What fuel grade do you use?

[Poyzinous]

I filled up today on V-Power. A dude in a C240 next to me proudly filled up on 87. I guess he's just a German engineering tool. I wouldn't drink my bath water, why give the equivalent to my car?Just premium. I like hearing orchestrated combustion from my VQ, not knock and spark timing adjustments to the abuse of my convienient cheapness in fuel. That led me to wonder while the 20 degree weather froze my fingertips, What goes into fellow Gclub members fuel tanks?
Modified by Poyzinous at 3:12 PM 2/9/2009

[kmckis1029]

93 everytime... but i bet my car had 87 for the first 18K before i brought it... (it was a leased fleet car for a business) i bet my timing is retarded... i cant wait to bring my car in and get it advanced

[joe603]

(waits for Telco)....

[smockers83]

I usually use 93. Parts of my state that are in the higher elevations carry 91, so that's what I use there. I think, keyword is think, I used 87 once but not a full tank. The new gas station I have started using, Sunoco, also carries 94 along with 93. They charge 10 cents more for the single point so I haven't used it yet. I also just found a station that sells racing gas.

[telcoman]

It won't let me vote

Telcoman

[kmckis1029]

but we all know what your vote is

[Ar878]

93 Vpower everytime

[zozoka1212]

Most places only have 91 here so that's what I pump. Sometimes if the Sunnoco is in my way I pump 94.

[chris12]

87 all the way. The gas stations by me also only go to 91.

[apro06g35]

93 every single time! My car was previously a lease car and I have a feeling I was the best thing thats ever happened to my g's engine : )

[Poyzinous]

One day I woke up feeling fantastic. I just knew it would be a great day, because it always is for me. I took a refreshing shower. I had brand new clothes. Awesome Adidas running shoes. The ones with the Goodyear tread. A comfortable Track suit that was quite attractive, didn't make the funny squeeky rustling sound when the fabric rubs together, and kept me warm in the winter but cool in the summer. Magic? who knows. Anyhow, It was a beautiful brisk morning as usual. 65 degrees, partly cloudy, sun just half risen over the horizon, gentle breeze, morning song had begun from the birds, and I said I'll have breakfast, then stretch, asess my morning jog route, and be on my way. I sat down for breakfast and was given my meal. Muddy water, moldy bread, soggy cereal in expired milk, an apple with more worms than an avid fishermans tackle box, and a muffin made out of sand and grenade fragments. Then my car slammed through my house, and slammed me up against the wall. I immediately woke up, having fallen off the bed. I ran outside, hugged my G35's steering wheel, and apologized for feeding it regular, and drove her straight to Shell for a fresh tank of V Power.

Chris12. Make the right choice.

[SteveTheTech]

I think Poyzinous will make a great addition to the antics of the G board. The mental images you paint are very a fitting tribute to Shell V power. I am a firm believer in car Karma,the same applies for my pets. If I treat it well, feed it the good stuff it won't poop in my clean laundry or leave me on the side of the road.

Personally I love my cars and give them proper bathes and massages with exotic oils. The maintenance of my cars is always done with OE or direct fit top tier replacements. I don't flog it too badly but I rarely follow posted speed advisories. Good car Karma is easy to get., and often unappreciated while it lasts.

[Jacko3]

You are awesome I love your poetry!

[Poyzinous]

Steve I laught every time I see your post. That pic of "Lifting Baby" cracks me up every time.

[kmckis1029]

wow great!!!!!

[pfarmer]

It won't let me vote

Telcoman

Base on your sig, you should be fine with using the 87 with a 35.

Perry

[SVTCOBRA]

I run prem. in both G's, but several months ago with we had $4+ prices and NO prem. was to be found, the Sedan ran fine on 87 !!! No spark knocking, could not tell much difference at all.

However, the Coupe stayed parked because the manual says only Prem.

Can somebody explain why the manual says only Prem. for my coupe and the manual says 87 is OK for my sedan???

[Poyzinous]

The cars are tuned differently, ECM variances in pulse widths, and other parameters. You would almost definitely hear knock, and lose 15hp. The sedan loses about 9.

[rpm240sx]

I only use 93 Octane but hey I live in Texas and gas is fairly cheap here compared to a lot of other states. Since, we are on the subject of fuel, has anyone ever used Ethanol E85? I've always heard mixed reviews about it...but a buddy of mine has a tuned Evo and says he loves the stuff.

[joe603]

DO NOT USE ETHANOL E85!!

You have to have your fuel system modified to be able to handle the fuel. Stainless steal lines, fuel tank and even special fuel rails need to be used! Unless your friend tuned his Evo to be able to use the fuel, he WILL screw up his car.

[rpm240sx]

Yeah, I'm not sure how his set up is...but I do know he runs methanol as well Yeah, I kind of figured the E85 was a car specific thing. I've just never looked into it before. I'll just stick to my good ol' 93 Octane

[Monkeyboy88]

I've tried 87 for 2 tanks in a row now. No problems what so ever. The manual recommends 91 but says you can use 87 if 91 is not available but that you might notice a performance loss. The difference in performance is very minimal as far as I can tell.

