Premium gas 90-93 is completely okay to put in a standard vehicle
. Car experts say there is no risk of damage to a standard car using premium fuel.
Can You Mix Regular and Premium Gas at the Pump?
You can mix regular and premium gas to get a mid-grade octane
. In fact, this is what most pump stations do to get a mid-grade-level octane gas. However, mixing premium and regular in a premium car will reduce efficiency and cause it to lose its power.
Premium
gives better gas mileage
Because premium gas has a higher octane rating than midgrade or regular gas, it produces a little more power when burnt. Designed for performance cars with large, powerful engines, premium also helps minimize the risk of preignition inside highly-stressed, hot engine cylinders.
What happens if you put 93 gas instead of 87?
If you usually fill your tank up with 87-octane gasoline and you accidentally put in a higher octane blend (say, 91, 92, or 93), don't worry. You're actually
filling your car or truck with a different blend of gas
, which means it will burn differently in your engine.
Because regular has lower octane, it is more prone to detonation. Burning regular in an engine designed for premium on a long-term basis or under heavy loads
can cause engine knock
, and that in turn can damage the pistons, valves or spark plugs.
In a consumer notice, the Federal Trade Commission, notes: “In most cases, using a higher-octane gasoline than your owner's manual recommends
offers absolutely no benefit
. It won't make your car perform better, go faster, get better mileage or run cleaner.”
Sadly,
there's nothing in premium gasoline that would make it last longer than other fuels from the pump
. Since the distinguishing feature is the higher-octane levels, the only real benefit you gain is lowering the chance of engine knocking, which isn't much of a threat on most modern fuel systems.
Recommended: When your owner's manual (or the inside of the gas door) recommends premium you can still run
your car on a lower grade fuel
. For cars that merely recommend it, premium gasoline may very slightly improve performance (increased horsepower) and fuel economy, according to a November 2017 study from AAA.
Nope
. Regular, plus, and premium gas all come with detergents to mitigate against carbon deposits in your engine. Plus and premium don't come with special powers for cleaning out the engine. If you're interested in cleaning out your engine, you're better off taking it in for service.
Most luxury car makers require (or recommend) premium gas not because they're trying to be difficult but due to
the requirements of high performance engines
. The car makers maintain that engines that contain a high compression ration benefit from high-octane fuel.
If your car doesn't require premium fuel, using it will not have any effects on your engine's cleanliness. Using premium gas
doesn't prevent engine deposits
, doesn't remove the deposits, and does not clean your vehicle engine any more than the regular gas.
Can higher octane hurt your engine?
Higher octane
levels may not necessarily increase your vehicle's performance
and could damage your engine. However, if your car requires a higher octane gas, it could run poorly if a mid-grade or premium gas is not used.
Fuel with an 87 octane rating burns more quickly while
higher-octane fuels burn more slowly
. … By contrast, a higher-performing engine, which includes engines with higher compression ratios and/or forced induction, requires the slower burn rate of higher-octane fuels to defend against engine knock.
Is it bad to mix gas from different stations?
Gas stations use different additives in most cases, but
there is nothing wrong with mixing stations
, or even octane ratings. If you mix 93 and 87 you get 90, mix 89 and 93 you get 91.
The octane rating on a modern gas pump is actually a representation of its resistance to knock. In fact, one of the main benefits of premium gas is that
it avoids detonation better than regular gas
. The higher the octane — usually expressed as a range from 87 to 94 — the stronger the resistance.
Is plus gas the same as regular?
Regular gas has the lowest octane rating, Premium has a higher octane and
Super
(or Supreme or Premium Plus) has the highest octane. Octane is the measure of the fuel's ability to resist “knock”. … Putting premium fuel in a low compression engine or putting regular gas in a high compression engine.
