Lets stick a Tide Pod in the tank and call it a day! Now that's a challenge!

Still using regular fuel and over 129K on my LX.

My GL550, My GS Vette, My Miata all run fine!

 

If any of them has direct injection vs. port injection, something to think about. Premium fuel has more detergent
on top of difference in Octane value.

 

this is flat out wrong. Detergents are based on fuel brands, not fuel grades.

 

www.toptiergas.com. Use these companies and the grade of fuel your owners manual states is "required" pretty simple??

 

I agree -- ethanol for fuel is a scam. Granted, if you have a high-output turbo car and want set it up and tune it for E85, that's a much cheaper fuel to run than race gas, but that's a fringe benefit to the scam that the rare citizen can take advantage of. For most of the rest of the population, it's a scam that doesn't pay off for them. Easily researched, and easy to see what's going on.

 

How about using regular gas and use Techron fuel injection cleaners every oil change?
i change my oil every 6K with full synthetic Mobile 1 oil.

 

These discussions fascinate me. People buy a $90,000 vehicle, and say drive it 12,000 miles a year. If your average mileage is what mine is, about 13 mpg in mixed driving, that means you burn a little over 900 gallons of gas a year. In my area the price between regular and premium is about $0.50 a gallon, so you spend under $500 extra a year to burn the grade of fuel specified in the owner's manual. Why risk reduced performance and possible reliability problems for $500 a year, especially if you are a long term owner?

 

The problem is after having spent $90 000
people are broke and every penny saved thereafter is a penny earned for future purchases....lol!

 

Same here, but at first scheduled maintenance in spring and fall. That's maybe 5K.


This discussion is in a whirlpool, headed straight down.

I cannot recall seeing an anecdotal post related to gasoline grade causing engine damage, reduced performance, and possibility problems, either here or on mud. If you've seen one or more, links to them would be outstanding and appreciated. I get the same mpg and 0 to 60 time with either 91 or 87 octane. Engine knock sensors and the ECU set timing for maximum hp without knock.

All that said, most of the time I run 91 octane...not because it needs premium, but since it's the only ethanol-free stuff for 10-15 miles. With that comes more BTU's per gallon, as well as virtually no degradation of rubber fuel lines. Side benefit is with around a dozen Stihl power tools, ethanol destroys the flexible fuel lines in a year or 2, especially if you store the tool without draining the fuel. Ethanol-free will keep over a cold winter with a tiny bit of fuel stabilizer.

 

 

I see no indication that there's a risk of any reliability problems burning high-quality U.S. regular grade fuel, and I don't think you could see the "performance" reduction except possibly in a few tenths of a MPH trap speed on a drag strip. That's why I put premium in mine every trip to the drag strip, but burn regular the rest of the time.

And after 15 years of long-term ownership, I'll have $7,500 extra in my pocket.

 

And here is the crux of the problem. All we have is anecdotal evidence, which is no evidence. Until I see results which are repeatable and repeated by others, conducted in a controlled environment, e.g. on a dyno, then I'll follow the information in the owners manual for whatever vehicle I'm driving.