Unleaded vs. Premium: What's the Difference in Gas Types?

When it comes to regular vs. premium gas, the short answer is that if your vehicle manual says it requires premium gas, then you need to fill it with premium ... Thetypeofgasyourvehicleneedsisdependentonthetypeofvehicleyouhave Doesthetypeofgasyouputinyourcarreallymatter? Theansweristhatitdepends. Whenitcomestoregularvs.premiumgas,theshortansweristhatifyourvehiclemanualsaysitrequirespremiumgas,thenyouneedtofillitwithpremiumgas.Ifitdoesn’t,thenusingpremiumgasisgenerallyunnecessary. WhyDoSomeVehiclesRequirePremiumGas? Theprimaryvehicletypeusingpremiumgasistheluxuryclass,butsomeSUVshavebeenknowntouseittoo.Thereasonthesevehiclesrequirepremiumgasisduetothehighcompressionratiooftheirengines.Highcompressionratiomeansthatthetotalvolumedisplacedinsidethecylinderbypistonmovementishigherthantheaveragevehicle. Whenyouuseregulargasinavehiclethatrequirespremiumhigh-octanegas,itmaycauseprematureignitioninsidethechamber,whichwillresultinknockingandrattlingsounds.Anaccidentaluseortwoofregulargasmightnotcauseanyproblems,butregularusewilllikelycausedamageeventually. Ontheotherhand,premiumgaswon’tharmyourlowcompressionvehicle,butitwon’thaveanyrealbenefiteither.Inotherwords,it’snotworththeextrapriceifyourvehicledoesn’tactuallyrequireit. OctaneRatingsExplained Whenyoufillup,youmightnoticethatthepumpusuallyhasthreenumbersindicatingtheoctaneratingofeachgastype.Regularisusually87,mid-gradeis89andpremiumis91orsometimes93. Whatdothesenumbersmean? Themeaningisrelatedtopre-ignition.Airandfuelareignitedwithasparktorunyourengine.Earlyignitionofthismixtureiswhatcausestheknockingsound.Carsinthepresentdayhavesensorstopreventpre-ignition,soyouwon’thearitmuchundernormalcircumstances. Octaneratingsrefertothegasoline’sabilitytoresistearlyignition.Highoctanemeanshigherresistance.Octaneratingsdon’thaveanythingtodowithgivingthefuelmoreenergy.Thismythiswhathasconvincedsomedriverstousepremiumgasintheirregularfuelcars,whichislargelyawasteofmoney. RegularorPremium? Ifyourcarislikemostvehicles,andthere’snoindicationintheowner’smanualtothecontrary,87-octanefueliswhatyoushoulduse.Ifyourcarmanualindicatesthatpremiumgasisnotjustrecommended,butrequired,thenyoushouldalwaysusethe91or93-octanegas. Inearliercars,usingloweroctanegaswouldensureenginedamage.However,moderncarscanactuallyretunetheenginetoavoidearlyignitionwithloweroctanegas. Thatdoesn’tmeanyoushoulduseitthough. Theloweroctanegaswillreduceyourpowerandfuelefficiency,anditcanstillcausedamageinthelongrunifyoukeepusingit. Somecarsmightsaythatpremiumfuelisrecommendedinyourengine.Inthatcase,youcanrunanyfuelgradebetweenregularandpremiuminyourcarwithoutdamagingyourengine.Sometimescarswiththisindicationgetbettergasmileageandputoutmorepowerwithhighergradesoffuel. Youcantryeachgradeinyourtankandseeifthereisadifferenceinyourvehicle’sperformancebeforecommittingtooneortheother. EuropeanGrades IfyoubuyaEuropeancar,youmightseeRON95orRON98asthegasindicatedforyourvehicle.TheseareoctanegradescalculatedinadifferentmannerthantheUnitedStates.RON95ismuchthesameas87-octaneandRON98isequalto94-octane,but93typicallysuffices. HighAltitudeOctane Wheninhighaltitudelocations,youmightseegasratedat85-octane.Theideabehindloweroctanefuelinhighaltitudesisthatthethinairlowerscompressionintheengine. However,thisdoesn’tholdtrueformodernfuel-injectedvehicles.Thebestpracticehereistolookatthenumbers.Buy87ifyourcartakesregular,evenifit’smidgradeprice. Thebottomlineistoalwayscheckyourowner’smanualforrecommendedfuelgradeandsticktoit. Ifyou’verecentlyboughtaneworusedcarbutaren’tsurewhichtypeoffuelisright,asktheexpertsatBryantMotors. LatestfromourBlog CarBuyingGuide 10TipsforFirstTimeCarBuyers ProperlySigningOverYourUsedCarTitle Repairingvs.Replacing:OutwiththeOld,InwiththeNew? BrowseInventory Newvehicles Usedvehicles BrowsebyMake Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Chevrolet Ford GMC Honda BrowsebyPrice $10KorLess $10K-$20K $20K-$30K $30Kandup Resources CarBuyingGuide Blog Location&Hours Contact RecallCheck BryantMotors 2901SouthLimitAve Sedalia MO 65301 (800)886-2701 ©2022AllrightsReserved WebsiteDesignbySearchEngineOptimizationCompanySEOAdvantage,Inc."•Siteinfo Fb Tw Blog TOP SSL