Fuel Grade - what do you use?

[lesnar]

Which fuel grade do you guys use (regardless of what the Car Owner Manual says).

If the reasons for using a specific grade is not listed in the poll please specify.

Please also note the car that your driving.

[B0000rt]

"i FEEL that car performs better" translates into "I get the placebo effect"

[gordholio]

When I had my first car (back in 1988) I'd get the Sunoco Gold about half the time (it was the highest octane at the time - 93 or 94 I think).
I don't have a car now, but I think I'd just get the regular if I did (way cheaper).
Looking back, I think I was wasting my money as my car had a 68 hp engine (1988 Dodge Colt). It was a small output engine, but it had good pep, no matter what fuel I put in it. Weighed only 1,850 lbs!
The difference between regular and premium was a lot less than it is now.

[Slippery_Pete]

There's no reason to use premium unless your car requires it. That being said, I once filled up with premium at a Shell station that ran out of regular (it was the same price as regular and the mid-grade wasn't available because its a mix of regular and premium)....and I swear I got better mileage. But most likely it was the placebo effect.

[actng]

Why is there no option for octane 94?

[MP3_SKY]

91, recommended because of my advanced ECU

[bembol]

Not only I FEEL my ride ('02 Acura RSX) run smoother...I do get better milage, about 30kk+ compared to Regular. Also, I figure I'm spending $40 for Castrol German Syntec 0W-30...

I use Esso Supreme because of Points for Touchless Car Wash during Winter.

[AzN_RiverdaleCI]

87 Regular ftw.

[lesnar]

There's no reason to use premium unless your car requires it. That being said, I once filled up with premium at a Shell station that ran out of regular (it was the same price as regular and the mid-grade wasn't available because its a mix of regular and premium)....and I swear I got better mileage. But most likely it was the placebo effect.

ya, i heard if you use the higher grade it will give you better gas mileage (been tested by a few buddy of mine who filled up their tank and drove until the Empty light is on - they have tried it a numerous time).

So is it actually worth it in the long run - advantages: better gas mileage, possibly better for your car...??? what do you guys think.

Has anyone heard about Disadvantages of using better gas grade besides the cost..??????

[afzan]

i get 94 instead of the 91 my car requires.. i get an extra 50km+ per tank out of 94

[Spray]

need a 94 option...that's all my car is programmed for.

[plucky duck]

I beleive my 5th gen Prelude requires 92 Premium, but I find I've been getting decent mileage on Shell 91. Haven't really monitored mileage on Husky 94 before.

[EH100501AC]

Ha! First vote for 89.

You almost missed 94 Octane but yeah.

[Samir]

Where aside from Petro-Canada can you buy 94?

Just curious, I've never seen it anywhere else.

87 for me, btw.

[Evil Techie]

chevron's 92 for my car cause it needs it
otherwise shell's 91

[nsx]

91 @Petro-Canada for my B16A2. ;)

[mau108]

91 @ Petro or 94 @ Sunoco cuz my whip needs it :(

Petro gives me the best MPG between it, Sunoco and Shell.

[lesnar]

91 @ Petro or 94 @ Sunoco cuz my whip needs it :(

Petro gives me the best MPG between it, Sunoco and Shell.

did u find a significant difference? does it outweigh the cost?

[seftonm]

I use whatever CO-OP sells which is probably around 43 cetane and augment it with a dash of diesel fuel conditioner.

[lesnar]

I use whatever CO-OP sells which is probably around 43 cetane and augment it with a dash of diesel fuel conditioner.

what's Co-op?? is it a gas station? never seen one.

[CodecX81]

When I was conditioning my car, I used high grade.. (for the first 2000 km) after that, i switched to regular..

It also coincided with the astronomical gas prices... this last winter.

My Rio5 is perfectly fine...its a 2006 so we won't see any decrease in performance for awhile still.

However, that is an economy car. You should definitely use higher octane fuel if you have a sports car.
It might've made a difference 20+ years ago, but theres a lot more technology in the cars now.. they aren't just moving parts anymore. They have intelligence to understand how to handle their fuel consumption.

