Cleankill

Interesting article!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...080501595.html

"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.

What do you guys think?

NYCGLK

could be true, but potential long term cost outweighs the couple dollar savings per tank.

Surprised to see about higher mpg, usually it's the other way around.

glkbeige

Extremely interesting! I'm going to do some further research and find some other information.

glkbeige

Here's a couple of websites to peruse.

http://www.cartalk.com/content/featu...questions.html

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/g-cl...ular-fuel.html

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fuelec...3/article.html

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...emiumgas_x.htm

I have a small 2007 Mercedes and although Mercedes and everyone else wants you to think you need premium fuel, the real story is a bit different. Mercedes sells cars around the world. Not all gas is the same, and not all qualities of gas are available at all times. The engine computer system in the car is very smart, it can sense the octane of the fuel and adjust accordingly for best mileage and performance.

So if you use premium fuel, the computer knows and does offer better performance. If you use regular unleaded, the computer changes the engine settings accordingly, offering a bit less performance, but no damage to the engine or system. Found at http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...uide_does.html

MBRedux

This topic has been hashed over for years (even decades) now. It ALL depends on the kind of driving you do and the type of driver you are.... it also depends on your attitude about driving a well engineered Mercedes Benz car.

There is a very important reason why engineers use a high octane fuel... it provides a smoother cleaner combustion with no pre-detonation (pinging). (Pre-Detonation means the air/fuel mixture ignites in the cylinder before the spark-plug fires.) Now the engine management system (engine computer) will help eliminate some pre-detonation by retarding the engine ignition timing to the point where the low (regular) octane wishes to fire, making the spark fire sooner rather than at the opportune time with higher octane gasoline. This method robs the engine of its designed power and overall efficiency. Yes this does mean lower mileage but if you drive mainly around town, in city traffic, to and from the grocer, school etc… you will never notice the difference. Interstate driving (Autobahn style) is a whole new ball game… a game the German engineers took great care to incorporate into your Mercedes Benz. Here you will notice it... and I fully agree with the engineers that designed our engine, only premium fuel will suffice.



PS: Mr. Gregori is a nice guy but he's neither a mechanic nor an engineer... these guys don't know this stuff.... he's just a man with a nice smile who greets customers as they come in....