Thursday, December 27, 2007

High Octane vs. Low Octane Gas

Well I recently read this blurb from the Consumer Energy website :

[start blurb]"Put a tiger in your tank," says a classic advertising tagline. In today's motoring world, what kind of fuel grade will have the power to place a beast in your gas tank?

The answer, according to experts who study fuel efficiency in detail, is both regular and premium gasoline. And it would be a waste of money to favor premium over regular, especially in these times when gasoline prices are high, according to the experts.

Virtually nothing is gained by filling up with a premium or more expensive grade of fuel than the vehicle manufacturer has recommended, the experts say. And many of the same experts explain that drivers may not lose much performance from their cars by using a lower grade of fuel than recommended by the car manufacturer. [end blurb]

I absolutely disagree with this for several reasons.
  1. The OBD II system that is used to operate a vehicle's engine since 1996 uses sensors to retard ignition timing for lower octane to prevent internal engine damage. In doing so lowers the performance greatly.
  2. Write down the fuel mileage from high and low octane and you will notice the fuel mileage is greater with the higher Octane. It equals out to be about the same cost per mileage but with the gain of better performance.
  3. Common sense, if it was all the same there would only be one octane.... Its like saying milk is all the same 1% is the same as 2% because they are both milk......I think Not!!

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