What fuel grade do you fill up with?

[CanadianCoupe]

I am curious to see what people fill up with considering todays fuel prices.

Make your vote and give your input, but state your engine (2.5/3.5) when leaving comments so it doesnt get confusing.

[CanadianCoupe]

Personally I always fill up my 2.5 with premium even though it is not required. It costs about $5 more per fill, but lasts me longer. Also I get slightly better throttle response and my engine stays extra clean.

[headhunt3r]

2.5S Regular Chevron/Shell only

[domdada]

93 Octane from BP (Amoco Fuels)

[phobs]

91 Octane - 3.5SE

[CanadianCoupe]

93 Octane from BP (Amoco Fuels)

How much does 93 cost? I dont know anywhere that sells it in my city.

[fyrcomm]

Personally I always fill up my 2.5 with premium even though it is not required. It costs about $5 more per fill, but lasts me longer. Also I get slightly better throttle response and my engine stays extra clean.

when you say it lasts you longer, you mean there is an improvement in mpg, right? i guess what i'm getting at is.. is it worth the extra $5/tank (which for me would be almost $200/year) to go for the premium?

[ESP]

2.5, Regular fuel...

In all the cars I've owned, there is only one where I've actually noticed a difference in the performance/mileage when using premium rather than regular. The A/C isn't it.I've heard that using premium in a car that's rated for regular can damage it, but haven't seen any proof of it anywhere. Supposedly, all it really does is waste a few extra $$$ at the pumps...Still, the compression ratio for the 2.5 is 9.5:1 which is getting closer to the point where you're supposedly required to run premium...

Now I know the difference lies in the combustibility, but isn't premium filtered a little better than regular too? If so, does anyone think that alone is worth switching for?

[ESP]

Oh, and I only fill up with Shell...I've heard from a number of sources that their gas is the "purest"...or something like that!

[fyrcomm]

Oh, and I only fill up with Shell...I've heard from a number of sources that their gas is the "purest"...or something like that!

i've heard the same.. but i think it may just be for their premium gas that its the "purest" though. nevertheless, i still use shell exclusively also

on a side note.. sometimes i feel like going to the gas station across from my local shell where i used to fill up my old civic.. it's this place called "homeland petroleum" where supposedly all of their fuel comes from American refineries.. it made me feel more independent from the middle east-based oil giants

[vonivo]

you need to add a option for 93 its all i run...91 is not even offered.

[dangeris]

93 and once in a while, 1/2 93 and half 108 race fuel. I live close to Watkins glen as well as a local closed ciruit track and the local Sunoco has a pump for race fuel.

[CoupeSlate]

Shell V-Power

[D-Roll]

Personally I always fill up my 2.5 with premium even though it is not required. It costs about $5 more per fill, but lasts me longer. Also I get slightly better throttle response and my engine stays extra clean.

Same here and I only use Shell or Mobil gas.

[Rmuth25]

i've heard the same.. but i think it may just be for their premium gas that its the "purest" though. nevertheless, i still use shell exclusively also

on a side note.. sometimes i feel like going to the gas station across from my local shell where i used to fill up my old civic.. it's this place called "homeland petroleum" where supposedly all of their fuel comes from American refineries.. it made me feel more independent from the middle east-based oil giants

hmm, I think almost all gas comes from American refineries. It is the oil that comes from imports but it is mostly refined in the United States.

[marlin29311]

Shell V-power - 93. Can you add the 93 option, i've never even seen 91 before....

2.5, Regular fuel...

In all the cars I've owned, there is only one where I've actually noticed a difference in the performance/mileage when using premium rather than regular. The A/C isn't it.I've heard that using premium in a car that's rated for regular can damage it, but haven't seen any proof of it anywhere. Supposedly, all it really does is waste a few extra $$$ at the pumps...Still, the compression ratio for the 2.5 is 9.5:1 which is getting closer to the point where you're supposedly required to run premium...

Now I know the difference lies in the combustibility, but isn't premium filtered a little better than regular too? If so, does anyone think that alone is worth switching for?

And this is true - using premium in a car not designed for it can damage the car...use what your car recommends. Putting premium in a car asking for regular will do nothing.

[Rmuth25]

Oh, and I exclusively use Exxon/Mobil whatever they are calling their gas stations now. Occasionally I use Shell but the only one around here I am not near very often. I refuse to use any gas that has ethanol in it, and those two are the only ones that I know for sure do not use it. Its not that I have any concerns that ethanol will hurt my car, cuz I do not, but I think ethanol is a joke and not the solution to anything.

[Marisha]

Regular 87 in my 2.5S

[TrueFaith]

87 is recommended for the 2.5 and that's what I use. I learned from owning a motorcycle and reading numerous discussions about octane that Premium gasoline combusts slower and is only recommended for engines that have problems with engine knock. Using Premium in an engine recommended to run on Regular improves nothing and is a waste of money.

[SaiDori]

fyrcomm, you wouldn't happen to live in Mira Mesa would you? I only know of one Homeland Petroleum across the street from a Shell gas station here in San Diego.

Oh, and to stay on topic. I use regular.

