CX-30 93 octane question

[Grib60]

I just purchased a 2021 CX-30. Can anybody tell me the horsepower gain if I run 93 octane? Thanks.

 

[sm1ke]

I believe it makes the same amount of horsepower that it does on regular 87, so 186hp and 186tq. It might make a few hp more, but nothing worth the extra cost.

The turbocharged engine goes from 227hp and 310tq to 250hp and 320tq with 93, but you'd only notice the benefit at 4k RPM or higher.

 

[Grib60]

I've had turbocharged cars before and usually it made a difference so I just started reach out and ask if it made a difference with the normally aspirated engines, thx.

 

[hal2]

Only on the Turbo, otherwise none. As for anyone's past experiences, readings, consumer reports, or other 'experts' on the value or not of premium, remember, this is a different story with the Turbo as it really is designed to have different outputs based on the fuel. I'm sure this thread will go off the rails with info on octane, knocking, predetonation, waste of money, engine 'learns', as well as other non sequiturs, but remember this turbo actually is engineered to work different. but for your NA CX-30 - no difference

 

[RubyNeal]

I've tried running one tank full of premium in my 2020 CX-5 (normally aspirated 2.5L) and got *zero* extra power out of it. Might be my imagination but I think the car felt even a bit less peppy. I do know it got slightly less gas mileage, which makes actual physical science sense, because premium unleaded (at least the blends distributed around here) contain a higher percentage of ethanol blended in than regular unleaded gasoline and ethanol has less BTUs of energy than the base gasoline.
(https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_gallon_equivalent).

And the winter blend premium unleaded gasoline in my area (near DFW north Texas) likely contains the full 10% or higher amount of ethanol because I can smell it when filling up, kinda like vodka, and regular unleaded doesn't.

So in my pseudo-scientific, anecdotally-empirically deduced opinionated experience.... if you don't have the turbocharged motor stick with regular unleaded, it'll likely give you both the best performance and fuel economy in normal driving conditions.

 

[AuraNova]

I have had a car in the past run better on mid-grade gas, but never any performance improvements. Just fewer knocks and smoother engine sounds. For my CX-30, I just stick to good ol' 87 octane and it runs fine.

 

[erhayes]

According to Mazda, 93 octane gets you from 227 hp to 250 hp but, the cross over is at 4,000 rpm. The torque remains the same for 87 or 93 octane. Someone posted a plot which graphed the two different fuel vs HP & Tq. Ed

 

[Mat6]

Interesting. I never even saw fuels with octanes lower than 95. (EU).

 

[sm1ke]

Interesting. I never even saw fuels with octanes lower than 95. (EU).

RON vs. Octane (US vs. Europe) Differences explained? - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums

993 Forum - RON vs. Octane (US vs. Europe) Differences explained? - Can someone tell me if this is correct: These are different octane blends, rated with the same method, the US method. EU ratings are 95/98, which are equivalent to US ratings of 91/93. So, EU 95 octane = US 91 octane and EU 98...

rennlist.com

In the EU, the octane rating at the pump is the RON (Research Octane Number).

In NA, the octane rating at the pump is an average of the RON and the MON (Motor Octane Number). This is also referred to as the AKI (Anti-Knock Index).

 

[Mat6]

TIL

 

[yrwei52]

According to Mazda, 93 octane gets you from 227 hp to 250 hp but, the cross over is at 4,000 rpm. The torque remains the same for 87 or 93 octane. Someone posted a plot which graphed the two different fuel vs HP & Tq. Ed

 

[cz5gt]

US 91 is EU 95 pretty much.
US 87 is 93 in EU but that type is no longer available in Eu

 

[erhayes]

There were suggestions to have only one octane rating like 90 or 91 in the future. Makes sense to me

 

[LeMazda]

I’ve always wondered about this due to a growing curiosity from Shell’s V-Power, which I believe is only available in their Premium line of gas.

I don’t know if the NA 2.5L would benefit from Premium US 91 so have instead been using Chevron w/Techron US 87.

 

[clownshoes2]

Not for nothin' but in my CX-5 I definitely notice if I run 91 octane. I'm not sure about power gains or anything like that, but it runs smoother, a little less sluggish. If I run the 94 that you can get from PetroCan up here, I really notice it. When we go to 'Murica, it runs even better on their high test. I usually use Sunoco 93 octane.

 

[zlat]

I believe it makes the same amount of horsepower that it does on regular 87, so 186hp and 186tq. It might make a few hp more, but nothing worth the extra cost.

The turbocharged engine goes from 227hp and 310tq to 250hp and 320tq with 93, but you'd only notice the benefit at 4k RPM or higher.

Yes. I tried with my CX30 turbo and very little difference with high octane fuel...i think it's because the little difference in torque which is mainly responsible for acceleration and it's at 2000 RPM.
Sport mode is different story...turbo lag is all bot gone and response is much better. I guess that Car&Driver achieved their best times 0 to 100 km/h of 5.9 sec. in sport mode.