Quote:
Originally Posted by Canehda
Also in the post I replied to you said "once in a while its ok" [to use 87] which grammatically implies that you shouldn't use it all the time, and now you are saying that 87 is fine to use. So since you're all fired up anyway you want to say which one is right?
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To answer your question: both. I never said it's okay to use 87 all the time.
You could use 87 all the time, but you risk damaging your engine in the long run.
The ECU can compensate for short periods of lower octane. There would be no harm done unless you run with 87 for extended periods of time and/or put the engine under load/temps/stresses where detonation (ping) is an issue even with normal 91 octane gas.
My point is, just because you've put 87 octane in the car doesn't mean you are harming the engine. Much like putting on a spare tire after getting a flat, you can drive around quite a bit with 87 octane as long as you use some care in driving the car.
People flip out when a dealership puts in the wrong gas. Yes, they were probably wrong, but if you run a business at some point you would find ways of reducing costs without negatively impacting overall sales. This is one of those ways, especially if it's a low-end car that takes premium gas that may see a lot of test drives.
-alex