1999 Dodge Dakota Fuel Type?

1999 DODGE DAKOTA
60,000 MILES • V8 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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PINK_STILETTO_21
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  • 1 POST
I have a 99' Dodge Dakota Sport, with the 318 Magum V-8 and have been using regular unleaded fuel. Just recently I was told that I will get better performance out of my engine if I use premium fuel. Is that true? Is it safe to use a higher quality fuel?
Jan 31, 2010 at 8:33 PM
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BLUELIGHTNIN6
  • CAR REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
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Most cars have knock sensors and adaptive spark timing, so they will run on most any fuel. What happens is the engine computer tries advancing the timing until it hears a little bit of engine knock, then it backs off a bit from that. If you put in low octane fuel, it will keep on backing off the timing until even that stuff does not knock. With higher octane fuel, it will be able to advance the spark a bit more than on regular. The difference in performance of using premium gas will be small to unnoticeable compared to regular.
Jan 31, 2010 at 8:38 PM
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