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Premium Gasoline Not Best Choice For Every Car
By Mr Ethanol | March 19, 2008
Montgomery Advertiser:
Money’s tight. Times are tough.
But drivers looking to squeeze a few more miles per gallon out of their cars by buying a higher-octane fuel are fooling themselves, industry experts said.
Today’s cars run best on the gasoline suggested by the manufacturer said spokesmen from the American Automobile Association, the American Petroleum Institute and an engineering professor from the University of Alabama.
Unless the manufacturer specifically recommends it, motorists should pass up the high-test, higher-priced gas.
Peter Clark, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Alabama, said it is a myth that a gallon of premium gasoline has significantly more energy than a gallon of regular.
According to a statement by the API, premium fuels may have slightly more energy content — measured in heating value — but it isn’t enough to make a difference in how many miles you get to the gallon.
A higher octane gasoline actually is less explosive, Clark said. Gas with a higher octane rating means that gasoline is more resistant to premature ignition.
Simply put, a gasoline with a higher octane rating will not ignite until the spark plug fires. A lower-rated gasoline can ignite simply from compression inside the engine.
High-performance vehicles usually have a higher compression ratio, and require the premium fuel, otherwise the gasoline would ignite prematurely, Clark said.
That was one source of the main myths surrounding octane, he said.
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