Comments on: Does my car really need premium gas? (octane)

By: Justin Scearcy

Justin Scearcy — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:52:18 +0000

Required octane depends directly with the compression ratio of the engine in your vehicle. Higher octane fuel does not cause your engine to run hotter. It does have a higher flash point, which means it will withstand higher heat, and higher pressure before it ignites. That is the reason you need to use a higher octane gas with a higher compression ratio engine. People associate higher performance with higher octane because engines that need the higher octane(engines with high compression ratio) are high performance engines.

By: greenskidusautoparts

greenskidusautoparts — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 07:37:00 +0000

People believe buying the “premium” will make their cars run better, but it makes your engine run hotter, and can cause more harm than good.

By: ron Stone

ron Stone — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:42:32 +0000

Well, I’m still confused re. my 2003 BMW 5 series. Will I damage my engine with 89 or not??? Heard that if I blend 89, or even 87, and 93 the blends in the tanks are higher so I would come out with a higher blend than either combo and could still save some $$$. Any thoughts? The BMW was a special thing, not a run of the mill item for me so if I could save, it would be a good thing. thanks

By: Mary Waterbury

Mary Waterbury — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:34:33 +0000

Just read your advice about regular vs. high octane gas. I’ve been putting high octane into my ’04 PT Cruiser since I got it, figuring – you were right – that if regular is good, high octane must be better. Now, with gas prices going skyhigh, I’m wondering if I can switch to regular. Seems to me that some time ago I heard someone say that if you’ve started with regular, you really shouldn’t switch.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

M. Waterbury