I think I have heard Click & Clack say that brand or grade of gasoline makes no diffference as long as you meet minumum octane requirements for your engine.
I think they are nuts! I would like to hear other opinions.
Years ago, here in San Diego there was a local “Car Talk” show. Very similar in format except this guy actually knew about cars 
He often recommended as a cure for rough engines to run through 5 tankfuls of Chevron White Pump Supreme gasoline. His rationale was that Techron was the best detergent additive, and that the Supreme had more of it than the lower grades.And he had plenty of callers with antecdotal evidence that this would often do wonders for their cars.
I started the practice of doing this routinely once or twice a year for all my vehicles. I have had good results, and I will share my latest evidence.
I recently bought a 1998 Saturn SW-2 with 108,000 mi. I had just stopped driving a 1998 SL-2 with close to 300K (no longer passed smog), so I knew how it ought to run. The “new” one was a little rough at start-up (felt a little flooded) and it searched a little at idle. I had neither symptom with “old” Saturn.
As soon as I got it home I started my “teatment”. Within just a few miles it began running a lttle rough. The idle was all over the map, and it actually died a few times. I didn’t panic as I was sure the Techron in the gas was doing it’s thing. I had several errands to run and by the time I got home it was running smoothly.
It is still running just great - instant starts, very smooth running and rock solid idle.
I would be interested in hearing anyone elses experience with premium gasolines.
P.S. Yes, the show was sponsored by a local Chevron Service Station (remember those?), but the host swore the relationship was due to his recomemdations, not vice versa. I remain a believer.
I just sold a 1998 Crown Vic that had been fed nothing but the cheapest unbranded regular unleaded gasoline I could find. On top of that, this poor car had to burn MANY tank-fulls of Mexican unleaded regular…The car had 168,000 miles on it and it never has missed a beat, except when I power-washed the engine and destroyed two coil-packs… In order to sell it, I had to obtain a fresh emissions test. It passed with flying colors. The new owner, I’m sure, will treat it the same way…So if you have been buying Chevron Premium for all these years, your have wasted a lot of money…While Chevron Techron is a good product, you don’t have to buy the farm to get it…Any autoparts store will sell you a bottle for $4-$5…
I don’t like the label “premium;” that suggests that it’s somehow better for the car. It is better for the car if it needs the higher octane, but otherwise it isn’t. I prefer to refer to it as “high octane.”
I buy the cheapest gasoline I find, which is usually at a supermarket station or a Mobil station. My car’s gotten the cheapest gasoline since at least when I got it, at 86,000 miles, until now, at 240,000 (trouble-free and major-repair-free) miles.
I’ve read on here that at one time years ago high octane gasoline had a better detergent package than other grades, but that this is no longer true, and that federal regulations make gasolines very similar. I don’t know this for myself, so I’ll defer to the more knowledgeable here.
What’s best for the car is one thing, and I suspect that any gasoline is very nearly as good for the car as another (as long as it meets the requirements in the owner’s manual). But what’s more important is what’s best for the owner. I’d say that if spending the extra money on high octane fuel makes you feel better, and you can afford it, then you should continue doing so. If you want technical specifications about the effects of different gasolines, then others can provide that, but if you want to user higher octane because it makes you happy, then I think everyone here would agree that you should do that.
I owned a Civic that went to cheapest fuel station no care on brand. It even went to Walmart for $15 oil changes.
It lasted me 225,000 miles without a SINGLE fuel problem. The original fuel filter was even changed out at 180,000 miles for PM not an issue.
I sold it perfectly running except it would run hot (radiator failing?) at higher speeds(70MPH+) on highway.
“I think [Click and Clack] are nuts! I would like to hear other opinions.”
Well, they probably are the most zany speakers ever at MIT graduation, but “nuts” would require a clinical determination.
“Years ago, here in San Diego there was a local “Car Talk” show. Very similar in format except this guy actually knew about cars ;)”
You don’t think the Brothers know cars? So don’t waste your time listening to the show.
“P.S. Yes, the show was sponsored by a local Chevron Service Station (remember those?), but the host swore the relationship was due to his recomemdations, not vice versa. I remain a believer.”
I realize that I don’t know enough about cars to be a believer, and I’m not going to be converted by a few anecdotes (whether yours or the replies). I do know that back when I used to watch TV, every gasoline company (or soap company, or beer company, or whatever they were selling) spent lots of money telling me that their product was the best. Logically, some of them had to be wrong, and maybe some of them were even fudging the truth. But if one brand were really better than the others, wouldn’t free competition have driven the others out of the market? Rather, a well-known business technique is to build “brand loyalty” – that is, get the customer to believe that you are better, even if there is no discernible difference. Example: do you remember the almost folkloric Ford vs. Chevy feuds? (My stick-in-the-mud Dad drove Plymouths – after he wore out his '48 Studebaker.)
I don’t like the label “premium;” that suggests that it’s somehow better for the car. Very true.
With only a few exceptions cars do not require any additives other than those found in regular fuel from the pump. More will not normally damage anything but it is a waste of money.
Read the owner's manual about octane requirements. There are three possibilities. Your car may:
Require premium: means not using it can damage your engine and likely will reduce mileage to the point that it will end up reducing any possible savings, while also reducing the car’s power.
Recommends premium: means you will get less power and mileage.
[b] Recommends Regular or no recommendation:[/b] means you will not gain anything by buying premium and actually could cause problems (rare) using premium.I think I have heard Click & Clack say that brand or grade of gasoline makes no diffference as long as you meet minumum octane requirements for your engine.
I think they are nuts! I would like to hear other opinions.
This is standard automotive knowledge. If your car requires 87 Octane then buying 92 Octane is a waste of money.
