What happens if you use too low octane?

If the gasoline octane is too low, the fuel may spontaneously burn before it should. Instead of waiting for the spark from the spark plug, the fuel may ignite on its own during compression. You may notice a knocking sound in the engine, called “pinging.” This early ignition of fuel can cause serious engine damage.

What happens if you put 87 octane in a 93 octane car?

If you usually fill your tank up with 87-octane gasoline and you accidentally put in a higher octane blend (say, 91, 92, or 93), don’t worry. You may feel a difference in the way the vehicle runs and may notice an improvement in gas mileage, but that’s about all that will happen.

Does lower octane burn faster?

Lower octane gas burns quicker than higher octane, and so require less energy to ignite. However, this also means that lower octanes burn more quickly in high pressure environments, and can have a greater tendency to knock.

What happens if I use 93 instead of 87?

Most cars on the road recommend a standard grade 87 or 89. Premium gas 90-93 is completely okay to put in a standard vehicle. Car experts say there is no risk of damage to a standard car using premium fuel.

How does the octane rating affect the performance of a fuel?

The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating (igniting). In broad terms, fuels with a higher octane rating are used in high-performance gasoline engines that require higher compression ratios. In contrast, fuels with lower octane numbers…

What happens if you put low octane fuel in a car?

If you put the lower octane fuel in an engine which specifies high octane fuel, will not cause you any major issues on an electronic fuel injected engine because it has a device known as a “knock sensor” which will pull timing. …When you mix different octanes of fuel, you are either increasing or decreasing the octane of the fuel at hand.

What does the octane number mean?

The octane number is actually the simple average of two different octane rating methods— motor octane rating (MOR) and research octane rating (RON)—that differ primarily in the specifics of the operating conditions. The higher an octane number, the more stable the fuel.

What happens if you put 89 octane in a 87 car?

The three tiers of gasoline (87, 89 and 93 octane) are all next to each other on the pump and it’s not hard to absentmindedly push the wrong button. If you opt for a higher octane than your manual recommends—say, 89 instead of 87—your car will be perfectly fine, an article on AAMCO’s blog explains.