The High Price of Gas
The High Price of Gas
If you haven’t noticed, the price of fuel isn’t going down anytime soon. With some people traveling 50 miles a day or more for work I can’t imagine how much they are paying for fuel on a weekly basis. How much do you budget for your gas tank? Which raises the question of what grade of fuel should you use? The answer is still a mystery to me, here’s why. I’ve had lots of customers tell me that their car runs better on High Test gasoline, or 93 Octane, or just the “expensive stuff” at the gas station. Is it really worth the additional expense, as much as 25 cents a gallon or more? Or is it just a sales pitch from the Oil Producers? And how much better can it make your engine run? How bad did the car run before?
Well anyway, my feeling is that if you think that it runs better, than it runs better, pay the extra money if you want. But I also feel that most vehicles are designed to run just fine on the 89 Octane (the cheap stuff), and if they don’t, most likely there is another problem.
Original gasoline had lead in it and burned very inefficiently. It wasn’t the gasoline’s fault. Low engine compression kept power and efficiency way down. About the time lead was determined to be very harmful- Ok so they used it for another 20 years, but they started adding alternative additives to reduce knock characteristics. Lead was removed in the 70’s. The catalytic converter, introduced in 1975, requires no-lead fuel.
Depending on the amount of additives they put in the gasoline, the octane is rated from a low of 87 to a high of 98. The concept is that the additional additives are better for keeping the injectors clean. In theory it works great. In reality, injectors can still get clogged and valves can still accumulate carbon over time. So regular cleaning and maintenance are the answer. It’s a good idea to run a can of fuel injection cleaner in your tank every now and then. The intake and plenum should be cleaned at least once a year. This will control carbon buildup on intake valves and keep the injection system operating at it’s full potential.
These are the small things that keep an engine running smoothly all the time. If you find that your car actually runs better on the more expensive gasolines, than consider trying these fairly inexpensive services for better performance and driveability, and save your money by using the cheaper gas. I know some people are going to argue this point with me but I just don’t think it’s worth the additional expense. These are things you can do yourself for very little expense.
Statistics do not support paying extra for higher octane fuels. Otherwise they would use that information to sell us all on it. And they don’t. The fact is that it may make the engine run better but you probably can’t prove it other than better driveability or performance. These are not measurable statistics.
Either way, like I said earlier, if you think that it’s worth it, than it’s worth it. But the next time you see me at the pumps, I’m filling up with the cheap stuff. Frugal? Cheap? Maybe a little of both. Save your money and take the family to a movie.
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