87 vs 92 octane...

[Silver Bull3t]

Anybody notice performance problems using regular unleaded?... Every now and then I get a "bogged-down" feeling like I have water in my lines or she can't breath right or something...I've been running regular since I bought the car (<1mo.).

I didn't remove the resonator or change the intake yet...still running completely stock.. so I don't know if this would give better results with the lo-oc...

more noticeable @ lower RPMs or under smooth acceleration...If I tromp on it I don't notice it as much...

guess I'll try mid-grade/plus and see if it makes a diff...

any ideas? (dunno)

 

[jersey_emt]

Run whatever gas the owner's manual recommends.

 

[Silver Bull3t]

gas..

Run whatever gas the owner's manual recommends.

Um....tried that. Let me rephrase my question.. Has anyone who owns and drives a 3 daily (not a protege') noticed the same hiccup?

 

[jersey_emt]

If it's not running right on the gas the manual recommends, then I would take it in for warranty work. A new car shouldn't require higher-than-recommended-octane gas to run properly.

 

[Silver Bull3t]

gas..

...It's rather subtle, not anything that feels like it's gonna require service. Was just curious if other 3 owners have noticed this or not, and if it's intrinsic to the 3s (or just mine).... However if it continues and grows in intensity I will take you up on your excellent advice and take it in for service. (2thumbs)

 

[Tonys3]

I have only had my 3 about 2 weeks, but i have not noticed that ..yet ....

 

[jersey_emt]

Yeah, because what I'm thinking is that something is amiss...and when using the regular gas, the PCM is sensing a bit of pinging, and pulling timing...which would explain the slight hesitation/bogging you're experiencing compared to when you ran the premium gas.

 

[rodslinger]

\Has anyone who owns and drives a 3 daily (not a protege') noticed the same hiccup?

Nope. Runs great.

 

[Da 6]

???2.3 is a hi performance 4.....but doesn't have the capabilities to detect octane......unless you drop below 87. maybe the gas station you are at is still running winter gas or it's like 79-82 octane with 87 sticker and price and 94 octane is like 89 so you feel a difrence in change. that's the only way you can feel a difrence. winter gas....bad plugs or wires(too fockin new) or you are still in break in period...




You didn't do the resonator delete? shame on you(dark)













j/k

 

[canada3]

i tired using high octane and the car didnt liek it at all and i got piss poor mileage so i went back to 87 and its great again......my 626 was built for high octane and if i ran 87 it was s***.......also I use only sunoco gas.....the best

 

[Airman Jack]

you actually got worse mileage with higher octane gas? isn't that the opposite of what it should be?

 

[harrison888]

I believe weather you use 87 or 93, you should get the same gas milage. For more info about how octane work, please read this article.... http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question90.htm

 

[BlueMonsta]

it should be the same..
but if ur engine is designe for high octane, dun get low octane

high octane gas = able to with stand high compression properly... so yah..

 

[Da 6]

cars with higher octane run better cause their car is designed to run off that and putting 87 in will be noticable......when the car is required to run 91 but can safely run 87 it will run really "bad"(no other way to discribe it) untill the pcm detects the higher octane and change timming in spark...neon R/T is one of these 91 or higher type cars that seriously retards timming when 87 is put in and dealerships are to blame when on test drive the SXT runs better than the R/T(Difrent post difrent topic...long story(blah) )try to use 87 and run the tank dry....do no mods in this period of time and run higher gas and take account in mpg and how fast it revs and where it revs (ex. 40MPH@6800rpms in 1st [ATX type tranny]) and compare with the 87. if the car can truely detect the change in octaine past 87 you will know...after you find out that it doesn't then calculate on how much you save in gas each time at the pump....

 

[goldwing2000]

Anybody notice performance problems using regular unleaded?... Every now and then I get a "bogged-down" feeling like I have water in my lines or she can't breath right or something...I've been running regular since I bought the car (<1mo.).

I didn't remove the resonator or change the intake yet...still running completely stock.. so I don't know if this would give better results with the lo-oc...

more noticeable @ lower RPMs or under smooth acceleration...If I tromp on it I don't notice it as much...

guess I'll try mid-grade/plus and see if it makes a diff...

any ideas? (dunno)

Running too high of octane can actually be detrimental to your engine. My gf had a '98 Contour 2.5 V6 and it reccommended 87. We put 89 in it "just because" and it actually caused the spark plugs to burn out because of the hotter burn temp.

Related to your car, though... is the engine at the same temp when you're making the comparison? These engines are kinda sluggish on the low end when they're cold until the VTCS and VVT kick in and then it's like nitro-boost.

How many miles do you have on it? The ECU may still be learning your driving habits and not fully "programmed" yet.

Do you always buy your gas from the same station? Different stations may have older tanks and therefore higher water content in their fuel. Also, the summer/winter fuels have different volatility ratings. If one station has switched but the other has not, then you would notice a difference.

Give it some time. Let things work themselves out for a while. If it gets worse, then think about taking it in for service.

 

[Da 6]

Running too high of octane can actually be detrimental to your engine. My gf had a '98 Contour 2.5 V6 and it reccommended 87. We put 89 in it "just because" and it actually caused the spark plugs to burn out because of the hotter burn temp.

Related to your car, though... is the engine at the same temp when you're making the comparison? These engines are kinda sluggish on the low end when they're cold until the VTCS and VVT kick in and then it's like nitro-boost.

How many miles do you have on it? The ECU may still be learning your driving habits and not fully "programmed" yet.

Do you always buy your gas from the same station? Different stations may have older tanks and therefore higher water content in their fuel. Also, the summer/winter fuels have different volatility ratings. If one station has switched but the other has not, then you would notice a difference.

Give it some time. Let things work themselves out for a while. If it gets worse, then think about taking it in for service.

Yeah VTCS is there(fuel economy purpose at lower rpms) until 4500 and after that you will feel the difrence...acutually if you get an intake the tone changes once it hits vvt...just don't be like the honda guys...screaming "It's hittin vtec yo...hear dat.....Hear dat vtec boyeee".... I was thinking of S-VT badges being made up but that looks too close to S****y Vehcle Team....


Back to topic at hand.....pcm's take a while to learn thats why when you do a mod you reset the pcm.