More than two-thirds of respondents reported driving a vehicle that calls for regular gas, and 14 percent midgrade gas or alternative energy such as electricity.
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Premium has a higher octane rating than regular gas.
Seventy percent of USA drivers now own a vehicle that requires regular gasoline, while only 16 percent drive vehicles that require premium fuel. That means it’s able to tolerate higher pressures inside the engine.
While an overwhelming majority of cars on USA roadways are created to consume regular petrol, the study found that motorists still use premium-grade in the hopes of achieving more horsepower and better fuel economy.
Travel and leisure company AAA says it does not – and that USA drivers waste $2.1 billion in the past 12 months by paying for premium gas when the regular kind would do just was well.
Americans wasted over $2 billion previous year putting expensive premium gasoline into cars that don’t need it, the automobile ownership group AAA said Tuesday.
“Premium gasoline is specifically formulated to be compatible with specific types of engine designs and most vehicles can not take advantage of the higher octane rating”, said Megan McKernan, manager of the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Automotive Research Center.
Premium petrol is used in high-compression engines so it is often associated with high-performance sportscars or luxury vehicles.
For years, energy companies have tuned their marketing to the belief that, either occasionally or frequently, springing for the pricier stuff at the pump will be a treat for your vehicle – a cleanse of sorts, or perhaps a performance boost that saves money in the long run.
In partnership with the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Automotive Research Center, AAA tested 87-octane (regular) and 93-octane (premium) gasoline in vehicles equipped with a V-8, V-6 or I4 engine created to operate on regular-grade fuel. Drivers “upgraded” to premium gasoline more than 270 million times, AAA said. If an unusual knocking or banging sound is heard from the engine, as it might be under particularly heavy use, premium fuel should be added to the tank as soon as possible, Gary Brannon, AAA’s head of Automotive Engineering, said. As a result, AAA recommends sticking with the type of gasoline specified in the owner’s manual.
A separate AAA study released earlier this year showed that cheaper off-brand gasolines can harm engine performance in the long term.
A list of gasoline retailers selling gasoline that meets the standard can be found here. This is a separate distinction from premium vs. regular gasoline, though. The testing found no significant increases in horsepower and fuel efficiency.
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This can happen because the cheaper brands of gasoline may not use engine-cleaning detergent additives found in major name-brand gasolines.
