Ok so I have a car that says to use premium gas. Would running regular gas damage the motor over its life? I know performance will suffer but want to know if it can hurt the motor over time. Sorry if this has been asked before!
Gas question
- Thread starter Chris A
- Start date
LTC8K6
Lifer
- Mar 10, 2004
- 28,520
- 1,575
- 126
It means its probably a high compression engine and will knock or experience detonation if you use regular gas, which will cause accelerated wear on the engine and possible engine failure.
A friend of mine broke a rod on his GSR integra because he was stupid and put 87 octane in it and then raced some idiot at a stop light, that car rquires 91 octane as its a 10.5:1 compression engine, says 91 right on the gas door, my buddy was a idiot.
A friend of mine broke a rod on his GSR integra because he was stupid and put 87 octane in it and then raced some idiot at a stop light, that car rquires 91 octane as its a 10.5:1 compression engine, says 91 right on the gas door, my buddy was a idiot.
SLK 320 says premium only. 10 to 1 compression. Just wondering if it will hurt. Problem is I'm commuting 80 miles a day straight freeway. I could save a lot over time.
not only will performance suffer, but you will likely get worse mileage. Your car will see the lower octane and move to a richer fuel map to protect the motor from knock. the savings you are looking at in using regular will quickly be negated by worse fuel economy.
I am fairly confident you can run regular gas, but I would be watching my mileage closely to know if the switch is really paying off
No you really couldnt save on gas, it will push a higher fuel map to make up for the loss of octane and prevent detonation/knock. You will probably end up spending more on fuel.
jlee
Lifer
- Sep 12, 2001
- 48,518
- 223
- 106
Less than $21/mo assuming a $0.30 difference between premium and regular.
If you want a cheap commuter car, buy an early 90's Civic and get 40mpg. That'll save you $117/mo (assuming ~$3.70/gallon).
From what I've read about cars that have knock sensors the ecu should adjust. It'll still knock a few times though so that's still a little bad.
Won't ruin your car doing it once or twice in an emergency or something
Won't ruin your car doing it once or twice in an emergency or something
Yeah and I see in this thread mentions of fuel maps, but from what I remember they actually change the ignition timing in the event of knock. It will affect fuel mileage from running retarded timings, but the only way to know how much is to try it out. I would personally avoid using lower grade fuel, and if cost is a factor, get yourself into a vehicle that calls for regular.
_Rick_
Diamond Member
- Apr 20, 2012
- 3,943
- 69
- 91
80 miles freeway commuting?
Save money by taping over panel gaps.
It's usually a bad idea to go under spec, detonation will be bad.
In fact, I've been keeping all fuel receipts for the last year, so i can at least somewhat indicate, that should I run into some kind of engine failure within the warranty period, that it's not been me using out of spec fuel, that caused the failure.
If you can get cheap ethanol, that might be an option to make regular fuel more knock-resistant. If you stick to 5-10vol%, you should be okay with regard to possible fuel system degradation. This will increase your overall fuel consumption, but if you can get the ethanol for close to free, you'll be better off.
Save money by taping over panel gaps.
It's usually a bad idea to go under spec, detonation will be bad.
In fact, I've been keeping all fuel receipts for the last year, so i can at least somewhat indicate, that should I run into some kind of engine failure within the warranty period, that it's not been me using out of spec fuel, that caused the failure.
If you can get cheap ethanol, that might be an option to make regular fuel more knock-resistant. If you stick to 5-10vol%, you should be okay with regard to possible fuel system degradation. This will increase your overall fuel consumption, but if you can get the ethanol for close to free, you'll be better off.
SearchMaster
Diamond Member
- Jun 6, 2002
- 7,791
- 114
- 106
The last time I had a car that required premium, gas was well under $1 a gallon. So while gas was cheap as hell, the price difference between regular and premium was still $0.30, about what it is today. But the percentage difference was significant, so instead of paying <10% more for premium, I was paying over 30% more for premium.
But I still did it, it's what I signed up for when buying that car. Consider it as an insurance policy that just costs a few bucks a month
[edit]Actually I'd forgotten my Maxima required 89 octane, I put mid-grade in that car but my Eclipse Turbo liked the good stuff.[/edit]
But I still did it, it's what I signed up for when buying that car. Consider it as an insurance policy that just costs a few bucks a month
[edit]Actually I'd forgotten my Maxima required 89 octane, I put mid-grade in that car but my Eclipse Turbo liked the good stuff.[/edit]
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Generally the owners manual or the gas filler cap would either say "Premium Recommended" or it will say "Premium Required". If it is later, then you really should heed to that. If you purchased this vehicle used and do not have the owners manual, chances are you will be able to find the electronic copy on the net.
Railgun
Golden Member
- Mar 27, 2010
- 1,289
- 2
- 81
A little more info. I have owned the car about 8 years. It's a SLK 320 that is over 10 years old with 220,000 miles on it but runs great. I will drive it till it dies lol. Just long commutes now over 80 miles a day seems tempting to me.
I learned a lot in this thread thanks to your replies.
I learned a lot in this thread thanks to your replies.
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