Does using a higher
octane gas improve fuel economy?
By
Scott Siegel
http://www.beatthegaspump.com
Is premium gas really worth $208.00 more per year? Do you
get better mileage or fuel economy with premium? Does
premium gas make your car run better?
The cost difference between regular gas and premium is
generally about twenty cents per gallon. That means filling
up a 20 gallon tank will cost $4.00 more if you fill with
premium instead of regular. If you fill your car once a week
the premium will cost you $208.00 more than regular over the
course of a year.
Let's address the fuel economy question first. The simple
answer is no, premium gas does not increase fuel economy at
all.
The octane rating is a measurement of the proportion of
isooctane to heptane in fuel. In non technical terms it is a
rating that grades how much energy it takes to ignite that
fuel. The rating has nothing to do with how much energy the
gas puts out.It has absolutely nothing to do with fuel
economy.
Does premium gas make your car run better? Once again the
simple answer is no, there is no increase in a cars
performance with premium gas.
That said, I must throw in this one caveat, your car might
perform with slightly more horsepower with premium than with
regular but you would be hard pressed to notice the
difference. Premium just allows car makers an extra
advertising ploy.
By designing and tuning engines to take advantage of
premium's anti-knock properties, it allows automakers to
market their cars with a few more horsepower. Auto engineers
generally agree that if you use regular in a premium engine,
the power loss is so slight, that it is very hard to detect.
What if your car manufacturer recommends that you use
premium? In this case burning regular instead of premium
won't void the warranty, nor damage the engine, most
automakers say.
Next time you go to fill up try regular instead of premium.
You will immediately save $4.00. See how your car performs
with the regular. If it runs fine and you don't hear any
knocking continue to use regular. You could save $200.00 per
year!
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Scott Siegel is the author of a 143 page manual of industry insider information
on saving gas and money at the pump (beatthegaspump.com). Visit us to learn how
you can get better gas mileage.
Find out how to increase gas
mileage.
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