Gas is the life force of every car that is on the road today. Even the type of car that uses gas and electricity to fuel it needs to know the kind of gas it takes.

Now, there are a few different types of gas for cars that can be put into your car. What do each of them do, and what benefits do they bring to the table for your car?

What Are the Different Types of Gasoline?

There are 3 types of gas for cars. When at a gas station, each of these should be available for use, at different prices. 

• Premium Gas
• Mid-Grade (or Plus) Gas
• Unleaded Regular Gas

Each gas has its benefits and its downfalls, which is something that not many people know about. What exactly is the difference between the three types of gas, and what can they all do differently?

Before We Start…

It is good to know what makes all of these different. Gas is ranked by something called an “octane rating” or “octane number”. This is the measure of the performance of the gas in an engine or airplane.

The higher the number of the octane rating, the higher amounts of compression that the gas can handle before it detonates. Generally speaking, the higher the octane number, the more likely it is to be used in high-performance vehicles, and the better the compression ratio should be.

There is also not a distinct “best type of gas for cars”. It all depends on the kind of car that you have. There is a good way of how to tell what type of gas your car needs, and it is to look at the manufacturer’s guide. 

There is no need to ask the manufacturer directly about what type of gas your car takes. 

Taking this into account, let’s take a closer look at what exactly makes these types of gasoline different, and what should you be putting into your car.

Premium Gas

Premium gas is the most expensive type of gas that is readily available to you. Usually, a gas that has an octane level of 91 or higher is considered premium. 

Generally speaking, the most common octane numbers would be 91 or 93. Although 93 would more than likely be considered “Super-Premium” or “Ultra”. 

Benefits

Premium gas is great for engines that need higher octane gasoline. This is usually for higher powered cars, such as sports cars, supercars, or cars that are meant to be able to go faster than most. 

If this is not required, or recommended, as per your vehicle manufacturer, then there is no real benefit for you to have this gas in your car. However, some people notice a difference in driving style when premium gas is used, so it would be good to A/B test your gasoline.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, there are no advantages when it comes to using premium gasoline on cars when the vehicle is not specified to need it. 

Mid-Grade Gas

Mid-Grade gas is car gas that normally has about an 87 octane number. 89 is also a number that is used, but it is much more likely that it is 87. 

This type of gas is normally in the middle when it comes to positioning and price. It is not the cheapest, but it is cheaper than premium gas.

Benefits

Mid-Grade gasoline is a higher octane number than that of normal regular unleaded gas. This means that if you don’t want to have to pay for premium gas, but do notice a difference when it is used, maybe Mid-Grade gas is the best option for you. 

You can technically use mid-grade gas as a replacement for premium, which could help you save a lot of money. This, however, should be looked into as using lower fuel octane could void your warranty. 

Unleaded Regular Gas

Regular Unleaded gas is the cheapest option when it comes to your choice of gasoline. Although it’s octane number is normally between 83 and 85. 

Benefits

Regular gas has come a long way from its original version. Regular gas years ago contained lead. While now we use a specific unleaded version of the gasoline, it is still worlds better than it had been for your car. 

Modern cars, including electric cars, normally have engines that can monitor and regulate engine knocking on their own, without the help of gasoline. If your car has this option, why would you spend more money filling your fuel tank with premium?

If your vehicle does not have a specified type of gas that you should use, then it is probably a good thing to use the regular unleaded type of gasoline to save money.

Blog By Brooke Lazar