 20.3 percent.
Premium gasoline is not better than regular, just different, said Randy Nowell, a master technician for the American Automobile Association. The difference is in the octane levels, a measurement of the gasoline blend's resistance to engine knock caused by pre-ignition.
"Dealers and sales people will tell you to buy premium because you're buying a premium car," Nowell said. "That's a myth."
Nearly every 2004 General Motors vehicle uses regular gas, said Chuck Harrington, GM's Western regional spokesman.
Ford now has just "a handful" of cars that use premium, spokeswoman Sandra Badgett said. But those cars can use regular with no ill effects, she said.
"We generally recommended certain octane because that's where the engine is tuned to run the best," Badgett said. "If you put regular in a vehicle that wants premium, it's not going to hurt it. It's not going to drop dead on the road."
Using premium in a car or truck that requires regular gives it no benefit in performance, mileage or reliability, she added.
Regular ranges from 85 to 87 octane, midgrades from 88 to 90, and premium 91 or higher.
But only performance engines with high compression ratios or those enhanced with turbochargers or superchargers benefit from the anti-knock protection.
The premium-gas issue has changed over the past two decades. Since 1981, every vehicle includes an electronic device in the ignition system called a knock sensor, which slightly retards the vehicle's ignition timing if it senses pre-ignition. The timing change may result in slightly less performance or fuel mileage, but it won't hurt the engine, Nowell said.
He advises drivers of vehicles requiring premium to try a tankful of midrange, . which is about 10 cents per gallon cheaper than premium and slightly boosts octane at lesser cost.
If midrange works, then run a tank of regular.
"It's not going to hurt anything if you use a tankful of regular fuel," Nowell said. "If it runs fine and you don't lose fuel economy, then use it."
European manufacturers BMW and Volvo advise premium for all of their vehicles yet state that regular can be used without ill effects other than some loss of acceleration and gas mileage.
"To get the results the cars are designed for, you use premium fuel," BMW spokesman Gordon Keil said.
Nearly every Volvo vehicle is now turbocharged and requires premium but will run without harm on regular, said James Hope, company spokesman.
A driver who is trying regular in a car requiring premium needs to listen for the telltale signs of engine "ping" during acceleration or hill-climbing. If the engine pings, switch back to premium or try the midgrade blend.
"It hurts the engine if you get a pinging and ignore it," he said.
If the vehicle is expected to perform hill-climbing, such as driving from Phoenix to Flagstaff, the driver could switch back to premium for the trip, Nowell said.
High elevations or high ambient temperatures also may provoke a need for premium in vehicles designed to use it.
Car and Driver magazine conducted a test in 2001 that determined that even most high-performance vehicles will run normally on regular with only a marginal loss of performance.
"If the car is sufficiently new and sophisticated, it will not suffer any ill effects," the magazine concluded. "But be ready to switch back to premium at the first sign of knock."
Any vehicle that should use regular but knocks on anything less than premium should be taken to a mechanic's shop for a checkup, the magazine advised.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0427premium27.html#
Regular gas often fine in modern cars
Bob Golfen
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 27, 2004 12:00 AM
Are you wasting money putting premium gasoline into your car or truck?
Most people are, according to automotive experts.
Only about 5 percent of modern automobiles require premium under their manufacturers' recommendation. For the other 95 percent of the cars and trucks on the road, premium fuel makes no difference in performance or reliability.
And many of the vehicles that manufacturers say need premium run perfectly well on regular without any dire consequences or significant loss of performance.
"If you can't tell the difference, the car can't, either," said Mark Salem, a Tempe veteran auto technician and advice columnist.
"The reduction in performance can only be measured on a dynamometer. Most people, including myself, can't tell the difference."
Try telling that to Kelvin Williams, 35, of Phoenix. Despite the climbing cost of premium gas, he's still using it in his Dodge Ram pickup, he said, because regular gas "actually bogs down the car."
"Yes, I have to (use premium) with my truck, it's a Dodge 1500 Sports Edition Ram," Williams said. "With the V-8, it's better for the engine itself."
Salem said he has owned his 1995 Chevrolet Corvette since it was new, and despite the automaker's advice that premium be used, "I've used regular since Day 1."
With gasoline prices on the rise, the use of premium fuel has dropped off nationally as more motorists try cheaper blends to save money. Typically, premium costs about 20 cents more per gallon than regular.
In 2003, sales of premium represented about 12 percent of pump sales, down from 13.5 percent in 2002 when the cost of gasoline was lower, according to industry data. The highest use of premium was during 1994, when it reached 20.3 percent.
Premium gasoline is not better than regular, just different, said Randy Nowell, a master technician for the American Automobile Association. The difference is in the octane levels, a measurement of the gasoline blend's resistance to engine knock caused by pre-ignition.
"Dealers and sales people will tell you to buy premium because you're buying a premium car," Nowell said. "That's a myth."
Nearly every 2004 General Motors vehicle uses regular gas, said Chuck Harrington, GM's Western regional spokesman.
Ford now has just "a handful" of cars that use premium, spokeswoman Sandra Badgett said. But those cars can use regular with no ill effects, she said.
"We generally recommended certain octane because that's where the engine is tuned to run the best," Badgett said. "If you put regular in a vehicle that wants premium, it's not going to hurt it. It's not going to drop dead on the road."
Using premium in a car or truck that requires regular gives it no benefit in performance, mileage or reliability, she added.
Regular ranges from 85 to 87 octane, midgrades from 88 to 90, and premium 91 or higher.
But only performance engines with high compression ratios or those enhanced with turbochargers or superchargers benefit from the anti-knock protection.
The premium-gas issue has changed over the past two decades. Since 1981, every vehicle includes an electronic device in the ignition system called a knock sensor, which slightly retards the vehicle's ignition timing if it senses pre-ignition. The timing change may result in slightly less performance or fuel mileage, but it won't hurt the engine, Nowell said.
He advises drivers of vehicles requiring premium to try a tankful of midrange, . which is about 10 cents per gallon cheaper than premium and slightly boosts octane at lesser cost.
If midrange works, then run a tank of regular.
"It's not going to hurt anything if you use a tankful of regular fuel," Nowell said. "If it runs fine and you don't lose fuel economy, then use it."
European manufacturers BMW and Volvo advise premium for all of their vehicles yet state that regular can be used without ill effects other than some loss of acceleration and gas mileage.
"To get the results the cars are designed for, you use premium fuel," BMW spokesman Gordon Keil said.
Nearly every Volvo vehicle is now turbocharged and requires premium but will run without harm on regular, said James Hope, company spokesman.
A driver who is trying regular in a car requiring premium needs to listen for the telltale signs of engine "ping" during acceleration or hill-climbing. If the engine pings, switch back to premium or try the midgrade blend.
"It hurts the engine if you get a pinging and ignore it," he said.
If the vehicle is expected to perform hill-climbing, such as driving from Phoenix to Flagstaff, the driver could switch back to premium for the trip, Nowell said.
High elevations or high ambient temperatures also may provoke a need for premium in vehicles designed to use it.
Car and Driver magazine conducted a test in 2001 that determined that even most high-performance vehicles will run normally on regular with only a marginal loss of performance.
"If the car is sufficiently new and sophisticated, it will not suffer any ill effects," the magazine concluded. "But be ready to switch back to premium at the first sign of knock."
Any vehicle that should use regular but knocks on anything less than premium should be taken to a mechanic's shop for a checkup, the magazine advised.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0427premium27.html#