I have been running premium gas in my car ever since i started modding it. I haven't really done anything major to the internals, but i do rev it out alot and hit the rev limiter all the time (i don't really care about blowing my engine or anything, it just means i need to upgrade
), but i have been reading, and people have told me that i don't need to run high octane pump gas. What are your guys' thoughts on running premium with gas prices? Does it run generally cleaner? Give you a HP bump? or is it a complete waste of money for my car??
My mods: LD9
CAI, HO mani, 62mm TB, header, exhaust.
(I also have cams, its just a matter of putting them on)
Just for the sake of discussion, and saving dough.
I'm back from the dead.
Currently Driving: RSX Type-S.
My Cavalier Burnt up :-(
wihtout boost, no need for anything above 87
My car may run 18s, but I can do your taxes in 10 seconds flat.
JBO lube - they would never have enough in stock and we'd never see RodimusPrime again
Wil Ketchin wrote:(i don't really care about blowing my engine or anything, it just means i need to upgrade )
yeah and have to start with a new block when a rod blows a hole through it? you don't want to destroy your engine when you don't have to, especially if it's your daily driver
why be a complete retard with your car for "the sake of upgrading whatever breaks"... do it right
2001 Olds Alero (LD9)
650 whp / 543 ft-lb
@turboalero
[ion wrote: C2]Wil Ketchin wrote:(i don't really care about blowing my engine or anything, it just means i need to upgrade )
yeah and have to start with a new block when a rod blows a hole through it? you don't want to destroy your engine when you don't have to, especially if it's your daily driver
why be a complete retard with your car for "the sake of upgrading whatever breaks"... do it right
Well it's not my daily driver, really. And if it blows, then it will force me into the direction of buying a brand new project car and/or build my own engine.
It's a cavalier, kinda like someone smashing their squire strat on stage.
I'm back from the dead.
Currently Driving: RSX Type-S.
My Cavalier Burnt up :-(
lol premium gas. glad you like pissing money away.
no boost and low compression, you should run 87 octane....
unless you just like paying 0.20 more per gallon for gas.
PROUD MEMBER OF JBOK.
Machzel08 (Teh Jew) wrote:wihtout boost, no need for anything above 87
lets not forget a higher compression engine
Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!
99redz24 wrote:Machzel08 (Teh Jew) wrote:wihtout boost, no need for anything above 87
lets not forget a higher compression engine
Or nitrous.
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4 Cams...32 Valves...5 Liters...This Could Get Fun!
if you don't care whether or not you blow your engine i can't fathom why you would even bother to care aboot the money you piss away on premo fuel insted of regular.
ToBoGgAn wrote:if you don't care whether or not you blow your engine i can't fathom why you would even bother to care aboot the money you piss away on premo fuel insted of regular.
Im not in the financial standpoint for large induction mods, but i do like power. if premium gives me a performance enhancement, then i would continue using it. if not i wont piss my money away.
but i am indeed in the financial standpoint for a payment though on a loan for a better car.
I'm back from the dead.
Currently Driving: RSX Type-S.
My Cavalier Burnt up :-(
Wil Ketchin wrote:ToBoGgAn wrote:if you don't care whether or not you blow your engine i can't fathom why you would even bother to care aboot the money you piss away on premo fuel insted of regular.
Im not in the financial standpoint for large induction mods, but i do like power. if premium gives me a performance enhancement, then i would continue using it. if not i wont piss my money away.
but i am indeed in the financial standpoint for a payment though on a loan for a better car.
Using premium fuel on a low compression, non force inducted car doesnt give you a significant amount of power...
I doubt you can notice any difference really.......I bet you notice a difference in gas mileage before you feel the extra power....
PROUD MEMBER OF JBOK.
if pure performance is what you are looking for then i would suggest going to a reputable shop and getting all your tires filled with summer air, man my tires alway grip better when filled with summer air, you would be amazed at the butt dyno after such a simple mod.
ToBoGgAn wrote:if pure performance is what you are looking for then i would suggest going to a reputable shop and getting all your tires filled with summer air, man my tires alway grip better when filled with summer air, you would be amazed at the butt dyno after such a simple mod.
Is that like "Summer Breeze"?
Because it makes me feel fine...
