Gas. 87, 91, 93 Octane?

[SilverNitr8]

A question about the poll occurred to me: is there any place where 91 and 93 are both offered? I think that it is either one the other, not both. So the poll is really asking, do you use high or low octane? And the overwhelming response is high octane.

I think the poll is not diverse enough. I read that 91 and higher is considered premium. If 85 and 87 are considered regular, 89 is missing which is mid grade

 

[MerlintheMad]

I think the poll is not diverse enough. I read that 91 and higher is considered premium. If 85 and 87 are considered regular, 89 is missing which is mid grade

Midgrade isn't always available. Costco doesn't offer it. Midgrade is just mixing regular and premium together anyway. Higher altitudes don't have 87 or 93 octanes. Utah is 85 and 91, for instance.

 

[BobbyGT]

Filled mine up with Premium (93) yesterday at Costco. Improved the gas mileage in a big way. The first week driving the Stinger I was only getting 17-18MPG, the dealer had filled it full. I'm pretty sure the dealer filled it with regular, after filling with Premium I'm now seeing 23-26MPG, some of that may be from the engine being broken in, but I'd say these turbocharged engines need Premium fuel. Coming from a supercharged Audi I always filled with top tier premium and will be doing so in the Stinger too.

 

[Paul32]

A question about the poll occurred to me: is there any place where 91 and 93 are both offered? I think that it is either one the other, not both. So the poll is really asking, do you use high or low octane? And the overwhelming response is high octane.

Don't forget Mid (89). Most pumps have 3 grades. Florida is 87, 89, and 93. Have never seen a station in Florida or Georgia that did not offer 3 grades. Remember Sunoco with all their grades?

 

[Revvdmedia]

Filled mine up with Premium (93) yesterday at Costco. Improved the gas mileage in a big way. The first week driving the Stinger I was only getting 17-18MPG, the dealer had filled it full. I'm pretty sure the dealer filled it with regular, after filling with Premium I'm now seeing 23-26MPG, some of that may be from the engine being broken in, but I'd say these turbocharged engines need Premium fuel. Coming from a supercharged Audi I always filled with top tier premium and will be doing so in the Stinger too.

Even with regular driving I do also believe modern turbo engines benefit from premium 91+ fuel. Considering the turbos produce boost at such low RPM, even in normal driving, the car is often seeing boost even at low RPM. Having a higher octane fuel that avoids knock and doesn't engage timing retard should give better MPGs.

I'm seeing 13.6L/100KM or so on average with my commutes, sometimes into the 12's, running 91 octane. I won't complain because the Mustang couldn't do better than 14.5 on the same commute daily running 91 octane (on a tune). Saving money on fuel and having more usable street power doesn't upset me one bit.

 

[Waynerm002]

Don't forget Mid (89). Most pumps have 3 grades. Florida is 87, 89, and 93. Have never seen a station in Florida or Georgia that did not offer 3 grades. Remember Sunoco with all their grades?

I do. Miss that 95 octane option and 100 from a couple of stations not too far from a race track.

 

[MikeysGT]

A question about the poll occurred to me: is there any place where 91 and 93 are both offered? I think that it is either one the other, not both. So the poll is really asking, do you use high or low octane? And the overwhelming response is high octane.

The only place around here (Ohio) I have ever been able to find 91 is Sunoco. Everyone else has 87, 89 and 93. I have never used anything other than 93 at Shell

 

[StungBlueGT2]

The only place around here (Ohio) I have ever been able to find 91 is Sunoco. Everyone else has 87, 89 and 93. I have never used anything other than 93 at Shell

I used to only use Shell 93 in all my cars, but recently found our Stingers like the new Mobil Synergy 93 even better. It might just have a little more ethanol here in FL but it definitely runs best on the Mobil since I switched.

 

[Rhode Block]

I used to only use Shell 93 in all my cars, but recently found our Stingers like the new Mobil Synergy 93 even better. It might just have a little more ethanol here in FL but it definitely runs best on the Mobil since I switched.

93 Mobil syn is what I have/use here in RI. I like it.

 

[MikeysGT]

I used to only use Shell 93 in all my cars, but recently found our Stingers like the new Mobil Synergy 93 even better. It might just have a little more ethanol here in FL but it definitely runs best on the Mobil since I switched.

Hmmm I'll have to give that a try next fill up. A lot of Shell stations around here have switched over to Mobil. I get 5 cents a gallon off every fill at Shell so I never really thought twice about going anywhere else. There used to be 3 Shells in my little ass town, 2 of them are now Mobil. I THINK everything here is E10, but have to double check.

 

[V10enomous]

Hi... Newbie here... Looking at trading in the wife's Optima Hybrid for a Stinger but like others have mentioned the difference between 87 and 91 octane can be as much as 70 cents a gallon by us. I'm sure the performance is more than adequate for her, she thinks her KOH is fast. She hates spending money on gas hence the hybrid but she likes the looks of the Stinger. The way I read this it sounds like either engine will run fine on 87 but can they can take advantage of higher octane to achieve the advertised performance unlike some cars where using premium is just a waste of money ? I guess she'll have to get used to getting quite a bit less than 39mpg and 538 miles on a tankful...Thoughts ? Anything else we should consider ? Happy Thanksgiving BTW...

 

[Andimal]

Hi... Newbie here... Looking at trading in the wife's Optima Hybrid for a Stinger but like others have mentioned the difference between 87 and 91 octane can be as much as 70 cents a gallon by us. I'm sure the performance is more than adequate for her, she thinks her KOH is fast. She hates spending money on gas hence the hybrid but she likes the looks of the Stinger. The way I read this it sounds like either engine will run fine on 87 but can they can take advantage of higher octane to achieve the advertised performance unlike some cars where using premium is just a waste of money ? I guess she'll have to get used to getting quite a bit less than 39mpg and 538 miles on a tankful...Thoughts ? Anything else we should consider ? Happy Thanksgiving BTW...

