what octane gas does everyone run?
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,531
The Pontiac Dealership that I bought the car from was totally clueless that LT-1 recommended fuel is 91+ Octane.
They said they'd fill it up for me before I brought it home. I said "Make sure you put 93 in it." Then they looked at me like I was speaking Arabic.
I felt like saying..."Hello? Read the Owners' Manual!!"
They said they'd fill it up for me before I brought it home. I said "Make sure you put 93 in it." Then they looked at me like I was speaking Arabic.
I felt like saying..."Hello? Read the Owners' Manual!!"
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,201
From: Somewhere between a shotgun barrel, and a blood spatter on the wall.
NEVER use shell citgo or getty unless you really NEED gas then... i have pro sources into racing world and separately i've heard them all bring that up whenever talking gas.. i always try for either mobil 93 $2.01 or sunoco 94 $2.10
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 71
From: Clio,MI. USA
I was running 87 or even 86 sometimes. I keep track of my gas milage though and decided to stay with the 92 or higher when I saw I was getting 1.5-2.5 more mpg on higher octane. I never heard or was aware of spark knock but if I see that big of a difference in milage then it's telling me something about the way the motor really is running.
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,201
From: Somewhere between a shotgun barrel, and a blood spatter on the wall.
less than 91 is bad for your car... not worth the 10 cent savings or loss in performance... i accidentally filled up with 89 once and i noticed a significant difference... other than that 1 time never put in less than 93
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 480
when my car was stock i almost always filled up with 87. now with the N2O, its nothing but 93.
i filled up up a couple of times with 93 (when stock) and didnt really notice any difference in performance nor did i expect to.
for those of you not-in-the-know, ALL manufacturers RECOMMEND that you fill up with premium or higher octain gas. that does not mean its nessesary.
unless youve got a high compression/built/power adder/etc engine, there IS NO real need for a really high octain fuel. period.
when you fill your mostly stock Z up with 93 every time your at the pump, because your buddy told you so or you heard that its better, the only thing your doing is this- 1. making yourself feel better because your extra money spent is justified (in your mind). 2. making the gasoline companies smile
jon
i filled up up a couple of times with 93 (when stock) and didnt really notice any difference in performance nor did i expect to.
for those of you not-in-the-know, ALL manufacturers RECOMMEND that you fill up with premium or higher octain gas. that does not mean its nessesary.
unless youve got a high compression/built/power adder/etc engine, there IS NO real need for a really high octain fuel. period.
when you fill your mostly stock Z up with 93 every time your at the pump, because your buddy told you so or you heard that its better, the only thing your doing is this- 1. making yourself feel better because your extra money spent is justified (in your mind). 2. making the gasoline companies smile
jon
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 534
From: Livingston, New Jersey
We used to put 93 in it when we first got it, but now its 87 from the cheapest gas station in town. Runs great, never noriced a difference , in the summer I may go back to 93 just cause ill be driving a little harder, but not sure if the difference is noticeable on a stock car.
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,154
From: All around
if you're good to it, and dont floor it at low rpms or any higher load situations, you can run 87 octane fine in cooler/cold weather. But even puttering about in 70degree weather, I saw 4 degrees of timing retard across the board. Slap in 93 octane and poof! No more retard. I dont usually get on it in colder weather, so it's going to 87 octane for now...
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,201
From: Somewhere between a shotgun barrel, and a blood spatter on the wall.
i think your wrong COMNBYU... our cars have the highest stock compression currently on the market, aside from the corvette (same motor basically) a few italians and 1 model of viper (obviously) and cars that come from the factory with turbos and stuff like that... NO all manufactors do not recommend high octane fuel- my dads cavalier and my brothers 6cyl camaro recommend 87 and the camaro says 89 might be benefical to performance.... if you read your owners manual,,, GM warns that low octane fuel can be damaging to the engine and to use 91 it also states that with even higher octane you would experiance "Increased performance and acceleration" (6.7 - 6.8 in the manuel) if you don't beleive me there are many places to look up a chart that shows compression - required octane... required does NOT mean the car will not run or that it will break down it just means that its harming your engine and you'll notice on this chart a 10.5-1 compression ratio lists for 90 octane... hey save money and put in 89 or even 87... but don't expect to beat the same car with the same mods or for your pistons and heads to last very long... and you'll probably knock yourself way out of tune
