From another thread:
These articles are not scientific proof of anything, as they're just jounalist's or magazine opinions, but they do actually support my position every bit as much as yours. Here are key quotes from them which prove my points...
1st link: "First and foremost, premium gas really is a better fuel in terms of the power it provides in the right engine." (your engine is the right engine)
2nd link: "Does you fancy car need fancy gas? If your owner’s manual says to use premium gas, you should listen. That’s most likely if you drive a luxury or sports car. High-performance engines tend to run hotter and use a high compression ratio, so fuel that is less likely to pre-ignite keeps things running smoothly." (your car is fancy)
3rd link: "Most premium gasolines have a higher-quality additive package put in at the refinery. The actual additives in a particular brand of gasoline are generally not disclosed by refiners. But usually they include detergents and other solvents that keep the carburetor and rest of the fuel system clean." (you asked about turbo issues in another thread)
The cars we're talking about, yours and mine, are sports cars. You did not buy a minivan, and you even asked in another thread about how you could best care for your car. Your car will run better on better fuel, especially if you run your tank as empty as possible and start fresh. The computer in your car will literally retune the engine during this change to take advantage of the superior properties of the better gas.
It's not just a question of octane (which is an additive) and whether your car is knocking. That is a fallacy. If you want to take the best care of your sports car, as you've indicated, I don't see why you'd pump cheap junk into it, or even the regular 87 version of a top brand like Shell or Chevron, and then try to tell me you're an audiophile. Every car and motorcycle I've ever had, and some were not sports cars, ran better, smoother, with better power and mileage on premium.
What's more, I think you agree with me in principle. You kinda want to have it both ways, which is understandable because some dude challenged you on a discussion forum. I'm not a kid, either, and I've yet to see the engine that didn't run better on better fuel. It's just that obvious, common sense, really. You can fight it and run regular in your car, but you will never get all you can out of that engine. To each his own, I guess.
...and responding:
Yes, they are not scientific, but written from
some considered reliable sources.
You may well be correct, but you cannot provide specific source/study to back it up. Sure, I love to think I own a high performance sport car, but past the looks and power I'm happy with, I just cannot swear to the fact that the engine performance/life will
really change in a measurable way. We don't own lamborghini. Only a study would/could point in this direction. Fair? In other words, neither of us knows for fact at this point. Fair?
"Fancy" is in the eye of the beholder

. But yes, I get your point here. I truly, do not know
anything about this engine. I also fear not being able to do simple fixes to it (brakes, tune-ups, etc...), due to being out of being a "car guy" for quite a while.
There are (as of 2014) only 142 viable oil/gas refineries in the U.S. In other words, these same refineries produce ALL of the gasoline that all of us use. Additionally, they can't turn many tricks.
I've seen you mention this twice. I will take your word for it, as you are so, "matter of fact" in your assertion. This is a new innovation for
me.
You lost me here..........I made a couple of very valid points. And as for the "knocking fallacy", you'd be wrong...all day long.
Yes, on some issues, but not in whole, on all....by any means
There have been various layers of this discussion I've been addressing, which we can group into the science behind fuels, the often wrong reliance on journalists' opinions, and the practical aspect of cost.
The science has definitively established that fuel detergents and other additives are beneficial to all engines. Ethanol has also been shown to effectively replace higher octane as an anti-knock agent, however it must be countered by additional advanced chemistry found only in "Top-Tier" brands and their premium fuels. Here are just a few actual scientific studies:
A background on gasoline additives:
http://papers.sae.org/902104/
Performance and emissions effects of ethanol additives:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196890402001668
Long-term study of premium fuels being beneficial:
http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.e...1/2&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages
Octane responses of engines:
http://papers.sae.org/2013-01-0883/
Piston deposits using lower-grade fuels:
http://papers.sae.org/2013-24-0101/
Combustion chamber deposits using lower-grade fuels:
http://jer.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/02/16/1468087411427661.abstract
Emissions reduction using premium fuels:
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11783-012-0438-3
Detailed study of ignition improvers such as ethanol and octane:
http://papers.sae.org/2014-01-1282/
Fuel use reduction through detergent additives:
http://www.scientific.net/AMR.608-609.1236
Premium additives needed to counteract ethanol:
http://hrcak.srce.hr/101331
I could go on...
Now, car journalists have too easily concluded, or just endlessly repeated, that premium is a myth. The better journalists go a step further and say that because we are essentially all now running E10 (10% ethanol-enriched fuels) whether regular or premium, then we don't need to spend the money on premium, because the higher octane makes no difference. The finer points have been entirely lost in our dumbed-down media and culture, which just concludes something is a "myth" or doesn't matter "because it costs more.". These specious arguments the journalists propagate contain a small kernel of truth, as far as knock is concerned, but mask any number of erroneous assumptions regarding all the other additives and benefits a premium fuel offers over a regular, particularly those from the Top Tier brands - benefits shown in scientific studies.
It is particularly odd for you to claim to be, say, an "audiophile" - willing to spend vasly more money on audio products despite them having no effect on actually hearing the audio signal over cheaper alternatives - just to use your own skepticism against you. To then say gasoline is all the same, that none of the felt and measured benefits are real, is irrational given the audio analogy. Also, to claim the Genesis Coupe is not a performance car is simply ludicrous. If you really believe that, why post on a discussion forum, or for that matter, why did you purchase a 2-door RWD sporty car over all the cheaper econoboxes available that get you from A to B? Did you just pick a random car to buy and then later discover it has sport features??
Moreover, it is faulty reasoning to cite journalistic sources as scientific "proof", then deny inherent claims made by those sources when it doesn't suit your skepticism, as you did above in response to my quotes from your links. As I've said, I think you just want to argue, which is fine because this is a discussion forum, but while your skepticism is very easy, perhaps even fun and cute for you, dbx, you forget it also applies to your audio products, on which you claim to be an expert. Perhaps you can show proof that a $10,000+ audiophile setup allows you to hear an audio signal, such as music, any more readily than a $20 boombox? That is the equivalent argument you are making.
Lastly, there's the practical aspect, which is also irrational. Sure, premium gas can cost a good bit more at the pump, and so many arguments against using premium add up to nothing more than "don't waste your money," or "your car's not high-end, so regular is fine." The typical cost spread of regular to premium is some 30 cents per gallon, which can be about a 10% higher cost at today's prices, give or take. Imagine all the things you spend a 10% premium on and how you would defend that economic choice.
Indeed, I have personally seen far more than 10% swings in better mileage alone from using premium fuels, up to 30% in fact, not to mention the other benefits. Thus, if my car gets even slightly better mileage on premium, it more than makes up for the increased cost at the pump, and this is particularly true over time, not just by doing a quick one-time comparison. This increase in mileage or performance may not come from the inherent energy value of the fuel, but from re-tuned engine due to contemporary ECU technology and the "synergy" of having the advanced detergents, ethanol and anti-ethanol chemistry, higher octane, as well as other additives typically only available in the premium grade (just as a better audio signal comes from the synergy of everything in the audio chain, as well as the more attuned ear that quality trains in the listener).
Thus, to counter the oft-repeated "it only costs more, therefore it's a myth" mantra, consider that a cleaner engine running slightly cooler will in fact get better mileage and yield better performance, which itself is easily noticeable but also proven, but that engine will also pollute less and last longer with fewer repairs, also proven - well worth a mere 10% more a gallon as opposed to burning more junk fuel, decreased performance, higher repair and other environmental costs. To argue otherwise is to be forced to analogously argue that a high-end audio system is no better than the cheapest no-name boombox.