The Top Four Vehicle Questions We Have Answered

There are a few questions everyone wants to know about when it comes to cars, trucks and other vehicles. These are a few of the more common questions, along with the answers you’re looking for.

Is Premium Fuel Better?

The premium fuel you see at the gas station comes with a higher price and a higher octane count, but that’s no reason to think it’ll give you a better performance or efficiency. What high-octane fuel does is prevent knocking, which is the sound an engine makes when the fuel isn’t burning correctly. If you ignore it, you could damage the pistons and the valves, but you only have to worry about that if you have a sensitive, high-quality engine. Normal engines can run on regular gasoline forever, and the owner’s manual warns you if you need to use a higher grade of fuel.

What’s the Difference Between Horsepower and Torque?

Torque is a measurement of force. Imagine that you have a brick wall and you want to knock it down. Whether you use your shoulder, a sledgehammer, or a truck to push down the wall, you’ll need to apply the same number of pound-feet to do so.

Horsepower measures both force and speed. Technically, you don’t even see most of your car’s horsepower until you reach a high rpm, but the number does influence things like the car’s top speed and how fast it accelerates in general. In terms of that brick wall, horsepower measures how fast you were going when you knocked it over and how soon you can knock over another brick wall

Is All-Wheel Drive Better?

That depends on just what you want to get out of your vehicle. Between AWD, FWD, and RWD, AWD has the most traction because the car can send power to all four wheels instead of just one pair. However, unless you make a habit of driving on slippery roads or wandering off the pavement, you probably won’t need that extra traction. At the same time, AWD systems are much heavier because they need the mechanical parts it takes to connect all four wheels to the engine. Because of this, AWD cars get lower gas mileage even when they only power two wheels.

When Should I Trade In My Old Car?

This is a question you have to answer for yourself. The average length of car ownership in the United States was around six years in 2015, but that number is meaningless to an individual owner. Instead, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I like my car?
• Can my car do everything I need it to do?
• Is my car reliable, or do I have to pay for repairs and maintenance often?
• How much do I really want the features of a new car?
• Am I still paying off my last car loan, and would selling it make up the difference?
• How much can I budget for a new or used car?

If you can answer these questions, you’ll know whether you should trade in your current vehicle or stick with the old one for another year.

Image from Pixabay licensed via CC BY 2.0

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