[gwoods]

Base on your sig, you should be fine with using the 87 with a 35.Perry

Let me translate that for you....

your sig has gas mileage quotes and your proud of how long your tires last. Your motor does not get to use the extra 15 hp you lost to 87 octane gas and you probably don't whip it hard enough to get knock even if you could find 80 octane gas.

[gwoods]

91 or 93 whichever Phoenix pumps honestly I can't remember and I bought a tank this morning?

When I'm at the track I make sure its a tank of Chevron or Shell V Power and I add a bottle of NOS or NX octane booster 60 full point of raised octane! I'm not sure the car can adjust to the extra octane but I also don't want any knock while I'm doing back to back to back 1/4 mile runs

[telcoman]

Let me translate that for you....

your sig has gas mileage quotes and your proud of how long your tires last. Your motor does not get to use the extra 15 hp you lost to 87 octane gas and you probably don't whip it hard enough to get knock even if you could find 80 octane gas.

Even if I did lose 15 hp why would I need it?(Not sure if that can be proved)?For what purpose?My round trip commute is 100 miles per day.The local police here in NJ have very strict DWI inforcement and are out in force every morning watching for speeders, reckless drivers and drunks.Once on the Turnpike and Parkway more than 70 - 75 will get you pulled over.I drive 25 - 30 thousand miles a year & don't need the hassle of tickets. They are costly and raise our very high insurance premiums.

I purchased my G for a host of reasons including the available Sirius Radio and the availability of a 6 speed manual which is what I have driven all of my life.Had a 1940 Pontiac, a 53 Studebaker, and a 55 Chevy all with manual 3 speed column shifts in my younger days.

If I take my almost 108k miles and divide that by approx 23 MPG that comes to 4696 gallons purchased over the past four years.

Multiply that by the average $.30 a gallon more for premium and I'ved saved over $1400 dollars in fuel costs. That saving paid for a set of tires and new plugs.

I did perform a 1 month test during 2009 of both 91 and 93 octane with no significent changes in performance or MPG.

I've also spoken with local users of G37s and they have had no problems using regular 87 octane. I'll be using it on my next G and will report the results here.The premium recomended statement by many automobile manufactures is a myth that increases the profits of large oil companies.Go into any Best Buy and make a purchase of almost anything and some sales clerk will try to sell you a useless service contract.

For those that enjoy spending the extra money for premium gasoline, premium and expensive oil, additives, mods etc I say go for it if it makes you feel good and happy.

For me I've been feeling good and happy using 87 octane in many vehicles over many years over hundreds of thousands and perhaps a million miles.The money saved makes me feel good

Cheers

Telcoman

[Monkeyboy88]

Hey Telcoman,

Spoken like someone who thinks for himself instead of going along with the herd. If it doesn't hurt the engine, I would rather spend my money wisely like you said, on a new set of tires or wheels.

[srv2nv]

Most places only have 91 here so that's what I pump. Sometimes if the Sunnoco is in my way I pump 94.

Same here. All it got was 94 before, but since I've moved all I can get is 91.

[telcoman]

Hey Telcoman,

Spoken like someone who thinks for himself instead of going along with the herd. If it doesn't hurt the engine, I would rather spend my money wisely like you said, on a new set of tires or wheels.

Here is a photo of my plugs that were replaced at 107.6 thousand miles.The use of regular 87 octane shows even and clean burning with no excessive carbon buildup.I'd like to see a comparison of plugs with the same mileage and the use of premium.

Anybody?



Telcoman

[gwoods]

Whether you could feel the power gain or loss is subjective to your butt dyno.

The car is designed to run on 91 octane. However it can retard its timing to accomodate 87 octane.

I appreciate that you didn't buy the car to race and I average 20mpg in my automatic too. On trips I have gotten as high as 24 mpg but you have to drive nice and I prefer to drive fast.

My plugs at 69k miles looked about like yours, darker grey deposits on the tip and electrode. My upper electrode was completely worn away on 3 plugs not on 3 plugs it appears your upper electrode was completely worn away on all 6.

Old at .56 gap vs new

[telcoman]

Whether you could feel the power gain or loss is subjective to your butt dyno.

The car is designed to run on 91 octane. However it can retard its timing to accomodate 87 octane.

I appreciate that you didn't buy the car to race and I average 20mpg in my automatic too. On trips I have gotten as high as 24 mpg but you have to drive nice and I prefer to drive fast.

My plugs at 69k miles looked about like yours, darker grey deposits on the tip and electrode. My upper electrode was completely worn away on 3 plugs not on 3 plugs it appears your upper electrode was completely worn away on all 6.

Old at .56 gap vs new

Did you have to clean your throttle body when you changed plugs?Mine had to be cleaned of carbonI'm wondering if there is a difference in carbon buildup after 100k miles between using regular 87 octane and premium?