Why do people stress about premium!!!
06-02-2004, 12:02 PM
#46
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Join Date: May 2001
Location: in my skin, ben!
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No one on this thread knows what the heck they're talking about. 
You've got some dude that capitalizes random words in his paragraphs, people listening to Mustang drivers (LOL had to say it), people asking what "ping" is... Holy Moly...
Strange thing about the Mustang quotes - my '96 Ford truck (351, stock) does run better off lower octane fuel. Could one say Ford has really awesome programming if a slower burning fuel (higher octane) yields less power?
You've got some dude that capitalizes random words in his paragraphs, people listening to Mustang drivers (LOL had to say it), people asking what "ping" is... Holy Moly...
Strange thing about the Mustang quotes - my '96 Ford truck (351, stock) does run better off lower octane fuel. Could one say Ford has really awesome programming if a slower burning fuel (higher octane) yields less power?
06-02-2004, 03:49 PM
#47
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When my car was 100% stock I ran 87oct all the time without a problem. When I started the internal mods I went to 91+ and all my tuning has been done with that in mind so I want be going back to 87.....if your mostly stock except for bolt ons the lt1 will run fine on 87 in most conditions.
06-02-2004, 03:59 PM
#48
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Dont you think if every car ran just as good on 87 as it does on 93, then wouldnt everyone be using it? I see the point of the tightwad people and agree that saving 700-800 dollars a year is great, but i know(now dont tell me that 93 isnt better) that running 93 over 87 is better for your car. Its cleaner(for the most part), the GM manual says its better to run higher octane(and there is more that 1 engineer that came to that conclusion) and the fact that i would bet GM would have loved to say we could run 87 so they could use it as a selling point. Also as i see it, 90% of the users here have modded motors or atleast care enough to treat thier motors right. Not trying to be a jerk but im trying to express my point. 
06-02-2004, 08:32 PM
#49
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Originally posted by disco192
When i filled up yesterday, regular gas was 1.89 and premium was 1.98. Maybe its just texas, but now they are getting closer.
When i filled up yesterday, regular gas was 1.89 and premium was 1.98. Maybe its just texas, but now they are getting closer.
06-02-2004, 09:44 PM
#51
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Location: Kansas
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I have been experimenting lately because of the higher gas prices... normaly I run premium which around here is typically 91 or 92 octane and I seldom see more. So 2 tanks ago I filled it up with 89 just to see if I got any increased knock retard or ping and to my suprise I really noticed NO difference. Then to continue with the experiment I dropped down to 87. Now around town and normal driving there is absolutely no disadvantage to running 87 octane... hell it actually burns better than 91 so you could see increased gas mileage out of it. However, on my car if I am not careful on the load situation like greater than 70% throttle doing 55mph in 5th gear for instance the car will ping really bad.... no knock retard though but audible pinging can be heard over the radio. So moral of my story is... stock cars can probably run 87 and never hear it ping.
06-03-2004, 04:47 PM
#54
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Location: Mantua, NJ, USA
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The problem is you are all looking for a "one size fits all" position on what octane to use and it just doesn't exist. I think we need to establish some facts that all can use to make the best decision for their needs. For the record, I am an engineer also, although I don't design engines for a living.
First some history. In the old days, the gas manufacturers only put additives (detergents, etc.) in the higher octanes fuels. Today, virtually all fuels have the additives so octane has no relationship to the quality of the fuel any more. Some people still hang onto this outdated notion that higher octane is better. This simply is no longer true.
The object is to find the lowest octane where the car still performs at its best in your climate. Any higher is a waste of money and any lower is giving less than optimum performance, poor fuel economy and in the worst case risking damage to your engine.
The lowest octane where the car still performs at its best is a function of all the things mentioned previously in this post (temp, humidity, atmospheric pressure, compression ratio, etc.)
