Is the price for premium petrol really worth it?
With an increase in fuel prices happening ever so often, the price of premium petrol has gone up even further, with one brand almost reaching the Rs. 100 mark. Is it worth filling premium petrol in your car at these high prices? What benefits do you get from premium petrol?
Lists the pros and cons of using premium petrol in your car, and if it is really necessary.
What is premium petrol?
Premium petrol in India is regular unleaded fuel that has been mixed with additives for various claimed benefits. Except for one brand, Speed 97 from Bharat Petroleum , which is petrol with a higher octane rating of 97 meant for use in high-performance engines such as sports cars. Normal unleaded petrol has an octane rating of about 89-91 depending on the brand.
In India, there are four brands of premium petrol – Speed 97 and Speed from Bharat Petroleum, Xtrapremium from IndianOil and Power from Hindustan petroleum. Premium petrol usually has an octane rating of about 91 to 93 octane depending on the brand.
Benefits of premium petrol
The additives that are added to the petrol are supposed to mainly help with cleaning the engine and preventing build-up of carbon deposits in the engine and intake system. The higher octane rating also is useful for engines that have slightly higher compression ratios (some of the higher end premium cars in India, as well as turbo-charged petrol cars, such as the Linea T-Jet, Skoda Laura TSI, Volkswagen Jetta etc), as a higher octane rating will prevent engine “knocking” – as it increases the combustion temperature of the fuel.
Higher octane ratings also help in more complete combustion of the fuel, leading to a marginal increase in power (coming at lower rpms), which allows you to use a higher gear at certain speeds – which is again good for mileage. The use of detergents and lubricants in premium petrol does help with keeping the engine running smoother. In the long term, this shows up as slightly increased mileage as well, but not more than a km or so per litre.
However, if you still want to extract the benefits of premium petrol such as a cleaner engine and better long-term maintenance, you could consider filling one tank of premium petrol after every four tankfuls of regular petrol. Or you could buy a bottle of fuel additive (System G, STP octane booster, Bardhal fuel treatment etc) which cost between Rs. 200 and Rs. 400 a bottle, and treats one tankful of fuel. This averages out to about the same cost (remember the Rs. 290 price difference for 30 litres?).
The only people who would really benefit from premium, high octane petrol are drivers for supercars and bikes which need high octane fuel. These cars mandate that only high octane fuel be used.