Know your RON

While RON, or Research Octane Number, has been around for a long time, especially in the form of RON92 and RON97, most motorists don�t pay much attention to it.

For the uninitiated, octane numbers refers to the ability of the fuel to resist self-igniting in the combustion chamber before the spark plug fires. If that happens, the engine will experience �knocking� and become rough; this could possibly damage the engine over time.

Petrol that has a higher RON rating (or number) will have a stronger resistance to causing knocking compared with petrol with a lower RON rating.

But do all engines need to use the fuel with the highest RON rating? The answer is a simple no.

According to Chevron product engineering manager (Asia-Pacific) Greg Engeler, all engines are designed to run on the minimum RON rating petrol recommended by their manufacturers.

�If your manufacturer specifies that the minimum requirement is RON95, using RON97 will not harm the engine. But you might end up paying more without getting any gain in performance.

�However, using fuel with a lower-than-recommended RON rating can cause engine damage,� he said at a media briefing on RON95 at the company�s Pulau Indah installation in Port Klang recently.

Come Sept 1, RON92, now priced at RM1.70 per litre, will be phased out and replaced by RON95, which will cost 5 sen more.

The other grade, RON97, will continue to be sold but its price will be increased by 20 sen per litre to RM2.

To know your car�s RON rating, just look up the owner�s manual or at the inside of the fuel lid of your car�s fuel tank.

Engeler said modern engines with knock sensors could run on fuel with a low RON rating, as the engines can adjust their spark timing automatically to eliminate the knocking.

�However, the car�s fuel consumption, driveability, and power may be affected,� he said.

Using the right RON rating fuel based on the engine�s design and tuning will maximise vehicle performance.

Engeler said about 84% of petrol sales in Europe is that of RON95 and 85% of sales in Japan are RON89 and RON90.

�Since the majority of cars in Malaysia are using engine technologies from Europe and Japan, the introduction of RON95 should not pose problems for local motorists,� he said.

Proton, whose cars easily form the bulk of the passenger cars on local roads, says that all its models, whether fitted with carburettor or the latest Campro CPS engines, can run on RON95.

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