I would bet that everyone will find a different octane works best for them and I am sure it is also true that GM specified an Octane level that would be most likely to work for most drivers in most parts of the country. I'll bet that you will need to change octane levels in the winter versus the summer too.
So in summary, try a lower and a higher octane and settle on the one that does not ping, feels responsive and has the best performance and gas mileage. I would be willing to bet that with experimentation you will find one that optimizes all of these characteristics and that is the octane level you should use.
One more comment, before making a sweeping statement that one brand is better or worse than others, also qualify your opinion by trying the same gas from several stations to make sure you did not get a bad batch from one particular gas station.
Hope this brings some perspective!
First some history. In the old days, the gas manufacturers only put additives (detergents, etc.) in the higher octanes fuels. Today, virtually all fuels have the additives so octane has no relationship to the quality of the fuel any more. Some people still hang onto this outdated notion that higher octane is better. This simply is no longer true.
The object is to find the lowest octane where the car still performs at its best in your climate. Any higher is a waste of money and any lower is giving less than optimum performance, poor fuel economy and in the worst case risking damage to your engine.
The lowest octane where the car still performs at its best is a function of all the things mentioned previously in this post (temp, humidity, atmospheric pressure, compression ratio, etc.)
I would bet that everyone will find a different octane works best for them and I am sure it is also true that GM specified an Octane level that would be most likely to work for most drivers in most parts of the country. I'll bet that you will need to change octane levels in the winter versus the summer too.
So in summary, try a lower and a higher octane and settle on the one that does not ping, feels responsive and has the best performance and gas mileage. I would be willing to bet that with experimentation you will find one that optimizes all of these characteristics and that is the octane level you should use.
One more comment, before making a sweeping statement that one brand is better or worse than others, also qualify your opinion by trying the same gas from several stations to make sure you did not get a bad batch from one particular gas station.
Hope this brings some perspective!
06-04-2004, 04:33 PM
#56
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I guess i can see where the octane isnt a "one size fits all", but what i dont understand is why i was at the pump with my friend a few days ago(he drives a supercharged LT1) and he filled up with 87! 
I was about to walk over and kick him in the chode! I have a 383 with the LT-4 cam and a little head work with other mods and I still pump the $2.09/Gallon 93 thru my baby. Shouldnt a s/c application NEED 93?
I was about to walk over and kick him in the chode! I have a 383 with the LT-4 cam and a little head work with other mods and I still pump the $2.09/Gallon 93 thru my baby. Shouldnt a s/c application NEED 93?
06-04-2004, 05:58 PM
#57
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Originally posted by Briank8811
I guess i can see where the octane isnt a "one size fits all", but what i dont understand is why i was at the pump with my friend a few days ago(he drives a supercharged LT1) and he filled up with 87! I was about to walk over and kick him in the chode! I have a 383 with the LT-4 cam and a little head work with other mods and I still pump the $2.09/Gallon 93 thru my baby. Shouldnt a s/c application NEED 93?
I guess i can see where the octane isnt a "one size fits all", but what i dont understand is why i was at the pump with my friend a few days ago(he drives a supercharged LT1) and he filled up with 87!
I was about to walk over and kick him in the chode! I have a 383 with the LT-4 cam and a little head work with other mods and I still pump the $2.09/Gallon 93 thru my baby. Shouldnt a s/c application NEED 93?
If your friend stays out of boost he could probably run 87 , Also if the motor was built for a blower with lower compression he would be fine, But why the hell would you want to, I'm not about to put 87 in my blown 385 and I'm paying 2.79 for 91 craptane in Ca., Who is actually going to never get on the gas with a blown motor
06-04-2004, 11:51 PM
#59
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Location: Weatherford, TX - DFW area
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My buddy that used to own my car ran 87 in it, BUT... when he ran 87 he never went past 3,000RPM and never got on it. I guess when you have a 440RWHP Mustang at home you can keep your foot out of your stock LT1. 
Now I have never ran 87 in it, but I'm not entirely sure I can go a full tank without getting on it.
