Use Premium Gasoline for Maximum Performance

[DVad3r]

It's bad how all these articles say not to use premium gas. People are blind.

I have 2 cars a 92 Camry and a 2001 Lexus ES300

Camry Premium = 700 km on a tank vs 650 on regular
Lexus= 600 km on a tank vs 550-575 regular

Also, learn from the Europeans who generally have a better structure and living standard then in North America, the only gas you can buy at the pump in europe is 94 octane and up usually. Also just put things in logical perspectives, race cars use the highest premium gas available.

Use premium, especially if you have a nice car.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: DVad3r
It's bad how all these articles say not to use premium gas. People are blind.

I have 2 cars a 92 Camry and a 2001 Lexus ES300

Camry Premium = 700 km on a tank vs 650 on regular
Lexus= 600 km on a tank vs 550-575 regular

Also, learn from the Europeans who generally have a better structure and living standard then in North America, the only gas you can buy at the pump in europe is 94 octane and up usually. Also just put things in logical perspectives, race cars use the highest premium gas available.

Use premium, especially if you have a nice car.

incorrect.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Another pet peeve - People, usually women, who load their old Sunfire up with premium to "give the car a treat." Congratulations, you just gave it the vehicular equivalent of bloating and the sh!ts.

Or a distant friend through the wife who filled her old Caddy with regular. Thank god her husband's a mechanic.

If you're a gearhead, then you can adjust what the gas cap/manual says. Otherwise, put what the manufacturer states in it.

- M4H

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: DVad3r

Also, learn from the Europeans who generally have a better structure and living standard then in North America, the only gas you can buy at the pump in europe is 94 octane and up usually. Also just put things in logical perspectives, race cars use the highest premium gas available.

You should really read the thread before posting something that is clearly wrong. As was stated above, Europe uses a DIFFERENT RATING SYSTEM for their octane. 94 octane in Europe is 87 octane here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_Rating

Because of the 8 to 10 point difference noted above, this means that the octane in the United States will be about 4 to 5 points lower than the same fuel elsewhere: 87 octane fuel, the "regular" gasoline in the US and Canada, would be 91-95 (regular) in Europe.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Another pet peeve - People, usually women, who load their old Sunfire up with premium to "give the car a treat." Congratulations, you just gave it the vehicular equivalent of bloating and the sh!ts.

Or a distant friend through the wife who filled her old Caddy with regular. Thank god her husband's a mechanic.

If you're a gearhead, then you can adjust what the gas cap/manual says. Otherwise, put what the manufacturer states in it.

- M4H

cadillac has engines that run on 87 octane. i'm sure you consulted the owner's manual first?

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: DVad3r
Also, learn from the Europeans who generally have a better structure and living standard then in North America, the only gas you can buy at the pump in europe is 94 octane and up usually. Also just put things in logical perspectives, race cars use the highest premium gas available.

Euro 94 octane is equivalent to 89 octane in US ratings. We use a different measurement. US 93 octane is equivalent to euro 98 octane.

Regarding race cars, racing cars have high compression engines (typically above 11:1) or very high boost pressures (20+ PSI), coupled with very far advanced ignition timing (i.e. the timing of the firing of the spark plug occurs earlier in the stroke). Each of these things increases the risk of pre-ignition (also called detonation or "knock"), requiring the use of a fuel that is more difficult to ignite.

Octane is absolutely nothing more than an indication of the ease with which fuel can be ignited. The higher the octane, the harder it is to get the fuel to ignite. Running higher octane than the engine is designed to handle will cause incomplete combustion and an eventual buildup of carbon in the combustion chamber.

ZV

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
cadillac has engines that run on 87 octane. i'm sure you consulted the owner's manual first?

Yes, I know, most Northstar engines including the knocked-to-death '95 L37 in question could run on regular due to the knock sensor, but apparently this one didn't feel up to the task.

Edit - and IIRC, the manual does say "premium" - they changed when they dropped the Northstar's compression ratio a smidgen.

- M4H

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Octane is absolutely nothing more than an indication of the ease with which fuel can be ignited. The higher the octane, the harder it is to get the fuel to ignite. Running higher octane than the engine is designed to handle will cause incomplete combustion and an eventual buildup of carbon in the combustion chamber.

ZV

It's not really so much making it harder to ignite, it's making it harder to ignite simply from compression instead of by the spark. Any octane fuel will ignite with a spark.

Now we are just splitting hairs though...

