Auto makers and Gas companies really like it when they are able to convince you to buy premium gasoline. They like it so much they continue to perpetuate half truths about premium gasoline. Half truths such as premium gasoline will provide better fuel economy. Half truths like premium gasoline can increase your engine's performance. Actually these aren't even half truths they are full blown myths.



Gasoline retailers and refiners love premium gasoline because it is so much more profitable than regular gasoline. You end up paying about 20 cents more per gallon for premium gas and the retailer only ends up paying about 8 cents more. The retailer makes 12 cents more on every gallon of high octane gas he sells.

The oil refineries make a few cents per gallon more on premium gasoline over what they make on regular when selling it to distributors. The small extra profit per gallon is multiplied by the tens of thousand of gallons of gas that refineries sell, and ends up adding thousands and thousands of dollars to their profit.

The gas refineries and retailers are not the only ones that make more money from premium gas. Auto makers use premium gas to add to their profits too. One way they do that is by creating a higher perceived value for their cars.

If a car has to have premium gas it must have a more expensive engine therefore the car must cost more. Using that logic the car companies can get higher prices on some models by recommending only premium gas can be used in those models. This adds credibility to their contention that the car is worth more money.

Another way that vehicle manufacturers capitalize on high octane fuel is by designing engines to be specially tuned to take advantage of the anti-knock properties of high octane fuel. By doing that they can create "high octane engines" that actually do get a little more horsepower out of high octane fuel then they do from regular fuel.

Since these engines do have some horsepower gain it enables the auto makers to advertise bigger horsepower ratings for their "premium engines". Higher horsepower means more expensive auto which means more cost for you and more profit for the car manufacturers.

These optimized for premium engines actually do put out a little more horsepower on premium than with regular. But most car experts and engineers seem to agree that if you use regular in a premium engine, the difference in horsepower is so small, you probably can't tell.

Premium gas does not increase fuel economy. Regular gas can be run in a so called premium engine without any noticeable effect. In the end it all comes down to money. By convincing you that you need to use premium gas they are able to take more money out of your pocket and put it in theirs.