Published 2026-10-15 · 5 min read · China fuel
The grade is knock resistance, not purity. How to choose the right one, whether mixing is safe, and why premium rarely pays.
The most widespread misunderstanding is that the grade reflects quality or cleanliness. The numbers 92, 95 and 98 are research octane numbers, a measure of how well the fuel resists knocking. They say almost nothing about purity, detergency or energy content. 98 is not cleaner than 92 and does not contain more energy; it simply resists self-igniting under compression better.
In a petrol engine the piston compresses the mixture, the plug fires, and the flame front should travel outward from the plug in a controlled way. Compress it too far and part of the mixture ignites before the plug fires. That is knock: you hear a metallic rattle, and sustained knock damages pistons and valves. The higher the compression ratio, the more likely it becomes and the more octane the engine needs. The grade follows the engine, not the size of your wallet.
The reliable answer is in the handbook or printed inside the fuel flap. If it says 92 or higher, 92 is sufficient, and 95 or 98 will not add power or save fuel. If it says 95 or higher, 92 risks knock. Modern engines carry a knock sensor that retards ignition when it detects knock, protecting the hardware at the cost of output and economy. Running a lower grade will not destroy the engine immediately, but you will hand back the money you saved through higher consumption.
A turbocharged engine pushes far more pressure into the cylinder than a naturally aspirated one of the same displacement, so the knock margin is much tighter and most turbo models specify 95 as the floor. High-output performance cars, and high-compression designs such as the Mazda SkyActiv units, sometimes specify 98 outright. That is an engineering requirement, not pretension.
Mixing 92 with 95 on occasion is not a problem. Octane blends roughly in proportion to volume, so you get something in between. What to avoid is feeding 92 long-term to an engine that specifies 95. The other direction is safer: a car that normally takes 98 will cope with a tank of 95 as long as you stay above the handbook minimum. The claim that a higher grade cleans out carbon deposits has no basis; deposits depend far more on oil quality, driving conditions and short trips.
Do not downgrade to save money, and do not upgrade out of affection for your car. Fuelling to the handbook minimum is the best value, and spending what you save on timely oil changes does more for the engine than any premium grade. The provincial tables on this site list 92, 95 and 98 side by side, so you can work out exactly what each step costs per litre where you live before deciding to move up.
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