Now I'm sure no one on this board would ever consider putting regular or mid-grade gasoline in their M-B. Or at least they wouldn't admit it on here ;) Having a brand-new model, I wouldn't have considered it. Until now, that is. Don't need to save the money, don't drive much frankly. But still I wonder--is premium fuel just a waste for most of us?
Here's a quote from today's article in WP on this topic (link at end)
"It's not going to hurt anything," said Peter Gregori, service manager for EuroMotorcars, a Mercedes-Benz dealer in Bethesda. In fact, Gregori has been using regular gas in one of his own Mercedes cars for two years, and "it's perfect," he said -- even though Mercedes-Benz says owners should use only premium.
"I get better mileage with the regular than I do with the high-test, in this particular model that I have," Gregori said. Among cars that come in for service, Gregori said, he can't tell which have been sipping premium.
Yeap there is no differance except price on quality of gas we use. It has been a myth that the gas companies don't want use to know. I talked to many chief mechanics, and seen a expose on 20/20 where they did many interviews with experts and no one can tell the differance. So what I say is go ahead put low grade in you MB save your money and stop feeding the fat cat gas companies.
Now I have no clue as to if the gas companies state the correct octane level. They should by law I believe. The difference in octane is that higher octane rating means it takes more pressure to explode then lower octane.
Now I believe all new Mercedes have a sensor that if it detects lower octane then it will restrain the engine enough so it does not knock. That is why most people can't detect a difference.
If you really want to see the performance differences take 3 cars and run them on the 3 different octane levels of the same gas company and run these 3 cars on a dyno and see what happens to the performance.
The reason for using high octane in cars is due to the fact that some cars have a 9:1 compression ratio or higher, thus if you drive hard and floor it often like some of us do then the cylinders will pre-detonate, misfire, or knock.
Yep yep Banana -- I've heard that some companies fudge the octane on the premium grades too. And apparently ALL new cars have knock sensors. So it seems that the only difference would be noted if you're driving your car full-out, at or near its limits.
Full out, in this case, means hard accelleration on the on ramp to mix with traffic. Or foot to the floor to pass that motorhome going 30 in a 70 up the two lane road on the mountain pass. It's true. The engine will not knock on reg fuel but it's also true the same computer won't allow the engine to develop it's full potential either. It's your car and your choice.
The "fat cat" gas companies have given you a choice. There is NO difference in the "quality" of the fuel but there certainly is a difference in octane and it's very easy to prove. Just take small samples of each and send them to a petroleum lab. You won't need premium in your chevette but your Corvette will surely notice it. Getting "scientific" analysis from the same people who "proved" Audi's mysterious ability to develop super powers that could overcome a braking system is not well advised. That's why we have brake interlocks now.
Full out, in this case, means hard accelleration on the on ramp to mix with traffic. Or foot to the floor to pass that motorhome going 30 in a 70 up the two lane road on the mountain pass. It's true. The engine will not knock on reg fuel but it's also true the same computer won't allow the engine to develop it's full potential either. It's your car and your choice.
Yup, that's all too true. Even under moderate acceleration, my '93 2.8 knocks on midgrade. For the extra 6 pennies, I use 93 octane and the knocking and pinging goes away when I'm trying to merge on a short ramp.
If you are someone who is seriously worried about spending a few extra cents per gallon on gas, what are you doing forking out north of $60k for an automobile? [:D] For the price of your MB, you could have purchased two very nicely equipped Toyota Prius'es (I think that would be the plural of "prius") and then you could really be saving money on gas.
One of the main reasons I liked the E500 was for its nice punchy accelleration. So the few extra cents per gallon for the highest octane fuel is worth it for me.
For the record, our other car, a 2002 Acura MDX SUV, also came with a recommendation that we only use "premium". It is rated as a ULEV (Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle)and the dealership techs told me that you actually get better gas mileage using the high grade fuel, as well as lower emmissions due to cleaner burning, than with a lower fuel grade. If this is true, than I imagine it would be the same for MB cars.
Lets put it this way; if the difference in price between regular and premium is 16 cents, that's a difference of $2.88 for an 18 gallon fillup. That's a little over a gallon at today's prices. From midgrade to premium (assuming an eight cent difference), you're now down to $1.44 for the fillup. Are M-B owners really robbing their piggy banks for the extra buck and a half?
Actually I haven't seen anyone in these forums who actally uses regular gasoline in their MB. I think the main point is that it won't exactly kill your car if you did. Some people might not have known this.
I actually filled up a few times with regular to test whether or not I got better gas mileage with regular vs premium and my car ate the regular gas up like pigs at a slop buffet. I got better gas mileage with the premium, traveling the same distance on both octanes. The only way to really tell is to test it yourself.
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