The danger of having cars that take different grades of gas: I just filled my wife’s van with premium gas by accident; a $4.50 mistake.

WG Harris August 12, 2011 17:30

Think that is bad? Wait until you fill a gasoline tank with 100$ worth diesel before you realize you drove the wifes car to work…

What cars require premium these days? Even the “muscle” cars (mustangs, camaro,charger, challenger) say 83 recommended.

Michael K Johnson August 12, 2011 17:37

Yup, that’s worse!

My 11-year-old car does not require premium but due to high compression ratio gets better miles per dollar on premium.

WG Harris August 12, 2011 17:51

I had to drain the tank at the gas station…and then towed it to a friends to make sure the fuel system got flushed so I didn’t blow her truck up…total cost 680$

Yea my S2k required 92 at least; my wife once put 89 in it and for 2 months it ran like crap.

Steve Wills August 12, 2011 21:45

My Mazda requires premium and still isn’t happy, so every once in a while I put some octane boost in it too.

Steve Burnett August 12, 2011 23:52

I believe the Smart cars require premium gasoline.

Michael K Johnson August 13, 2011 09:00

+Steve Wills If your car “isn’t happy” on premium, there might actually be something wrong, like a bad knock sensor, and a bad knock sensor can lead to engine damage if the computer doesn’t know to adjust mixture and timing.

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