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Is Pumping Premium Gas a Waste of Cash?

A report from the AAA Automobile Club published several years ago indicated that drivers in the U.S. wasted more than $2.1 billion greenbacks in 2016 by pumping premium-grade gasoline in cars designed to run on regular fuel.

In an article called "Fact or Fiction" from Scientific American, the authors explain exactly why so-called “premium” gas does not create premium performance in vehicles unless they are specifically designed to take full advantage of a higher-octane gas mixture.

At Service King South Ft. Worth in Fort Worth, TX we have learned that many people believe that premium fuel is the very best thing they should put in their vehicles because they strongly think that regular gas isn't healthy for their motors. In many cases, it's a myth that was created by carmakers many years ago, and the general public believes it unless they know better. 

The universally accepted definition of premium gas says that it's "a high value or a value in excess of that usually expected," according to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. If premium gas is better, the main question is why? It lies in the dynamics of the standard internal combustion engine, the process of refining gas from oil, and an additional definition of "premium"—this one from its noun form which states "a sum above and beyond a regular price paid primarily as a significant inducement or enticement."

First and foremost, premium gas is really a better fuel in terms of the power it creates in the right engine. All gas is a heady cocktail of many different hydrocarbon molecules, going from heptane (seven carbon atoms with 16 hydrogens) to decane (10 carbons with 22 hydrogens) and beyond.

The hydrocarbon clearly identified on the gas station pump is octane (eight carbon atoms and 18 hydrogen atoms). This number is not a measure of the percentage of octane actually in the gasoline itself. Rather, it's a measure of how gasoline compares with a pure mixture of octane and heptane. At top laboratories all over the world, chemists develop such reference fuels and then utilize them in comparison with refined gasoline following the dictates of standardized measures. "The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) has this thick document on how you determine octane rating with this specialized one-cylinder engine," explains Joseph Shepherd, a mechanical engineer at the California Institute of Technology. "The higher the number the harder it is to have that knock."

In short, don't use premium gas unless your car is designed to run on it. Don't pay more for a type of fuel that isn't ideal for your vehicle or better for your engine

Service King South Ft. Worth in Fort Worth, TX 76140 

Sources: Scientific American and USA Today

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