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Is higher octane gas worth the $208.00 increase in gas costs per year? Does the higher octane premium gas result in better mileage? Is better fuel economy attained by using premium gas? Does higher octane gas enable your car run better? If you fill your car on the average of once per week buying premium gas instead of regular, it will cost you $208.00 more per year. Generally the price difference between regular gasoline and premium gasoline is about twenty cents per gallon. That means it will cost $4.00 more per fill up if you use premium gas instead of regular gas. This assumes you have a 20 gallon tank. Let's address the fuel economy question first. The simple answer is no, premium gas does not increase fuel economy at all. The octane rating of gasoline is a relative number showing the amount of isooctane in the gasoline as opposed to the amount of heptane in the gasoline. To make it simple, the octane rating is a representation of how much energy it takes to ignite that gasoline. This octane measurement does not indicate the amount of energy the gasoline produces, which would be an indicator of fuel economy. The final answer is:octane rating and increased fuel economy have no relationship whatsoever! The next question, does premium gas make your car gain performance, does it run better? The answer is the same as the fuel economy answer, no!! It has been shown that there is no significant difference in the way your car runs if you use premium gasoline. That said, I must throw in this one caveat, your car might perform with slightly more horsepower with premium than with regular but you would be hard pressed to notice the difference. Premium just allows car makers an extra advertising ploy. Car manufacturers utilize this slight horsepower gain to market their cars claiming more horsepower by optimizing and designing their cars to take advantage of higher octane premium gasoline's anti-knock properties. Engineers and car experts agree that if you opt to use regular gasoline in your car designed for premium gasoline, the loss of horsepower is so small, you will not be able to detect any difference. What if your car manufacturer recommends that you use premium? In this case burning regular instead of premium won't void the warranty, nor damage the engine, most automakers say. The next time you go to the gas station, use regular gas instead of premium gas. The immediate benefit:you will save $4.00 on the spot. Notice how your car runs with the regular. If it performs OK and if you do not hear any knocking then continue to use lower octane gas. You could find yourself saving over $200.00 per year!
Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com
Scott Siegel is the author of a 143 page book of industry insider information on saving gas and dollars at the pump. Visit us to discover how you can get better gas mileage. Find out how to increase gas mileage. Click here to get your own unique version of this article: Uber Articles directory.
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