i dont but should i?
i highly advise that you do or you will be experiencing problems soon with performance mileage and parts
I don’t think it matters because my cousin has a 2003 acura rl that says primium fuel only and since he bought it he’s only used regular and nothing has happened to his engine, so to me it doesn’t matter
…yet
Yar, u shud; or, why not switch to kerosene? It is a fuel.
Premium vehicles are usually the ones that call for premium fuel. If you can’t stomach the extra $2 a tank then you should have bought something less premium.
I’ll Bet You Were Taught To Spell Words Correctly And To Use Proper Grammar And Punctuation, Too.
u dont but should u?
I say “Yes” to all of it, including the selection of premium gas!
CSA
What does the Owner’s Manual say?
“Recommended” Premium recommended for better performance but not required
“Required” - Use Premium, period.
But it’s your car, do what you want.
Using regular…
#1 Will decrease performance (please note it will NOT decrease performance for a car that is designed to run on regular).
#2 Decrease MPG (again…it will NOT decrease MPG for a car that is designed to run on regular).
#3 Pre-ignition detonation. The anti-knock sensor should handle by retarding the timing. But if it malfunctions then you take the risk of destroying your engine.
Savings??? Not worth it to me. If you’re trying to save yourself MAYBE $100/year…then why did you buy this car. There are better ways to save money.
It’s kind of funny…When these “Premium Only” luxury cars are on their third owners they seldom if ever get premium fuel and they run just fine…I have never seen “engine damage” in an unleaded fuel engine caused by not using premium fuel.
I own a Cadillac V8 placarded “Premium Fuel Only”. A quick check of its engine specifications revealed it had a 9.0 to 1 compression ratio. Most cars with 9 to 1 compression will run FINE on regular fuel as does this one…
If you are “damaging your engine” you will HEAR about it long before any damage is done…With premium fuel now retailing for .25-.30 cents more than regular, its hard to justify the use of Premium in cars that run just fine on regular.
Yes you should if not it will not run at its peak, less mpg, less hp
Just a follow up to Mike’s message.
Cars that recommend premium, are generally cars designed to run on premium, but have the capability to safely run on regular (See Mike’s #3)
Yeah, those ol’ car makers’ engineers, who have spent years designing, and tuning, and testing these engines don’t know nothin’ about these engine and what fuels are best for them, “everybody knows that”!
I’ll wonder how long it will be until his counsin’s post.
The marketing department would not make side deals with the oil companies to promote premium fuel sales now would they… Say for every car placarded “Premium Fuel Only” they get a $50 kick-back…Nah, American companies would NEVER do anything like that…
Regular Unleaded–87 octane.
Premium Unleaded–92 octane.
That doesn’t impress engineers very much. They can’t do much with 5 octane points.
If you are willing to pay .30 cents a gallon for those 5 points, go right ahead, it’s your money…
What marketing department in their right mind would want to market a vehicle as using premium if it only needed regular? Their competitiveness in the entire multi-billion dollar market segment depends on it.
Yes, those octane points do matter very much to the engineers. There is a direct relatioship between those and the design of the engine. If the target market for a specific type of vehicle wants regular, they need to design an engine that will perform acceptably on regular. If the target market wants performance and is willing to accept the compromise of needing premium, then they have more freedom to make fuel-cost tradeoffs to accomplish the performance.
None of us knows the engine requirements better than the guys that designed and tested it. And it was their specification package that the tech writers then turned into your owner’s manual. I’m pleased for you that your Caddy is running fine on regular even though it specifies premium, but I would not recommend based on that that others run their “premium” vehicles on regular.
Sorry, but I have to disgree with your premise on this one.
Hmmmm…Yet another conspiracy theory regarding oil companies and auto manufacturers.
First, it was a conspiracy to build cars that get poor gas mileage.
Now, it is a conspiracy to claim that certain cars need premium gasoline, even if they do not need it.
Sorry, but I am not buying into these conspiracy theories.
“Premium” car buyers EXPECT to use premium fuel. Neither the car maker nor the oil companies want to disappoint them.
While an automotive engine might be labeled “Premium Fuel Only” when installed in a luxury car, that same engine, when installed in an SUV runs happily on regular. When the BMW 5 series sedan is on it’s third owner, it somehow survives (without engine damage) running on regular fuel…
If you truely believe that the criterion by which manufacturers specify their products required fuels is as you describe, than it would be foolhearty of me to expect my arguments to dissuade you.
But to those who might be following along, I still strongly recomend you use the fluids specified by your owner’s manuals.
If, after a trial run on “regular”, the car shows no signs of distress or lost performance, why pay the premium price to satisfy the owners manual? If you can not detect any difference, then chances are there is no difference…