Premium Gasoline Quick Tips

• High-performance vehicles sometimes require high-octane gas.
• Premium gas is compatible with some engines’ high compression ratios.
• Your owner’s manual indicates if high-grade gas is required or recommended for the vehicle.
• Using regular unleaded gas in a car that requires premium fuel reduces engine performance and can cause damage over time.
• Using premium unleaded does not increase fuel economy.

Choosing between premium and regular gasoline is among car owners’ more common decisions. The choice is also often misunderstood, and the result might unnecessarily cost you more money at the fuel pump.

To explain whether you should pump regular or premium gas into your car or truck, let’s start with the basics. What is premium gasoline? How do you know if your vehicle needs higher octane? And what are the pros and cons of choosing more expensive gas?

Here’s the full rundown of everything you need to know about premium gasoline when your car’s gas needle points toward empty.

Should You Use Premium Gas?

The answer to the basic question is easy because it’s answered by the car’s manufacturer. Automakers recommend what type of gasoline to use for peak performance in the vehicle. Keep in mind that the majority of cars, trucks, and SUVs are fine running on a diet of regular gasoline.

Premium Gas Explained

What constitutes premium versus regular gasoline can vary from state to state. In most places, regular gasoline has an 87 octane rating, while premium is 91 to 94 octane. A higher octane rating means the gas is more compatible with some engines’ higher compression ratios.

That term refers to the detonation of air and fuel that keeps an engine’s pistons churning up and down. Cars with high compression ratios, particularly those fitted with turbochargers, are often recommended to run on premium gas for peak performance.

By that, we mean more than snappy acceleration times. Gasoline impacts your car’s performance as well as fuel economy and emissions levels. A check of the owner’s manual will uncover what grade of gas the manufacturer recommends.

Premium vs. Regular Gas

We mentioned above that automakers often recommend premium gasoline for vehicles equipped with turbochargers or an engine with a high compression ratio. Using it maintains all-important things like performance and fuel economy levels. It also reduces the chance of engine “knocking.” And no, this doesn’t mean your car politely tapping the front door.

Knocking is a potentially serious engine problem. Audible engine knocks happen when the air/fuel mixture within a piston’s combustion chamber is incorrect. Over time, excessive engine knocking could lead to expensive engine repairs.

Avoiding a trip to a repair shop for knocks and pings could be worth the extra money you pay when refueling. At the time of writing, AAA reports a nationwide average for one gallon of regular gasoline is $3.26 (versus the record high of $5.016 in June 2022). For comparison, premium grade costs $4.01 on average. That makes a difference of $11.25 if you’re filling up with 15 gallons of fuel.

It’s a significant amount of money, particularly when you consider the three best-selling vehicles in the U.S. are full-size pickup trucks. With their large fuel tanks, the price gap between choosing regular or premium grows exponentially.

Can You Mix Premium and Regular Gas?

Mixing premium and regular gas in your car or truck is OK. Modern vehicles’ high-tech electronics and fuel monitoring features easily adjust to different grades of gasoline. Even if the maker recommends premium gas for your car, there is no risk of immediate engine damage if you need to fill up with a tank of lower octane.

Problems such as decreased performance and poorer fuel economy would only surface if a car owner permanently ignores a higher-octane recommendation. On the other hand, there is no benefit in putting premium fuel in a vehicle engineered to run on regular gas.

The common misconception that “the good stuff” is a treat for your car or minivan only boosts the profit of the station, not the power or fuel mileage of your vehicle.

Does Premium Gas Last Longer?

Shopping for fuel isn’t like reaching deep into the cooler for milk with a more distant expiration date. No, premium gas does not last longer than regular gasoline in a fuel tank.

A car owner might only consider the longevity of a car’s gas if the vehicle has been sitting unused for an extended period. And we mean months or years, not days or weeks.

Cars That Require Premium Gas

Is there a golden rule that sporty or luxurious vehicles need premium gasoline, while less expensive cars and trucks are fine running on regular? Not necessarily. Each vehicle is different, and it could have multiple engine options with different fuel recommendations. That’s why it’s up to the owner to know what type of fuel is best for their vehicle.

As we pointed out, the owner’s manual indicates gasoline requirements. If the manual isn’t available for some reason, an online search can help find the answer. If the vehicle in question is older, say, a classic car, it’s worth reaching out to a car club. Enthusiasts with the same make and model will likely be happy to offer advice.

So what are some examples of mainstream models in which premium fuel is recommended? It’s no great surprise to learn Chevrolet encourages the use of premium for the 2023 Corvette sports car. Yet, when fitted with its optional turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, premium-grade gas is also recommended for the Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan.

There are options if you’d like to limit your trips to the local filling station but aren’t ready to kick the fossil-fuel-habit completely with an electric car. A plug-in hybrid (PHEV) could be your solution. PHEVs offer an all-electric drive mode, often of around 25-40 miles. Models such as the Ford Escape PHEV, Hyundai Tucson PHEV, and the Toyota RAV4 Prime are okay with regular-grade gas.

Is Premium Gas Worth It?

There is no sense in wasting money by putting premium gas in your vehicle’s tank if the manufacturer recommends regular gasoline. A better point to consider is what’s called Top Tier gasoline, which has a higher degree of detergents and other chemicals that help keep your fuel system running clean.

In a study about the effects of these Top Tier fuels, the AAA found that after 4,000 miles an engine running on other brands had 19 times more engine deposits than it did when fueled by a Top Tier brand. Over time, those engine deposits can cause serious internal issues and limit the life of a car’s powertrain.

The good news is these fuels are widely available at filling stations, and any extra engine-cleaning benefits are the same whether you choose regular or premium gas.