New Study Shows Premium Gas Isn't Always Worth It

If your car recommends premium gas, should you use it?
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From AAA's Press Kit:
"According to new research from AAA, premium gasoline offers some benefit to select vehicles, but is becoming increasingly expensive for drivers. In recent years, the price gap between premium and regular-grade gasoline has risen from a historically steady 10 percent to 25 percent or more per gallon. While past AAA research has shown no benefit in using premium gasoline in a vehicle designed to operate on regular fuel, new testing indicates that some vehicles - those that recommend, but do not require premium gasoline - may see increased fuel economy and performance under certain driving conditions when using the higher-octane gasoline. Unfortunately, the high cost of premium gasoline may outweigh that advantage for many drivers. As a result, AAA recommends drivers weigh the potential benefits against the cost of using premium gasoline, if their vehicle does not require it.
“AAA’s testing reveals that drivers could see modest gains in fuel economy and performance when opting for premium gasoline in vehicles that recommend, but do not require, the higher-octane fuel,” said Megan McKernan, manager of the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Automotive Research Center. “Those seeking the maximum capabilities of their performance-focused or utility vehicle may see some benefit from using premium gasoline, particularly over the long haul.”
In partnership with the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Automotive Research Center, AAA tested a variety of vehicles that recommend, but do not require, the use of premium (91 octane or higher) gasoline. Although drivers of these vehicles are unlikely to see any benefit from using premium gasoline during typical city or highway driving, a combination of laboratory and on-road tests were performed to simulate extreme driving scenarios such as towing, hauling cargo and aggressive acceleration. When using premium fuel in these vehicles under these conditions, AAA tests found that:
- Fuel economy for test vehicles averaged a 2.7 percent improvement. Individual vehicle test result averages ranged from a decrease of 1 percent (2016 Audi A3) to an improvement of 7.1 percent (2016 Cadillac Escalade).
- Horsepower for test vehicles averaged an increase of 1.4 percent. Individual vehicle test result averages ranged from a decrease of 0.3 percent (2016 Jeep Renegade) to an improvement of 3.2 percent (2017 Ford Mustang).
- According to national averages, the price difference between regular and premium gasoline is approximately 20 to 25 percent, or 50 cents per gallon.
- The modest fuel economy improvements found in AAA tests do not offset the higher cost of premium gasoline."
Source: newsroom.aaa.com/2017/12/dont-...
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[@EngineeringExplained]

Hello everyone! Inevitably, whenever I post a video about octane ratings, viewers outside the US inform me of how poor our fuel is (95+ Octane in Europe vs 87+ Octane in the US). That's not really the case, we use different scales (AKI vs RON), explained here:

[@john_i39]

If you drive a Honda Civic, I highly advise you to Fill your half of your Tank with Shell V Power and Chevron Techron so your engine can run V Tech.

[@strangeclouds7]

I only use racing fuel in my Prius.

[@XLatteHD]

5% mpg improvement for 20% more expensive fuel

[@jimmbbo]

I did a 2400 mile road trip for Thanksgiving and decided to run a premium/regular test in my '11 Mustang GT using premium for the 1200 miles out and regular for the 1200 miles back. Premium fuel gave about 1.5% better mileage, supporting your tests with some real world observations. Since the car happily uses regular fuel without a hint of detonation, I see no need to spend the extra $$$ for premium gas.

[@richdelgado3405]

Remember when premium was only 20 cents higher than regular? The pricing would be like $2.49 regular, $2.59 Middle and $2.69 premium. Today, premium’s like 80 cents to a dollar more.

[@GTRWendy]

91 octane in california when my gas cap says "use 93" checking in

[@ricknoah9184]

Just an example story, here. After we'd bought a new 2002 WRX, my wife, inadvertently, filled it with 'regular' unleaded. Within a short time it threw an engine warning light. Because it was new, we hurried to the dealer to see what was wrong. I don't remember the exact code, but the service writer asked what fuel we were using. My wife said she'd just put regular in it. The guys frown was classic. He went about a dumbed-down explanation as to why that was not a good idea. He was actually pretty nice about it. And did show my wife that right there at the filler cap it said "premium fuel only". The wife was pretty embarrassed, but took it well. She never did that again. So, my take is that in the 2002 model, the car was incapable of making a timing adjustment and just threw a code. If I recall, they did put another O2 sensor in it. My only point, here, is to be aware that not all cars can down-grade to 'regular' fuel gracefully. Especially turbos.

[@matthewtyler5194]

Lol Escalade with a 6.2L V8 getting better gas milage than the F150 Ecoboost V6. Well done Ford

[@marwood9421]

My fuel cap says “95 RON min” (Europe) i’ve started using 99 RON recently and the engine is noticably quieter and smoother, and it costs only 5% more.

[@geraldfordman7474]

My owners manual states that my 2012 Ford Focus can run on 87 Octane. I need to review it regarding what Octane level it Recommends because with a heavy load or going up a steep incline the engine will knock and not perform as well. I found a significant performance boost without knock at 89 Octane, especially Mobil's Synergy.

[@williamwarner3982]

Great video. Finally real information about fuel grades. I'm tired of the idiots saying premium or hi-test is just a waste of money. Used to be the case years ago. But today cars are running higher static compression ratios. (Around 14:1 vs 8.8 average). The cylinder pressure is about the same or higher depending upon the load. So today new cars are way more sensitive to octane than they used to be. Keep up the good work.

[@baddrivingsouthwales4789]

Something I’ve recently learned is that here in the UK; our 95 octane is now entirely E10; and our 98 octane is E5. After months of self trials; I’ve discovered that the increased mpg I get from E5 compared to E10 warrants the extra expense in buying the 98 E5. After doing some calculations regarding the mpg difference in E5 to E10, it works out 1 penny per litre more expensive than E10 in real terms.

[@TheJacobshapiro]

Reminds me of Mr. Regular's IS350 review.

[@tonybailey89]

Dude this data is amazing! Every question possibly to be asked regarding the effects of fuel grade answered! And no your not too nerdy as you've mentioned in your other 10 things about the hellcat car video 😅😂

[@txmoney]

I’ve only used top-tier, 93 octane fuel since I bought my 2018 Civic EX-T eleven months ago (although the recommended is Regular).

[@Henchman_Holding_Wrench]

Hey, that smells like regular. She needs premium, dude! PREMIUM! DUDE!

[@edwardcornell1263]

Thank you for this video. I have been telling this to people for years. Read your car manuals. Now since i got my subaru tuned on the dyno I have to use 93. Of couse only a few people would have their cars retuned. But one of my old cars asked for 87 but would still knock badily up hill. By putting in 93 helpped minimize that. Every once in a while a gas station would water down their gas to save money. This will make your engine knock and bring down the octane level.

[@billwylde4846]

Always read your owners manual. So if you're not going to use the recommended fuel grade for your vehicle, use the proper minimum fuel grade. Some vehicles use mid grade fuel for their minimum fuel grade instead of using regular fuel.

[@Humvee21]

Great video as always! Hope you do one comparing US standard ethanol mixed 10-15% ethanol vs ethanol free fuel.