HACKER Q&A
📣 bikamonki

Do Fuel Tabs Work?


With soaring gasoline prices I see a lot of people recommending switching to lower octane gas and add fuel tabs to compensate. But I found this online: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2013/11/marketers-who-claimed-fuel-additive-could-drastically-increase-fuel-economy-reduce-emissions-settle

Is this only this one brand or all are brands are scamming?


  👤 PaulHoule Accepted Answer ✓
These are all scams. Every time since the 1970s when the price of gas has gone up scams like this have been a problem.

Most cars run fine on low-octane gas. You only need high octane gas if your car has a high compression ratio (especially a turbo or supercharger.)

My understanding is that high-octane fuel is a little less energy dense than low-octane fuel and gives slightly worse fuel economy.