The pros and cons of premium fuel (2024)

FAQs

The pros and cons of premium fuel? ›

Premium gas may also contain additional, higher-quality additives compared to regular gas. However, premium gas might not be necessary or improve efficiency for cars that are designed to run on regular gas.

Expensiveness is the significant drawback of high-octane fuel. High-octane fuel costs a few dollars more per gallon than ordinary petrol. When you fill up your automobile, you will see an enormous difference. Suppose you need high-octane gas because your car requires it; then you're in big trouble.

Not every vehicle actually benefits significantly from a premium formula. We recommend taking a look at your owner's manual to see what your manufacturer recommends. Performance cars with higher end engines may require the more advanced formula of premium gasoline in order to maximize their horsepower and torque.

Premium fuel additives are thought to reduce friction which results in keeping the engine's components clean. This also creates a more efficient performance. Professionals say that older vehicle engines with unknown history may benefit from additional cleaning with premium fuels.

Generally, luxury cars and high-performance vehicles are designed to run on premium gas. Brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi often make cars that require premium gasoline. Vehicle models with turbocharged engines, such as Mini Coopers or Subaru WRX also typically need premium fuel to perform at their peak.

In most cases, the difference in performance is small and something you may not notice during normal driving. If the car is designed for regular gas — or doesn't specifically say that the car requires premium gas — go with regular. There are no benefits to putting premium gas in a car that doesn't need it.

Engine computers can usually adjust their timing to account for the increased octane levels, so if you put premium gas in a regular car, you probably won't notice anything. However, some engines are not designed to burn higher-octane fuel, and you may see a reduction in performance and fuel economy.

There's nothing wrong with mixing premium and regular gas in the same tank. In fact, this is how midgrade gas is formulated at the station. Rather than drawing from a separate storage tank for each octane rating, gas pumps actively mix high-octane fuel with lower-octane fuel to create midgrade gas.

The Federal Trade Commission recommends using regular gasoline for most standard cars and notes that: "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."

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), higher octane fuel provides no benefit for vehicles that don't need it. It won't make your car run cleaner or go faster.

How much difference does premium fuel make? ›

For mainstream cars, the difference is only a few extra miles, as they run optimally on standard fuel types, which can be purchased from supermarkets. Only those with high-performance vehicles may notice a difference in the drive and fuel efficiency of using premium petrol or diesel.

Using premium gas for your vehicle will not hurt its internal combustion engine. If your car is meant to run on regular octane gas, filling it with premium gas causes no damage — other than to your bank account.

In older cars, putting a lower octane gas in the tank might cause knocking and pinging and will result in reduced performance. In most cases, it won't damage your engine, but it could, depending on the engine, the car, how you drive it, and other factors. Newer cars handle lower octane fuel better than older ones.

High-octane gas rarely improves mileage, and when it does, the benefit is outweighed by the premium cost.

If the sticker says, “Premium Fuel Recommended,” you should be able to use regular gas safely. But if it says “Required” or “Only,” you should use premium. Higher compression in an engine produces higher horsepower, but it may require premium gas to do it.

By 2019, more than one-third of all cars, SUVs and pickups were equipped with a turbocharger, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Those turbocharged engines are more likely to require high-octane gas than a non-turbo engine.

This will most often come into play if substituting regular for premium leads to significant engine knock or pinging that causes damage to the pistons or other engine components. Aside from those complications, you could also experience a decrease in fuel efficiency and overall engine performance.

Unlike high-quality engine oil, premium gasoline doesn't make a car accelerate faster, run cleaner, or become more efficient.

Cenzano says it's a good idea to use high-octane gas in a 10-year-old or older car that might be knocking and pinging. That's because premium can clean the carbon buildup that can prevent older vehicles from running as efficiently as when they were new.