[domdada]

Oh, and I exclusively use Exxon/Mobil whatever they are calling their gas stations now. Occasionally I use Shell but the only one around here I am not near very often. I refuse to use any gas that has ethanol in it, and those two are the only ones that I know for sure do not use it. Its not that I have any concerns that ethanol will hurt my car, cuz I do not, but I think ethanol is a joke and not the solution to anything.

My family owns a gas station here in Southfield, MI (15 Minutes N of Detroit). Let me give you guys some insight about ethanol.

1) If you guys go to a gas station that has only ONE nozzel per pump (not per grade), that gas station uses ethanol in thier gas.

2) The max % of ethanol per gallon of gas is 10%

3) The regular 87 octane w/ethanol is really 89 octane. This is because 89 mixes better than 87 with ethanol. So what about the mid grade? Is it still the 89 octane? NO, it's actually has a 7-1 or 10-1 (depending if you have 91 or 93 as your premium) mix of regular to premium so it will give it a 90.5 or so octane.

4) I believe it's the EPA or some other Gov. agency, they are trying to push oil companies to make the use of 10% ethanol mandatory and actually increase the % to 20% or so.

Any questions or comments on what I have just explained, please feel free to ask or tell.

[domdada]

One thing I forgot, some of you said that 91 is the highest grade offered, well, this depends on how high up in altitude you live in. In the western rocky parts of the US, 91 is the highest offered because of how thin the air mass is. On this note, there are some gas stations out there that offer 85 octane as thier regular. But 85 is not recommended at sea level because this will cause harm to your engines.

In the east coast and some parts of the midwest, you may find 94 as the highest octane level for thier premium as well.

[domdada]

93 and once in a while, 1/2 93 and half 108 race fuel. I live close to Watkins glen as well as a local closed ciruit track and the local Sunoco has a pump for race fuel.

Won't using a 93/108 mix hurt the engine? I know of people using that mix if they have a turbo or supercharger but not on a stock

[spockrock]

91 and 94 depending in my 3.5

[Viperjunkie]

I use 93. I use 1/2 V-power and 1/2 Techron so that way I get V-Tec gas

[CanadianCoupe]

And this is true - using premium in a car not designed for it can damage the car...use what your car recommends. Putting premium in a car asking for regular will do nothing.

Quote » 87 is recommended for the 2.5 and that's what I use. [/quote]These statements are incredibly false! Read your owners manual.

2.5 - Minimum 87 (Research octane 91)

3.5 - 87 Can be used if 91 is unavailable, but not recommended

And sorry I meant to leave the poll open so people could add their own options, but I forgot and now I cant change it. Any moderator that can do this please do.

[toxik]

i'm leasing so i don't go above 87 for my 2.5

[marlin29311]

These statements are incredibly false! Read your owners manual.

2.5 - Minimum 87 (Research octane 91)

3.5 - 87 Can be used if 91 is unavailable, but not recommended

And sorry I meant to leave the poll open so people could add their own options, but I forgot and now I cant change it. Any moderator that can do this please do.

I did read my owners manual and you just confirmed my statement...2.5 use 87, 3.5 use 91....research numbers are not the same things as AKI numbers, which are the ones listed on the left and at the pump...also note:

"Using a fuel other than that specified could adversely affect the emission control system, and may also affect the warranty coverage."

Using a higher octane gas in a car designed for regular will do NOTHING. The purpose of higher octane fuels is that they are designed to withstand more compression before igniting, hence why the 3.5 engine, having a higher compression ratio than the 2.5, wants high octane gas. You're throwing money away by putting premium in the 2.5, and you're also causing the 2.5 engine to work in a slightly modified way to compensate for the fact that it's harder to burn the higher octane gas - hence the possibility of engine damage.

[motaman]

I think that the warning of damaging the emission control system is based on the fact that high octane fuel burns slower, and there may be unburned fuel in the exhaust (on engines not designed to use high octane).

The premium gas by itself does not improve the performance of your car. The engine is tuned for that performance; the premium fuel allows the engine to be tuned for higher performance without pinging, knocking, etc. It is the timing, compression ratio, and other factors that are of concern. If you run 87 octane in the 3.5, the ECU will retard the timing to the point that the engine will not knock or ping. You will see reduced performance/mileage from running 87 octane in the 3.5, but no gain from running 91 octane in the 2.5.

I will also say that there may be an argument for the occasional tank of premium fuel in a 2.5, only because in some brands there are additional detergents that may help clean the fuel system.

[maxentropy]

These statements are incredibly false! Read your owners manual.

2.5 - Minimum 87 (Research octane 91)

3.5 - 87 Can be used if 91 is unavailable, but not recommended

Wrong, on the back of the gas door on my 3.5 it says "Premium fuel recommended for best performance." Nowhere does it "not recommend" 87.

When I first purchased my 3.5 a year ago I was putting in premium fuel. I switched to 87 once gas jumped up and have not noticed any difference in performance OR gas mileage. I do 50/50 city/highway driving and usually average at about 20 mpg (and I have an incredibly lead foot).

I plan on continuing to use 87.