Hi everyone, it’s Rob Newhouse with Rob’s Import Repair. If your vehicle costs you tons of money, it is quite normal for you to want to do everything in your power to take good care of it to avoid shortening the lifespan of the vehicle. This will include giving your car the right kind of fuel.
If you own a luxury European car, manufacturers recommend the usage of premium fuel – one with high octane rating, say 91 or more.
Premium fuel prices come at a greater cost especially due to international tensions so does every car owner really need high-quality fuel? Keep reading to find out.
Fuel comes in grades and each grade has its unique octane rating also known as the anti-knock index. It indicates how much pressure the fuel can handle before it detonates. In simple terms, it indicates fuel resistance to engine knocking which occurs when your engine starts prematurely and produces a rattling sound.
However, not every vehicle would benefit from a fuel upgrade so the best way to determine if you would is to refer to your car owner’s manual.
If it requires a particular fuel octane rating, it means you have to stick to that fuel rating only or risk encountering engine problems.
If your car manual simply recommends premium fuel then it means your engine can run on any kind of fuel and it is up to you to decide what you want to use – regular fuel would work just fine.
Improving your fuel can boost your vehicle’s performance in 3 major ways which you can see here:
Keeping up With Maintenance
Using fuel with improved quality makes it easier to keep up with the maintenance of your car because it automatically clears out the extra carbon that may have built up from the old fuel.
Driving Less Aggressively
Improving fuel economy can easily be done by speeding up and slowing down much less and driving more evenly keeled.
Tire inflation
Larger tires reduce the weight of your car and have higher rolling resistance so it requires less effort for the car to move hence consuming less fuel.
Smaller tires however require more resistance and effort to get moving which can consume more fuel and impacts the fuel economy
Especially if you have to drive at high speeds having lunch tires that are properly inflated will improve the efficiency of fuel.
You also need to make sure that the air pressure in your tire is always in good condition.
To do that, make it a habit to check your tyres air pressure at least once a month.
Don’t rely on just your tire pressure monitoring system as it usually notifies you when the air in your tire is 25% below how it is originally meant to be.
In summary, pay attention to your car, it’s tires, and its fuel rating recommendation to avoid shortening the lifespan of your vehicle.