Another noob question about premium gas... lol

[Daven]

Sorry if this is the wrong section, but i figured it fit. Anyways, i was wondering if there is any point to using premium gas in my truck? I have a '89 ranger with the 2.9L in it.

Idk much about the different types of gas so i thought it would be best to ask some people that know for sure instead of taking what people have heard. I had heard its better to run premium because it helps clean and stuff like that. Also i heard that it burns hotter and gives a little more power (which i am guessing is completely off lol). But i had also heard that if the engine is not made to use premium that it could be harmful for it.

I am currently running mid-grade because some mechanic guy told me that should be good. Whats best to do? Just go regular? I am willing to spend the extra bit of money if it will make a difference. Thanks

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

only it your engine pings with regular. there are no other benefits and it won't make a noticeable difference in power

premium is higher octane to resist self-ignition from pressure/heat of compression.

if your engine has heavy carbon deposits it can increase the compression ratio and create hot spots which might cause regular fuel to self-ignite or "ping"

 

[RustedRanger]

Premium will burn cooler and make less power if the engine doesn't need it. I'd try midgrade and see if it helps. The more heat you can make without ping the better.

 

[sleeper_inc]

You can run more timing with premium fuel and more compression. But like said above it wont really help the little 2.9 our trucks have.

 

[exbass94]

The only time you should use premium is if you had an engine DESIGNED to run on premium. Since the 2.9 is designed for regular 87 octane, premium gas has NO benefit.

Premium does NOT:
clean the engine better
make more power
give better gas mileage

Using premium will not hurt the engine, but since there's no benefit, save your money and stick with regular.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

I go by mpd with my 2.8 there is virtually no difference in mpg. So miles per dollar is what I go by, divide the dollar amount into total miles on a tank full each of all three. When I wanted to give my dodge van with a 360 2 barrel a treat I would mix 1/2 and 1/2 reg and super always gave me the best performance. But that was with a 30 gallon tank and it only cost $40 to fill it up. Fuel is alot different now if it pings with regular try retarding the timing a little your damper is probably not all that accurate anyways depending on how many hours that engine has been run.

 

[129guy]

this is sorta like dirt bike. the high compression ones with alot of nice mod's need the high octane fuel. normal stock trail bikes and race bike just run on 92.