You are correct from everything I've seen and read. 87 is completely ok according to Kia, but you won't get advertised power, although I'm sure it's not dramatically different. Would prob get slightly better mileage with 93 though, but I doubt it's anywhere near enough to make up the price difference. I'd suggest the 2.0 instead of the GT to cover all of the bases. I'm sure she'll find the power to be just as good as the hybrid, and better mileage than the GT. Just my $.02.

 

[davebo]

I just have to ask, are you actually interested in a higher performance vehicle? It'd be a shame to take that kind of hit in mileage either with the 2.0 or V6 just for the looks of a Stinger. I had the yellow paint that had to be resprayed so I ended up with a Ford Fusion Hybrid for a month and it was pretty nice getting 43mpg. I filled the tank once that whole month. In terms of the features you get for the money, the current Optima is a far better deal in just about every regard except exterior looks and handling, and unless you actually want a fun car to drive I wouldn't let exterior looks alone sway you because you're inside the car a lot more than looking at it from outside.

As for your question about octane, there'll be a slight performance and mpg cost switching to a lower octane, but if you're looking to save money you might want to do it in the car choosing part instead of the gas choosing.

Edit: I just noticed your username. Do you happen to have a Viper? Seems like if you want a fun RWD car you've already got that covered if so

 

[POS VETT]

If fuel cost is a factor, it's very difficult to justify a Stinger GT. Apart from the affinity for high-octane fuel, a Stinger, regardless of trim level, is a very heavy car; my lowly RWD GT1 weighs 2 tons. Meaning that it tends to consume fuel at a higher rate compared to the more-efficient hybrid, FWD, lower weight Optima. She would also complain at the higher rate of refueling.

 

[V10enomous]

The Hybrid was awesome until it wasn't. It's an early 2012 when hybrids were a new thing to Kia. Ours was perfect.. Never had a single problem... Even has the original brakes and rode and ran like the day we got it until the other day at 96,7XX miles the hybrid malfunctioned and stranded us. The car was bucking and lunging and the dash lit up with a "Stop Driving the Car Immediately" message. Kia is trying to decide if they are going to try to fix it under warranty or just work us a deal on a trade. They want to replace the speed sensor which is $700 but they say in most cases the trans will also need to be replaced at $5,000 and then maybe the inhibitor at for $600 and then possibly the battery pack at $3,000 and they have done this with a few of them apparently and still couldn't get them to run right. There's plenty of info on this on the Optima forum with the early hybrids. You know it's not good when the service writer calls you back at starts out with a deep sigh and says "how attached are you to this car ?". It's a shame because we love the car and planned to put another 100,000 miles on it. We just put a new set of 80,000 mile Michelins on it 3 weeks ago.

We were considering another Optima but we like the hatchback and AWD on the Stinger too along with the looks. She like the yellow too. One bad thing with the KOH is the tiny trunk due to the battery pack. They seem to have some really aggressive discounts on the Stingers now too. By the time you option out an Optima with everything standard on the Stinger it gets pretty expensive. Yes, I'm a Viper guy and daily drive a Hemi Ram with just under 400hp stock that runs on regular... ( :

I just have to ask, are you actually interested in a higher performance vehicle? It'd be a shame to take that kind of hit in mileage either with the 2.0 or V6 just for the looks of a Stinger. I had the yellow paint that had to be resprayed so I ended up with a Ford Fusion Hybrid for a month and it was pretty nice getting 43mpg. I filled the tank once that whole month. In terms of the features you get for the money, the current Optima is a far better deal in just about every regard except exterior looks and handling, and unless you actually want a fun car to drive I wouldn't let exterior looks alone sway you because you're inside the car a lot more than looking at it from outside.

As for your question about octane, there'll be a slight performance and mpg cost switching to a lower octane, but if you're looking to save money you might want to do it in the car choosing part instead of the gas choosing.

Edit: I just noticed your username. Do you happen to have a Viper? Seems like if you want a fun RWD car you've already got that covered if so

 

[davebo]

I looked at the 2012 Hybrid before getting my SX. Didn't even consider it once I saw that the battery placement prevented having fold-down seats as that's a requirement for me (I assume that's different in current models though.) Having a hatchback is definitely an improvement for me. If you've got a Ram with a Hemi AND a Viper then I'm guessing as a couple you're not super concerned with your carbon footprint, so if your wife doesn't mind fueling up a lot more you may want to just go with one of the Stinger trims. I don't know where you live though, if AWD is a concern or the air cooled seats. Some of the options do come cheaper on the Optima as opposed to Stinger pushing you into a higher trim V6 to get some things.

Edit: Oh you had asked originally if there's anything else to look at. I'd say the Buick Regal Sportback GS, just to give yourself options.

 

[Liljaeger]

We only have E95 and E98, they recommend E95 in Sweden so that's what I use (has 5% ethanol).

 

[POS VETT]

We only have E95 and E98, they recommend E95 in Sweden so that's what I use (has 5% ethanol).

Interesting. The nomenclature is the opposite of that in the USA.

 

[Roarbomb]

The part of texas i live in we have 91 and SOMEPLACES 92. I use whatever is highest at the pump. Mostly costco 91 but the place on my way to work that has 92 works in a bind, since it costs alot more than costco.

 

[SKStinger]

Honestly, if I lived in the US, putting lower octane fuel in my Stinger wouldn't even be a consideration. American fuel prices are ridiculously cheap compared to Canada, Australia and Europe. It would be 91+.