Six gas mileage myths

[Kiakid]

I'm not saying you are wrong yourself necessarily, All i am saying is i have noticed a difference as have several of my friends, i do not dispute your argument entirely, And i am not saying you do not know what you're talking about or that you are not knowledgeable about such topics. all im saying is i have seen a difference, not huge but a difference..

 

[Prozon]

What about it? Lol. Cars that need premium usually have a higher compression.

 

[Merlins Beard]

What about a car that calls for premium, just curious.

if you use low octane on an engine that calls for premium it will be more forceful (slamming the pistions down instead of a push) causing a knocking sound. mpg has nothing to do with it

 

[nuenjin]

if you use low octane on an engine that calls for premium it will be more forceful (slamming the pistions down instead of a push) causing a knocking sound. mpg has nothing to do with it

Well, if the lower octane fuel basically treats the pistons like the neighbors dog, then would that not ultimately affect efficiency and therefore mileage? So the point to running 93 is to maintain the highest possible performance from the engine, right?

 

[Merlins Beard]

not in a low compression engine. the only point to running premium is to get rid of the knock caused by high compression pistions and low ocatne fuel. if you buy a ferrari you dont want the engine to make a knocking sound so you put 93 octane fuel in. the car companies dont say put 93+ in to get better mpgs, its to keep the engine from making unusual noises and save it from damage over time

 

[TheIVJackal]

I have used 87 octane in my GSR many times. According to Modern Marvels on the History Channel, only 5% of the time is the extra octane really needed. If you are driving by yourself, using to commute, and dont have lots of weight in the car, including your self if you a fatty, 87 octane is fine. If there is the slightest knock in the engine from detonation, the knock sensor picks it up and retards the timing. Any gas station is usually fine, just dont go to ones that aren't frequently used as they are more prone to having junk in the gas tanks underground. Idling waste gas, period. Think about it, if your not moving and your car is on, not moving = 0 mpg. If your idling for more than a minute, your wasting gas. Some say even less time than that. And warming up your car is kind of necessary as the Owners Manual actually tells you to do so. I believe it says to warm it up for one minute if you have not driven the car in a couple days. Just dont romp on the gas pedal and youll be fine. The Zinc in the oil will prevent any damage. Hypermiling is fun! -Aaron

 

[CORNELDA]

I never let my car idle that's what the IAC is there for ive been doing that for almost a year still dives fine even after a 10hour round trip

 

[jimwww]

Interesting post. This is my first post here as I am about to get an integra LS in the next day or so. I would say where you get your fuel is at least as important to what Octane it is. Locally here in Vancouver if I put in Petrocan fuel into my 2007 Jeep or my 1996 Ford Explorer.. I have to shift down one more gear to get them to respond at all. If I gill up with Chevron I don't have that problem. If I use Esso 87 it burns faster than Mohawk or Chevron 87. When I used to have a 5.0 Liter mustang gt it used to use way less fuel and made more power (and did not knock) on 91 or 92. It did knock on 87. I have owned more cars than most of you will in a lifetime. I find it comes down to this: What does the vehicle you have want and how does it react to what you have put into it. Stop reading text about Octane.. and start learning, measuring how much power it feels like and how far you go.(mileage wise) I have found 9 times out of ten.. higher octane means better mileage and I have proven it. The only place I have found the octane not make a difference was when I lived in LA and that gas is garbage. I lived there in 2000. I had a 2000 f150 and it got 700k to the tank up here in Canada and less than 400k in LA. Octane did not matter. (they did put stuff in the gas to make it better for the enviroment.. so that is not comparible to anywhere else)

Run three tanks of anything - note your mileage. Do it again with another type of gas. Same octane. You will notice a difference - some cars work better on some gas. Then run the same test on a different Octane. See if there is any difference. Very few engines don't care what is in them.

That's my 4 cents. (I don't have 2 cents)

 

[FreshGSR]

Idk, I always warm up my car at least until it reaches about equal with the top of the C, around two or three minutes. I do love the torque my car produces in the cold; seems like a whole different beast.
And I always use premium unleaded, and only Chevron and 76; Shell, only if I have to. I worry about everything; better safe than sorry in most cases

Yeah I dig it too when it's cold. Why is this? What makes it produce more torque in the cold?