Fuel type for Z28

Hi everyone,
I have a 2002 Z28. The manual says that it is OK to use regular fuel. But some of the online sites i went through say that premium fuel is also known to be used widely. Is this true? Should I be filling in premium fuel? Would it be better for performance and more important the life of the engine?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Our LS1's engines were designed for premium fuel, therefore, it is highly recommended you use premium(91+octane) unleaded fuel.
Now putting 87 octane won't neccessarily hurt your engine, but in your owners manual, it tells you that if you experience something like engine knock,(I could be wrong, because I do not have my owners manual right in front of me) you should get higher octane. Personally I wouldn't put anything lower than an 89 octane, for the sake of the engine. Also, if you put anything lower than premium fuel, your acceleration will decrease just a bit(remember seeing that in the owners manual).

premium for sure.

Hi SpecZ28,
Thanks very much for the reply. I did not expect to get a reply so fast! That shows that there are a lot of Z28 people out there who are always ready to give the helping hand!

Thanks for the advice.

Hi!

One more question. Since I did not know much about the premium fuel usage, i was filling regular for about 1200 miles before I switched over to premium. Hope my engine would still be OK. I mean I do not hear any knocking sounds or anything but just to make sure,

Would my engine still be OK with having run 1200 miles with regular 87 fuel? I know that the engine on the Z28 is a tough one but just to be sure.

Thanks again for the help.

My dad always put 89 in while he owned the car and a year before I bought it his check engine light was coming on. The code was the O2 sensors were failing. Well I bought the car at 14K (3 months ago) and have used nothing but premium (92 octane) and since that the problem has fixed itself. I will always use premium.

Here's the quote out of the Manual:

If your vehicle has the 5.7L V8 engine (VIN Code G), use premium unleaded gasoline with a posted octane of 91 or higher for best performance. You may also use middle grade or regular unleaded gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher, but your vehicle’s acceleration may be slightly reduced. If the octane is less than 87, you may get a heavy knocking noise when you drive. If it is bad enough, it can damage your engine.

z28_onyx, I know in Florida most Regular gas is 87 octane. I would it's the same elsewhere. As long as you haven't had any heavy knocking I think you have nothing to worry about.

To answer one of your questions, NO, using 87 octane WILL NOT HURT YOUR CAR, unless you constantly hear "knocking" or "pinging" which is due to early detonation of the gas because of its lower flash point --- therefore, if your car suffers this, you should run higher octane, which does not "flash" or ignite as quickly.

So far, I've been running 87 octane in my car about 90% of the time --- every 5th tank or so, I'll put in 91 octane (especially before I went to the track) but otherwise, I'm just cruising back and forth on the highway everyday going to work, so with the mileage I'm putting on my car (7500 miles in 3 months) I can't afford to fill up with premium every time (although, I just started a new job, and one day when I can afford to, I'll probably use 91 octane on a regular basis).

I know a lot of guys run 93/94 octane on a regular basis, and while that won't hurt anything either, it's truly "overkill" IMO (in my opinion). But like I said, it won't hurt anything any more than 87 will --- and at least there won't be any pinging at all then!! (which I have noticed, but only a couple times during quick acceleration under "moderate" loads). When the computer senses any pinging/knocking though, it retards the timing to compensate, but that's where acceleration "can suffer".

Well, I hope that helps you out a bit!;) Also, "welcome to the club" --- there are lots of guys on this site who can give you lots of first-hand, real information about these cars, so "grab a chair, sit down, and get ready to learn"!!!!!!!!!!!:D And BTW, congrats on your new car!;)

Capn Pete and lastSSOne,
I am already beginning to feel at home with all the incredible help that i am getting from the forum. Thanks for the help and the doubts answered on the fuel. I do not think that i would get this help from any workshop or dealer for that matter.

Like you said i just have to listen and learn. Thanks for the wishes everyone.

This is a great forum for camaros.

z28_onyx