I have a 2002 Mercedes Benz CLK320 with a V6 engine, and I would like to know if it’s OK to use 87 octane gas to save some money. My owner’s manual says that the minimum fuel octane I have to use is supposed to be 91, but considering today’s gas prices I’d like to use the cheap gas if I can get away with it without damaging the motor. It makes sense to me if the manufacturer tuned the engine in the factory to get the best performance on 91 octane. But to my understanding, modern car engines come with knock sensors that automatically detect if there’s any engine knocking due to low octane fuel, and will automatically retard the timing to make it run smoothly so how can the cheap gas possibly cause any damage? I’m pretty sure there’s no difference in actual quality or purity between different octane fuels, so it’s not like it would gum up my engine. I have a feeling that engineers are too conservative on paper and that it would probably be OK, although I might just lose some power.

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