The Difference Between RON92, RON95, RON97 & RON99

Many said that RON92 oil is the older oil, only suitable for older cars or for cars that uses carburetor only. There are also some that said that RON92 oil will make the engine dirty and also said that RON92 oil is less powerful compared to RON97 and RON99. Before you make any false assumptions, let us see what the real meaning of RON is.

RON stands for Research Octane Number. Octane number or octane rating refers to the gasoline ability to withstand auto ignition (knocking) inside the engine. Higher octane number refers to higher ability of the oil to fight auto ignition. In other words, it means that RON95 is harder to ignite compared to RON92.

Different vehicles are designed to be use with different octane number of oil. Higher octane number oil is basically designed for high performance vehicles such as sport vehicle and racing vehicle. Why is that so? This is to avoid premature ignition of oil inside the engine because of auto ignition, which happens before the spark plug ignite the fuel. This phenomenon is known as knocking. Knocking is not wanted because it reduces the performance of vehicle.

The right usage of octane number based on design and adjustment of engine will maximize the performance and effectiveness of the vehicle. Modern vehicles are equipped with knock sensor which enables it to adjust its combustion timing automatically according to the oil octane number to avoid knocking or premature ignition of oil.

Not all vehicles require high octane number petrol. You can check your vehicle fuel requirement inside the guide book of your vehicle or you can simply check the minimum Octane Rating at the back of the fuel lid cover of your vehicle. Most cars can still use RON92.

Higher RON number does not means that it is more powerful. It means that it is harder to ignite. It will also cost you more