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If your Car Says Premium Fuel, Give it Premium Fuel
Filed under: Opinion
The price of everything is going up.
Thus, people, being peole, have been trying to find ways to save a little bit here and a little bit there.
One way to save is using a different grade of gasoline. Some who have cars that their manufacturer says must be given premium gasoline are wondering if that car can actually take regular.
The truth? Any, if not all, of the so-called "luxury cars" that call for premium gasoline can take lesser octane in the range of 89 or 87. This includes vehicles from Toyota, BMW, and General Motors. Today’s engines feature systems which quickly compensate for lower octane fuel. So they can run on 87 octane.
A word of warning, though. Your car will take a hit in either fuel economy, performance, or both. (Most likely both). Don't be surprised, for example, you suddenly lost between 1-3 mpg (or more) by switching grades. Or that smooth acceleration from the stop is slower than than 1980 Honda Civic zipping by in the other lane. Official and unofficial measurements by drivers indicates that any savings from switching grades is more than eaten up by having to fuel more often in the long run.
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