In a day where the price of gasoline climbs higher on an almost daily basis, does anyone actually put the more expensive fuel into their cars?
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Here’s a page with the data:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_cons_refmg_d_nus_VTR_mgalpd_m.htm
Looks like premium and midgrade account for about 7% each of total gas sales and don’t fluctuate that much over the period shown.
I don’t know how many vehicles recommend midgrade or premium but I’d bet that some of the people buying it do so because they figure that if it’s more expensive, it’s better.
I definitely used the higher end petrol on a few instances (when I was younger and more interested in optimum vehicular performance), but perhaps not long enough to notice any significant performance difference. Then again, I have never owned a high performance car …
I do use the mid-grade fuel, but I have to admit I’ve not tested it’s performance against the standard. I just use it because my car’s owner manual instructed me to. Perhaps the car manufacturer is in cahoots with the petrol folks and in fact I’m just paying extra for no good reason.
If you own a lawn mower or other gasoline powered lawn maintenance device it is almost always recommended to use the mid-grade option.
While my 1999 Honda CR-V clearly doesn’t qualify as a sports car, I made the jump to premium about a year or so ago and immediately noticed a difference in both outright performance (quicker from a start) and have managed better than prior years miles per tank of gas.
As a matter-of-fact, I have had my best five mileages from a tank of gas in the past year.
I know…. how lame that I track this stuff.