Do we actually need higher RON fuels? Especially with the cars we have?

Plus there's no point subsidizing it.

it's your emotions speaking there. who really needs high RON fuel? it's still not clear to you that if a car manual says 91 is minimum 91 is all you need, putting 1000 also won't do nothing,  'use cow knife to slaughter chicken' as the cantonese saying.

And besides my friend 97 is still there please pump that and help to fund the subsidy for people like me who cannot afford 97. btw. 97 is premium fuel in many many other countries where 95 has been mainstream ages ago, our idea of 95 is not new, merely following other countries, do get the opportunity to travel overseas and expand your knowledge a bit.

I think you truly knows nothing about cars. Please google around the advantage of having higher RON even though the particular car is rated for a lower RON ratings.

The only modern engines that should really need premium are those with superchargers, which force-feed fuel into the cylinders. "You're driving along and just tramp the gas and the knock sensor cannot sense the knock fast enough in some cases," because the supercharger boosts pressure so fast, says Bob Furey, chemist and fuels specialist at General Motors.

Burning regular when the owner's manual specifies premium won't void the warranty, nor damage the engine, even the most finicky automakers say. "You're giving up perhaps just a little bit of performance that a customer wouldn't really even notice, it's so slight," says Furey.

All Porsche engines are designed for premium, too, but it's not available everywhere. "Our cars must be able to drive all over the world, and so we are able to run on regular," says Jakob Neusser, director of powertrain development at Porsche's research and development center in Weissach, Germany. "You don't have to feel that a mechanical problem or anything else will happen" using regular gas, even in the highest-performance, regular-production Porsches.

The Federal Trade Commission, in a consumer notice, emphasizes: "(I)n most cases, using a higher-octane gasoline than your owner's manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit. It won't make your car perform better, go faster, get better mileage or run cleaner."

There is "no way of taking advantage of premium in a regular-grade car," says Furey.

"There is no gain. You're wasting money," insists Jim Blenkarn, in charge of powertrains at Nissan in the USA.

"No customer should ever be deluded into thinking there's any value in buying a higher grade of octane than we specify," says Toyota's Paul Williamsen, technical expert and trainer.

Q. My owner's manual says my car will run just fine on regular, unleaded gas. Will "treating" it to premium gas provide any benefit?


A. Let's be perfectly clear about this:

NO!

A. The only thing you'll be benefiting are the portfolios of impoverished oil company executives.

And before you do that, consider that Exxon-Mobil earned $39.5 billion dollars in 2006 — a world record profit. It's not like they need you giving them a hand out.

Q. But, won't premium increase the performance of my car's engine?


No.

A. Higher octane provides no additional performance for cars that are designed to run on regular gas.
Q. You're telling me I'm wasting my money by using premium?

A. You're starting to get the picture.

The answer, according to experts who study fuel efficiency in detail, is both regular and premium gasoline. And it would be a waste of money to favor premium over regular, especially in these times when gasoline prices are high, according to the experts.

Virtually nothing is gained by filling up with a premium or more expensive grade of fuel than the vehicle manufacturer has recommended, the experts say. And many of the same experts explain that drivers may not lose much performance from their cars by using a lower grade of fuel than recommended by the car manufacturer.

Using high-octane gas in a car designed for regular accomplishes little except more rapid combustion of your money. Some refuse to believe this, claiming, for example, that premium gives the family Toyota better mileage or more power. These people are in dreamland. Others say premium is purer or contains detergents that will cleanse your engine of uncouth deposits. Likewise misguided thinking--government regulations require detergents in all grades of gasoline.

I don't know a lot but enough, i do know that you are stubborn, i google but i google the opposite.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2003-0...remiumgas_x.htm
http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/pr.../questions.html
http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/transp...vs_premium.html
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2...and-regular-gas

If you can't find on google, read the papers where it is clearly mentioned especially older cars require higher RON fuel than the stated initial minimum RON. Not to mention a number of cars (especially turbo/supercharge & performance N/A ones) that can't even run efficiently on RON97 as well, & now they are trying to dupe us into believing RON97 can run those. All these trying to brainwash us into believing RON97 is the super premium level hence justify the so called upscaled price.

All I know is our country produced better than RON97 fuels (you know the economics), but we use RON95 as premium & RON97 as our super premium now. Shell V-Power became a rare ultra premium. We are paying RON97's price & get RON95, fxck the so called subsidies & rising oil prices excuse.

You know what? I am tired typing, you guys just go ahead and support whatever the government said, continue to be a believer.

why swift sport recommended ron 97 ? is it high compression engine ?

The MINI ECU should be able to auto adjust to the RON typre you use. It can range from 95 to 98.
My GTi has no problemo.