Thank God for the last 3 post!!! I was begining to pull my hair out on this misinformed post on higher octane gas giving you HP and performance.

 

Using fuel of a higher octane than recommended for your car will not make it run any better. It can in fact cause it to run worse and/or cause premature problems. Octane does one thing. It controls knock/ping/detonation. Paying for premium for a car designed for regular is throwing money away. You might as well burn your money or toss it off a bridge. You are gaining nothing from octane unless your car knocks or pings on the lower octane fuel.

That is from one of the primary engineers for Texaco Chevron in their fuel division. I'm going with the guy with multiple degrees in petroleum and engineering. He doesn't make a third of a million a year for not knowing what he's talking about. Use the lowest octane that your car runs fine on and put the other money toward more mods.

 

i dont see why oz would require premium... most i'd do is plus grade just to help pinging if im gonna reving it so high...

 

So I guess filling a Ralliart with premium gas once a month doesn't really help clean out the car? I can just stick with regular all the way?

 

Yup, if you really feel you need to clean it out, put one of those fuel system cleaners in every 12000 miles or so. But even that really isnt needed in todays modern cars with modern fuels.

 

all i am using is regular unleaded. that is what is recommended by Mitsubishi, as long as you follow what is recommended by them you should have a car that lasts. at least i hope that is true.

 

hmm....my oz runs better on premium though...it was 91 as its in cali, here i dont know why, my RA is running kinda funny...maybe i should try putting regular...its on 92 now, before it was on 94

 

It's a figment of your imagination (not trying to be rude please don't take it that way).You should run what is recomended for your car.Please read the links that andrew posted or you can search the net yourself and find the same answers over and over agian by the pros.....

 

none taken :P hehehee, thanks dude

 

so question:

what car's are recommended to take mid-grade (89 here in florida)? that's what i've been using in my oz, and i've been able to test it for gas milage (89 is better) during a few drives to maryland and back.

 

You should only move up to the next octane ratinf if your car is pinging from the recommended octane. From what I have read this is a very small percentage of cars. If it pings aon all ratings...get itk checked bottom line. A higher octane gas does not have any effect on gas mileage. There are really too many factors invovled as to why you got better mileage from one trip to the next. Where you driving against the wind....more stop and go traffic were you heavier on the pedal and so on.....

 

my Jeep requires premium, if i don't put that it will ping pretty bad. but it has a big v-8 (as far as jeeps go) in it. and since the RA gets better mileage and cheaper gas, it is my commuter car.

 

I can't think of a single car rated for mid grade. I think it's primarily for cars that are not running properly and knock/ping on regular. Higher octane can not in any way increase your mpg. It can only stop knock and it's a waste if you don't have that problem.

 

I use Chevron mid-grade all the time.....i consider myself lucky that I have a car I don't have to put premium in.....that gets expensive...after reading this forum tho, i may drop down to regular....but only from Chevron...i don't trust those cheapy gas stations.....aaahemm......arco....

 

Chevron and Texaco put the same amount of additives, i.e. detergent, anti-knock compound etc., in all 3 grades of gasoline. They are the only two that put the premium grade amount of additives in the lower grades. It keeps the engine cleaner and helps it run better. It does not increase the octane though, which is what changes the flash point and a bunch of technical stuff I don't understand. My friend the Texaco engineer told me about that when he was telling me how it's a 100% waste to put in higher octane than called for.