I own a 93 Sc400 and I was just wondering if you must use only 93 octane or can you get away with a lower octane?

 

In Cali we have 91. That works fine.

MW

 

I have sometimes resorted to even mid-grade fuel (89 octane), and didn't notice any pinging. I know that certain engine computers automatically retard the timing if they sense conditions associated with the use of lower-than-hi-test fuel.

 

manual says premium unleaded only.

 

What about buying those Octane Boosters? do they really work?

 

nevermind just did a search. . . kinda funny. . I was with my friend at the 99 cent store and they had Octane boosters for 99 cents! and i'm thinking hmm. . . interesting. . . cuz at autozone they had the same one for 4 bucks haha then i told my friend he shouldnt trust it. . but he went ahead and bought 10 of them :eek: btw he drives a Honda civic

 

Use premium only- Thats what the car calls for. I believe its 92 Octane. In Florida, Premiun is 93, and in California, Premium is 91 due to their smog laws. Just try to stick in the low 90's. Using lower octane will only slow the car down. Using higher octane will not increase performance, but rather just burn a hole in your wallet. Using the octane boosters is not a good idea. Check out the side of the .99 cent bottle of octane booster, it most likely will contain leaded fuel, while the Auto parts store additives cantain unleaded- that will explain the cost difference, so be careful if you go that route.

Check out the thread regarding 110 octane - it will explain a lot.


Keith

 

Also something to keep in mind about the bottle stuff is that they may plug up your catalytic converter(s). Not a good thing, both in performance and $$$

 

Yep - thats due to the lead. ^