Filling up the tank is painful enough — but if your car takes premium gas, you're consistently paying 50 to 80 cents more per gallon.
Larry Draper is spending well over $100 per fill-up for his GMC Yukon, with gas prices close to $5 a gallon.
"When you put 30 gallons in here, it’s five times 30 you spend," he said.
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With national gas prices up more than $1 compared to last year, does your vehicle really need premium fuel?
Watch as automotive experts show when you should buy premium gas, and when you don't need it:
Recommended vs. required
The answer depends on what your vehicle actually requires. There's a key difference between "premium recommended" and "premium required."
"If it says premium-required, you definitely want to run the premium," said Matt Overbeck, owner of Overbeck Auto Services. "Especially if you’re under a manufacturer’s warranty."
Using regular fuel in a vehicle that requires premium could cause real harm.
"You don't want to get yourself in trouble because running the lower octane fuel could lead to internal engine damage," Overbeck said.
Premium gas — typically rated at 91 to 94 octane — is most recommended for high-performance vehicles.
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"The engines tend to be higher technology engines. They tend to be more stressed engines, turbocharged, they make a lot of power," said Tony Quiroga, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver.
For vehicles where premium is recommended, not required, reduced power is the only potential downside.
"If you're somebody who enjoys accelerating hard in their car, enjoys the performance aspect of their car, you may notice that there's a little bit of a performance decrease when you switch to 87 [octane]," Quiroga said. "But in 99% of the cars on the road, you can get away with it."
Impact on fuel economy
In prior Car and Driver testing, higher-octane premium fuel made only a subtle impact on fuel economy.
For example, Quiroga said the fuel economy on a Honda CR-V was 27.3 mpg on regular gas, and 27.6 mpg on premium
"The benefit is very, very minuscule. You'd be paying a lot more at the pump for a very tiny, tiny, uptick," Quiroga said.
What’s best for your car?
While more expensive, premium gas does have its benefits.
Draper said he intends to keep filling up with premium fuel, averaging $5.34 per gallon, according to AAA.
"I avoid more problems if I just put the good gas in there and I don't have to worry about the fuel injectors messing up," Draper said.
The easiest way to know what your car actually needs is to check the fuel filler door or the owner's manual.
The national average for a gallon of regular gas hit $4.53 on Wednesday — that's 85 cents cheaper than premium.
"An occasional tank of regular here or there is not going to hurt you," Overbeck said.
The bottom line: Don’t feel guilty about putting regular gas in your car, if it is not required, so you don’t waste your money.
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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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