gshb

one should use 91 octane gas in order to achieve the performance figures claimed by the manufacturer. not doing so may do damage. perhaps the one thing that can result is that lower octane fuel is less refined, resulting in a higher ppm of contaminants. over time it can build up in the engine, but you can use additives to clean your fuel injectors every time you get an oil change.

swixo

Nonsense.

We can argue all day long if lower octane fuel causes any damage (I vote no) - I have always
used 87 in every car I have owned with no ill effects ever.

But the claim that is is less refined is simply bs.

s

Skulinex

One thing i've noticed after yrs trying here and there, with the cars I've driven that required premium, I usually end up having to refill a day or two earlier by using regular than by premium.. so if you think about it, by the end of the year, you'd probably spend just as much money from refilling more times as you would by using the right gas and without the wear <the engine itself won't go bad any time soon, but keep in mind that knock sensors do wear out resulting in engine problems then...>

Tony1

I've never used gas with a lower than 93 octane in any of my past
"nice" cars. But i used to have this 2nd car, it was a 1987 ford escort.
and i always used to use 93 octane in it, and once in a blue
when i would lend it out to someone, when i got it back it just have
this terrible engine knock, then the person whom i lent it out to
admitted they filled the tank up using 87 octane.. this happened
a few times.. Also what i think is almost as important as what
octane you use, is making sure you don't go to "no name" gas stations.

I personally only use sunocco, exxon, mobil...& sometimes bp..

terp05

iTrader: (1)

If someone told me they had been using 87 when the car calls for 93, I wouldn't buy the car just because this person is stupid enough to not lie about it.

Bichon

I disagree. I've had excellent results with gas from Raceway, Racetrac and Valero. My previous car was an Audi S4 bi-turbo with a performance chip, a car that was VERY sensitive to poor gas. If there was a problem with these stations, I'd have known it.

shaolin

iTrader: (2)

just use 91. it's only couple cents more

Tony1

Maybe where you're from, those are very good gas stations, Ive never seen any of
those here in NYC & Weschester County.. I've personally never experienced
getting bad gas from a "no name station", because I've never went to them, only
when in dire need of gas, but I have many friends who've had problems with
them and learned their lesson the hard way...

kensteele

No those places have pretty good gas. Valero is the new name for something, I think Diamond Shamrock...I've only seen these stations in the South and in Texas, particularly in San Antonio where I just came back from.

SGT

There's a Valero in New Hyde Park on Hillside Ave.

nhawk2

There was a study in Car & Driver or Road & Track about 1-2 years ago.
What they stated is that not a single car designed for regular gas benefitted from premium gas and in fact some lost some performance.
However, cars like BMW M3 lost a lot of power when regular gas was used, since the knock sensors (installed on each cylinder) detected early detonation and retarded the timings.

Premium gas differs from regular gas in that it takes more pressure and higher temperature to have the gas ignite by itself. Thus, for engine that's running 9:1 compression ratio, regular is fine and premium gas will only cause slightly worse combustion. The opposite, however, is an engine running 12:1 compression ratio when regular gas starts to detonate early due to pressure alone (before the spark) and causes the piston to be pushed in the opposite direction (causing the pinging sound and possible damage).

While IS300 manual stated that Premium gas is preferred for full performance, I believe IS250/350 state that Premium gas is required due to higher compression ratios and more importantly DIG

gshb

i dont think you understand what im saying. by definition 91 octane fuel is more refined than 87 simply by the manufacturing process. the reason there is even a rating system is to tell you how easy the fuel burns. refining oil means adding certain additives that lower the activation energy of the hydrocarbons in oil. these additives include MTBE, ETBE, or ethanol. These are used as a cost effective way of gaining more power (lower activation energy, easier to burn). This is what I'm calling refining.

pita2go

some cars will give you crap for putting in different fuel... because for my audi.. whenever i put in 87 or 89.. it would throw me a CEL.. and my car didn't like that... and I didn't like that picture being there..

LexFather

U know I don't understand how we can drive a Lexus and buy a Lexus and not put the RECOMMENED gas in it.

For those that drink, you can get Bartons Vodka for $10 a liter or Grey Goose of $50. Yeah, they are both vodkas and yeah you will get a buzz from both but in the morning, you'll get a headache with the Bartons and your butt will be running by going cheap.

Of course the cars will run on regular but YOU LOSE OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE AND YOU WILL LOSE GAS MILEAGE.

Its like orange juice. Yeah, you can save .50 cents buying store made Orange juice and yeah its still orange juice but compared to Tropicana, its just not the SAME.

NINEZeRO

I was at the gas station earlier and the guy accidentaly chose the cheapest (89) instead of the best (93). Fortunately the pump stopped after just $0.11 worth of cheap gas went into my tank. Does anybody know if this will affect my car (engine, hp, etc)? If this amount is too little, what would happen to the car if half tank or more was filled up with cheap gasoline? Thanks