Let's say it's true that using premium fuel won't give performance and economy benefits... what about overall being "better" for the engine for reducing knocking? The more engine knocks an engine will have the worse it is for an engine (higher chances of piston problems?) Wouldn't it be safe to say that using premium fuel keeps the engine healthier even though you don't get performance/economy benefits?
Have you filled with anything higher than regular gas?
- Thread starter fb88
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What rvoll said. If the engine and tuning is not designed to take advantage of premium fuel, you are just throwing money away. And retuning the engine for premium fuel probably won't gain much in fuel economy. So, save your money and buy what Mazda recommends.
Every forum I'm subscribed to, I see this post, again and again
The truth is, a car will run smoother and better with whatever type of gas it was designed to. And the 2014 Mazda3 was not designed for high octane or premium gas.
Using higher octane won't break anything, but won't improve mpg either. Actually, you will spend more money at the fuel pump.
Things that will improve your mpg? The "right device" attached to your leg, aka, right foot ...
Sorry to disagree but this just isn't so. I just traded in a 2006 Ridgeline that I had owned from day one. I kept gas fillup records from the beginning. Gary Flint, the designer of the RL recommended using premium when towing or driving through the mountains. According to him there was an additional 10 hp available. I have to take his word for it. I drive from mid Long Island to North Carolina 5 or 6 times a year and can tell you from experience that that vehicle ran stronger, got better mileage and down shifted less in the mountains on 93 then 87. Around town the difference wasn't noticeable except for a better idle. The additional mpg made up for the price difference it was the performance difference that made it worth while.
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- San Diego, CA
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- 2014 Mazda3 S GT auto, 2008 MX5 6-speed
Does the Ridgeline have a SkyActive engine in it? If not, you really can't compare. Many older vehicles' owner's manuals state that although the engine can run on regular fuel, higher octane will provide enhanced power. This is not the case with SkyActive engines. Now, if I were to take a trip to an area with ambient temps exceeding, say, 110 degrees F, I may pump in super unleaded, but would be a rare occurrence.
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The post said "a car..." that is what I was addressing. I still have a few more mile to put on my car before I give 93 a try. I am under 5000 so I think the results might be skewed. I find it hard to believe though that a 13 to 1 compression ratio would not benefit from higher octane. We'll see.
Any thought that top tier fuels or octane could reduce carbon buildup over the long hall with a DI engine?
Not that this has much to do with Sky Active engines or any other car but you can destroy some engines with high octane fuel. I once had a 2 stroke motorcycle that had spark knock which I later found out was do to lean jets in the carb. For those who are too young to remember, carburetors were around before fuel injection. I put super high octane gas in the tank and in no time I burned a hole through the center of the piston. High octane gas burns slower and can create more heat in some combustion chambers. I always use premium fuel in my Mazdaspeed Miata but my new Mazda 3 loves regular gas. The engine will probably last longer with regular gas as well.
Not that this doesn't have much to do with Sky Active engines or any other car but you can destroy some engines with high octane fuel. I once had a 2 stroke motorcycle that had spark knock which I later found out was do to lean jets in the carb. For those who are too young to remember, carburetors were around before fuel injection. I put super high octane gas in the tank and in no time I burned a hole through the center of the piston. High octane gas burns slower and can create more heat in some combustion chambers. I always use premium fuel in my Mazdaspeed Miata but my new Mazda 3 loves regular gas. The engine will probably last longer with regular gas as well.
Pretty sure that is not true with recent cars.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/go/news/...?click=main_sr
I have also been using 89 octane gas (usually Shell). I didn't notice the improvement in performance with my 3 that I did with my 2012 Focus on 93 octane gas, so I backed it down. I stuck with 89 octane for two reasons. First, FSWerks, one of the Focus world's most reputable performance and tuner shops, discovered that the new Focus was pulling timing on 87 octane gas. I wanted to give my 3 a little breathing room just in case. Second, some brands of gasoline reserve their better fuel cleaners for their premium gas. The mid-grade is mixed at the pump using the low octane the high octane, so I figured I'll get some of the better/more cleaners with 89 octane.
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It is actually not a "fact." It depends on the gasoline, as stated in the Road & Track article. I have found no evidence in anything I've read that indicates that using premium in a modern car that requires 87 octane is bad for the engine. Road & Tack state that they use Shell 91 in *all* of their tests of cars. Also as the article states, most modern cars will automatically advance engine timing, although many will have a ceiling beyond which they will not advance. I suspect this is why I don't notice a difference on 93 octane gas like I did with my Focus, which was noticeably quicker on 93 octane gas. This idea that using premium octane can harm cars' engines is outdated.
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- 2022 CX-5 Turbo
Straight from Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating
"Where the octane number is raised by blending in ethanol, energy content per volume is reduced."
(pure from chemistry standpoint)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating
"Where the octane number is raised by blending in ethanol, energy content per volume is reduced."
(pure from chemistry standpoint)
You are making a HUGE assumption that nothing else in differs between the two gasolines besides the amount of ethanol to raise octane. Highly unlikely. And while it could be true for a specific brand of gas, at a particular time of year, it would not be true across the board, and definitely not between brands.
I'll pass on editing the Wiki page. It is technically correct. But the information does not translate well to the real world.I don't know. Not a gasoline expert myself.
Maybe you should edit the wiki page..
Chris_Top_Her
Contributor
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- San Antonio, Texas
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- '15 CX-5 Miata AWD
100 octane LL aviation gas or bust
True, as far as it goes. A gallon of E10 (10% ethanol) blend will have 96-97% the energy of a gallon of pure gasoline. However, a station that sells E10 93 is selling E10 87. Additionally, blending ethanol raises the knock resistance, but does not increase the amount of octane present. The way to get higher octane fuel is to adjust the refining process to favor a blend with more octane (the molecule) in it. I know it's nitpicking, since higher octane also increases knock resistance.
More octane resistance will let you run a more aggressive timing curve and a higher dynamic compression ratio which, in theory, means that the energy in the fuel is used more efficiently. In practice, vehicles designed to run on regular fuel don't have the electronic and mechanical sophistication to make the necessary adjustments to take advantage of the increased knock resistance. Some flex-fuel vehicles do, although (from what I've read) they are primarily concerned with adjusting the volume of fuel injected to maintain the desired AFR.