How many steps to heaven, Doc?
...Ah, metaphysics.
technically, with putting in a higher octane fuel, your vehicle will eventually start to move towards its higher octane timing tables. those of us who have been around the tuning forums or seen HPT first hand know adding timing to your timing tables DOES help in picking up some power.
now will just throwing in premium everyonce and a while help all that much... no. adding it in consistantly should eventually have your car running on the high octane timing tables.
1997 RedR - ZedR
^^^^^exactly, most of the org. is to quick to jump on someones case, like whitegoose gave a legitiment answer, and , well everyone else is just going by what they "think" they know.
StrippedCav98 (Now Quotable) wrote:lol premium gas. glad you like pissing money away.
I always back you up saying in posts that you are a reputable source of information in posts, and you come in this post and make me feel like an ass.
You are a great person.
Quote:
technically, with putting in a higher octane fuel, your vehicle will eventually start to move towards its higher octane timing tables. those of us who have been around the tuning forums or seen HPT first hand know adding timing to your timing tables DOES help in picking up some power.
now will just throwing in premium everyonce and a while help all that much... no. adding it in consistantly should eventually have your car running on the high octane timing tables.
Thank you so much for a legitimate answer.
Quote:
if pure performance is what you are looking for then i would suggest going to a reputable shop and getting all your tires filled with summer air, man my tires alway grip better when filled with summer air, you would be amazed at the butt dyno after such a simple mod.
Believe it or not, I was reading in D-sport about people putting nitrogen and helium in their tires. Something about the gas being denser than just compressed air, thus giving better gas mileage as well as increased grip.
I'm back from the dead.
Currently Driving: RSX Type-S.
My Cavalier Burnt up :-(
Wil Ketchin wrote:Thank you so much for a legitimate answer.
Quote:
if pure performance is what you are looking for then i would suggest going to a reputable shop and getting all your tires filled with summer air, man my tires alway grip better when filled with summer air, you would be amazed at the butt dyno after such a simple mod.
Believe it or not, I was reading in D-sport about people putting nitrogen and helium in their tires. Something about the gas being denser than just compressed air, thus giving better gas mileage as well as increased grip.
Your welcome for the answer.
about the air question, helium isnt going to do @!#$ for you and is LESS dense than air, which is why it floats when you fill a balloon with it.
Nitrogen on the other hand can yield some better results than "normal air". this normal air (like we are breathing right now) contains approx 78% nitrogen. for there to be a performance gain (and i dont mean picking up HP) you have to get it around 97-98% nitrogen or better in your tires.
the nitrogen molecules are larger than the "normal air" molecules. when your drive on your tires, the friction of between the tire and the surface of the road heats up your tires, causing your air pressure to go up (for every 2* C, add 1 psi or something along those lines). with that added heat and increase in pressure, your tires expand due to the extra force pushing outwards on them. this will net in a tire with a slightly bigger diameter, therefor a slightly larger rolling distance. the extra pressure in the tire is pretty much negligible for decreasing your handling due to a decreased contact patch, but they do say it increases handling (probably for this reason).
the main benefits to the nitrogen are the fact that with a tire that will stay at its designed overall diameter and rolling distance, you should see better fuel economy because you are turning a wheel that will stay smaller rather than expanding. thats based on having a larger tire on your vehicle will reduce fuel economy because of the extra distance the tire has to travel per revolution.
the other benefit is that since molecules are larger, there is supposed to be less of a chance that the tire will decrease in pressure over time. air escapes from tires over time, and so will nitrogen... it just does it slower apparently.
so, main benefits to it are:
less fluctuation in tire pressure due to friction!
theres your science lesson! for more info, check out the wheel and tire forum as it has been discussed plenty of times there.
1997 RedR - ZedR
Wil Ketchin wrote:StrippedCav98 (Now Quotable) wrote:lol premium gas. glad you like pissing money away.
I always back you up saying in posts that you are a reputable source of information in posts, and you come in this post and make me feel like an ass.
You are a great person.
some people can take critisim and some cant. bottom line is you are pissing away money by using premium gas when its not needed for your car. your car is designed to run on 87 unless you have the mods required for high octane.
Article
StrippedCav98 (Now Quotable) wrote:Wil Ketchin wrote:StrippedCav98 (Now Quotable) wrote:lol premium gas. glad you like pissing money away.
