Should I use regular or premium gas in my vehicle?

Regular Gas vs Premium Gas: Performance and Price

In recent years, there has been quite a bit of confusion around the subject of premium gas. Drivers of vehicles that call for premium gas question the reasoning, while drivers of vehicles that call for regular gas wonder if their vehicle could benefit from a little premium TLC. Howdy Honda is here to help educate you on the two different fuel types and which one will work best for your vehicle. Continue reading for more information on regular gas vs premium gas: performance and price, including FAQs and common myths.

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FAQs about Premium Gas vs Regular Gas

Q: How much more does premium gas cost, on average?

A: About 20-30 cents more per gallon than regular gas. For average drivers, that can be about a $200 per year difference.

Q: Why does my owner’s manual call for premium gas instead of regular?

A: Because your vehicle has a high-compression engine. High-compression engines are able to produce more power than regular engines of the same size, but drivers have to spend more on gas to get that extra boost of power.

Q: My car runs on regular gas. Will using premium gas provide me with any benefits?

A: No. Higher octane provides no additional performance benefits for cars built to run on regular gas. Please read below for some common myths about premium gas.

Common Myths about Premium Gas

Myth #1: Premium gas offers more miles per gallon than regular gas.

According to CarTalk, gas is made up from as many as seven different ingredients, so the exact amount of energy in each gallon of premium or regular gas varies between oil providers. You’ll actually get a greater range of fuel economy between different brands of regular gas than you will between the same manufacturer’s regular and premium gasses.

In fact, to increase fuel octane rating, oil companies add ethanol to premium fuel—when in reality, ethanol actually contains less energy than untreated gas, so the result is a reduction in MPG. However, other additives in premium gas reverse this effect, so MPG is ever-so-slightly increased, but not enough to provide a significant difference.

Myth #2: Premium gas has special or extra detergents that are worth the extra cost.

According to CarTalk, premium gas does indeed have special detergents, but they don’t offer much additional benefit. In the rapidly advancing automotive world, all of the gasoline from major gas companies contain more than enough detergents to keep your engine clean. A need for the extra detergents in premium gas may arrive if  you have a noticeably dirty engine and need to clean off the engine components.

Myth #3: Premium gas is a necessity to prevent pinging and knocking.

According to CarTalk, pinging or knocking refers to noises in your vehicle’s engine that are the result of the fuel and air mixture combusting unevenly in the cylinder. This can reduce the efficiency of your engine and, over a long period of time, cause damage. High-octane gas does help protect engines from pinging or knocking, however most cars have an installed “Knock-Sensor” that detects this issue and, in most cases, eliminates the need for premium gas.

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