05shinka

Premium at the Pump: High-grade fuel a must in more new cars

Posted April 17 2008 03:24 PM by Rory Jurnecka
Category: Auto News


While it is true that automakers are doing all they can to produce cars with greater fuel economy -- resulting in more driving miles per gallon of gasoline -- another trend seems to be the increasing number of vehicles that require premium fuel. In a study by Kelley Blue Book (KBB) that was commissioned by USA Today, the number of new automobiles requiring the good stuff has risen from 166 in 2002 to 282 thus far this year, leaving many to wonder if the increased cost of premium gasoline diminishes how much drivers really pay at the pump -- despite increased efficiency.

While it's true that most new cars that 'require' premium fuel don't absolutely need it to run properly (modern ECUs are capable of retarding timing and making other adjustments to safely run lower-octane gasoline in a pinch without experiencing 'ping'), it's also true that most will not run to full potential without it.

Less power is often a result of running less-than-optimal gasoline, but manufacturer's warranties can also be at stake. According to the report, Mazda has warned that an owner's warranty can be voided if premium fuel is not used in the MX-5 sports car, RX-8 sports coupe, CX-7 crossover, and MazdaSpeed3 sports hatchback.

Other automakers don't take matters quite so seriously, with BMW content with owners using lower grade fuel as long as they are willing to sacrifice three to five percent of their engine's available power. Volkswagen makes few excuses for the demand for premium on its GTI, Jetta, Passat, R32, Eos, and Touareg models, citing that premium fuel is the "trade-off" for the performance driving experience customers demand from the German automaker.

DarkBrew

Mazda will threaten your warranty for anything you do or don't do.

CompMan

iTrader: (1)

Guess they won't like my hallow cat.

Sargeant_002

Interesting,,,,,,

I've been running 87 only so far. I'm tempted to test a higher test in her to see how it may effect the overall performance and mpg if any?

I've noticed a clunk or noise when I power off the motor, and I'm not sure if this is a result or something the rotary motors do normally?

Brian-

CarAndDriver

They'd probably void our warranties for our clear corners if they could.

2tone

iTrader: (3)

i've used 87 from day one b/c the service mgr at the dealer where i got it 4 yrs ago said that's what they use. just had my motor replaced under warranty, and what octane i used was never even brought up. i think it sounds good on paper, but they would have to test your gasoline on site to see what you've been using! i don't think they can peer in and say, oh, i see you're using 87, so this won't be covered. i don't think most dealers, or na want to become csi ... let's hope not at least!

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

All I know is premium is recommended for my Rx-8. not required.

They just tell ppl to use premium bcuz its the safest thing to do, plus they dont have to test other grades of gasoline.

RWagz

I go for 89-93 (mid or premium). More recently I've taken to banning ethanol from my fuel tank.

My butt dyno says the 8 performs better on pure dinosaur.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

When gas was $2 per gallon, the price difference between 87 & 93 octane was 20 cents. Now that the price is $4 per gallon, the price difference is still 20 cents. Premium is more affordable today than it was 2 yrs. ago and not worth it to save a few cents.

rotarygod

The more you drive and the worse you gas mileage, the more a few cents can really add up into something considerable. Truckers would kill for a measely 5% improvement in economy or prices as they drive huge amounts each year. Conversely the person who only drives 10,000 miles a year won't really feel even a considerable price hike or lowered efficiency. A few cents has different implications to different people.

2tone

iTrader: (3)

veeeeeeeeeeeery good point!!

fahrfegneugen

The lowest octane in Europe is 90, I can see us moving in that direction.

Juice

iTrader: (1)

Europe uses a different rating system for gasoline than we do. Not sure what it is exactly over there, but the numbers aren't comparable to our RON+MON/2 system here.

EDIT: I believe that Europe only uses the RON number to rate their fuel.

fahrfegneugen

I wondered about that, thanks for catching me.

But their diesel is better.

kartweb

Still mixing E85 with regular gas for a 20% Ethanol mix. Lower cost better performance.

Checked the plugs last weekend and they looked great. Not quite as much soot build up on the exhausts tips. I think Mazda actually tuned for 40 proof fuel.

Rootski

iTrader: (1)

If you fill your car up once a week, the annual price difference between regular and premium is about $135. Is that really worth getting in a fit about?

neXib

We only have 95 and 98 here, which is equivelent to your 91 and 93 I guess, but AFAIK it's also lower in some other European countries. And btw 1 litre of 95 costs 2.57 dollars here now. That's like 9 dollars per gallon, now that's gas prices, eventhough we produce a lot more oil and gas than we use

HCTR154

Each Mazda RX8 seems to have some peculiarities. Sometimes, 87 octane works fine, sometimes it doesn't. Luckily for me, 87 works fine for me and I have never had any knocking or pinging due to low octane.

That being said, why anyone would pay more for 91 or 93 when their car runs just fine on 87 is beyond me. Obviously, if you are using nitrous or forced induction then stay away from lower octane, but why give the oil companies more money for nothing??

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

The cost of a barrel of oil it the same all over the world. The cost of refining that oil is approximetly the same. That only leaves trasportation costs and that doesn't make up for the price difference in gasoline between the US and Europe. That only leaves TAXES. If your goverments didn't tax gasoline so much, you would be paying our prices too.

Yes, the car will run on lower octane gas. But, once the knock detector starts hearing the engine ping, the PCU will retard the timing and reduce performance & gas milage.

neXib

Obviously, there's a crapload of tax on the price here, and also environmental tax/fee. I'd like to see you pay that in the US (would probably amount to over a dollar per gallon)

superglue

I don't understand why people spend +$25K on a performance car and then fill it with crappy gasoline to save a dollar.

robrecht

Better performance with 20% Ethanol???

mysql

ethanol is better if you're the one raping the american public. Otherwise it sucks donkey *****.

Detrich

hahahaha. isn't that the truth. how sad is that?

WickedOne513

has anyone heard of 8's being ran on ethonal?