SuperCoupe400

I'm not one of those guys who just wants to blatantly disregard the 91 octane minimum standard set forth in the owner's manual. It's just that my wife and I are planning a trip down to Florida (Disney World & the Keys) - from Michigan - toward the end of the summer and she's trying to get us to take her little 4-banger '98 Eclipse over the '93 SC4, because of fuel economy. To which I'm solidly opposed.

But I figure if I can shave some $$ off by using 87 or even 89 octane, then I can convince her that we should take my car instead. Round trip is roughly 3,200 miles. Will running 87 octane (95% highway miles) hurt my engine? How about 89 octane?


Thanks.

Gunnar

I can't say whether or not it will damage the car at all, but I can tell you that the computer will pull timing to compensate and the car will be way down on power.

The previous owner of my car ran 87 in it and when it was stock it only put down 152 whp, just me switching to 91 when I got it made it feel like a completely different car.

mkorsu

The cash you save by using 87 will be offset by the decreased gas mileage. In the long run, it will cost you more to use the 87 than the 91.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

Check it out...

based on 23 mpg (any SC should be able to easily attain this), you are looking at about $471 (based on 3.39 / gal premium) Savings to regular unleaded would only be $28... not worth it - timing maps will be retarded, fuel mileage will actually go down, etc...

now, the eclipse - should be around $364 based on 3.19 a gallon for regular... I've owned many eclipses / talons... none I liked driving out of town - those cars can be horribly unreliable... I would just feel way more comfortable driving the Lexus...

craaaazzy

iTrader: (4)

i was able to get 29 mpg on my sc300 (manual) when i drove the car from ct down to atl. as far as the money saved from going from 91 to 87, not worth it. here's an easy thing to do if that's what your worried about...just skip drinks for ONE meal (beer/wine/etc) and u're good.

SuperCoupe400

Yeah, I ran all the calcs too. And you're right - I'd only be saving about $28 over 91 octane. But I'd be spending about $128 more in fuel for the SC over the Eclipse.

The other issue (the REAL point of contention here) is that the cloth bucket seats in her Eclipse are more comfortable than the hard, stiff leather in the SC. I can cope with that just fine, but she's not looking forward to the "discomfort". I'm really going to have to do a hard sell to get her to leave the Eclipse behind. I think I'll use the reliability angle - - Even though we've taken her car on the 10-hour trip to New York before, and it did just fine. Yeah, I know Florida is 18-hours. But we'll be stopping overnight in Atlanta (only 10-hours from Michigan).

Well, I've got my work cut out. Maybe I should just foul a few spark plugs in her car a day before the trip, then pretend I "can't locate the problem".

mkorsu

LOL!


Or just spill a bit of oil under the pan and "notice" it on your pre-trip car check.

"Sorry honey, you seem to be leaking oil and I just don't want to risk it."

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

how about the "coolness" of the car angle...

on our recent trip to LA, she wanted to take the Maxima (newer, less miles, etc), but I had to put the foot down and demand we take the Lexus... the Lexus definitely gets a little more attention, especially with the Valet guys...

3000

Yeah, but I never trust them... someone's always gotta floor it in a hot car.

SuperCoupe400

Yeah, fortunate for me, I know exactly what to do to imobilize her car when I need to. At least I can rest assured that if peaceful negotiations break down, I can always resort to covert night-opps gorilla warfare LOL!