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Premium gasoline is necessary only for those vehicles whose vehicles say “Premium Fuel Required” behind the fuel door. If your gas brand has higher levels of detergents or cold-weather additives in its premium fuel over regular, it may keep your engine cleaner, but it won’t necessarily run better.
In a word, no. On its own paying for premium gasoline does not make your car run better or get greater gas mileage. Giving your car the fuel it requires to run smoothly and efficiently, without damage to the engine, does make a difference in your fuel mileage.
Is higher grade fuel worth it?
Typically, high-performance cars require premium, because their engines have higher compression ratios, while other cars can run just fine on lower octane gas. The FTC sums it up this way: “In most cases, using a higher octane gasoline than your owner’s manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit.”
Do you need higher grade fuel for your car?
But before you reach for the gold button at the pump, new evidence released by AAA lends fresh insight about whether higher-grade fuel actually pays off.
If your vehicle requires midgrade or premium fuel, absolutely. If your owner’s manual says your vehicle doesn’t require premium but says that your vehicle will run better on higher octane fuel, it’s really up to you. The cost increase is typically higher than the fuel savings.
Do you need premium gas for your car?
The research suggests premium fuel works best on engines calibrated specifically for a higher-rated octane. The minor fuel-economy improvements seen with premium gasoline in vehicles that don’t require it didn’t offset the higher fuel costs.
Therefore, people often think it’ll reduce engine wear. While a tank of premium may help an engine in other ways, using premium fuel once in a while doesn’t really make sense. An engine’s design, which includes such factors as its combustion ratio and its operating temperature, is related to an “octane rating”.