I always back you up saying in posts that you are a reputable source of information in posts, and you come in this post and make me feel like an ass.
You are a great person.
some people can take critisim and some cant. bottom line is you are pissing away money by using premium gas when its not needed for your car. your car is designed to run on 87 unless you have the mods required for high octane. Article
I now accept that i was pissing away money. But it's your approach to giving the information.
StrippedCav's process to useful information:
1. Bash the poster.
Quote:
Re: Anybody due awd conversions
StrippedCav98 (Now Quotable)
Yesterday 7:05 AM
check ebay, they usually sell bolt in conversions for things like this.
Re: which is money better spent: v6 swap or turbo
Quote Reply
StrippedCav98 (Now Quotable)
Friday, January 04, 2008 4:06 PM
v6. the 2.2 puts out little power and the amount of money you have to spend to get the power and done correctly, your better of with the v6
2. Make the poster feel stupid.
Quote:
Re: good coilover springs?/lambo shocks? opinions?
StrippedCav98 (Now Quotable)
Wednesday, January 02, 2008 12:40 PM
@!#$ if i would of known i could of only spent $20 bucks on coilovers i wouldnt of spent 1100 bucks on my teins
3. Give worthwhile advice.
Quote:
Re: which is money better spent: v6 swap or turbo
StrippedCav98 (Now Quotable)
Friday, January 04, 2008 4:06 PM
v6. the 2.2 puts out little power and the amount of money you have to spend to get the power and done correctly, your better of with the v6
.. Just a little constructive criticism and a method to your madness.
I'm back from the dead.
Currently Driving: RSX Type-S.
My Cavalier Burnt up :-(
If there's one thing I can say for premium it's this:
We had an old '91 wagon with a 2.2 tbi in it. Sounded like a honda civic with a fart can thanks to all the rusting out it was doing. Well, one day my wife accidentally put premium in it (we stopped at an older gas station where the pumps only have one grade of fuel in them, so the pump you go to determines the grade of fuel you get). That was the one and only time we could actually talk to each other in the car without yelling back and forth over the sound of the exhaust and engine.
2010 Honda Fit LX
its called sarcasim. alot of people on here cant seem to understand it.
If you tuned your car some with HP tuners, adjusting timing advance and things of that nature would require running the 89 or 93 to keep the engine from having detonation problems. With bolt ons just stay with 87octane and put the money away towards other mods.
2009 Ford Mustang V6
The only thing 93 is good for is cleaning out the injectors......
Nothing else.
I use my 2002 Sunfire with the 2.2 LN2 and 5 speed for towing my 16 foot boat (about 1000 pounds). If I use regular 87 octane, it will just plain run out of breath on the hills at highway speed as the computer backs off the timing, and forces me into 4th gear. At this point, I've lost speed and if I try to accelerate back to near the speed limit, I can watch the temperature gage continually climb. My gas mileage also drops to about 27MPG (Imperial gallons - I'm in Canada).
If I use 91 or higher octane for at least several days prior to towing (preferably a full tank previous), it seems to move into the different (more advanced) timing tables. I can now maintain 110-115km/h up the hills, and unless somebody else slows me down, I never have to drop to 4th. My mileage also stays up around 31MPG.
If I'm not towing, the difference in gas mileage is not significant enough to pay to use the premium (typically between 38 and 42 MPG). It just runs like a totally different car with the higher octane under load though. That boat makes it work pretty hard (it's bigger than the car), but it pulls like a trooper. My compression may be just slightly higher than normal, as I had the head planed at 175,000km when replacing a burnt exhaust valve, but otherwise the engine is bone stock. Current mileage is 203,700km, and running great (on regular, most of the time).
So for me, there IS a use for the occasional tank of premium... I've had the car since new, and have records to prove every drop of fuel consumed, and all the maintenance, so I'm not just guessing at this. I also have a vacuum gage I put in, so I can tell exactly how hard I'm working it at any time, and how it's responding.
P.S. - yes I AM aware that GM doesn't recommend towing with this combination. I just try to be easy on the clutch on takeoff, and not too nasty when pulling the boat out of the water. I just don't like some of those steep launching ramps!
