Premium Gas Versus Unleaded

Discussion in Auto & Moto started by Corzhens • Jul 1, 2016.

  1. Corzhens

    CorzhensWell-Known Member

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    Our 2 cars use unleaded gasoline which is cheaper by about 5% than the premium gasoline. But some people, including the gas station attendant, advise us to use premium gasoline instead in order to save on power. The unleaded is cheaper but it gives less power and as per their computation on the mileage, premium gasoline covers more distance in the same amount (or money and not in liters). But we have a hesitation on the issue because the gas tank's cap clearly say "unleaded gasoline only." What happens if something goes wrong with the engine?

    What is your opinion on this?
     
  2. hades_leae

    hades_leaeActive Member

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    I have heard some people day that you can put premium gas inside a regular tank but not regular gas inside something like a Lamborghini simply because the engine needs gas that can produce what the car need in terms of performance.

    Which I understand, if regular gas is not good for a premium car, then I would never put it in there.
     
  3. gata montes

    gata montesActive Member

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    To be fair - bearing in mind that all gasoline available at gas stations these days is now unleaded and the only difference is that it generally comes in three grades - regular, mid-grade, premium or 87, 89, 93 octane.

    Unless you have a high performance car with a high-compression engine that is designed to run on high octane or premium fuel - which will be specified in the owner's handbook - there is absolutely no benefit whatsoever to paying 20-30 cents more per gallon for high octane fuel - if the vehicle manufacturer doesn’t specify its use

    Particularly as - contrary to popular belief - using high octane or premium gas in a vehicle that doesn't need it - isn't going to improve performance or supercharge an engine in any way.
     
  4. Zyni

    ZyniWell-Known Member

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    It's often not necessary to buy premium. @gata montes@gata montes is correct. In fact, in some cases, the owner's manual will specifically note that you should not use premium fuel. That is the case with my own vehicle. I had no idea this was a thing, but my husband likes to read every manual cover to cover (for everything), so he found out about it.

    I'm good with that, since it saves us quite a bit of money when buying gas. We used to think that it was probably better to buy the more expensive premium gas, thinking it would be better for the car.
     
  5. isabbbela

    isabbbelaWell-Known Member

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    It is the same where I live, it is very it is the same where I live, it is little difference between both gas. I will usually put one in one load and then another in the other one. I was told it's good to use premium for the motor, so I try to do that.
     
  6. cluckeyo

    cluckeyoActive Member

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    We have one car that is a real nice, powerful car and it drives great on unleaded. We have another car that is a 95 model and only 4 cylinders. This car really has improved performance when using premium. So I have gotten to where I just use the premium in that car all the time. We don't drive it that much so the cost is no big deal.
     
  7. Jason76

    Jason76Active Member

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    I have heard different stories regarding this subject. My brother-in-law who knows a lot about cars advises me to use premium. However, online experts seem to say that premium is only needed for certain automobiles.

    Finally, someone at a local auto supply store advised me to fill the tank with premium when using fuel injector fluid.
     
  8. thisnthat

    thisnthatActive Member

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    Here's a decent read on this topic:

    Log In



    Premium is really only necessary for high performance vehicles. Most people don't need to use it. It makes sense that the filling station attendant would want you to buy premium, since the price is higher. You probably don't need it though.

    The other day we pulled into a station that had regular unleaded at a much lower price than other nearby stations. When we reached the pump, we saw that the attendant was covering up all the lower grade nozzles. We inquired about what was going on and learned that they were all out of the lower grades (including the one that was on sale) and only had premium gas available.

    Bait and switch much? We left.