Is it ok to put regular gas into a car that “requires” premium gas?

I believe Cartalk said its ok, but they are just radio personalities….

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One Response to Is it ok to put regular gas into a car that “requires” premium gas?

  1. Nick Nguyen says:

    While it is true that putting premium gas in a car designed for regular is a waste of money, the opposite is not true. Contrary to popular belief, premium gas has the same or even less energy than regular, the sole difference being the temperature at which it will ignite.

    Many cars that require premium gas require it because their engines run at high temperatures and/or compression and regular gas will ignite prematurely causing detonation, which sounds like a knocking in the engine. Modern cars do have sensors which detect this condition and will dial back the power accordingly to prevent damage but the point is that the condition has to occur for the engine to respond.

    In effect, a tiny amount of damage can occur every time to fill your car with regular gas. While putting regular in by accident once in a while is probably fine, the effect of the damage is cumulative and probably not worth the couple hundred you save every year. If you have a turbocharged car then you should NEVER put in regular gas. Ever. The same is true for high revving, high output Honda VTEC engines like the S2000 or Prelude.

    PS- Cartalk also advised some listeners that the interior of their Honda Element was washable with a hose. Some poor listener did this and inflicted hundreds of dollars in damage to their car by soaking electronic components. Let the listener beware…

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