1999 Dodge Dakota Fuel Type?

Tiny
PINK_STILETTO_21
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 DODGE DAKOTA
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 60,000 MILES
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?
Sunday, January 31st, 2010 AT 8:33 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
BLUELIGHTNIN6
  • MECHANIC
  • 16,542 POSTS
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.
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Sunday, January 31st, 2010 AT 8:38 PM

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