[seftonm]

what's Co-op?? is it a gas station? never seen one.
Mostly a western Canadian cooperative. Regional co-ops are mostly independent of each other yet they share things such as logos and most fuel comes from the same single refinery. People can buy memberships which receives a credit every time a purchase is made. Once a year, members receive a check for a percentage of what they accumulated over the year. Payout rates seem to be better than other rewards schemes like Superbucks or CT money. I'm also told they have some of the better diesel in Manitoba.

Some co-ops are grocery stores and don't sell fuel. Co-operatives of this sort seem to be more popular in agricultural regions like MB, SK, and AB.
http://www.rrcoop.com/upload/location/Web%20Site.jpg

[scouzer]

My car recommends 91, but doesn't require it.

However...I get about 10% better mileage using the recommended 91, so there's no point to 87 in the summer.

I use 87 in the winter because the reduced power and long idling times make it more worthwhile.

[and or]

Has anyone heard about Disadvantages of using better gas grade besides the cost..??????

I used to occasionally buy premium gas as a "treat" for my car, but then I read an article that said using higher grades than your manufacturer recommends can decrease your engine life, so I just buy the recommended grade now.

[maniacshopper]

there's a saying that even when your car specifies only 87 octane, every little while you can fill it up with 94 octane, just to flush or clean the FI system.

I don't believe that. Spending as much as 0.10 per L more on a 45L or more tank is nuts. As for cost, just pick up a bottle of fuel inj cleaners from CT, dump it into the tank, fill gas full tank. Your set.

[new_vr]

I use whatever CO-OP sells which is probably around 43 cetane and augment it with a dash of diesel fuel conditioner.

There is a Farm Supply around here that used to be a co-op...not sure if it's just rebranding or what. They sell diesel 2000, which is Sunoco Gold (or so I have heard)
Anyways, I use Sunoco Gold Diesel

[dassub]

Audi calls for 91, I just use Ultra 94 from Sunoco. I get a little better mileage and power with it, and the price difference is only 2 to 3 cents.

[Sylvestre]

there used to be no difference between the grades but nowerdays, with the addition of ethanol (which reduces mileage), higher grades can potentially give better mileage.

[lesnar]

there's a saying that even when your car specifies only 87 octane, every little while you can fill it up with 94 octane, just to flush or clean the FI system.

I don't believe that. Spending as much as 0.10 per L more on a 45L or more tank is nuts. As for cost, just pick up a bottle of fuel inj cleaners from CT, dump it into the tank, fill gas full tank. Your set.

my car manual specifically says in bold "Do not use any fuel injection cleaners", so i guess it can potentially damage the car??

[BartBandy]

I used to occasionally buy premium gas as a "treat" for my car, but then I read an article that said using higher grades than your manufacturer recommends can decrease your engine life, so I just buy the recommended grade now.

Higher octane than you need does nothing for your engine, but it doesn't hurt it, either.

[Spray]

Some cars will knock a bit with higher octane...the RSX comes to mind. Damn thing ran like a tractor when my stepmom put 94 in it.

My saab V6 was built for 87, didn't run as well over 89.

94 Octane is all I can put in my Subaru now that it has Cobb stage 2 tuned for it. I can adjust it for 91 octane on the fly though. Thank god when I move on wednesday, theres a Sunoco literally a block from me :D No more driving 10 min to leaside for the closest sunoco.

Higher octane than you need does nothing for your engine, but it doesn't hurt it, either.

[BartBandy]

Octane is a measure of resistance to pre-detonation under pressure. A high octane fuel prevents these premature detonations before TDC and therefore engine knock. A number of people I've talked to on the subject agree that a high-octane fuel will not cause knock compared to a lower octane fuel, all other things being equal.

[Fx45]

From my very limited understanding (i.e. someone explained it to me), there is absolutely no point in using a higher octane than your car's recommended value.

It's something to do with when the optimal point that fuel ignites in your cylinders - the optimal point for lower octane gas (87) is earlier than a higher octane gas (91 or 94). Now if your car is designed for 87 octane, even if you put in 91 or 94, the car will ignite at the 87 point anyway, so you're not really taking advantage of the extra octane. On the other end, if your car is designed for 91 or 94, putting in 87 gas will mean it won't be operating at it's optimal performance.

