You've heard the urban legend about Pop Rocks and Soda, but did you ever hear the one about premium gas enhancing your engine's performance?
We commonly field questions about the difference between regular and premium gas and it simply comes down to octane ratings. Premium has a higher octane rating than regular gas and that means that it can stand up to more pressure, making a "high compression" engine run smoother.
That type of power plant isn't particularly common, however. In fact, if you're taking a peak at the used car selection we have in our Cortland, NY showroom, you won't find many high compression engines.
If you're wondering what happens when you use regular gas in an engine that calls for premium, well, the answer is an anticlimactic, "Not much". You might hear knocking or pinging in your engine, but even those cases are rare as most vehicles made after 1996 are equipped with knocking sensors.
So, when taking a high performance vehicle out on the track, you'll probably want to get your pit crew to use premium gas. If you're driving your car to and from work, then regular should be just fine.
To be on the safe side, you can always check your owner's manual or feel free to stop by our Cortland Chrysler Jeep RAM Dodge Service Center and we'd be happy to clear things up for you. Even still, whichever type of gas you use, don't put Pop Rocks in your tank. We don't want to start another myth here, but that can't be good for your engine.