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Insane3D
It's not really so much making it harder to ignite, it's making it harder to ignite simply from compression instead of by the spark. Any octane fuel will ignite with a spark.

Now we are just splitting hairs though...

I'm seeing another "No" and "Yes, but" situation with ZV forming here.

It is making it harder to ignite, it's just that on the scale of ignition, adding a spark to fuel is like ... uh, well, adding a spark to fuel.

- M4H

 

[Philippine Mango]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: DVad3r
Also, learn from the Europeans who generally have a better structure and living standard then in North America, the only gas you can buy at the pump in europe is 94 octane and up usually. Also just put things in logical perspectives, race cars use the highest premium gas available.

Euro 94 octane is equivalent to 89 octane in US ratings. We use a different measurement. US 93 octane is equivalent to euro 98 octane.

Regarding race cars, racing cars have high compression engines (typically above 11:1) or very high boost pressures (20+ PSI), coupled with very far advanced ignition timing (i.e. the timing of the firing of the spark plug occurs earlier in the stroke). Each of these things increases the risk of pre-ignition (also called detonation or "knock"), requiring the use of a fuel that is more difficult to ignite.

Octane is absolutely nothing more than an indication of the ease with which fuel can be ignited. The higher the octane, the harder it is to get the fuel to ignite. Running higher octane than the engine is designed to handle will cause incomplete combustion and an eventual buildup of carbon in the combustion chamber.

ZV

basically speaking diesel is really low octane gas.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

basically speaking diesel is really low octane gas.

Doesn't diesel run a really high compression though? I know very little about diesel motors, so I can't say for sure...

 

[mrSHEiK124]

I love this thing, regular gas or not
Insane3D, wanna race?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

basically speaking diesel is really low octane gas.

ummm... no.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: AnonymouseUser
It's not really a big deal anymore, is it? I mean Premium costs what, $.20/gallon more than regular? When regular used to cost $1/gallon it was a big difference, but now it's chump change.

QFT

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: FoBoT
marketing BS

What's marketing BS?

I love when people who don't know what they are talking about post like they do...

blah, bah, blah

And yet, with all that, your posts simply proved my point. If his owners manual/gas cap says to use a certain octane...it's for a reason.

Let's use my new car for example. It REQUIRES 93 octane per my user manual. If you use 91 octane, it cuts boost above 4k rpm, and cuts timing way back. If you are a complete and utter moron, and put 87 octane in it, it cuts ALL BOOST, and basically has less power than the engine would without the turbo.

In a car that does not require it, higher octane gas has no benefit.

Anyway, thanks for spending all that time looking up those links to simply prove my point...



Edit:

Oh, and just in case you don't want to take my word for it...

Mazdaspeed 6 Specs

Minimum Fuel Requirement (rating) 93 Octane Premium Unleaded

so ummm what would you do if you lived here in colorado where your only choices were 85/87/91 fuels?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Citrix

so ummm what would you do if you lived here in colorado where your only choices were 85/87/91 fuels?

you can use lower octane at higher altitude, iirc.

 

[Thorny]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

basically speaking diesel is really low octane gas.

Cool, try putting it in your car with some octane booster and let us know how that works

 

[PAB]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: DVad3r
Also, learn from the Europeans who generally have a better structure and living standard then in North America, the only gas you can buy at the pump in europe is 94 octane and up usually. Also just put things in logical perspectives, race cars use the highest premium gas available.

Euro 94 octane is equivalent to 89 octane in US ratings. We use a different measurement. US 93 octane is equivalent to euro 98 octane.

Regarding race cars, racing cars have high compression engines (typically above 11:1) or very high boost pressures (20+ PSI), coupled with very far advanced ignition timing (i.e. the timing of the firing of the spark plug occurs earlier in the stroke). Each of these things increases the risk of pre-ignition (also called detonation or "knock"), requiring the use of a fuel that is more difficult to ignite.

Octane is absolutely nothing more than an indication of the ease with which fuel can be ignited. The higher the octane, the harder it is to get the fuel to ignite. Running higher octane than the engine is designed to handle will cause incomplete combustion and an eventual buildup of carbon in the combustion chamber.

ZV

basically speaking diesel is really low octane gas.

under high temperatures, diesel autoignites, gasoline detonates. Octane measures resistance to detonation, cetane measures resistance to autoignition.

Two very different animals. Throw a lit match in a barrel of unleaded and throw one in a barrel of diesel and you'll see what I mean.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Citrix

so ummm what would you do if you lived here in colorado where your only choices were 85/87/91 fuels?

