Premium recommended vs Required ??

[prewrath]

Hi All,, I have a 2021 Kia Stinger GT Limited

I have a question and please no bashing.. the owners manual says this about the fuel ... we recommend you use unleaded gasoline which has an octane rating of RON (Research Octane Number) 95/AKI (Anti Knock Index) 91 or higher. Using Unleaded gasoline with an octane rating lower than RON 95 could result in loss of engine power and increase in fuel consumption.

Now I use to own a 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP that came from factory with Supercharger, and said right on gas cap Premium Fuel is Required!!

however the Kia Stinger GT , says nothing on the gas cap or the gas door about having to use premium fuel, other then whats stated above from owners manual, in Recommended, vs required

is it safe to use a lower grade maybe 89 mid grade? here in Canada Ontario, premium is out of control some places 1.95 per Liter or more seen some 2.10 per liter and higher..

I have put 91 in car since I bought it.. tonight I had about 3/4 s of a tank and topped it off with 89 mid grade..


any knowledgeable info is appreciated..

thank you ..

 

[MerlintheMad]

I use premium exclusively because it bothers me to think that I won't have full performance when I go WOT (which I do several times a week). Knowing that the ECU has to adjust to lower grade fuel to avoid knock also bothers me, even though the car is designed to do that.

 

[prewrath]

I fully understand your answer, My question is, is it required to run 91.. is it safe on say 89?

 

[Deviate]

Yea the cost suuucks but id stay with premium. Just my opinion.

 

[ChaneRZ]

Stay with the highest octane available. Buy an EV or hybrid if you can’t afford.

 

[hayagix]

Premium 94 is $2.19 a litre here and I think it was more a few days ago. I refuse to put anything else in my baby but I am driving less. I've got a gas scooter and electric bike for short hops in my small town.

 

[killinghall]

Th gas door sticker should tell you all you need to know.

Premium isn't required on this car, but for the sake of performance and fuel efficiency you should go premium.

 

[ht_addict]

The car will run just fine on what ever you put in. If you go regular to save a few bucks, put it in Eco mode and drive like a granny. I'm going to suck it up and continue with premium. Will print punch else where. Luckily Canadian Tire is giving back 14cents/L for the next 3 months. Between 2 cars that's $50.

We can all thank the turd in office for the level of taxation on gas and it's continued rise. Even before the current situation, has prices in Canada were going up. This outdoor thinks he's going to change the world trying to turn us green. We only produce 1.5% of the World's GHGS.

 

[95oRANGEcRUSH]

I can share my anecdotal experience with my '22 GT2 AWD. My car has 8,217 miles on it and I've driven all but maybe 50 of those miles in ECO. My lifetime MPG is 21.5; it was 21.9 before winter set in here in northeast Ohio with that being about a 60/40 city/highway split. I'd say over the 10 months I've owned the car, 40% of my fill-ups have been 87, 40% 89 and 20% 93 octanes. I do make sure that I only use Top Tier rated gas brands in my car. Based on what I've read here and on Reddit, I drive my Stinger more conservatively than most but when I do occasionally use Sport for an onramp the car takes off with no issues. Of course, I'm not doing any logging so I can't give you empirical evidence of timing being pulled or anything else, just seat of the pants type experience.

I don't say any of this to sway you either way on your choice of octane. This is just my experience with my car to date.

 

[prewrath]

Thanks to all who responded very grateful for any and all input. I have always put 91 or better in the car, I topped up with 89 the other night. And I thought because I had about 3/4 of gas tank of premium I would top off using the 89… I did so just because it so infuriating about what’s going on out there with the price of gas and it should not be this way.

America and Canada have some of the largest oil reserves in the world yet we purchase our oil from countries that hate us sending them untold amounts of billions of dollars. Go figure ..

Not turning my post into a political statement , just saying .. we the little guy always pay!

 

[NYBIOMED]

I have good access to 93 octane where I live, a couple times now when I reach half way, ill top off with 89 when I see it's .50+ more per gallon for premium to save around 3 bucks. I drive alot for work, so im prolly saving about $6-7wk. I have not noticed any difference, but 89+93/2=91 octane, so I guess I wouldn't really expect too. It helps in a small way, I have a 2022 GT-Line with the 2.5T and am averaging 27.5mpg for the 2k miles I've had it, I'm satisfied with that, but I drive 80% highway.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Not turning my post into a political statement , just saying .. we the little guy always pay!

I don't engage in political talk on a car forum. But gas and pricing is directly car related, so, I will contribute something that I read recently. It is from an editorial on Epoch Times about how historically every time this skyrocketing gas prices thing has happened, it is followed by a precipitous crash. Crude Will Soon Crash

Remember back in 2008-9, "they" said, "You'll never see two dollars a gallon gas again"? Well almost immediately after asserting that, the price of gas crashed, and around here it didn't bottom out till I saw $1.39/galloon

What causes this? A cycle of cause and effect. Gas prices constrict public and business discretionary spending. As goods and services constrict, because people travel less and buy less, the use of gas goes down, the barrels pile up, and prices crash. Wait for iiit ...

As for Uncle Joe's "green" mania, I reckon we discuss EVs on here enough already.

 

[NYBIOMED]

Thanks Merlin, for the lucid discourse! I detested Cheeto Jesus as a vile, repulsive human in every regard, but I don't bring him up in a car forum- its a modicum of discipline. A president actually has very limited direct power over the economics of supply and demand or what Putin does in eastern europe. I'm ok with $4.00g for premium gas, it spurs investment into researching/meeting alternative energy needs, cheap gas offers no incentive for that.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I detested Cheeto Jesus as a vile, repulsive human in every regard, but I don't bring him up in a car forum

You just did.

 

[JSolo]

@Merlin, might want to give rt.com a read too. I've given up on all mainstream news (dis)information. Don't really know whats true any more these days. All propaganda. Fox is interesting to read too, but I suspect they have their own bias as well.

PS. I'm still running fuel from a few weeks ago at $3.80 for premium and $3.46 for regular (2/14). Gripes.. It's been a month since I refueled! ~245mi DTE.

 

[stoopid]

Wide/sudden gas price fluctuations have nothing to do with administrative policies, they're reactions in the financial markets to speculative pressures. Someone blaming or praising a president for changes in gas prices only illustrates that person's ignorance for how things work.

 

[ht_addict]

Wide/sudden gas price fluctuations have nothing to do with administrative policies, they're reactions in the financial markets to speculative pressures. Someone blaming or praising a president for changes in gas prices only illustrates that person's ignorance for how things work.

Correct. Our gas prices are not affected by price of WTI, it's Brent Crude that dictates that, as well as gasoline futures. Though it doesn't help that your neighbor to the north has all the oil to spare, yet the old fart cancels the pipeline that would have carried out to him. Then he goes out hunting for oil in some of the worst places in the world. Go figure.

 

[Devin]

@Merlin, might want to give rt.com a read too. I've given up on all mainstream news (dis)information. Don't really know whats true any more these days. All propaganda. Fox is interesting to read too, but I suspect they have their own bias as well.

You suspect?!?