Curious ... who here uses 87 octane Regular gas in your 3.3t?

[Mike_TX]

I use it exclusively in my 2.0t. I've tried 89 octane Mid-grade and full 91 octane Premium, and I can tell no difference in performance or gas mileage. The knock sensors and variable timing in modern engines pretty much adjust automatically to gasoline octane, and they're very effective.

Still, I wonder if anyone on here uses Regular gas in their V6, and if you have any comments.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Did you miss/forget all of those (vehement) exchanges on other octane threads? Some insist with religious conviction that premium octane is the only way to go. Others quote the manual and are willing to give up a little performance to save money. The lines are firmly drawn; nobody swayed anybody to the Dark side with their copious verbiage. (I use premium, Top Tier only; and have never put a cup of regular octane in my tank.)

 

[Mike_TX]

Yeah, I remember that, and I'm wondering if anyone else will admit they use Regular gas.

 

[eflyguy]

This has been discussed extensively.

I run 87 unless I am headed to the strip/autocross, or for a day in the mountains.

My best mileage numbers are with 87 (I record every fill-up on Fuelly.)

 

[GenesisG70]

I live in La Florida where gas is cheap so premium or regular won't hurt my pocket so I just don't think about it just automatically put Premium for my premium car.

 

[Mike_TX]

Here in TX it's about 50-60 cents more per gallon to go from Regular to Premium, so a tankful (even with our small tanks) costs $7-8 more. Since I can tell no difference in performance, I just pocket the extra bucks and run Regular.

 

[Mike_TX]

And yeah, I know the relative merits of Reg vs Prem have been discussed at length. I'm just polling to see how many have migrated to Regular after all the discussion.

 

[87and66]

never a drop of anything but 93 octane in my tank through 25,700 miles

 

[Mike_TX]

never a drop of anything but 93 octane in my tank through 25,700 miles

And of course that's your choice. But you've left about $600 on the table by not using Regular gas. That would buy a lot of Steelers foam fingers!

 

[DevLF]

My last 3 cars have done nothing but slurp up that sweet sweet Premium.

 

[Travis Wills]

And of course that's your choice. But you've left about $600 on the table by not using Regular gas. That would buy a lot of Steelers foam fingers!

To be fair you might have left some horsepower on the table by not using premium. It is very clear in the owners manual that using less than 91 Octane MAY reduce performance.

Some people value extra performance(However small it may be) over $600. People pay hundreds if not thousands for exhaust systems that might give minimal performance increases at best. Do you tell them they are wasting their money?

There are some cars out there that actually recommend 87 or higher and say that higher octane fuel may be necessary for summer driving in the heat. For those cars I wouldn’t bother putting premium in them unless the temperatures are unreasonable and you are driving it hard.

For the Stinger I have always used 93 Octane because 91 Octane is not available in our state, it is 95+ degrees here for a couple of months each year, and I want my car to have maximum power every time I step on the gas.

My wife has the Ford Expedition with the turbo V6. Her car doesn’t have the same disclaimer about non optimal performance with lower octane fuel and it only recommends “87 or higher”. Therefore, I just put 87 in her car because performance isn’t a priority for me there.

I look at it this way. If performance is your priority over gas price and your manual recommends premium or just says that performance may be reduced with lower octane then you should use premium. Otherwise use 87.

Never EVER EVER use 89 or mid grade. No car is tuned for 89. If the car sees benefits from 89 then it will benefit even more from 91 but not necessarily from 93. Either 87 or 91+ but never anything in between.

 

[RonNSoCal]

To be fair you might have left some horsepower on the table by not using premium. It is very clear in the owners manual that using less than 91 Octane MAY reduce performance.

Some people value extra performance(However small it may be) over $600. People pay hundreds if not thousands for exhaust systems that might give minimal performance increases at best. Do you tell them they are wasting their money?

There are some cars out there that actually recommend 87 or higher and say that higher octane fuel may be necessary for summer driving in the heat. For those cars I wouldn’t bother putting premium in them unless the temperatures are unreasonable and you are driving it hard.

For the Stinger I have always used 93 Octane because 91 Octane is not available in our state, it is 95+ degrees here for a couple of months each year, and I want my car to have maximum power every time I step on the gas.

My wife has the Ford Expedition with the turbo V6. Her car doesn’t have the same disclaimer about non optimal performance with lower octane fuel and it only recommends “87 or higher”. Therefore, I just put 87 in her car because performance isn’t a priority for me there.

I look at it this way. If performance is your priority over gas price and your manual recommends premium or just says that performance may be reduced with lower octane then you should use premium. Otherwise use 87.

Never EVER EVER use 89 or mid grade. No car is tuned for 89. If the car sees benefits from 89 then it will benefit even more from 91 but not necessarily from 93. Either 87 or 91+ but never anything in between.

My wifes 2010 Mercedes E350 ran on 89 all of the time. The owners manual recommended Premium (91 in CA) but when my wife asked if 89 would not be okay in her sedan, she was told there would be no problem so we went with it.

 

[P22Tyler]

Uh oh, another octane discussion.

My feeling on this has always been and will continue to be, if you're going to drop around $50k on a car why cheap out at the gas pump? But everyone is entitled to do whatever they want.

*ducks for cover*

 

[87and66]

And of course that's your choice. But you've left about $600 on the table by not using Regular gas. That would buy a lot of Steelers foam fingers!

Hahah yes, lots of Steelers foam fingers indeed! Honestly, using 87 octane would probably be fine, at the sacrifice of a few horsepower. But I plan to keep the car for many years, if not forever. So for me, it's worth the extra cost to run 91 or higher, for the peace of mind that gas wont effect long term engine health. And since 91 is pretty uncommon here, (we usually have 87, 89, 93) I run 93.

 

[eflyguy]

Never EVER EVER use 89 or mid grade. No car is tuned for 89. If the car sees benefits from 89 then it will benefit even more from 91 but not necessarily from 93. Either 87 or 91+ but never anything in between.

Incorrect.

 

[RonNSoCal]

You can use any octane you wish without damaging your motor because the ECU retards/advances spark, etc to prevent knock. You may lose a little power and possibly mileage, but it is your choice. Still, if the manufacturer recommends premium fuel I assume there is good reason for it soI use it.

 

[StingerGTFan]

93 only. Last car also ran 93, so I’m used to paying a few bucks more per fillup. Plus, I plan on keeping this car long after it’s paid off so I’m going to do everything in my power to keep it in tip top shape.

 

[GenesisG70]

So statistically all octane discussions end like this: Do the F you want because there is always pros and cons on regular vs premium, its your money.

 

[Blamo]

To answer OPs questions. I ran 87 in the winter and saw only a small decrease in mileage. Once I put my summers on in like march, I switched over to run premium (doesn't hurt that it has been extra cheap this year).

 

[Mike_TX]

Thanks, guys. I wasn't intending to start another octane debate, just wondering if anyone on the forum uses 87 in their 3.3.