Every gas type has a similar smell and all make your nose itch and feel unsafe on inhaling them. However, there are many other things about gasoline except for their irritative smell which most car owners have no knowledge about. One such example is where to get the best gasoline from?
Defining the Best Gasoline
Premium Gasoline Has More Fuel Additives
The term best gasoline for a car owner means the top tier gasoline. These are simply those having more fuel additives to make your vehicle reliable and efficient. Top tier gas stations provide these fuels generally, but many misconceptions revolve around about high-quality gasoline in the market.
Misconceptions Regarding Mid to Low Tier Gas Stations
Fuel From Such Gas Stations Causes Problem
The first one among these misconceptions is that gasoline found on mid to low tier gas stations are dangerous and may cause problems to your car. On the contrary, all gas stations are required to follow a certain set of standards put down by the U.S., making this misconception absolutely false. So, you can be satisfied with the gasoline received from whichever gas station you go to.
Top Tier Gas Improves Vehicle’s Performance
Another misconception is that your car will perform better with top tier gas, however, it is not necessarily true. Top tier gas was not designed to improve vehicle performance primarily, rather they were made to reduce the carbon buildup in vehicle engines.
Nevertheless, it is no waste of money to buy gas from top tier stations as their own formulation improves the working of your engine and the way it uses gas more efficiently.
Best Quality Gas Stations Near You!
Following are the best quality gas stations you can head to easily:
- Shell
- Sinclair
- Texaco
- Costco
- Conoco
- Chevron
- BP
- Exxon
- Holiday
- Kwik Trip
- Mobil
Difference Between Premium and Regular Gas
The top tier is often used as a synonym for premium gas, though there are slight differences between them. As mentioned earlier, top tier gas is the gas found on top tier stations that have the same basic formula in the gas, the difference being a mix of additives added by each gas station to improve the longevity and efficiency of engines.
On the contrary, premium gas has a minimum octane rating of 90. This rating is an indicator of the difference between the fuel mixture and its efficiency. Premium gas is always has a greater octane rating than regular gas which usually has lower than 90 octane ratings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Talking about gasoline, the most common question prevalent among car owners is that what is the difference between premium and regular gasoline? The following are some of the most asked questions with their answers.
1. Is there any real difference between premium and regular gasoline?
Yes, there is. The main difference is their octane ratings which will always be higher for premium gasoline with at least a 90, while regular gas usually has around 87. Though, some states also have 92 octane ratings for premium gas.
Premium gas holds a higher rating primarily because it experiences knocking less. Knocking is a term to define the unstable explosions that occur due to fuel mixtures igniting before an actual compression occurs.
Therefore, your fuel usage will always be more efficient when you use premium gas as less fuel mixture gets wasted. Nevertheless, there is no guarantee of saving more due to the price point held by premium gas which is much higher compared to regular gas.
2. When should I use premium gas?
Following are a number of circumstances wherein you should use premium gas, in all other cases you re good to go with a regular one.
If the car manufacturer has stated explicitly that the vehicle must run on premium gas, you should definitely use that only. However, if they have ‘recommended’ it, you don’t really need it and is just throwing away extra bucks.
Secondly, if your car doesn’t need premium as but is experiencing more than usual knocking with regular gas. This usually occurs when the car is not required to run on premium gas yet is still filled up with it and is then unable to adapt to the regular gas thereafter. However, it is nothing to worry about and could simply mean that the vehicle goes better with the premium gas.
3. Is Premium gas better than regular gas?
Premium gas is not necessarily better than the regular one and as stated earlier it shouldn’t be used unless explicitly stated. Although, modern cars from Toyota, Honda, Audi, General Motors and Mercedes Benz are recommended with premium gas.
The reason for this is that these cars usually have higher-performing engines that need a gasoline type that keeps up with the engine. Moreover, they are already built to be fuel-efficient, and filling them with regular gas would just mean wasting the car’s capacity.
Conclusion
It is usually better to fill your engine with a gas having an 87 octane rating if it is working on regular gas, as one with 89 rating does not really have a significant difference in terms of reliability and fuel efficiency for the engine. So, save up!
All in all, it is imperative that you understand what gas types s needed for your car. If it doesn’t need premium gas, the wisest option to go for is, of course, the regular version!