i have been using 94 since i started driving with my 87 s15 with an lt1 in it. simple because it would not run properly on anything else. 91 timing knock, 89 sputtered, 87 barely ran at all.
i had a whole bunch of shit kickers and i just used 87. it’s cheapest and easiest for a car i don’t care about
my 88 s-10 always 89. seemed to work the best. once in a while throw in some v-power or 94
I use 91 in my Skyline unless I plan a trackday in which case 94. I don’t know much about fuels but I know my car does not need 94 octane regularly so why waste money…it’s like putting 91-94 octane in your stock ka.
to simply and quickly put it. the higher the octane the cleaner it burns. if your car calls for premium. you do not NEED to use it but should. if you don’t ecm just retards timing. if you do it advances it.
if your car calls for regular you do not NEED to use any higher. yet there are always pro’s and con’s
i get better mileage, more power, less pollutants. for an extra 10 cents a litre if that. i’m not into saving 3 bucks or less on a fill up. why not just spend it and get the best. can;t hurt.
but at the same time for a regular (87) car/truck/what have you. putting a higher octane fuel will not make the ecm advance the timing any further than it’s stock presets. the only real power gain is from the fact that it burns cleaner.
Word. I knew the little shit like that but IMO most stock cars have no real need to run anything higher than 87 octane. It’s not about skimping the cash because if you wanna drive you will pay for gas either way. I just know I laughed a bit when I saw stock 240’s pumping 94 and then checking the Ferrari owners realize they are pumping the same thing.
I was even researching using 89 in my skyline for winter since I won’t be hitting boost but the compression apparently would really make that tricky.
very true. 80% of stock cars do not need anything higher then 87. i think now however with the newer vehicles they are calling for a higher octane??? anyone know about that?
i’ve seen the same thing and been a part of it. any “enthusiast” see’s me pumpin 94 or 91. i always get a comment. or asked whats under the hood. i just reply stock and continue on. my car does call for premium. screw it…extra 3 points octane more. w/e. my attitude is i always get what is best for my p&j’s.
in my experience i have found that once you find a fuel octane/station that works best in ones car. to not change it. of course un less you change something major or you notice the fuel is not the same no more.
*Zips up flame suit. <----thought i’d join in???
!any old german cars. they call for regular. yet regular in germany is or was 89. wonder why your vw runs like shit? use 89!
I haven’t heard anything on higher octane, but i do know newer vehicles are suggested to use better quality gas. Since we’re on the topic of gasoline, i’ll post up the Service bulletin i got from work about “Top Tier Gasoline”
ZOOM IN or lower you monitor res.
Ignore the company and vehicles involved. This applies to all cars.
i run 89 in my 240, it said premium or something like that on the fuel tank so whoopie do… i ran 87 in it too, car felt a lil different but its probably my imagination. Ran 91 too, same thing but meh… i chose the middle way
not necessarily. some really do require it, if you put 87 in it can cause the engine to knock, which is why the ECU pulls timing as you say… it’s trying to save the engine. knocking is quite bad for it and can eventually lead to the engine letting go.
i found my KA 240s (all DOHC) got better gas mileage with 91 vs 87. better enough to outweight the extra cost of 91. most people will disagree with me, but the trip meter doesn’t lie.
[quote=simplemind7;352431]not necessarily. some really do require it, if you put 87 in it can cause the engine to knock, which is why the ECU pulls timing as you say… it’s trying to save the engine. knocking is quite bad for it and can eventually lead to the engine letting go. [quote]
thats what i was saying or trying to explain. thats what i said happened to my LT1
point being…you can run 87 safely in a 240 that calls for premium. same for some other cars. all i was saying.
so far everyone is across the board. hmm. personal preference i guess?
i got alot more mileage out of 94. so i use that, i barley put 91, but i also do put 91, plus sunoco points card is gangster, i got 30 bucks free gas just chillin on the card.
i’ve heard that if your running a turbo you should alwasy use at least 91? not sure if thats true or not but anyway
I run 89 in my small block Dodge Ram
Octane ratings have very little if anything to do with how clean the fuel burns. The biggest differance is the ability to prevent detonation (or knock). Run what your car recommends for best milage and performance.
As far as BRANDS go I prefer sunoco as they have 94 which some of my cars use and they also have been known to have the highest quality readily availible petrol.
I can vouch for the fuel mileage thing, as thats been my experiment this whole summer. I ran 91 octane from shell this whole summer and my engine started running a lot smoother and it gives me way better gas mileage then 87 and 89. 94 is even better, but $$$ wise it doesn’t pay off with 94, so i stick to my 91.
