Using regular unleaded instead of super?

[chazdawg35]

Hey Dude's I was wondering if anyone has used regular unleaded instead of super unleaded was there any engine changes?Also if the octaine boost in a can(10 really works and can you mix regular unleaded with it to achive the 91 needed for the S2K.

[Java Junky]

Too much at risk; too little to gain.
I stick with whut Mother advisez dawg.
When she startz drivin' vehicles whut I designed, I spex she'll be checkin' with me as to it's care'n feedin'. 'Til then . . .
Be well,
Java

[makopolo]

In my opinion its not going to do any real harm on your engine, but it will hurt performance and milage. So it might defeat the whole purpose of saving some $$$$.

Gas prices just suck, not much we can do about it.

[chazdawg35]

The people at work seem to be wondering WHY super.I will keep putting Chevron 91 in there,or maybe 100 at the track LOL!

[philiam]

I accidentally put in a tank of regular when I first got the car. Ran much worse.

[gomarlins3]

You can, but shouldn't. You lose performance and MPG I believe.

Technically, I am using mid grade whenever I fill up in CA, NV, or OR. Their 'super' is 91 and in ID our 'super' is 93. Our mid grade is 91.

[Scooter]

Octane is a rating http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating that determines, roughly, how likely the gas is to auto-ignite during the compression stroke. In high compression motors like ours, lower octane gas can spark itself before the compression is complete. This can't be good for the engine, and it's certainly a total waste of power, meaning your performance will tank.

[Red Stwokay]

On my second or third tank of 87 octane. All is A-OK. Got sick of the high prices. Actually I was in New Hartford, CT one night and needed gas (light on), 30 cents more per gallon than my home town so I checked the owners manual, owners manual says less than 87 may cause a problem (pre-ignition) so I tried the 87. No knocks or pings (no pre-ignition). Does seem to have lost a wee bit of performance but then it'll take a bit for the computer to adjust to the fuel, they say 2-3 tanks. Maybe I'm just getting used to it but I was out yesterday hitting the back roads and twisties and the S seemed to be liking the 87... Moving right along No problem with the v-tec either.

Been seeing lots of people putting their S's up for sale because of the premium fuel. Too bad they didn't read the manual and try it. I don't race or track my car so I'll likely see no issues. I do hit 8K somewhat regularly though, at least several times per drive. I should have checked my mileage before changing to 87 just to see if it makes a difference but I can't complain about the mileage just the freakin prices!

On another note. I'm finally getting around to painting my calipers. (H2O, I'm doing mine red too!) Pulled the wheels today and while they were off I decided to take them down to the gas station to check the pressure, my compressor is out of commission. They were down to like 24 psi. Wow, and they looked fine and drove fine, guess that's why I've been getting such good traction! Well I filled em right up. Manual says 32, I went for 34psi. They'll be a bit hard and probably spin now but the gas mileage will be better. It'll steer better but I'll have to watch for fish taleing now...

So tires and wheels are all washed real nice, both sides. Getting the S all spiffed up for a show this weekend if I'm ready on time. Dirtyest it's been in a while. It'll be a lot of work cleaning it up for show standards. For everyday folks it always looks sweet, but it's dirty...

Anyway, the calipers are a bit different then others I've worked on and this is my first Honda so maybe that's part of it. Had to hold the slide pin with a wrench and turn the caliper bolt at the same time and not strip any bolts or knuckles... Hmmm, don't know what they were thinking when they designed that... The screws holding the rotors on are another gripe with the engineers... Guess I'll have tio buy some specialized tools but so far I'm doing good with my usual way of finding alternate ways to get results when I don't have exactly the correct tool for the job. Surprised to find the front and rear brakes are radically different, expected to see some commonality to hold down production costs. A bit scimpy on the rears I think. Ah, enough ratchet fingerin. Howdy to everyone BTW!

[H20]

[quote=Red Stwokay;47733]
On another note. I'm finally getting around to painting my calipers. (H2O, I'm doing mine red too!) Pulled the wheels today and while they were off I decided to take them down to the gas station to check the pressure, my compressor is out of commission. They were down to like 24 psi. Wow, and they looked fine and drove fine, guess that's why I've been getting such good traction!
/quote]
Ah red calipers! I left mine on the car and did it. Looks good to the casual observer. If not then theyare looking to hard!..plainly no shows for me.
My car doen NOT like 34 psi. Slides around and very twitchy steering. Obviously other people have different results or maybe it's my pressure gauges..all of em.
Good luck at the show!
I use sunoco 91..tempted by 87 though.