I'd probably run 91 and possibly octane booster if I had to. The car will run fine on 91, you just lose some power. If I lived in a area of the country where it wasn't readily available, I'd either move or not get the car in the first place...

It will run fine on 87 too, in case you get stuck somewhere without 91+ and need gas, it just will have no boost over 2500 rpm, so it will drive like a dog.....but still drive.

The compression ratio of 9:5:1 and the 16-17PSI of boost make the 93 a requirement for max performance.



I still don't understand why 93 isn't available all over the country...

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
I love this thing, regular gas or not
Insane3D, wanna race?

Heh...sure. On a track of course...

That's a nice car and one I was looking at...I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

:thumbsup:

 

[Jahee]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

basically speaking diesel is really low octane gas.

Diesel has a longer carbon chain than petrol (around 16 (CETane or hexadecane) carbons for diesel and around 8 (OCTane) for petrol i think), diesel is cetane im pretty sure... That basically just makes it harder to ignite because its less volatile

 

[TheSlamma]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: Citrix

so ummm what would you do if you lived here in colorado where your only choices were 85/87/91 fuels?

I'd probably run 91 and possibly octane booster if I had to. The car will run fine on 91, you just lose some power. If I lived in a area of the country where it wasn't readily available, I'd either move or not get the car in the first place...

It will run fine on 87 too, in case you get stuck somewhere without 91+ and need gas, it just will have no boost over 2500 rpm, so it will drive like a dog.....but still drive.

The compression ratio of 9:5:1 and the 16-17PSI of boost make the 93 a requirement for max performance.



I still don't understand why 93 isn't available all over the country...

LOL...

For every 2000~ft of altitude due to less air density you can lower the octaine by 1... being as Denver is 5280ft it's not quite 3.

If you are in need of 93 or higher in Denver you go to Petro stop on Parker and Quency or you hit Doogans on Broadway, they have 104+



Diesel doesn't have an Octane ratine it's cetane and it's flash point is high.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
I love this thing, regular gas or not
Insane3D, wanna race?

Do you wanna lose?

It's an Altima buddy :roll:

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: TheSlamma

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: Citrix

so ummm what would you do if you lived here in colorado where your only choices were 85/87/91 fuels?

I'd probably run 91 and possibly octane booster if I had to. The car will run fine on 91, you just lose some power. If I lived in a area of the country where it wasn't readily available, I'd either move or not get the car in the first place...

It will run fine on 87 too, in case you get stuck somewhere without 91+ and need gas, it just will have no boost over 2500 rpm, so it will drive like a dog.....but still drive.

The compression ratio of 9:5:1 and the 16-17PSI of boost make the 93 a requirement for max performance.



I still don't understand why 93 isn't available all over the country...

LOL...

For every 2000~ft of altitude due to less air density you can lower the octaine by 1... being as Denver is 5280ft it's not quite 3.

If you are in need of 93 or higher in Denver you go to Petro stop on Parker and Quency or you hit Doogans on Broadway, they have 104+



Diesel doesn't have an Octane ratine it's cetane and it's flash point is high.

I'm not sure what I said is funny? Anyhow, you don't seem to be taking into account that some cars have forced induction. From my understanding, altitude has no effect on a FI car...

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: TheSlamma

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: Citrix

so ummm what would you do if you lived here in colorado where your only choices were 85/87/91 fuels?

I'd probably run 91 and possibly octane booster if I had to. The car will run fine on 91, you just lose some power. If I lived in a area of the country where it wasn't readily available, I'd either move or not get the car in the first place...

It will run fine on 87 too, in case you get stuck somewhere without 91+ and need gas, it just will have no boost over 2500 rpm, so it will drive like a dog.....but still drive.

The compression ratio of 9:5:1 and the 16-17PSI of boost make the 93 a requirement for max performance.



I still don't understand why 93 isn't available all over the country...

LOL...

For every 2000~ft of altitude due to less air density you can lower the octaine by 1... being as Denver is 5280ft it's not quite 3.

If you are in need of 93 or higher in Denver you go to Petro stop on Parker and Quency or you hit Doogans on Broadway, they have 104+



Diesel doesn't have an Octane ratine it's cetane and it's flash point is high.

I'm not sure what I said is funny? Anyhow, you don't seem to be taking into account that some cars have forced induction. From my understanding, altitude has no effect on a FI car...

Altitude does have a SLIGHT effect on FI cars but it not as drastic as N/A cars.