Is premium gas (91) better for your car than the lower end type of gas (87) ?

Question

Is it a waste of money to use the higher end gas ? Or does it actually help the car ?

Also does anyone know why various gases have different names, 91, 87, etc ?

Answer 1

the numbers refer to the octane rating.

Answer 2

yes it helps clean the inside engine

Answer 3

If your car is not made to run on premium you'll actually gunk up the engine because premium is harder to combust believe it or not.

Answer 4

See the link...

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/0410...

Answer 5

It is only good for your vehicle if it is called for 91 octane, otherwise you are just wasting your money using anything but what your car calls for.