Not sure if the dealer filled with 93.

[Canehda]

Originally Posted by mav1178

Question: If you have only access to regular 87 octane and the next stop for premium gas is 300 miles away, will you freak out? Will you write off your engine?

Regular gas is only "bad" if you have an engine and ECU incapable of adjusting to the octane difference. Once in a while is okay.

-alex

I think what OP is implying is that if the salesman didn't even know it took premium then chances are as a used car its seen more than one fill up with regular fuel... Even then its hard to say whether the previous owner did the same, I doubt the engine would be too happy about being fed 87 its whole life...

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by Canehda

I think what OP is implying is that if the salesman didn't even know it took premium then chances are as a used car its seen more than one fill up with regular fuel... Even then its hard to say whether the previous owner did the same, I doubt the engine would be too happy about being fed 87 its whole life...

So by your reasoning, all used FRS/BRZ would have a chance of the previous owner(s) putting in regular gas? And that it's bad?

Yes.

Whole life? Yeah right.

And if a used car took more than one fill up's worth of gas while sitting on a used car lot, then there's bigger issues than just "bad gas".

My point is, regular 87 octane is not the evil entity people make it out to be. The ECU will adjust timing to compensate for the extra knock. No harm done unless you attempted to set a new lap record at the Nurburgring with 87 octane during your test drive.

-alex

[gramicci101]

87 octane kicked my dog and sold tainted candy to my children.

[kch]

Originally Posted by Chanpion

It'll be fine, the ECU will adjust.
The car's supposed to take 94. If you're in the US, that's not premium, that's a step above it.

...that's not correct. P. 419 of the manual:

93 AKI (98 RON) or higher. If unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 93 AKI (98 RON) is not available, unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91 AKI (95 RON) may be used with no detriment to engine durability or driveability.

TLDR: If you're in the US, the car prefers 93, but 91 is ok. Not sure where the hell you got 94 from.

[Canehda]

Originally Posted by mav1178

So by your reasoning, all used FRS/BRZ would have a chance of the previous owner(s) putting in regular gas? And that it's bad?

Yes.

Whole life? Yeah right.

And if a used car took more than one fill up's worth of gas while sitting on a used car lot, then there's bigger issues than just "bad gas".

My point is, regular 87 octane is not the evil entity people make it out to be. The ECU will adjust timing to compensate for the extra knock. No harm done unless you attempted to set a new lap record at the Nurburgring with 87 octane during your test drive.

-alex

none of us know the circumstance of how the car was driven before, what gas was used or whatever, so could it have been filled with 87 it's whole life? you never know.
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?

[Canehda]

Originally Posted by kch

...that's not correct. P. 419 of the manual:


TLDR: If you're in the US, the car prefers 93, but 91 is ok. Not sure where the hell you got 94 from.

In Canada only one station carries 93 (just started to this year) and so for years all cars that needed anything more than 91 are told to use petro 94 in Canada

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Canehda

In Canada only one station carries 93 (just started to this year) and so for years all cars that needed anything more than 91 are told to use petro 94 in Canada

UMMMMM I can get 93 at many stations around here but have to go looking for 94.
I run 91 most of the time anyway.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by STV3

lol I had most of it typed, then a damn customer came in and I had to stop

Originally Posted by Abenaki

This would a great job if it weren't for the damned customers!

Benefit #1 of being the boss (well one of them):


"Just wait a minute I will be with you when I am done this"

[mav1178]

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?

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

[Canehda]

Originally Posted by mav1178

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

ok we're on the same page in regards to 87 being ok to use once in a while but not for use over the life time. All I'm saying though is that from what I read OP is a little distressed over 87 being in the car, if we all said "don't worry man its all good if they put 87 in your car" then I'm sure new people reading would be under the impression that its ok to put 87 in all the time :P that's all i'm saying, its just a change in perspective I was bringing up