Is it possible to run 87 octaine without pinging or other issues in my 06 LS2?

 

Keep the RPMs under 4000. IMHO it should be fine......

 

Some members only use 87 and report no problems or pinging just a slight reduction in performance.

 

Dont skimp on the fuel !!!

 

thank you for your help!!

 

Yes it's possible but on warmer days your gas mileage and horsepower will be decreased with lower octane. If you run 87 octane on 40 degree or cooler days your car should still run strong.

I always run 93 octane, it only costs about $5.00 extra to fill up. I save the 87 octane for my full sized 1999 chevy truck with the 350. It gets 15 mpg with 87 or 93 octane.

Douglas in Green Bay

 

I run 87 in my '07 all the time. 30k miles on the clock and no problems. The computer is calibrated for 87 so there is no pinging.....

 

I don't but, the owners manual says you can.

 

Seriously? Why? I cant understand why people are so cheap after spending so much on a car. Yes it can run on it but not well.

 

Hate to say you're wrong, but you are. Actually, it depends on where you operate the vehicle. One of the more important factors is altitude, not just temperature. I am at 6000 ft., and I have been running 85 octane in my 05 for over a year now, with absolutely NO problems and NO discernible decrease in performance. Do a search on the web and read up on octane (from organizations like state motor vehicle departments). What you will find is that contrary to widespread belief, the octane rating doesn't indicate how much power the fuel delivers; all grades of gasoline contain roughly the same amount of heat energy. Rather, a higher octane rating means the fuel is less likely to cause your engine to knock or ping. the bottom line is, if you are at altitude, you are wasting your money paying for additional octane gas. Rather than "cheap," I would call running lower octane gas where possible prudent.

 

Why take the chance for a few cents? Yes ,you are still being cheap! Do what you want, its your car. I drive mine hard and also take good care of it. Mine has a tune among other mods. No way I'd ever put anything less than 91 in it.

 

Funny cause a buddy of mine just ended his lease on a 05 LS2 and put 87 gas all the time...it was BONE STOCK but he beat the hell out of it and not one issue..Ran pretty hard too...
Traded it in with about 50k miles...

 

I tried burning 89 octane in my '05 coupe and got a lot of pinging under moderate to hard acceleration. Never tried 87 octane but I'm sure the problem would have been worse. Now, with my '08 coupe I'm sure I could use the 89 octane. I've noticed I can use 6sp gearing at lower RPMs and no pinging. Not so with the '05. I had to be doing at least 65 MPH before shifting to 6th or there was pinging, especially if I was heading up hill. I like using Shell or Sunoco with 92 octane.

 

Would you go to a restuarant and order two meals only to throw the second meal away because one was more than your stomach needed? Of course not because that's not being a smart consumer.
At his elevation of 6000 ft and the climate he's in, he's being a smart consumer because his engine doesn't need 91 octane gas. At his average highs in July/Aug, he might have a little timing pulled if he's driving aggressively in the hottest part of the day. At his average highs in Jan/Feb/Mar, even 85 octane is overkill! You don't know him and shouldn't call him cheap.
Both altitude and ambient temperature have an affect on an engine's octane requirement which he obviously knows/understands, that's why he told you to do a search...he's trying to make you a smarter consumer. For your location, even 91 octane will probably result in timing getting pulled (KR) in the 100*F temps of the summer. However, in the months of Dec/Jan/Feb, you could run 87 octane with no KR. This is just an example as I'm not saying you should run 87 in the winter...like you said, it's your car and you can do what you want.

PS Here's a link to a good site about gasoline:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/autos/gasol...rt1/index.html
Part 3 has the best info about octane. In particular, paragraph 6.16 and all of chapter 7 with emphasis on paragraphs 7.10, 7.11, and 7.12 for our discussion.

 

Help me understand how running low octane at 6000' doesn't degrade performance. Dyno chart???? Time slip????

 

For the same reason running 100 octane at sea level versus 93 octane doesn't increase performance. If you're not getting KR on 93 octane, you won't make more power on 100 octane. If he isn't getting KR on 85 octane, he won't make more power on 91 octane. The Rocky Mountain states have lower octane gas in counties where a substantial portion is above 4000' in elevation due to the lower octane requirements associated with lower barometric pressure at that altitude and the less dense air. If you look at the link in my post above, you'll see the reduction in octane is about 1 RON/300m (~1000'). With him being at 6000', that's a 6 octane number reduction meaning 85 octane can be substituted for 91 octane with no decrease in performance.

 

There is no performance increase by using octane higher than the lowest octane the engine will tolerate. I understand this from my drag racing days, but still doubt that an engine running at 6000' on low octane will perform equally to one running at sea level with 93 octane. Again, dyno sheets, time slips???

 

I see what you are saying and I agree. The key is not getting KR on 85 octane. Heck I get KR on 91 sometimes.

 

87 will work as long as the knock sensor etc function flawlessly. But tell me this, on a stock vette with stock exhaust with radio and ac on, I can't even hear the engine. How are you going to hear knocking if it happens? And knocking will damage your engine. 87 octane is not the recommended fuel. It's only intended for use when you can't get high test.

 

He never said it would make the same power at 6000' with 85 octane as it makes at sea level with 93 octane. He was referring to no decrease in performance at 6000' using 85 octane versus 91 octane. Read his post again.