As for my evidence against what you said…All the following cars have used nothing but the lowest octane grade available…Not one had any fuel problems what-so-ever…
1987 Honda Accord…Sold at 305k miles.
2006 Honda Accord…Sold at 230k miles.
1990 Nissan Pathfinder…Sold at 310k miles.
1998 Nissan Pathfinder…Gave to daughter at about 290k miles…She drove it another 100k miles…Gave to ex boyfriend who last I heard is still driving it.
Now the FLAW in your logic…is you made the assumption that because you used higher octane gas that you didn’t have any problems…THEREFORE that MUST be the solution…What you didn’t account for is what would happen if you didn’t use the higher octane gas??? Would the results be the same??? I…and MANY MANY others say yes.
Now one thing Chevron gas has is Techron additive in it. And Techron is a very good gas cleaner. As long as you change your gas filter often then gas treatment additives shouldn’t be needed.
The FTC agrees with them.
"As a rule, high octane gasoline does not outperform regular octane in preventing engine deposits from forming, in removing them, or in cleaning your car’s engine."
If you believe it; it must be true. Don’t have Chevron in the areas where I drive. I’ve used whatever gas for 45 years in all kinds of cars and never had a problem. I’ve heard of bad gas issues, just never experienced them myself.
When I have a choice I’d choose a gas station that did a high volume of business over a small brand name station. Brand isn’t as important as getting fuel that hasn’t been sitting around a long time in dirty, or water polluted tanks.
I have cornflakes for breakfast every day and have never had a fuel problem on any of my cars. So, logically, the corn flakes is responsible for that.
I usually buy my cars new and run them to about 150k miles and sell them. I buy whatever gas is the best price and convenient to buy. I have never had an issue with a fuel problem. Keep up with the maintenance and pay attention to your car, fix things when they come up and you won’t have to worry. Modern fuels have cleaners in them. Years ago when I was driving a lot for work, I kept detailed gas and mileage records. I found that Gulf premium gave me the best cost per mile (not miles per gallon but $ per mile). That was a while ago as Chevron bought Gulf and we lost the brand around here. If you want to see what gas gives you the best cost/benefit, run several tanks full of each under similar driving conditions and see which is the cheapest to run. For the average person it is probably not worth the effort, but if you are filling your tank 4 or 5 times a week, it is an interesting experiment.
Why buy premium gas when you can buy a bottle of Techron?
That’s what I’ve done once a year with the 3 fuel injected cars I’ve owned.
Besides that I buy the cheapest gas I can find at the busiest stations.
Premium or mid-grade gasolines provide only one benefit. Under load, in SOME cars, a higher octane gasoline will prevent that clattering or knocking sound from your valves when you are climbing a hill or when you are accelerating. In most cars the benefit is just a slight boost in performance, hardly worth the extra cost unless you have a drag race pending. Otherwise, save your money. If you want a regular gasoline that purports to clean your engine, try Shell and let us all know how that works out for you.
I would like to add that octane is only a measure of how fast the fuel burns. Now, before reading below, ask yourself does high octane fuel burn faster or slower than regular? Does premium have more energy per unit of fuel than regular?
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OK premium fuel burns slower! By burning slower it reduces knock.
Regular fuel does not have any more or less energy than premium.Spark knock doesn’t come from the valves.
I comes from the very abrupt burning of the remaining fuel/air in the combustion chamber.
This produces a shock wave that strikes every surface: piston, valves, head and cylinder walls.
I shouldn’t be surprised to keep seeing that the marketing investment companies make for higher grade fuels and additives continues to increase their profits.
If your vehicle wasn’t designed to need higher grade fuels, then you’re wasting your money. Joseph Meehan worded it well with his 3 categories.
As for fuel additives, others may disagree, but I believe they are largely a waste of money, especially when used routinely. On rare occasions they may help if you have a specific problem you’re trying to solve, but that’s the exception rather than the rule.
Premium or mid-grade gasolines provide only one benefit. Under load, in SOME cars, a higher octane gasoline will prevent that clattering or knocking sound from your valves when you are climbing a hill or when you are accelerating.
That ONLY happens if the care requires higher-octane gas. This will NOT happen (unless there is something wrong with the car or gas) on a car that requires regular (87 octane). Cars also come equipped with anti-knock sensors that will prevent knocking. If knocking is detected the timing is retarded a little.
Hey, if you like the way this is working for you, you should continue doing it. Is is possible that many years ago Chevron actually did use a better additive package. Today the additive packages are pretty much the same.
It’s also possible that the used Saturn you bought actually did have a gummed up injector and the additive you put in did actually help.
Of course, it’s also possible that as a Chevron dealer his opinion was biased…even though he claims otherwise.
Nomatter, if it feels good do it!
“I do know that back when I used to watch TV, every gasoline company (or soap company, or beer company, or whatever they were selling) spent lots of money telling me that their product was the best. Logically, some of them had to be wrong”
There’s actually an interesting reason that logically, none of them were wrong.
Gasoline is considered a parity product - that is, no matter what gas you buy, it all does the same job. Toothpaste is another parity product. There is no one toothpaste that prevents cavities or cleans the spinach out of your teeth better than the others. Under advertising law, “Best” simply means nothing is better. It doesn’t mean nothing is as good.
That means that in the case of parity products like gasoline or toothpaste, they’re all “best” because from a legal “how-well-it-works” standpoint, they’re all identical.
So “best” can also be interpreted as “This product doesn’t suck any more than any of the other similar products do.”
The word used when a company is claiming that their product is superior to others is “better.” So if Crest found some sort of formula that not only prevented cavities, but filled in the ones that had already formed, they could legally call their product “better” than the rest (And conversely, the rest would have to stop claiming to be the “best”).