So I just realized the type of gas does matter

[AznAnarchy99]

My Mitsubishi Eclipse says it needs premium only and my dad had always put in 91 for the past 10 years using this car. So I was short money the past 2 weeks and had to put in 87. At first I was thinking that it shouldnt be that much diff. Well in accelerating the car felt sluggish and it was working harder. So today I put in 91, to see if it was the fuel or just in my head. Now its feeling speedy like it used to before and I am barely even tapping the gas.

 

[Bignate603]

This is a surprise to you? Why do you think mitsubishi said it needed premium if it made no difference?

 

[punjabiplaya]

I put 87 in my car once and WOT it. got some insane KR and engine went into limp mode.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

I put 87 in my car once and WOT it. got some insane KR and engine went into limp mode.

Yup, the station next to my apt in college was out of premium and I was on empty, just needed a few gallons to get me home in my old GTI.

I had it WOT on the freeway, shit just wouldn't move and knocked like hell.


Also....B5 Biodiesel makes my TDI purr like a happy kitten if I can find it. Too bad its so rare in socal

 

[CRXican]

no sh*t

 

[Painman]

Some cars really don't like regular, and aren't ideally designed for it. My V6 Passat doesn't like 87 octane all that much. It's OK in the city, and doesn't produce dramatically worse mileage on the highway, but acceleration definitely suffers.

The PO ran 87 through it a lot, but I always fill it with at least 89. 91 if I'm at a Sunoco. Hard to find 91 out here in MA otherwise.

 

[jlee]

My Mitsubishi Eclipse says it needs premium only and my dad had always put in 91 for the past 10 years using this car. So I was short money the past 2 weeks and had to put in 87. At first I was thinking that it shouldnt be that much diff. Well in accelerating the car felt sluggish and it was working harder. So today I put in 91, to see if it was the fuel or just in my head. Now its feeling speedy like it used to before and I am barely even tapping the gas.

And you're surprised WHY, exactly?

 

[Malak]

You don't save any money going 87 anyway so why would you do it?

 

[AznAnarchy99]

You don't save any money going 87 anyway so why would you do it?

Yea I realized that after seeing my gas mileage worse than what it normally was. Surprised because I hear people telling me otherwise all the time.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Yea I realized that after seeing my gas mileage worse than what it normally was. Surprised because I hear people telling me otherwise all the time.

This is why I'll never buy a used lux performance car.

Duuhurrrhurrrr i'll pay 50k for a 335i but fuck if I spend the extra buck per tank to put premium in it.

Its more common than you would think.

 

[jlee]

Yea I realized that after seeing my gas mileage worse than what it normally was. Surprised because I hear people telling me otherwise all the time.

It's a good thing modern ECUs are smarter than drivers, or your engine would be fucked...

 

[T2urtle]

^ yes the lost of power might of been due to the retard in timing. You can run it on 87 all day, might risk some knocking at times pending on how hard you drive it and the condition of the engine. I dont feel a difference between 91 and 93 however... My G35 runs the same on either.

 

[Paperlantern]

Hmmm i wonder if higher test would help me at all. I have a 99 Camry V6 that Ive always ran 87 in, it never seemed sluggish or anything, and ive always gotten about 25mpg. Bumping it to 89 or 91 you think would improve gas mileage? Or should i just leave it with 87? Even 2 or 3 mpg increase would offset ANY extra cost, even as little as the cost is.

 

[PricklyPete]

This is why I'll never buy a used lux performance car.

Duuhurrrhurrrr i'll pay 50k for a 335i but fuck if I spend the extra buck per tank to put premium in it.

Its more common than you would think.

Agreed...it is sadly way more common than I'd like believe.

 

[lurk3r]

Hmmm i wonder if higher test would help me at all. I have a 99 Camry V6 that Ive always ran 87 in, it never seemed sluggish or anything, and ive always gotten about 25mpg. Bumping it to 89 or 91 you think would improve gas mileage? Or should i just leave it with 87? Even 2 or 3 mpg increase would offset ANY extra cost, even as little as the cost is.

Half the board here will claim otherwise, try it yourself, run at least a couple tanks of 89 and see if you get farther on it. I never run one of my cars on 87, 87 is for rentals and shitty domestic engines.

 

[PricklyPete]

Half the board here will claim otherwise, try it yourself, run at least a couple tanks of 89 and see if you get farther on it. I never run one of my cars on 87, 87 is for rentals and shitty domestic engines.

So you put 89 is shitty import engines? That's win!

 

[mmntech]

My mom has been putting the 89 in her Lexus ES300 for a while now. Premium is getting too expensive here. I didn't notice much of a difference between 89 and 91. You can certainly get away with it. Mind you, it would run like a pig at 87.

87 is for rentals and shitty domestic engines

Don't upset your rental guy. You wouldn't like us when we're angry. If I say it takes premium, it takes premium.

 

[ichy]

Hmmm i wonder if higher test would help me at all. I have a 99 Camry V6 that Ive always ran 87 in, it never seemed sluggish or anything, and ive always gotten about 25mpg. Bumping it to 89 or 91 you think would improve gas mileage? Or should i just leave it with 87? Even 2 or 3 mpg increase would offset ANY extra cost, even as little as the cost is.

Ugh, I wish that people would learn how this stuff works.

An engine that isn't designed to benefit from premium will get ZERO advantages from it.

 

[desy]

I used to throw in a tank of premium every once in a while because it has detergents for injector cleaning and such, til I figured out a bottle of fuel system cleaner was cheaper than the price difference in a tank of gas.
I only do once a year now when I change oil

 

[v8envy]

As a counterpoint, before my 5 liter got new heads & intake & timing bump it ran best on 85 octane gas. (at a mile of altitude we get 85/87/91, not 87/89/91). Got a minimum of 25 mpg in city/highway mix, closer to 30 on the highway.

Felt like it had a tiny bit less power and 2-3 less mpg on anything higher than the cheap crap. Sounded great on premium, but didn't pull anywhere near as hard.

Now it does best on 87. Gets 20 mpg no matter what I do, but what a fun 20 miles!

 

[Doggiedog]

I always put 93 in my car. Sometimes though my car feels sluggish or spirited. I wonder why. Could it be the weather or is it just the personality of the car?

BTW, what does WOT stand for other than waste of time?

 

[LTC8K6]

Wide Open Throttle...

 

[MJinZ]

Some cars really don't like regular, and aren't ideally designed for it. My V6 Passat doesn't like 87 octane all that much. It's OK in the city, and doesn't produce dramatically worse mileage on the highway, but acceleration definitely suffers.

The PO ran 87 through it a lot, but I always fill it with at least 89. 91 if I'm at a Sunoco. Hard to find 91 out here in MA otherwise.

Uh where do you live? Many places in MA even have 93. I only use Shell though.

 

[coxmaster]

People always tell me I'm crazy because I only buy 91/93.

 

[MJinZ]

People always tell me I'm crazy because I only buy 91/93.

U R crazy if your car doesn't call for it.