SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– With gas prices on the rise, drivers who typically use premium gas are having to make the switch to regular.
“I use premium,” said Angela Goble, who has a car that calls for premium gas. “Well, I used to.”
Goble said recent prices at the pump left her no choice to switch.
“It’s too outrageous,” said Goble. “It’s not affordable.”
Drivers, like Goble, are questioning if the change could cause any damage to their car.
Car experts here in Springfield said for drivers switching away from premium for only a short time, it shouldn’t affect them much.
However, there could be some noticeable differences in driving.
“You can run lower octane gas in a premium gas vehicle,” said Doug Smart, Owner of Smart Buy Tire. “However, for every pro, there’s a con. The problem is that you might experience a rougher idle. The acceleration might not be as good as what it was with premium gasoline in it.”
Smart said there are some things to keep in mind for those who do choose to use regular fuel instead.
“If you start noticing it start running rougher because you did that, then when you get down to let’s say half a tank or three-quarters of a tank, somewhere in there, go ahead and top off with premium,” said Smart. “Instead of buying that full tank of premium, you can mix the two, or you can put an additive in there.”
He said the conversation goes past just cars.
“For your lawnmowers, your boats, your jet skis, things like that, run premium in all of them,” said Smart. “Ethanol is not good on rubber fuel lines, it swells them up and it creates problems in the long run. You always run premium in any kind of chainsaw, weed eater, your lawnmower, things like that. Try to run better gasoline in it, and you’ll have better success doing that.”
