Petrol RON and your car's engine

Over the weekend, the new Minister of Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs gave an overview of a new approach for the petroleum business which will see a change in the grades of petrol (referred to as RON, or Research Octane Number).

If the proposal is implemented, the present grades of RON92 (also referred to as 'Regular') and RON97 (Super), which have been at the pumps for decades, will be replaced by RON95 and RON99. It is likely that the increase in RON will justify an increase in the price per litre, unavoidable since oil prices are very high now and the government subsidies have become a heavier burden.

According to the minister, RON92 has been used 'mainly by motorcycles' but he is probably misinformed by his technical advisers. RON92 is also suitable for many modern engines and even the latest Honda models such as the Civic and CR-V sold in Malaysia are tuned to use RON91 so RON92 is not a problem (in fact, some Honda models sold in Indonesia are even tuned for RON88). All Perodua models are tuned to run on RON90 and that is a very large number of cars on the road. Those who can use RON92 can save a few sen per litre which, over the long term, still represents a saving in motoring costs (enough for one roti canai breakfast a week!)

Many motorists have not purchased cheaper RON92 even though their car engine may be able to use it either through ignorance, lack of understanding and even being discouraged by pump attendants who often call this grade of fuel 'Lama' (old). However, there are also valid reasons why some motorists have avoided RON92 even though it can be used for their car. This concerns the additives in RON92 petrol which vary from company to company. The additives are a vital part of the formulation and help to keep the inside of the engine (especially the fuel delivery system) clean so it runs efficiently. It is these additives, upgraded from time to time, which are often the subject of advertising claims of 'cleaner running', 'better fuel economy', etc.

The thing is that because it was perceived in earlier years that RON92 was used by 'low-tech' engine like marine engines, lawnmowers and motorcycles, the petroleum companies felt that it was unnecessary to spend extra money on additives and according to a source in one company, there is almost no additive in that company's RON92 petrol.

Companies like Chevron Malaysia do, however, provide an identical additive package (which the company calls 'Techron') for both grades of their Caltex fuel. As such, the superior benefits which are advertised are not limited only to the RON97 grade. The other company known to also adopt the same approach was ProJet, which is no longer in business here.

Statistically, it may be that the limited number of pumps offering RON92 has led decision-makers to conclude that this grade is 'not in great demand' when in fact, carmakers have been heading in the direction of lower RON for many years now.

The proposed new grade of RON95 is, nevertheless, a good compromise and should be fine for the majority of cars on Malaysian roads. This grade has been a popular one with Japanese manufacturers, possibly because in Japan, their Regular grade has been RON95 for a long time.

The other part of the proposal is to introduce a higher grade of RON99 in place of RON97, which does not make much sense. It will cost more to produce for one thing and less than 1% of all vehicles here would require such a high octane. Even high-performance engines like the Volkswagen/Audi/Skoda FSI engine, the 1.6-litre engine of the Suzuki Swift Sport and the 1.8-litre engine of the old Ford TX3 need only RON98 at most to run at optimum.

However, the interesting thing is that the government will provide a smaller subsidy for RON99 petrol because it is assumed that those who own cars which require such fuel can afford to pay more for their fuel. A larger proportion of the billions of RM in subsidies will be allocated for RON95 to keep its price down since a larger proportion of the rakyat will use it.

"The goal is to have subsidies targeted and more focused at those who need it, such as the lower income and middle income groups, and giving a choice to the rich on what petrol they want to fill in their tank," said Datuk Shahrir Samad, the minister.

High-performance models like the Civic Type-R, Swift Sport and Lancer Evo need high octane fuel (RON98) but such cars are sold in very small numbers in Malaysia

There are often misconceptions with regard to the technical aspects of high and low octane fuel so here's what it is all about. Firstly, if your car's engine is tuned and recommended by the manufacturer for a minimum of RON92, then you are not going to get increased performance using RON97 or RON99. Just because the octane is higher does not give you more 'power' because it does not work like that in combustion.

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I hope that the new proposal will not be implemented, as I am looking forward to buy a new Suzuki Swift Sport, and this vehicle is best run on RON98. It will be unfair to called this car as rich man's car and ask the owner to pay more for the petrol because it only cost RM 95k, unlike Honda Civic Type R and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo which cost RM 200k above.