Now I have never ran 87 in it, but I'm not entirely sure I can go a full tank without getting on it.
06-05-2004, 01:28 AM
#60
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Location: AZ
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Originally posted by OldSchoolSS
Alright this is the last time I'm posting in here I have better things to do. These motors do not all need 93 octane gas or even 91 octane gas. In the manual gm "recomends 91 octane" but it also states you may run regular gas in the engine but may not see "optimum" performance. The "optimum" peformance loss will only be on motors that are not in good tune or are ran in very dry and hot enviroments such as some of the states down south. For every 10 degree drop in air intake temperature you can drop the octane requirement of an engine by 1 point. Also for every so many % increase in humidy you can also drop the octane requirement. GM put 91 octane in there so that people that live in those very dry hot enviroments can't cry when there engine acts up. GMs sales cover a wide variety of climates so they put that in to cover there asses in case somebody that lives in the desert likes to fill up with regular. Hell even a cavalier will require more octane gas in those types of inviroments. So would some lawn tractors it doesn't mean that everybody has to use the high octane crap. I don't think I'll ever have to worry about putting premium gas in my car up here in Wisconsin we very rarely have hot dry days they are always very humid. You guys may not think 5 dollars is much but lets say you drive the amount I do I fill up 3 times a week so that's 15 dollars a week now multiply that by 52 weeks in a year and that comes out to 780 dollars. Hell a couple of years driving on regular and you could save up enough to build a nice strocker motor with higher compression that actually will need the high octane gas. Now you can either listen to my opinion a Engineer that makes a living designing Internal Combustion Engines or some guy that heard something from some other guy. Whatever you guys want to put in your engines that's fine with me it's your money and your car. So I expect the same attitude from you also. Oh and for somebodys comment that said if you put 87 octane in you car will drive like a v6 my car sure as hell doesn't drive like a v6 car. And that's about the stupidest comment I've ever heard.
Alright this is the last time I'm posting in here I have better things to do. These motors do not all need 93 octane gas or even 91 octane gas. In the manual gm "recomends 91 octane" but it also states you may run regular gas in the engine but may not see "optimum" performance. The "optimum" peformance loss will only be on motors that are not in good tune or are ran in very dry and hot enviroments such as some of the states down south. For every 10 degree drop in air intake temperature you can drop the octane requirement of an engine by 1 point. Also for every so many % increase in humidy you can also drop the octane requirement. GM put 91 octane in there so that people that live in those very dry hot enviroments can't cry when there engine acts up. GMs sales cover a wide variety of climates so they put that in to cover there asses in case somebody that lives in the desert likes to fill up with regular. Hell even a cavalier will require more octane gas in those types of inviroments. So would some lawn tractors it doesn't mean that everybody has to use the high octane crap. I don't think I'll ever have to worry about putting premium gas in my car up here in Wisconsin we very rarely have hot dry days they are always very humid. You guys may not think 5 dollars is much but lets say you drive the amount I do I fill up 3 times a week so that's 15 dollars a week now multiply that by 52 weeks in a year and that comes out to 780 dollars. Hell a couple of years driving on regular and you could save up enough to build a nice strocker motor with higher compression that actually will need the high octane gas. Now you can either listen to my opinion a Engineer that makes a living designing Internal Combustion Engines or some guy that heard something from some other guy. Whatever you guys want to put in your engines that's fine with me it's your money and your car. So I expect the same attitude from you also. Oh and for somebodys comment that said if you put 87 octane in you car will drive like a v6 my car sure as hell doesn't drive like a v6 car. And that's about the stupidest comment I've ever heard.
It's a small risk you run, and I'm sure you'll be fine running 87 where you live but it's extremtly cheap insurance. My stock LS1 pings on 91 here in AZ. LT1s ping like crazy on 87 here.
For whoever said pinging was the piston rattling in the cylinder...not exactly. Pinging is the flame front from detonation 'bouncing' off the piston.