Are Your Putting the Wrong Gasoline in Your Car? It Could Cost You!

(Phoenix, AZ) - Dave Riccio talks to hundreds of car owners a month as the cohost of Bumper to Bumper Radio, heard every Saturday at 11:00 a.m. on 92.3 FM, KTAR, and he knows that most people are clueless when it comes to knowing what is the right type of gasoline to use in their vehicles.

According to Riccio, some people think, “I’ll put the cheap stuff in there,” because they are trying to save a buck. Others think that the most expensive gasoline is better. The problem is that most car owners don’t know what gas to use; and what they don’t know can cost them.

“It’s imperative that you use the right gasoline for your car,” says Riccio, who also owns Tri-City Transmission in Tempe, Arizona.

Gasoline is sold by octane levels. Octane is a measure of the amount of pressure a fuel can endure before combusting or burning. Higher levels of octane burn slower than lower level octanes. In the US, you generally see octane levels of 87, 89 and 91 or 92.

When gas prices were high, many people switched to the less expensive lower octane fuels to save money. On the flip side, some car owners switched to higher octane fuel believing that the premium fuel would help the car run better. That is simply not the case. The problem is that if you don’t use the fuel the car requires, it could be causing long term damage to the vehicle’s engine. Whatever you have gained in cost savings, you have lost in fuel efficiency (mpg) and possibly caused damage to the engine which will result in expensive repairs.

The octane of fuel that your car requires might surprise you. You might think that all luxury vehicles require the more expensive higher octane fuel. But that is not always the case.

In a survey by Mojo Motors of model year 2012 and up vehicles, they found that 53.79   percent of vehicles require regular or 97 octane gasoline while 44.09 percent require the higher 91 octane or premium.  Very few vehicles require the mid-grade fuel.

As it was expected, many luxury vehicle manufacturer’s require the premium gasoline including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Infiniti, Jaguar and the ultra-luxury brands like Bentley, Aston Martin, Porsche and Ferrari.

However, the manufactures of Cadillac, Lincoln, Land Rover and Lexus require octanes that are all different. The vast majority of turbo or supercharged motors have to run premium gasoline as they are more susceptible to engine knocking.

So how do you know if you’re using the right fuel? Riccio says, “Check your owners’ manual to determine which type of fuel is right for your car and use what they say.”

If you’ve been putting the wrong fuel in your vehicle, there’s no need to panic. Just talk to your mechanic about it at the next service.

About Tri-City Transmission
Tri-City Transmission is a family-owned automotive business that has been providing complete automotive service and repair in the Phoenix, Arizona, area since 1972.

Tri-City Transmission is rated as an A+ Accredited Business by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and is a member of the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association (ATRA). Tri-City Transmission was named Motor Age Magazine Top Shop in 2014.

The owner of Tri-City Transmission, Dave Riccio, has been in the automotive business for over 20 years. Riccio is a host of Arizona’s Number One Car Show, Bumper to Bumper Radio, airing every Saturday morning from 11:00-12:00 on 92.3 KTAR radio in Phoenix.

Media Contact:
Wendy Kenney
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http://www.23Kazoos.com
480-389-5219

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