Most of the cars I own and drive have engines with compression ratios similar to the pressure of a firm handshake, or perhaps the effort needed to squish a ripe peach in your hand until it erupts its sweet, sticky juices, which then coat your fingers and one determined rivulet trails down the underside of your arm to your elbow, where it then drips, now free. This generally means that gasoline octane levels don’t matter that much to me. I just get the cheapest 87 octane juice.
But there are people with modern cars with genuinely impressive compression ratios that want nothing to do with knock or pre-ignition, so they need gasoline with higher octane, and so buy the rich, creamery fuel known as Premium, which has an octane rating of 91-94 and, I believe, smells like sex and leisure time.
That just leaves the middle grade, 89-90 octane “mid-grade” gas. Who buys this stuff? I mean, okay, there have been some cars that specify mid-range, 89 octane gas, but there weren’t that many. In fact, for cars currently being sold today, there are precisely nine cars that fit this requirement, and they are all either RAM 1500 trucks, Dodge Durangos, or one lone Jeep Grand Cherokee, all of which have the same Mopar 5.7-liter V8 engine. So, really, just one engine requires it.
Here’s another secret: there really isn’t any midrange gas. There used to be, but now it’s most often just a cocktail of 93 and 87, and in most cases is mixed in the pump, right there while you wait. I think they use bartender-trained elves chained up in the pump to do the mixing; I haven’t checked.
You can see how rapidly gasoline refiners have decreased how much midrange gas they produce here:
This cocktail of fancy and cheap gas is only purchased by about 7% of consumers, too.
So, who is buying it? And why are they buying it? Is it just based on the assumption that because it costs more, it must be a bit better? But not, like, rich-guy-premium better? Some of our writers mentioned in Slack that they had cars that knocked on 87 but were fine on 89, so perhaps that’s what the 7% is made up of? Car geeks with engines that have juuusssstttt too high compression for the cheap stuff, but don’t need the good stuff?
For most people, mid-range seems like a waste of money. But maybe there are some justifications for it? More mellow flavor? Deeper color? Who knows? If you have thoughts or justifications or just want to defend mid-range gasoline, now is your chance! Have at it!
Top graphic image: depositphotos.com
My 2011 Acura TSX Wagon recommends 91 octane. It says 87 can be used temporarily but long term use will cause knocking and engine damage. So I use 89 octane.
However, I generally buy fuel at Costco – which doesn’t have those fancy pumps that mix up some 89 octane on the fly. So I have to mix it myself with two transactions.
In the Midwest, there is a subsidized E15 blend that comes in at 89 octane, and so there are many places where that is the cheapest grade.
There may only be 9 brand new cars that take 89, but historically it used to be more and your graphic showcases this trend. There are still plenty of older vehicles on the road that recommend 89.
89/90 used to be what stations noted in the Midwest for 10% ethanol blend in the aughts and teens, but now it seems they are blended down to 87 as the stations will have 87, 87(ethanol), and 91+ premium. Not every station is a two tank and quite a few still have a 3 tank system for guzzoline.
Still many in Minnesota that are E15 89 octane, and that is the cheapest grade available. Cheaper than E10 89 or whatever ethanol ratio is in 91
I’m at fault for not putting IA/NE in regards to my 87 ethanol (probably 15%). There are a lot of comments about the Midwest, but it’s very different state to state for what is offered.
There were some vtecs in the early 00s that wanted it. I suspect they ran ok on 87 probably just detuned a bit. But knew several people that had them and they always mid grade or premium.
My dad did for ages, no idea why.
Some people around here go for 91 without requiring it, but only because the chain around here offers it as ethanol free.
I buy most of my gas at Costco. They don’t offer midgrade gas.
I’d be more apt to say they don’t offer low grade gas as they have like 88/89 and 91/92 from the Costcos I’ve used. Never seen one with 87.
Odd as every Costco I’ve been to has 87 and 91 octane. I haven’t visited one in Nebraska though.
I put 89 in my 95 mustang. It shouldn’t need it but knocks on 87 bad, less so on 89, obviously a sign of problems but for now it helps
When she was younger and still did track work, my ’02 would get 89 to stop the occasional high rpm detonation I’d get.
And worse, 89 costs almost as much as 93!
The 93 premium will often be around $1 more than regular 87, with the midgrade 89 only being 10-20c less! LOL
You’re better off just using 87 regular and them adding an octane booster.
I’ve heard of people that run 89 in cars that call for 87 that have very high mileage. They’re concerned that carbon buildup can create “hot spots” on the pistons, risking pre-ignition on lower octane fuels. I’m not sure if that’s really a concern or not.
I’ve heard of people that run 89 in cars that call for 87 that that have very high mileage. They’re concerned that carbon buildup can create “hot spots” on the pistons, risking pre-ignition on lower octane fuels. I’m not sure if that’s really a concern or not.
I’ve owned a couple of cars that ran a bit better on it so I used it for them. Early ’80s cars were sometimes less prone to run-on as well. I remember my stepmom’s ’70s Nova with a straight six wouldn’t stop running when you turned off the ignition, unless you pushed the gas peddle which would finally kill it, probably by flooding it. She always bought the cheapest gas she could find. I put octane booster in once just for fun and confusion. It didn’t run-on for a whole tank of gas.
I also believe some manufacturers would say their cars could handle the cheap stuff as a sales tactic when in fact their engines were happier with a little more octane.
Let me tell you about a product called unleaded 88. It goes in the middle slot and is actually cheaper than regular because it contains 15% ethanol. All new cars can take it without voiding the warranty. Coming from the midwest to a station near you.
This is more station brand dependent and I feel part of marketing and rounding up of octanes. One station offers 87/89/91 and another offers 88/90/93, but at a slightly higher price. Buyer’s will gravitate towards the higher number as perceived better even if it’s not necessary.
A lot of Midwestern stations offer 87 ethanol blend now (at least NE, IA, and MN). Crossing state lines and finding different octanes has always amused me. I remember see 85 and 86 in the South in the early ’90s and I had never seen that in the Midwest (87 always the lowest – pre ethanol era)
I used to buy it for my Gen 1 Chevy Volt. GM specified Premium for it, but that was more about keeping ethanol out of the fuel to prolong it since the car drove mostly on electricity. It had a lower compression ratio than the second gen Volt that used regular gas.
So many Volt drivers suspect Premium isn’t actually necessary.
However, 87 caused a small amount of engine knock so I avoided it.
Mid grade, though? The car ran like a champ on it