What octane do you run?

Regular or Super?


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you have to draw the line when someone says z06 and e63 in the same sentence.
 
What octane CAN you run in our LC/LX? 87 and up. All the rest is opinion.

Now let's stop bickering in bring this back to tech please.
 
I think what we need is a "blind" MPG test.
Whos wife drives a LC? Dont tell her what gas youre using or anything else. Put gas in it for her, let her drive as normal.
Start with four tanks of 87 octane, average it out.
Then run four tanks of 93 octane, average it out.
Report back in a new thread with the miles per tank, MPG per tank and average MPG for the octane ran.
To make sure the results are as fair as possible use the same exact gas station and same exact pump every tank of gas.

My wife drives the LC daily. I am very sure she will not know if the car run differently. IMHO I think 93 octane produces higher horsepower than 87, but I highly doubt there is a noticeable difference in mpg or miles per tank in daily driving condition for us. Most of the time LC is running empty, without out third row seat, and with one adult and one child.

Now if we are talking about fully loaded towing 6000 lbs going up the mountain, it may make sense to use 93 octane to harness as much horsepower as you can.

We use 87 octane.
 
An article was rencently published in the San Diego Union (all the news that's fit to print) recently.

Apparently, AAA ran tests on the use of different grades/octanes. Basically, anything over the basic octane (is that 87?) is a waste of money...that would be billions as far as the country is concerned.
 
An article was rencently published in the San Diego Union (all the news that's fit to print) recently.

Apparently, AAA ran tests on the use of different grades/octanes. Basically, anything over the basic octane (is that 87?) is a waste of money...that would be billions as far as the country is concerned.


It is only a waste of money if your car does not require premium.
 
I don't pay much attention to the octane rating of the gasoline I use. 87 or 91, I look for 'NO ALCOHOL' or 'ETHANOL FREE' gasoline. This presents its own challenges when traveling though not a problem at home. I see about 20-30 more miles a tank for the same quantity of E10, which indicates I realize about a 1mpg gain. The drive ability is exactly the same. E10 builds up a lot of vapor pressure in my fuel tank and charcoal canister as it gets warm. The main reason I run alcohol free gasoline is it does not create the same amount of pressure in the fuel tank. I have noticed a big difference in the vapor release from the gas cap between the two fuels.
 
I don't pay much attention to the octane rating of the gasoline I use. 87 or 91, I look for 'NO ALCOHOL' or 'ETHANOL FREE' gasoline. This presents its own challenges when traveling though not a problem at home. I see about 20-30 more miles a tank for the same quantity of E10, which indicates I realize about a 1mpg gain. The drive ability is exactly the same. E10 builds up a lot of vapor pressure in my fuel tank and charcoal canister as it gets warm. The main reason I run alcohol free gasoline is it does not create the same amount of pressure in the fuel tank. I have noticed a big difference in the vapor release from the gas cap between the two fuels.

But how much more are you paying for the E-free fuel?
I only use E-free in my small engine equipment, it is twice as expensive but I only buy 2gal at a time and that lasts me almost all summer for lawn mowing.
Chain saw and weed whacker I buy the pre-mixed E-free treated in a can fuel.
E-free where i can get it here is 90 octane.
 
I use 87 octane. C&D did a test on this long ago and if your car isn't made for premium it gains you nothing. If it is made for premium all you lose is a tiny bit of HP. Days of engine knock due to octane are long gone. Now, if I had a turbo that required premium I would use it. Otherwise, naaaah.

I would like to add all our gas here has 10% ethanol. Boooo. I hate the idea of losing MPG's because our government wants to subsidize corn growers.
 
But how much more are you paying for the E-free fuel?
I only use E-free in my small engine equipment, it is twice as expensive but I only buy 2gal at a time and that lasts me almost all summer for lawn mowing.
Chain saw and weed whacker I buy the pre-mixed E-free treated in a can fuel.
E-free where i can get it here is 90 octane.
Locally it is $0.25 more per gallon in 87. On the road I can usually only find it in 91 which can be up to $1.00 per gallon more.
 
I used to put premium in my 2008 and 2010 4Rs when I drove them out west and headed over Loveland Pass towing our trailer. It used to make me feel better but I dont think it made a bit of difference and they got terribly bogged down over passes.

We bought a SC Tundra this summer, which requires premium fuel. Negates the fact that it gets better mileage than our diesel Chev did.

I would not think to put it in our 02 or 07 and both run like new. I have horses, which eat while I sleep. I find very, very clever ways to part with my money.:eek:
 
real world in wifes 2001 lx470 recent 2500 mile trip I switched and monitored fuel types and MPG 87, 89, 92, with and without ethanol... there was never a time where there was a cost or performance benefit to use anything other than 87... I could get an extra mpg with some premium fuels but at no ti,e was it worth the premium price.
 
IMO marketing also plays a factor in the octane recommendations for a vehicle.
For example my wife's $25k subie says "regular unleaded" however it pings like crazy on 87 use 93 octane and pinging stops. If they marketed a 25k car to run premium I don't think they would sell many of them. Subie has it tuned for maximum fuel mileage instead of power and I believe they take the chance it will make it past the warranty period without engine damage on 87 even with severe pinging.
On the flip side the new 45k RDX we looked at says "premium only" but many on acura forums run 87 with no problems.
My point being a car company that
demands a longer life span for their vehicles and sells them at a premium price knows that its customers are willing to pay for premium fuel and will
market them to individuals whom they know
will maintain them well as seen here by the results of the poll thus far.
 
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Why does the sticker inside the gas door on my 07 LX say premium fuel only? I have a picture I can post if necessary.
 
Why does the sticker inside the gas door on my 07 LX say premium fuel only? I have a picture I can post if necessary.
As already discussed in this thread: even though the manual calls for premium, you can run 87+. All in your personal preference.
 
no ethanol 87 if possible in four wheelers, dirt bikes, and yard equipment.

never run anything but 87 in our cars and run offroad diesel in my pickup. all mobil 1 oils in everything. fuel grade doesnt really matter to me except for bikes and quads. not a noticeable enough difference to justify paying more for something that lasts me two days before having to fill up again. only thing this discussion has made me realize is that I need something more fuel efficient.
 

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