Billion Auto Group Official Blog
Save yourself some money by skipping premium gas, unless you really need it
By Product Expert | Posted in Tips on Tuesday, June 26th, 2018 at 9:28 pm
Should I be using premium gas in my truck?
If there is one question that we routinely get when people are browsing the vast inventory available at Billion Auto Group is, ‘Should I be using premium gas in my truck?’ For the most part, unless the owner’s manual specifically calls for premium gas to be used in your truck (which would be exceedingly rare) or you have some special circumstances that make premium gas necessary – the answer is no, you don’t need to spend the extra money. By and large, vehicles that require premium gas are relegated to sports cars with high-compression engines. Almost all new vehicles have sensors built-in to the engine that will allow them to run just fine on regular grade gasoline. Here are some things you might need to know.
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What is premium grade gas?
Without getting too deep into the weeds of petrochemical engineering, premium grade gasoline has been refined with a higher-octane content than normal. That is what those numbers mean on the gas pump. Octane is an additive that helps control how much the fuel-air mixture can be compressed in an engine before it ignites without a spark. In fact, that’s what engine knocking is, pockets of gasoline and air in the engine that are igniting when they shouldn’t be.
Over time this knocking will probably cause damage to the engine and end up shortening the vehicle’s viable lifespan.
What happens if use premium instead of regular?
As we said before, modern vehicles come with sensors and software that will automatically help your engine run as efficiently and cleanly as possible, regardless of which kind of gas you use. The most important thing to remember is to use clean gasoline from reputable sources. If a gas station has a recognizable logo on the front, you’re probably in good shape.
The only real negative consequence of using premium gas when your truck only calls for regular is a few more dollars spent. On the reverse side, if your vehicle calls for premium gas and you accidentally use regular, that will also be ok. However, over time you could see some drops in power and fuel economy in high-compression engines.
If you have any questions about how to get the most from your vehicle, make an appointment to see a Billion Auto Group service expert today.
