I have a 2000 S-Type 3.0, inside the gas flap there is a sticker that reads PREMIUM UNLEADED ONLY.
My question is, does it really matter if I use regular gas and if it does matter could I use an octane booster in the regular gas to boost the octane level and save 20 cents per gallon when I fill up.

Any ideas???

Mike

 

Lets see, a bottle of octane booster is like $3. If you put in say 12 gallons of gas into your car with a $0.30 price difference between regular and premium, sure, you will save $0.60. But, in the big scheme of things, are you gaining anything. In my mind, not really. I personally would not worry about trying the octane booster. When it comes to performance, I doubt you will see any difference. Mileage, definitely no difference. So, unless you are driving mega miles each year, the hassle of having to keep a supply of octane booster around is well worth the $0.60 additional cost at the pump.

 

Run Premium like it says
I mean seiously

 

You are driving a Jaguar Man, not a Geo Metro!!!

 

check the fine print, i remember reading a bottle of some STP octane booster we had at work and what i read kinda sucked. each bottle of octane boost only raises the rating approximately .2 octane so its not really a substitute in my opinion.

 

Exactly. No substitue for premium gas. The extra few $$$ you spend willnever equate to the cost of having to
replace injectors, fuel pumps or worst case the engine. Use what it says to use. Unless you live in South Florida......LOL
I will be happy to replace parts on anyones car.

 

Thanks for all your input, I just wanted to throw it out there to see what your coments would be, I have friends that live back in the UK and made the suggestion and I didn't know the answers, rest assured I will be sticking to the premium.

P.s I do live in South West Florida

 

Use boosters only if you're truck drivers guys

 

LOL um a truck driver n i do use it

 

Is any brand really better? Texaco vs Exxon/Mobile vs Chevron vs Shell etc.

 

Shell runs the best in mine and I get the best mileage with it...Must be that V-Power[&:]

 

Their all the same, screwing the motoring public[:@]

 

COnsidering most of the gas comes out of the same refineries, all that is different is the detergents that they add. So, I would say no. I don't see any difference.

 

I wouldn't look at it so simplistically..True..the BULK gasoline is refined by the same refinery or done the same way..But the key ingredient as y'all pointed out, is the additives..and there are superior additives and there are inferior additives...Like baking a cake...what makes the good cake from the so-so cake is all in the way the ingredients are put in and blended.

 

Holy crap..I got all that to post.....wooT!

 

LOL, glad you could get that all out there Dennis. Thanks for the input, theyre all good points. Hopefully as long as I stick with the big names and stay away from 7-11 Ill be okay.

 

Yeah I try to stay clear of the mom and pop stations! Never run anything less than 93 or 91! I used a little of 89 and my car didn't like it at all. Just the sheer worry of it isn't worth it at all.

 

Thanks to all who contributed to this. I too had questions about using a lower grade gas than what the manual calls for. I'll stick to premium, but in this time of high gas prices it's xtra tough on the pocketbook.

 

I am clearly in the minority of the posters so far but:

I do not drive aggressively

The ECM queries the knock sensors 500 times per second

The ECM will retard the spark advance to eliminate a fail signal from the knock sensors

Atlanta, and surrounding area experienced a fuel shortage in '09 that provided only 'regular' gas for about 6 weeks

Up until then I had always used PREMIUM

The REGULAR worked just as well as the unavailable PREMIUM

No difference in MPG

No discernible difference in daily driving

All fuels, including REGULAR, meet manufactures requirement as far as injector cleaners

All fuels pumped through pipelines from the refiner are of the same quality when they reach a distribution center. Only then do the brands add 'cleaners and octane boosters'

Independent low price convenience stores buy fuel from distributors that buy fuel form suppliers that have purchased fuel form the lowest price source. That may mean that you are getting the very best (marginal) fuel from the lowest price retailer one day and a little less the next.

Everything else is advertising.

My car club had a private day at a local drag strip and if I had been able to attend I would have filled the tank with the highest octane fuel available so that the ECM would not have retarded the spark advance quite so much. Otherwise I will continue to use REGULAR.

 

This subject gets aired over and over. The only real way to tell any difference is to actually keep a running check on fuel consumption every time you fill, using the brim-brim method over several months at least. I.e., keeping a record. Do not rely on the micros MPG indicator, they are not accurate enough, mine is often 10% out either way.
Then you'll know if different petrols, different additives work or not. You can make an economic evaluation from that.
Quod erat desperandum.
Leedsman.