Do you need to put Premium in your vehicle? After all, it provides more octane - so it’s got more power right? And … obviously it’s better for my vehicle since it’s more expensive, right?

Wrong.

Despite what you may think about using Premium gasoline, it is not more powerful than Regular or Mid-Grade.  The energy content is the same - 111,400 BTU’s per gallon.

The Octane in the gasoline simply reduces the likelihood that your engine will “knock” or “ping.”  Knocking and pinging happens when the gasoline and air mixture combust without the aid of the spark plug. Basically it is “uncontrolled” combustion inside  your engine. Octane slows the rate of combustion and allows the engine to compress the fuel air mixture without that uncontrolled combustion from occuring.

In “high compression” engines - such as performance vehicles, the manufacturer sets out to achieve higher horsepower from a smaller engine by increasing the compression of the fuel and air mixture.  Those vehicles “require” a higher grade of gasoline in order to achieve the higher performance from the engine.

Your vehicle, is most likely not a “high performance” vehicle - like a Corvette, Porsche 911, etc. And in that case, the engine has no need for the additional octane - since there is no reason to delay the combustion of the gasoline.  Your money is being wasted.

Now, just to give you piece of mind. Vehicles today are also designed with a “knock sensor” which is a computer inside your engine that measures exactly when the spark fires and can delay the ignition to reduce or eliminate knocking or pinging inside your engine.

The bottom line: For most vehicles, Premium gas is a total waste of money. Look inside your fuel filler door and/or read your owner’s manual to see if Premium gas is “required” on your vehicle. And remember, a manufacturer may “recommend” Premium gas, but that does not mean it is “required.”