You’ll see big bright ads on gasoline stations, sometimes even on the television or over the radio. The newest high octane fuel is now available. It’s a priced a bit higher than regular gasoline. It’s got that fancy branding, making it look way better than the regular version. It must make your car perform better, right?
According to experts there is no real value to replacing your regular octane fuel with high octane. In fact, most recommended gasoline for most cars is just the regular octane gas. You’ll find exactly what your car needs in your owner’s manual. And so far, there’s no proof that high octane can make your car perform better, run cleaner or become more fuel efficient.
Octane measures the fuel’s ability to resist engine knocking, rattling or pinging as a result of premature ignition in the engine’s cylinders. You’ll find the gasoline’s octane level by the pump (usually in a bright yellow sticker). Most gas stations offer three levels. Regular octane is usually 87, mid-grade is around 89 octane and high octane or premium is 92 to 93 octane.
If you drive a sports car or a luxury car, that’s when you might need a high octane gasoline since your car has a high compression engine. To know if you’re using the right type, all you have to do is listen to your car. If, say, you use the recommended regular octane for your car but the engine always knocks, then it may be time to upgrade to either a mid-grade or a high octane gasoline. Prolonged knocking may result in engine damage, so don’t let it go on without doing something about it.
However, don’t switch up to higher octane because it happens once or twice. Other factors may cause engine knocking such as temperature, altitude, humidity, engine spark timing and even your method of driving.
The older your car gets and the more you use it, the more likely it will be for you to need to upgrade your octane levels. This is due to continuous build up of combustion chamber deposits. As such, the octane requirement of your car when it was brand new may be3 to 6 numbers higher as the years progress.
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I have a 1993 Lexus LS 400, yes it is old, but the manual says high octane, with the cost of gas so high, I want to use regular gas….will it hurt the car?
Going against your car’s recommended fuel octane level (based on the manual) can cause engine knocking. If this happens over a prolonged period, it can definitely cause engine failure over time. I’ve known some people who have experimented with alternating high octane fuel with lower octane ones on older models. They would use high octane for long drives but would stick to the lower octane for short drives around the city, they say that it doesn’t really affect their car much. However, I would still recommend going with the fuel octane prescribed by the manufacturer.
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