That's how I understand it - so use the octane level of your car's recommendations is best.

Here is something I found on the internet that may explain it more scientific than I can:

http://www.automedia.com/High/Octane/Fuel/ccr20050501ok/1

[B0000rt]

Octane aside, it's quite common that Higher Octane fuels at Canadian gas stations contain more of the other additives to aid in cleaning deposits and such in the engine.

[KelticSlob]

94

[chriswalsh]

87 but I am planning to start running 91 again this summer.

Car recommends 91 but will retard timing if 87 is used (leading to reduction in power which I can't feel)

[lesnar]

Is it a good idea to use the SuperClean (91 - Tactrol added) at Petro once in a while even if my car doesn't needed but to clean the system

[malaco0219]

87 most of the time, sometimes 91 just to clean out the engine. I still have yet to determine if 91 actually does help get better milleage, but for sure my engine seems to sound safer and smoother when I fill up with 91.

[HighFlyer]

owner's manual says 87, so that's all it's getting. there have been a few occasions in which stations were selling 91 for the price of 87 because it ran out. in those instances, I haven't noticed any difference, performance or mpg wise.

[lesnar]

In my Ownership Manual it says "Recommended Fuel: 87 Or higher"

but it doesn't state whether higher grade will benefit the car.

[sunnybono]

Not only I FEEL my ride ('02 Acura RSX) run smoother...I do get better milage, about 30kk+ compared to Regular. Also, I figure I'm spending $40 for Castrol German Syntec 0W-30...

I use Esso Supreme because of Points for Touchless Car Wash during Winter.
If I'm not mistaken all Honda's require 91 Octane gasoline. However as one Honda Tech told me that you should still be able to get away with 87 as the computer will adjust the timing automatically and thus not damage the engine!!!!

sk

[KnifeEdge]

Some cars will knock a bit with higher octane...the RSX comes to mind. Damn thing ran like a tractor when my stepmom put 94 in it.

My saab V6 was built for 87, didn't run as well over 89.

94 Octane is all I can put in my Subaru now that it has Cobb stage 2 tuned for it. I can adjust it for 91 octane on the fly though. Thank god when I move on wednesday, theres a Sunoco literally a block from me :D No more driving 10 min to leaside for the closest sunoco.

that's impossible the higher the octane the more it can resist knocking

it's possible that the fuel was contaminated in some other manner or the engine just doesnt run properly with the higher octane fuel (which you may interpret as knock)

higher octane fuels usually have less ethanol content and more/different additives as well. A characteristic of higher octane fuels is they burn slower than lower octane fuels so in an extreme example the higher octane fuel would not finish combusting completely and start melting the catalytic converter or foul up the oxygen sensors

bottom line, use whatever is recommended by the manufacturer.

[afzan]

If I'm not mistaken all Honda's require 91 Octane gasoline. However as one Honda Tech told me that you should still be able to get away with 87 as the computer will adjust the timing automatically and thus not damage the engine!!!!

sk

uhhhhhh, no

[slim_shady]

Octane aside, it's quite common that Higher Octane fuels at Canadian gas stations contain more of the other additives to aid in cleaning deposits and such in the engine.

Rumour, no fact in that statement at all. (This is what the gas stations want you to believe)

[lumlum1013]

no 94 octane?!?!?
seriously, my car requires 93 octane and up....
i'm sure many other high end sports cars requires +93 octane

[hytong]

http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h59.pdf
however, performance and fuel economy will be affected

On the other hand, on an 87 engine, the inability to advance timing with 94 will cause partial combustion of air/fuel charge. For this reason, a good way to check the engine is to 1. reset the ECU, run exculsively on 94 under various loads then 2. check your emissions

[B0000rt]

no 94 octane?!?!?
seriously, my car requires 93 octane and up....
i'm sure many other high end sports cars requires +93 octane

With Direct Injection an engine manufacturer no longer requires you to run on higher octane fuel to achieve peak performance. For instance the new 3.6L VVT with DI from GM only requires regular unleaded and will put out 300hp. (Runs on 11:1 compression ratio)

[lesnar]

no 94 octane?!?!?
seriously, my car requires 93 octane and up....
i'm sure many other high end sports cars requires +93 octane

you driving the Mazda6 Speed??

