Premium Gas vs. Regular: What's the Difference? | GEICO Living

Premium gasoline is generally considered any type of gasoline with an octane level of 91 or greater, with 91 octane and 93 octane being the most common ... Skiptomaincontent Search Driving Home Saving Commercials Backtogeico.com DarkMode Back Driving Driving Auto CarSafety&Insurance Parents&Teens AutoCare Cycle RV,Boat&More Home Home Food Health&Fitness HomeImprovement HomeProtection Pets Technology Saving Saving Money Insurance101 LifeHacks YourPolicy GEICOLivingDrivingAutoAutoCarePremiumGasVs.RegularGas Whenyoupulluptothegasstation,doyoureallyknowwhatyou’regettingbymakingthechoiceofregularorpremiumgas?Whatarethedifferentgastypes?Whichoneshouldyouchooseforyourvehicle?Isitworthittopaymoreforpremiumgas?Hereareahandfulofhelpfulfactstoguideyourchoicebetweenpremiumvsregulargasatthepump: Whatispremiumgasandhowisitdifferentfromregulargas? Premiumgasolineisgenerallyconsideredanytypeofgasolinewithanoctanelevelof91orgreater,with91octaneand93octanebeingthemostcommonversionsofpremiumgasolineavailableatgasstationsintheUnitedStates(93octanegasolinemaybecalled“ultra”or“super-premium”insomecases).Gasolinewithanoctanelevelof87isconsidered“regular,”withgasolinesoldat89octaneoftenlabeled“midgrade”bymostgasstations. BenefitsofUsingtheCorrectGasoline Ifyourcardoesnotrecommendpremium,youaren’tdoingyourvehicleanyfavorsbygettingit.Somevehiclesspecify“premium”gas.Engineersatautomanufacturersprescribepremiumgasbecausecertainkindsofenginesoperateoptimallywithhigher-octanefuel.Ifyourowner’smanualdoesn’tcallforpremiumgas,yourvehicledoesn’tneedit. Whenshouldyougetpremiumgas? Ifyourvehicleowner’smanualsuggestsusingpremiumgas,thereisareason.Carsthatrequirepremiumgasolinehavehigh-compressionengines,turbochargers,andotherhigh-performanceaspects.Notusingpremiumwon’tnecessarilyhurtyourengine,butyoucouldlosesomeoftheperformanceofthatpremiumengineyoupaidforifyouuseregularormidgradegas. Whatis“toptier”gasoline? Fillingupatastationwith“TopTier”gasmighthelpyousaveonmaintenancecostsinthelongrun.Yourcarcangetplaquebuild-upfromgasolinedeposits.Whilemostgasolinetodayhasdetergentadditivesinitalreadytohelpkeepfuelinjectorsandvalvesclean,fillingupatstationswitha“TopTier”designationonthepumpofferssomesubstantialreassurance.“TopTier”isanofficialdesignationfromtheEnvironmentalProtectionAgencythatidentifiesgasmeetingaminimumstandardofperformanceandcleanliness.Premiumorregular,“TopTier”gasmeetsastandardofhigher-percentagedetergentadditives. HowToDecideBetweenPremiumVs.RegularGas Consideryourcar’sweightandagewhenchoosingbetweenpremiumvs.regulargasatthepump.Ifyouhaveanolder,heaviercar,SUV,ortruckwithhigh-performanceenginesandyouareexperiencingengineknock,tryusingpremiumgasforafewfillstoseeifthatfixestheproblem,evenifthevehicledoesnotcallforit. “Premium”GasCanVaryByState Whatqualifiesaspremiumgasvariesfromstatetostate.Sopayattentionifyouareonacross-countryroad-triporcrossingstatelines.Onestatemayrequireaminimumoctaneratingof92tobeconsideredpremium,whileanothermayonlyrequire90.GasstationsintheUnitedStatesgenerallyofferthreeoctanegrades:regular(usually87octane),mid-grade(usually89octane),andpremium(usually91or93gas).Checkthestickeronthepumptoknowwhichyouaregetting. Nextarticle:6HackstoHelpYouSaveonGas SHARETHISARTICLE Recommended Leaveacomment(cancelreply)Comment*Name Email(Youremailaddresswillnotbepublished) Δ Ihavea2019dodgeGrandcaravanandIuse89gasinmyvanIonlyhave50,000milesonit89lastlongerthan87doesyesitmightcostmorebutit’slastinglongerthan87ifuuse87inmyopinionucanpay50tofillthetanktomy80butuwillbefillingupurtankagainwhileI’llstillhavegassourreallyspendingthesameandImonlysayingthisfromexperiencewhenthegaswasalmost5dollarsIusedregular87andIhadtofillmytanktwicesoIspentboutthesameormaybemoreusing87thenIwouldhaveusing89ifIspend80dollarstofillmytankusing89itwilllastmeupto4tofivedaysandthat’sdoingalotofdrivingbackandforthtomyjobsbutwhenIused87itonlylastedmemaybe2to3dayssoinmyopinion89lastlonger Reply Thankyouforallyourhelp.YourservicewasexcellentandveryFAST.Manythanksforyoukindandefficientservice.Ihavealreadyandwilldefinitelycontinuetorecommendyourservicestoothersinthefuture. Reply