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Regular vs Premium fuel

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Old Sep 17, 2008 | 07:55 PM
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Default Regular vs Premium fuel

I thought this was an interesting read. Probably nothing most here don't already know, but interesting nonetheless.

It's not a direct link. Click "contents" and drop down to "running on 87: is premium gas worth it"

http://windingroad.nextautos.com/win...810/?folio=103
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Old Sep 17, 2008 | 08:00 PM
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Running premium may give you detergents 87 does not. I suppose it's really just preference.
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Old Sep 17, 2008 | 08:07 PM
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Premium vs regular fuel...this gets discussed a lot. There's plenty of past threads in C5 Tech to read.
You're not really saving that much in the grand scheme of things with an average 10 gallon fill up as reference. And, if you drive the car hard, the computer will reset the timing for reduced power.
Not worth it in my book, but then fuel prices have dropped quite a bit lately.
In the end, it's the owners car to do with as the owner pleases...
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Old Sep 17, 2008 | 09:00 PM
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Julio from Cartek told me when it gets colder (below 60*), you don't need premium fuel on a bolt on car. He said the extra octane isn't needed, and you may run faster on 89 as opposed to 92-94 octane.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 06:39 AM
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Do you want performance or economy?

I got knock(at WOT) on my "01 Vararam/AR headers Borla Stingers" but otherwise stock Vert even with PREMIUM... A tune made it go away.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 06:52 AM
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Originally Posted by hotwheels57
Premium vs regular fuel...this gets discussed a lot. There's plenty of past threads in C5 Tech to read.
You're not really saving that much in the grand scheme of things with an average 10 gallon fill up as reference. And, if you drive the car hard, the computer will reset the timing for reduced power.
Not worth it in my book, but then fuel prices have dropped quite a bit lately.
In the end, it's the owners car to do with as the owner pleases...
For an example take how many miles you actually drive in a year and multiply by the difference in premium. If you do the math you will see it is really not worth discussing!
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 07:00 AM
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I haven't read all the articles and details but I did my own real world resesarch. I have always used 93 octane and average 22.3 over a period of time. Switched to 87 octane for about a month and although the car ran fine, the average dropped to 21 - I lost about 1 mile per gallon - that's a lot in my book. Simple calculations let me know it was cheaper in the long run to use the 93 -
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 10:01 AM
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I use regular or medium grade all week long while driving to and from work. I usually put some premium on the weekends or when I head to the track.

I've seen or felt no ill effects from this.
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Old Sep 18, 2008 | 11:22 AM
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Originally Posted by ronwc
I haven't read all the articles and details but I did my own real world resesarch. I have always used 93 octane and average 22.3 over a period of time. Switched to 87 octane for about a month and although the car ran fine, the average dropped to 21 - I lost about 1 mile per gallon - that's a lot in my book. Simple calculations let me know it was cheaper in the long run to use the 93 -
Exactly. Assuming $4.00/ gal, and $.20 difference in price, it takes 20 gal to make up the difference in price. It pretty much equals out in the end as far as price goes, but your car is happier, and maintenance costs are lower.

BTW, I wasn't looking for advice on what to use. I always use the highest available. I thought it was a good article for those that do question it.
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