Joined
·
180 Posts
Will it run on regular gas or do we need super?
From the Mazda siteRODEO said:interesting, I've heard that all miatas since 2000 (give or take) require premium. Just something to chew on :smile
Reading online that seems to be the consensus too. Supposedly the user manual says you can use octane below 91 at a performance hit.Recommended fuel Premium unleaded, 91 RON
Minimum fuel requirement Regular unleaded, 86 RON
Recommended Fuel: Unleaded regular
One of GM's online phamplets indicated that the 2.4L VVT would run on regular 87 pump gas. Hopefully that is true! :thumbsLatinVenom said:Brentil/Rodeo,
Remember someone in the forum posted the specs for the 2.4 VVT ECOTECH and although is 10:6:1 compression ration it said 87 regular octane.:smile
If the ECU is specificaly designed for 87 octane gas, then running anyhting then that can actually cause power loss. The main benefit of higher octane gas is it can be compressed farther before detonating, and if your engine isn't designed to take that into account you'll end up causing issues.Brian said:I am sure that it will run fine on 87, but with that compression ratio you may want to use midgrade.
At the very least, running a higher octane than the car is specified to use is simply a waste of money. I always run into posts on forums from people who cannot believe how much more power they can feel by running 93 octane in their 87 rated engine. Its hogwash. The engine will burn the higher rated fuel, but the computer doesn’t know how to take advantage of it.brentil said:If the ECU is specificaly designed for 87 octane gas, then running anyhting then that can actually cause power loss. The main benefit of higher octane gas is it can be compressed farther before detonating, and if your engine isn't designed to take that into account you'll end up causing issues.
IF the ECU has been programmed to do that. My Ford ZX2 S/R has, but that's because I have the S/R package that added the performance ECU upgrade. And if you use anything but 91+ octane in my car it runs like poop, it can do it, it's just not designed for it anymore. Most cars are specifically designed for a certain gas type. It saves the manufacture a ton of money because they only have to design, program, and validate one fuel grade.Brian said:cant newer ECUs change timings to optimize for various gas grades? Under that assumption I would think that the high octane gas would allow for more aggressive timings and better performance.
Exactly. And I've seen actual cases of power loss in some cars because the fuel isn't detonating when the system is expecting it too. It'll detonate past the peak of the piston ark causing the explosion on the downward thrust instead at the peak when compression is the greatest. Now keep in mind from what I've been told that's very rare, but like FF said in general you're throwing your money away.Fformula88 said:At the very least, running a higher octane than the car is specified to use is simply a waste of money. I always run into posts on forums from people who cannot believe how much more power they can feel by running 93 octane in their 87 rated engine. Its hogwash. The engine will burn the higher rated fuel, but the computer doesn’t know how to take advantage of it.
I beg to differ... with one caveat. If the engine is equipped with knock sensors, and retards the timing accordingly it WILL run better on higher octane fuel provided that you're getting a fair amount of "knock retard" with the lower grade. If you can run more total timing (base + x degrees timing advance - y degrees knock retard) then you'll make more power.Fformula88 said:At the very least, running a higher octane than the car is specified to use is simply a waste of money. I always run into posts on forums from people who cannot believe how much more power they can feel by running 93 octane in their 87 rated engine. Its hogwash. The engine will burn the higher rated fuel, but the computer doesn’t know how to take advantage of it.
Yeah, that's what I was trying to say. If your cars computer wasn't designed to adjust for these types of things you're not going to get anythign from it.2KWK4U said:If, on the other hand the PCM doesn't adjust timing based on knock sensors, then buying "better" gas is pretty much a waste of money.
Welcome to the forums.GXP said:Current GM engine management history should be a good indication. The series II 3800 Supercharged requires premium while the regular 3800 does not, 04 Impala and Monte SS. With the Series III, new in the 04 Grand Prix GTP, the engine was designed to use Premium for optimum performance, but will run on 87 grade gasoline. There is a slight performance hit.
My guess would be yes, the Solstice will be able to use 87. Another example: Look at the Cobalt specs. The 2.2L, uses 87 while the 2.0L SC prefered 91+, but will run on 87 with a performance hit. The Supercharged solstive due in 07 would prefer 91+, but will run on 87 also.
One of those posts was probably me. I have run experiments on full tanks, 3- and 5-tank series, (that's over 400 and 1000 miles) of mileage checks. I used standard fill techniques, and the same station, and ran through three seasons (late summer, winter, spring).Fformula88 said:At the very least, running a higher octane than the car is specified to use is simply a waste of money. I always run into posts on forums from people who cannot believe how much more power they can feel by running 93 octane in their 87 rated engine. Its hogwash. The engine will burn the higher rated fuel, but the computer doesnt know how to take advantage of it.