Yes,Ithinkmanymanufacturesarenowrecommendinghigheroctanesforoptimalperformance.Ofcoursemodernenginescanadjustforloweroctaneswiththepenaltyofreducedperformance.InmostcaseshigheroctanedoesnotimproveMPGbutdoesprovidealittlebetterperformance.Thiscanbeimportantwhentowing,hotweather,orturboenginesthataremoresensitivetooctanerequirements.Ownersmanualsarethebestplacetoseewhatisrequiredandpossiblyrecommendedforyourengine. Reply EXCELLENTINFO Reply IfindIgethighermilespergallonwhenIuseanygasolinethatdoesnothaveethanolinit.WhenIuseethanolgasoline,mymileagedropsintothe13to15milespergallonrange.Whenusingnon-ethanolgasoline,mymileagegoesuptothe23to27mileage. Reply Whatabout85octane?IwasinUtahrecently,where“regular”was85octane.Ididn’tfeelcomfortableusingthatinmymotorhome,soIoptedformid-gradewhenavailable,orpremiumotherwise. Reply Definitelychecktheowner’smanualforminimumrequirements. Reply Whichisthebestgasforurcarifamechanictelluugetthehighpercentageforurcartohelpcleangaslineout Reply HiVetteDoctor,Irecentlypurchaseda2009Camrywiththe2GR-FE6cyl.enginethathasa10.8to1compressionratio.Hereistheverbatimquotefrommyowner’smanual…”UnleadedgasolinewithanOctaneRatingof87(ResearchOctaneNumber91)orhigherisrequiredforoptimumengineperformance.”Wouldyourecommendamid-gradeorpremiumgasforthisengine?Ithas104,000milesandinthemonthI’veowneditI’veonlyputinmid-gradebecauseIthoughtitmightbebetterforanenginewiththiscompressionratio.Thanks. Reply ,89wouldbebetterforhighmileageit’sabitcleanerthan87butthat’sjustmyopinion Reply Ithoughtthatoctanewasgasolinesabilitytoholdoxygenthereforeathigherelevationswheretheairisthinnerthegasolinecannotholdasmuchoxygenresultinginaloweroctanerating.Isthiscorrect? Reply No.Whenyourcarsengine(withcarburetor)istunedforsealeveldriving,thegasolineoctaneratingshouldbedeterminedonthecompressionratiooftheenginescombustionchamber.Whendrivingforexample,thecoastofCaliforniatotheSierraMountains,whatisaffectedisthefuel/airmixtureofyourtuneup!Thecarburetedenginewillstarttosmokeblacksmoke,(toomuchfuel)andstartrunningerratically!Oldhotrodderssuchasmyselfalwayscarryacasewithdifferentsizedmainjets,andstopbeforetheerraticbehaviorbegins.Thisiswhereyoubetterhaveknowledgeofhowtodisassembleyourcarbandreassembleitafterchangingjets.Youwantlessfuelandmoreair,thenatiminglighttoretardyourdistributorssparkafewdegrees.Simpleeh? Nowifyourcarsenginehaselectronicfuelinjection,withanECU(computer)thenitshouldautomaticallymakeallthenecessarychangesintheparametersofyourFuel/Airratioandretardingofthedistributorssparkwithoutaproblem!Infact,you’llneverknowthechangesweremade,andyourenginewillseemtorunlikeitalwaysdoes! Whatdoeschangetheoctanenumbersinyourgasissuddenstops,andsloshingaroundinatankwithoutbafflesorfoamblockstokeepthegasfromdoingtheBigSlosh!! Reply I’vealwaysbeentaughtaboutwhatkindofgastouseinmycarbymydad,whichisnowdeceased.I’mconstantlylearningmoreandmorewhichisalwayshelpful.ThecarthatI’vepurchasedisa2004,withthefinancialmessthatmyex-husbandleftmein,I’mconstantlyhavingtorepairsomethingbutall-in-allicouldhavedoneworse.Ilovemycarandallofthetipsandtricksthatareonthissiteareveryinformative,thankyou Reply Ihavea2003Fordf-1505.4literit’smissingandwhenyougotopassinggearitbogsandskipsrealbadandtheshockenginelightstartsflashingtillitsmoothoutwe.CheckedthecoilwiresandfoundthatthebackrightwasbadsoIpuntanew1initrangreatontestrideandbackbythetimeIgothomeitsthesamethingwhat’supIneedhelp Reply Ihaveheardthatgascanmakeadifferenceinyourvehicle.Ijustthoughtthatthegaswasdifferentinpricejusttotellyouthattherearedifferentkinds.IwonderifIcanusepremiuminmycar.Itmightmakeabigdifferenceinmycar’sperformance. Reply Usingahigheroctanegaswillprovidebetterresponsefromyourengineifitknocksunderload,or“pings”whenaccelerating.Asfarasperformancegoes,ifyourenginehasacompressionratioof9to1orlessandyouaren’trunningaSupercharger,then87octaneismorethanlikelywhatyourcarsenginewouldneedtorunefficiently.Anyenginewith91/2to1andhighercompressionratios,needsahigheroctaneratedfueltoperformwithoutissues,likeImentionedabove.Hopethisansweredyourquestion? Reply Lookingtosave?Bundleyourauto&property.StartQuote GetAFreeAuto+PropertyQuote