RON97 and RON95 Myths and Facts

RON97 and RON95 Facts

Over the past few years, we have heard plenty about the differences between RON97 and RON95 fuels that were introduced in Malaysia and other countries for some reasons. There have been a number of debates on benefits and drawbacks of each type of fuel, especially in regards to fuel efficiency and the amount of distance that would be obtained through the use of these fuels.

Myth #1:
Some reports that claim that RON95 fuel is better for short distance traveling while RON97 fuel is a better choice for longer distance traveling.

Myths #2:
While other claims that RON97 fuel offers better performance compared to RON95 fuel.

But how such legitimate are claims? Is RON97 fuel really more efficient for long distance journeys or is just another assumption made by people?

Let’s find out what the difference between these fuels before we draw any conclusion.

Pumping RON95 Petrol at Petron Station
Pumping RON95 Petrol at Petron Station

Fact:
RON, or Research Octane Number, is a number that is awarded to different grades of fuel with regards to its capability to resist auto-ignition aka. knocking. Thus with higher grade RON fuels in your ride, your engine would find it more difficult to auto-ignite as resistance is higher.

Higher compression ratio engine (supercar or luxury car engine) would naturally require fuel with elevated RON figures as they deal with higher temperatures and compression, and thus are more prone to knocking issues. Putting lower grade of fuel (lesser than RON97) into the high compression ratio engine car will cause the car to burn the fuel less efficient, thus the car will under power and damaging the engine as well.

To make this simple, drivers are recommended to use fuel with higher RON numbers, such RON97 or RON98 if the drivers are driving a high compression ratio engine car such as Type-R Honda Civic 2.0. If the driver is driving a car with lower compression ratio engine car such as Toyota Vios like me, then putting RON95 fuel would be sufficient.

Toyota Vios VVT-i Engine Cover
Higher compression ratio engine would naturally require fuel with elevated RON figures as they deal with higher temperatures

In another way, by putting RON97 fuel into the car does not give the driver more mileages than RON95 fuel if the car does not require RON 97 fuel.

Peugeot 208 GTi aluminium Gear Knob with 6 Speed Close Ratio Manual Gearbox
Technically, putting RON97 fuel into your car does not give you more mileages than RON95 fuel if your car does not require RON 97 fuel

The fact that RON95 fuel is sold at cheaper prices does not mean that RON95 fuel is of lesser quality, instead, it is a type of fuel that caters for specific engine requirements, just like how the RON97 caters for higher performance car’s engine.

If the car does not require RON97 fuel, it is best that the driver sticks back to RON95 fuel as there are no proven statistics that prove that RON97 fuel performs better than RON95 fuel for a vehicle that carries on the same engine.

Petron Malaysia RON95
Petron Malaysia RON95

The amount of distance that you travel would definitely depend on the habit of the drivers rather than the type of fuel put into the petrol tank. In other words, the more passive the driver is, the higher the chances are of obtaining greater distances with the vehicle.

My Toyota Vios gave me great fuel efficiency even though I just filled up RON95 all these years into my car’s petrol tank.

See my RON95 fuel consumption efficiency stats at below:

FuelLog for Vios
FuelLog Record for my Toyota Vios Fuel Consumption Tracking
Toyota Vios GT Street at Karpal Singh Drive
Toyota Vios GT Street at Karpal Singh Drive

Every driver has the chance to achieve good mileages with their vehicles if they driving it in the right way and habits.

So, is your car really perform better with RON97 fuel compared to RON95 fuel? Tell us at the bottom in the comment box!

And don’t forget to give us a ‘Like’ at bottom and share this article with your friends 🙂

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25 thoughts on “RON97 and RON95 Myths and Facts

  1. Cheq says:

    Hi there,

    Not because I can afford, but I happened to own a Bimmer 316i for over a year now.

    The initial advise from the Salesman was ‘OK’ to use Ron95 but after seeing this, would my car actually require Ron97?

  2. Richard says:

    Hi I have a mercedes C180. It a w202 with 155k on the clock. I get misfires and very sluish at low revs. I tried RON 97 and it seems to help but the problem is still there but livable. I have to keep the revs up to stop misfiring. Any idea on route cause?

    • Kelvin says:

      Hi Richard,
      thanks for dropped by. There would be a couple of possible root cause for the misfires issue.
      I would suggest having your O2 sensor cleaned, or you may reset your ECU to get back the right timing of the firing.

      You may wanna check your radiator is it working fine as well. Overheat engine caused misfires as well..

      Please let me know once your had resolved your problem. I am interested to learn how you solve it too!

  3. regcan80 says:

    Hello there, how high the compression ratio shall use RON 97?
    I am driving a car’s engine with compression ratio 14:1. And it running at low speed (60km/h)and with using 5th or 6th gear (with original swift gear), while i apply light accelerate, there is abnormal sound come out from desk board or may be engine…(something like valve sound).. could u pls advise???

    Also, could u pls advise the range of ratio for filling RON 95 or RON 97. (ignore fuel price).
    Thank you.

    • Kelvin Ang says:

      Hey Regcan80,
      sorry for the late respond.
      Wow, what car are you driving? your car engine seem have high compression ratio engine, 14:1!
      Most of the vehicles that using RON95 would have only engine with compression ratio around 10:1.
      It would be advisable to use RON97 for your car.

  4. SMo says:

    I don’t think the higher displacement of the engine will need the higher octane. It is the higher compression ratio of the cylinder.

    • Kelvin Ang says:

      Hi SMo,
      you are right, precisely. Higher compression ratio of cylinder, or engine required higher octane fuel to have effective and efficient combustion.
      I hope to see you around again 🙂

  5. ezuddin says:

    How I hope for the myth to be true. That being said, the fuel consumption for both fuels dispense the same out-turn to my car, an Almera. My standpoint is that, it depends on the maintenance plus how we drive our vehicles.

  6. Kelvin Ang says:

    Hi Mr Chong,
    thanks for drop by. I've being using Petron most of the time and occasionally switch to Caltex, and both fuels (RON 95) seem give me the same performance and mileages on my car…

  7. Chong Kong Hui says:

    Hi Kelvin Ang, I use Petron most of the time but I wonder how true is the Cleaning Agent in Caltex. Just marketing slogan or it really improve the car performance?

    • Kelvin Ang says:

      Hello Ely,
      thanks for drop by 🙂
      I am using RON95 all the time since I bought my Toyota Vios. I use Petron brand most of the time and occasionally I change to Caltex to take advantage of the cleaning agent.

      Let me know if you want to know more 🙂

  8. my blog says:

    It’s in point of fact a nice and useful piece of information. I am glad that you shared this helpful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.

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