What is premium petrol and does your car really need it?
2 months ago | 41 Views
After the introduction of the Bharat Stage 3 vehicle emissions norms in 2010, the minimum octane rating for petrol was increased from 88 to 91. As of today, unleaded petrol is rated at 91 RON (Research Octane Number), and premium fuel such as Speed, Power, and Extra Premium have a similar octane rating but contain additives that help clean the insides of the engines. Then there are high octane fuels with higher RONs, and the octane rating of these fuels differ from one manufacturer to another.
Premium petrol with higher octane rating is generally thought of as the go-to when it comes to engines with higher compression ratios, such as those in high performance sports cars. This type of petrol is more refined and pure, and engines that use high octane fuel are more efficient and produce less emissions. In spite of this, using high octane fuel in an engine that does not require it will not correlate to gains in performance or mileage. While the new engines since the BS3 norms will be running on 91 RON petrol, using higher octane fuel, such as 97 RON, will not lead to further reduction in emissions. So, what does a higher octane number really mean and should owners pay for the premium?