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Girl In the OC_IHB

Girl In the OC_IHB

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<p>Ok, so of course my car has to take premium gas... even a little sticker saying so on the gas cap.</p>

<p>Since I have to do A LOT of driving for work... I've been filling up at Costco, and asked a few people about how else to save at the pump...</p>

<p>I was told... (and looking for clarification from someone on here if this is true) my car would be fine if I filled it with HALF PREMIUM UNLEADED and HALF REGULAR UNLEADED...</p>

<p>Any info? Any thoughts? I figured if we had people that want/need lifts in their garages... we may have people that know about this!?</p>

<p>As always, thanks a bunch for so many helpful people answering my questions! </p>

<p>GITOC</p>
 
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just use regular gas. no need to put in premium. the regular gas burn at a slower rate thus getting more gas miliage out of it. if you want buy lucas gas cleaner for your car at every fill up. best thing to do for you car is to change the oil regularly. every 3k miles especially if you live in southern Cal. and use lucas oil stablizer.
 
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As a former mechanic I would say that you are going to have engine problems if you use a lower octane fuel. Engines are timed to ignite the air/fuel mixture as a precise instant in the compression cycle. The lower the octane level, the more likely the fuel is to ignite when compressed. Engines designed to run on premium or high-octane fuel are designed to tightly compress the mixture before firing the spark plug and if the octane level is too low it will ignite on it's own before the piston reaches the top of it's cycle. The end result is that some of the explosive force is pushing down on the piston while it is travelling up rather than down, which makes for a really counter-productive situation: lower fuel economy, dieseling, and cylinder damage.
 
Yes, the octane is the measure of how much compression the fuel can undergo before it spontaneously combusts. High performance cars need high octane because their compression ratios are higher than regular cars. If you use regular gas your engine is going to "knock" from the fuel igniting at the wrong time.





Use what the manufacturer recommends.
 
<p>


Gas prices around The OC, it's frequently updated:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.orangecountygasprices.com/">http://www.orangecountygasprices.com/</a>





</p>
 
<p>Almost all fuel injected vehicles have controls that sense knock (the most common negative effect that Nude and jwbrown77 were accurately describing) and change how the engine runs to prevent it from continuing. When this prevention kicks in, the risk of damage to the engine is minimal, but it will mean that your engine operates at reduced power and possibly slightly lower efficiency (depending on how well executed the corrective measures are).</p>

<p>If you avoid hard acceleration, sustained uphill climbs, or other things that "load" the engine heavily, you'll probably be OK, but your engine isn't running as it was designed to run and probably is not a guarantee.</p>

<p>Car's needs for oil changes vary. Changing the oil before it needs to be changed (which would be true for many modern cars given a 3k interval) will do nothing to improve fuel economy and is a waste of money (and petroleum). Similarly, gas cleaners and oil stabilizers are of dubious value unless you are addressing a specific symptom your car is exhibiting. They will NOT prevent issues associated with octane that is too low.</p>

<p>SCHB</p>

<p> </p>
 
<p>All else being equal, premium fuel will burn slower than regular fuel. Spark timing is set with a certain burn time assumed to maximize power and efficiency. If you change the burn time by changing the fuel, you will lose efficiency. Modern cars have knock sensors to detect knock in milliseconds, and responds by retarding the timing and running richer (more gas) to cool the cylinder. Under most drving conditions most modern cars won't suffer knock even with regular fuel, but it is more likely to happen on hot days or when traveliing up a steep grade. Switching to regular *may* show a $/mile improvement, or a decrease if the mpg drops too much. IMO it's not worth the risk.</p>
 
<p>You probably could do a medium octane mix and be just fine. The only car that I know of that REALLY needs high octane are modified cars (turbo, supercharger, etc. etc.). Otherwise the car would probalby take timing out.... but really i would not do it.</p>

<p>Just drive slower and be more gradual in your driving. Otherwise i'd get a small economy car. When I was driving my mustang the fuel milage was so bad (~9-12 mpg) with a VERY high octane requirement, it was worth it to me to just BUY a little econobox. It paid itself back in 19 months! ha ha!</p>

<p>good luck</p>

<p>-bix</p>
 
<p>Consider <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law">Godwin's Law</a> invoked...</p>

<p><img alt="" src="http://torontoist.com/attachments/toronto_vald/2007_08_31_Ride_with_hitler.jpg" /></p>
 
<p>I would say pour the cheaper gas save some money. your car will be fine. you might lose some horsepower but that could be for other reason such as normal wear and tear on your car. </p>

<p>changing your oil every 3k miles won't save you on gas milage but it will defintely help preserve your engine. i suggest using royal purple syn. if you have the money. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>I pour 87 octance in all my cars, and they run just fine. no problems what so ever. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>SIDE note..... IF you have a turbo then defintely go with the high octance and maybe get some octane booster too. </p>
 
<p><em>"Cheapskates burning regular in cars designed to run on premium fuel can expect to trim performance by about the same percent they save at the pump. If the car is sufficiently new and sophisticated, it may not suffer any ill effects, but all such skinflints should be ready to switch back to premium at the first sign of knock or other </em><a target="_blank" href="http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/features_classic_cars/regular_or_premium_feature"><em>drivability woes</em></a><em>."</em></p>
 
I bought Gas last night, the first time this month, at a Station on Alton, it was $3.59.9 a Gallon, Luckily it wasn't $3.60 otherwise I wouldn't have topped the Tank off, it's great these Days because all the Gas Pumps have TV's !! Is that so we don't stare at the price whirling round? Those cent digits are just a blur anyway...
 
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