Premium fuel a waste of money?

[Wizzbang]

I stumbled upon this news article today...it seems not only are we paying a increasingly heftier premium for 98RON fuel (here in Australia at least), but that extra we pay is just a waste:

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/premium ... 6557434179

I have been regularly fill my car up on 98 and 95 RON. Perhaps I should fill up on 91 to see if there's any decrease in performance and economy.
I'm just curious to see if anyone has any thoughts on this.

Cheers,

[murcod]

A couple of weeks back I heard a CVT Kizashi taking off from a standing start when I was out walking the dog. It was cleary making a noise that sounded like detonation.... I'll keep running mine on 98 octane thanks!

[Wizzbang]

That's something I wouldn't want to risk! Looks like I'll continue feeding my car 98 octane.

[Ronzuki]

back in the day, I used to run Amoco Premium. The stuff was def worth the extra $$ as I never experienced fuel related problems in any of my carb'd vehicles. Look down the throat of the carb and it was spotless in there, as in brand new. Stopped using it when Amoco pulled out from selling around here. BP's premium is not the same blend. That plus the cost is prohibitive. I say if you could simply and readily purchase 100% regular gas w/o ethanol, w/ the modern cleaners, we all would hae zero fuel related issues.

[jimmerz]

I have a small local gas station that does sell ETHANOL FREE gas. I believe it is only in 87 Octane, which is all I ever run in my Kizashi. It was a little more expensive I think .05 more per gallon?

I filled up once with it and I think I might have done a little better MPG (1-2) But that is not a very good sample! I also did not notice any difference in the way the vehicle drove or sounded.

I also never noticed any difference the couple times I used a higher octane.

[BM-Power]

Higher octane fuel in engines not designed to run it might be a waste of money but I'd be more concerned about the internal damage to the piston seals that would be done due to higher energy content/heat from the higher grade fuel. If your engine is designed to run 91 octane, there is no need to run 95/98 unless you're getting knocking. You might fry your piston seals in the long run and all the horses you were hoping to keep might disappear eventually

[murcod]

Higher octane fuel in engines not designed to run it might be a waste of money but I'd be more concerned about the internal damage to the piston seals that would be done due to higher energy content/heat from the higher grade fuel. If your engine is designed to run 91 octane, there is no need to run 95/98 unless you're getting knocking. You might fry your piston seals in the long run and all the horses you were hoping to keep might disappear eventually

The higher octane fuel is harder to ignite - hence why it helps stops detonation (which is the uncontrolled explosion of the air fuel mixture.) Detonation causes excess heat, which will lead to engine damage. I fail to see how you'd "fry your piston seals" from running too high a octane? Worst case it will only hurt your wallet!

[BM-Power]

Higher octane fuel in engines not designed to run it might be a waste of money but I'd be more concerned about the internal damage to the piston seals that would be done due to higher energy content/heat from the higher grade fuel. If your engine is designed to run 91 octane, there is no need to run 95/98 unless you're getting knocking. You might fry your piston seals in the long run and all the horses you were hoping to keep might disappear eventually

The higher octane fuel is harder to ignite - hence why it helps stops detonation (which is the uncontrolled explosion of the air fuel mixture.) Detonation causes excess heat, which will lead to engine damage. I fail to see how you'd "fry your piston seals" from running too high a octane? Worst case it will only hurt your wallet!

Oops I got my facts the other way around, higher octane does burn cooler.

I was thinking of something I read a while ago that the exhaust valves can get burned due to higher octane fuel causing an effect similar to retarded timing effect..

[suzboy]

I am putting 91 into mine.... like what I did with my previous two cars. I never owned any European cars in the past.

I wonder what 95/98 Ron will do to the car. Will it give better cruse range? Is the
''increase'' in performance justify the premium I pay at the pump?

[WESHOOT2]

I pay extra for the premium gas (93 octane) I use in my Kizashi because my experience in my 73K so far has shown enhanced performance (albeit slight) and an average +2 MPG for mileage.

Your results may vary. I'm sticking with premium.......