The Low-Down on High Octane Gasoline

[Lee Borgersen]

The Low-Down on High Octane Gasoline

Are you tempted to buy a high-octane gasoline for your car because you want to improve its performance? If so, take note:

The recommended gasoline for most cars is regular octane. In fact, in most cases, using a higher octane gasoline than your owner's manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit. It won't make your car perform better, go faster, get better mileage or run cleaner. Your best bet: listen to your owner's manual.
 
The only time you might need to switch to a higher octane level is if your car engine knocks when you use the recommended fuel. This happens to a small percentage of cars.

Unless your engine is knocking, buying higher octane gasoline is a waste of money, too. Premium gas costs .15 to .20 cents per gallon more than regular. That can add up to $100.00 or more a year in extra costs. Studies indicate that altogether, drivers may be spending hundreds of millions of dollars each year for higher-octane gas than they need.

[eelpout]

I actually lost milage in my truck when I put 92 octane in it.