Regular vs Premium

Monday, May 10th 2004, 5:30 pm

By: News On 6

Gas prices in Tulsa still range around a $1.87 regular, but some people pay more for premium and they may not need to. News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan shows us how to tell the difference.

Greg Heller know he's paying more than he could - but he says the higher price of mid- grade gasoline is worth it in the performance of his car. "That works real good in this car." He's stuck paying more because his BMW is designed for higher octane gasoline. With prices at the pump still rising - it makes sense to know which cars needs more expensive gasoline - and which ones do not - which is most of them.

The ownerâ€™s manual can clear it up - and most say regular is just fine. Billy Conatzer with Firestone: â€œMost of your domestics, your Ford, Chevrolet, they recommend regular." Firestone mechanics figure most of the problems blamed on fuel are actually due to a carbon buildup in the engine that happens with any gasoline. Clean it out - and 87 octane will work just fine. â€œJust because you're getting a ping don't go with a higher octane at the same station, go to a different one and see if that makes a difference in the same grade."

Greg Heller says he's not even going to try regular - he doesn't want to. â€œI haven't tried that yet and I'm not going to, I'm going to ride it out and pay the price.â€

Here is Tulsa - Quik Trip sells a lot of gasoline - and they call it "the premium myth" - the idea that premium is better when for most cars when it really is not.