[rob187jj]

i always get ultra 94 from sunoco, only place im willing to put gas, my car needs 91 fuel but i noticed a difference between 91 and 94 and ive stuck with 94 since

[lumlum1013]

With Direct Injection an engine manufacturer no longer requires you to run on higher octane fuel to achieve peak performance. For instance the new 3.6L VVT with DI from GM only requires regular unleaded and will put out 300hp. (Runs on 11:1 compression ratio)

sorry, even in the owner's manual ane website, +93 octane is still
required for Mazdaspeed6 ONLY....for CX7 and Speed3, the ECU are tuned
so that it can take 91 Octane....but not the Speed6. many guys
in California can't get full performance from their speed6 becuz
there are little to none local Gas station that carries 93 octane. And many
car magazine has stated that all their 1/4 mile, 0-60 were using 91 octane...
and feels it can perform better if they have 93 octane

and trust me, i've once put in 91 octane shell, and i've experienced huge
turbo lag, and slower throttle response...

you driving the Mazda6 Speed??

yeah, Mazdaspeed 6

[Spray]

Mazdaspeed 6 requires 100 octane to achieve the rated horsepower....and ice on the TMIC.

Least that was 6 months ago, I wonder if they've done anything about it since then.

[DSTU]

Great reading.

All the misconception people have about octane.

[TenzoR]

Great reading.

All the misconception people have about octane.

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=392643&page=1

yes we all remember the last great debate regarding fuel grade ;)

[Spray]

I wonder how the summer is gonna treat you Lum. I seriously looked at the MSP6 before I bought my Spec B..I really wanted to love it, but the subaru edged out barely for me. The heatsoak/power issues were definately a concern for me.

It's a much sexier car though :P

[B0000rt]

sorry, even in the owner's manual ane website, +93 octane is still
required for Mazdaspeed6 ONLY....for CX7 and Speed3, the ECU are tuned
so that it can take 91 Octane....but not the Speed6. many guys
in California can't get full performance from their speed6 becuz
there are little to none local Gas station that carries 93 octane. And many
car magazine has stated that all their 1/4 mile, 0-60 were using 91 octane...
and feels it can perform better if they have 93 octane

and trust me, i've once put in 91 octane shell, and i've experienced huge
turbo lag, and slower throttle response...
No doubt, forced induction will always require high octane, there's no getting around that, but my point was that the engineers can work around by not requiring high octane fuels with high compression engines by use of Direct Injection (as with my previous example, 11:1 compression on the upcoming GM 3.6L DI that runs on Regular unleaded)

[lumlum1013]

Mazdaspeed 6 requires 100 octane to achieve the rated horsepower....and ice on the TMIC.

Least that was 6 months ago, I wonder if they've done anything about it since then.

Probably not~
but Mazda had some under-rated info, as many claimed...
for example:
0-60mph Mazda says 6.6sec,
but many have had 5.5sec-6 sec flat....DSC/TSC off of coz~

[Spray]

Yeah driving the mazdaspeed6 back to back with the Legacy twice, I'd have to say it feels a lot closer than mid 6's. I'd say close to 5.8ish while the legacy is a 5.4 stock.

[mafiastyles]

Shell 91 octane


because it contains no ethanol 0%


Pure gas only !!!

[silverspy]

I used regular for my old car before it went dead...

[PurpleTiger]

Shell 91 octane
because it contains no ethanol 0%
Pure gas only !!!
++

Not to mention TOP-Tier gas FTW! Even Shell 87 octane now has the proper cleaning agents...although they add sh*tty ethanol to the lower grades.

[lesnar]

are there any bad affects of using 91 on a car that requires 87 (regular)???

Because I plan on traveling to the states, and i believe some states only offer 91 as their lowest grade...

i kno my car won't be needing it but what if i come to places where the lowest is 87+, is it bad for the car???

[rv2843]

Regular gas may contain upto 10% Ethenol which has less energy. In other words, if you use premium, you get better mileleage, however, it doesn't make up for 11c difference per litter.