Since 1st September 2009, Malaysia have replaced the RON92 Unleaded with RON95 Unleaded. In the other hand, the RON97 Unleaded has been logically upgraded to be Premium Unleaded in Malaysia domestic market.

In fact, a lot of cars in Malaysia are compatible with RON95 Unleaded Fuel. High Octane Premium Unleaded is normally required for high compression ratio engine which is normally found on the performance models. Majority of engine have knock sensors which can automatically adjust the ignition timing once knocking is detected. But of course, the power output of the engine will be degraded once engine knocking is detected which normally due to lower grade unleaded fuel.

Cars from the official distributor that required Premium Unleaded are like Honda Civic Type R [Refer to: Is RON95 suitable for high compression engine or your car?] and Suzuki Swift Sport. For private imported cars are like Nissan GT-R, Nissan Silvia, Nissan Skyline GT-R, Toyota Wish 2.0 D4, Toyota Caldina, Subaru Impreza WRX STI and etc… Normally, the Japan imports cars required Premium Unleaded because those JDM cars are tuned based on their domestic fuel grade for optimum performance and efficiency. The premium grade for unleaded is RON100 in Japan.

However, the european cars like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, VW, Audi or even Alfa Romeo may not required RON97 fuels to operate at optimum level. Mainly, this is due to their country fuel grade availability for Premium Unleaded is just RON95 or RON98 and the consideration of the availability of premium unleaded fuel of other country that they are distributing to.

Anyway, our team have compiled a list of cars that is compatible with RON95 from official distributor, importer and data sheet that we able to obtain from the internet. For the car models that is not listed in our table, kindly contact the manufacturer of your car for more information or check your car booklet for the recommended fuel grade.

 Click here to view the RON Compatible List for the cars that official distributed in Malaysia

The BN Government in Malaysia has just announced the new prices of petrol in Malaysia effective 1st September 2009 and we are looking at RM1.80 per liter for RON95 now, which was what RON97 was previously priced at. This is up from RM1.75 per liter pre-September 2009. As for RON97, it has been hiked to RM2.05 per liter. 

From Honda official, all Honda cars from Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd are compatible with RON95. Yes, even the Civic Type R, with a catch of course. But the Civic Type R is a high performance, high-revving sedan, how can this be? Let’s take a look at what RON95 and RON97 actually are to have a better understanding of petrol octane.

RON stands for Research Octane Number, a rating used to measure a fuel’s knock resistance in spark-ignition internal combustion engines. What exactly is ‘knocking’ and why must a fuel resist it?

For the entire engine, the combustion chamber is the hottest part of the engine. Combustion explosions can happen a few hundreds or thousands times a second. If an engine is sometimes tuned too aggressively, the engine may ‘knock’. Knocking is what happens when arts or all of the air-fuel mixture prematurely ignites before the flame from the spark plug can reach it.

When this happens, it causes a decrease in performance. Also, the engine has no way of predicting or controlling how this rogue flame behaves so it might damage your engine. Basically knock resistance is a measurement of how likely it is your fuel can withstand self-ignition.

It is a in-correct to think that RON97 petrol are able to produce more power than RON92. In fact that a higher RON number actually means the fuel combusts less easily! If you engine does not require RON97 and can work on RON95, pumping RON97 will likely only result in a waste.

If you’ve been able to sense a difference between RON97 petrol and RON92 petrol in the past it could be because of a significantly different additive packages added to each type of petrol by the fuel company. Look for companies that claim the same additive package or mix added to each octane grade they sell for similiar performance between octane grades.

Now back to the FD2 Civic Type R. All Honda engines and other manufacturers engine build have a device called a “Knock Sensor” which can detect knocking and automatically adjust the engine’s spark timing to prevent engine knocking. The Type R’s engine was designed and tuned for RON100 fuel in Japan in order to get the maximum horsepower of 225ps but since it has a knock sensor it can work on RON97 fuel. It can run on RON95 too, however performance and fuel consumption will be affected, so it’s best to feed it with the highest octane fuel you can find. Therefore, we strongly recommends RON97 fuel for the Civic Type R and other car that having high compression engines.

Effective from 1st September 2009 (right after the Malaysia National Day), the newly introduced RON 95 fuel is now priced at RM1.80 from the previous price - RM1.75. Meanwhile, RON 97 is upgraded as a premium product and has gone up to RM2.05 from RM1.80.

Honda Malaysia has released this list of frequently asked questions by owners of both Honda’s and other marques. The introduction of RON 95 is just a couple days away so this list should help you understand your car and the new fuel better. Except for the Civic Type R, all other models are compatible with RON 95.

1. What exactly is RON?

RON stands for Research Octane Number, which measures the quality of fuel. It represents the fuel’s ability to resist premature & uncontrolled combustion that occurs when fuel pre-ignites before the ignition spark plug.

2. What is engine knocking?

Engine knocking is caused by self-ignition of the fuel or air mixture, which is a result of using RON levels that is lower than the minimum requirement.

3. What is the minimum RON requirement of my Honda Car?

For all Honda cars produced in year 2001 onwards, the minimum RON requirement is 91. Honda cars are equipped with ‘Knock Sensors’ that detect the octane quality of the fuel used, enabling it to automatically adjust spark timing to prevent engine knocking.

We advice drivers that bought their cars from non-authorised dealers to check their owner’s manual for minimum RON requirement.

4. Type-R RON Issue

It is recommended to use RON97 for Civic Type R because of its high performance engine, as it was tested in Japan with RON100 for optimum engine performance. Please note that this engine version with knock control can also run on fuel with a minimum octane number of 91; but performance and fuel consumption are affected as a result.

5. What is a Knock Sensor? Are all Honda cars equipped with Knock Sensors?

A knock sensor is a detector, which identifies engine knocking during spark ignition. When engine knocking occurs, the knock sensor signals the engine operation to slow down the ignition timing that will eliminate the knock, which may result in some power loss.

All Honda cars are equipped with Knock Sensor.

6. What fuel should I use & what RON works best for my car?

As long as the fuel used is not below the minimum RON requirement (RON91), it will be appropriate for all Honda Cars.

7. What is the effect to the engine if petrol of a different RON is mixed together?

As long as the fuel meets or exceeds the minimum RON required by the engine, mixing is fine & should not damage your engine. (except Civic Type R, recommended RON97). However, do note that different fuel brands come with different levels & types of additives, so mixing different fuels may not provide the optimum performance & efficiency for your vehicle.

8. Do I have to always pick the highest octane rating petrol for my vehicle?

Anything above the minimum RON requirement, which is RON91 for all Honda cars will be appropriate. (except Civic Type R, recommended RON97).

9. Will there be a reduction of fuel efficiency & performance with the use of RON95 from RON97?

The efficiency & performance will not be affected if the car uses above its minimum requirement RON which is RON91 for all Honda Cars. (except Civic Type R, recommended RON97). Loss of power & fuel efficiency will only occur when the minimum RON requirement is not met as the knock sensor signals the engine operations to retard its spark timing to eliminate engine knock.