[DJJSR]

Most cars have knock sensors. If lower than recommended octane fuel is used, the sensors detect the knock and the ignition timing is automatically retarded to compensate and eliminate the knock. When the timing is retarded, you will lose power. Whether it's noticeable or not depends on the car and how much the timing has changed.

I once had a Corvette that required 93 octane. I was out in the middle of nowhere and very close to running out of gas. The only thing available was 87 octane. I put a few gallons in. The car started knocking within a few seconds but almost immediately the knocking stopped. The power was down substantially, but it ran well enough to get me to another town where I filled up with 93 octane. The power came back right away.

I've never done a mileage test, but I suspect the dollar or so you may be saving in the cost of the gas is probably being lost in poorer fuel economy due to the timing being retarded.

[Java Junky]

Will someone please kill that @*#&in' bug!
Izz'ere'a Flit button on the dash'a this thing?

[controller]

As far as your engine goes, you'll be putting your knock sensor to work as previously mentioned.

As far as octane boost goes, here's a chart from an article that might give you an idea of what kind of affect the booster has


The non-street-legal NOS raised octane the most, but it was still only 2 points. Adding it to 87 means buying 89, which would probably be cheaper than adding octane boost.

[Swingle1]

You're spot on Red.

I've run 87 for two years now (in both the Stewies I've owned).
If I EVER experienced any knocking, I'd change back in a heartbeat. Knocking=BAD.
There is a very slight but definitely noticeable loss of power. I haven't seen any loss of mileage (about 23, give or take).

Based on my experience, the only downside of using 87 is the slight loss in power. IMO, the slight difference in power doesn't justify the added cost of premium. At least not for my daily driver.

[Pablo]

Here's a link to an article on this exact subject from the AAA

http://www.aaany.com/CarandTravel/Cu...remium_Gas.asp

[izzyrocket]

Originally Posted by Java Junky

Will someone please kill that @*#&in' bug!
Izz'ere'a Flit button on the dash'a this thing?

thank you!

[DJJSR]

FYI.......The only reason an engine may need higher octane gas is that it has a higher than normal compression ratio. Your average grocery getter has about a 8.5 to 1 or possibly 9.0 to 1 ratio. The S2000 is 11.1 to 1.

[DJJSR]

Originally Posted by Java Junky

Will someone please kill that @*#&in' bug!

I'm workin on it, just ain't got the bugs worked out yet.

[NEIGHBORHOOD LEGENDS]

I let my parents use my Lincoln that only called for prem. gas, they filled it up with regular and the check engine light came on and the car was shaking....I then filled up with prem. and the light went away and drove just fine...

[Dr. Jimbo]

DJ, if you post 3 times in a row, that little bug gets mesmorizing over there on the left side of the screen.

Maybe my new avatar will help.

[TheSoundMan21]

Im sticking with the Premium just because its best for the car. I might be 23 and maybe not as much $$ as the rest of you. But $40 a tank dont shake me I used to pay $60 a tank on my V-10 Dodge and thats when gas was $1.50 a gallon.

[Swingle1]

Originally Posted by DJJSR

I'm workin on it, just ain't got the bugs worked out yet.

I've actually figured out a way to kill it and will share if DJ doesn't buy me a Coke. Is that extortion or blackmail? I forget which.

But no kidding... I really have figured it out! What say you, DJ? Have enough monitors been destroyed?

[Swingle1]

Originally Posted by Pablo

Here's a link to an article on this exact subject from the AAA

http://www.aaany.com/CarandTravel/Cu...remium_Gas.asp

Nice find, Pablo.

As the article points out, most people wouldn't even be able to tell the difference as far as loss of power. I would guess most of us on the site COULD tell. But again, the loss is very slight. IMO, not worth the dollars.

Soundman, I would never try to talk you out of premium. But me, I tend to be skeptical. I don't mind spending my money--- as long as I understand why I'm spending it. When you say it's "best for the car", what makes you say that? AAA is a pretty reliable source claiming no engine issues. Do you know of reliable source (with similar back-up data) that disagrees?

[Red Stwokay]

[quote=H20;47738]

Originally Posted by Red Stwokay

On another note. I'm finally getting around to painting my calipers. (H2O, I'm doing mine red too!) Pulled the wheels today and while they were off I decided to take them down to the gas station to check the pressure, my compressor is out of commission. They were down to like 24 psi. Wow, and they looked fine and drove fine, guess that's why I've been getting such good traction!
/quote]
Ah red calipers! I left mine on the car and did it. Looks good to the casual observer. If not then theyare looking to hard!..plainly no shows for me.
My car doen NOT like 34 psi. Slides around and very twitchy steering. Obviously other people have different results or maybe it's my pressure gauges..all of em.
Good luck at the show!
I use sunoco 91..tempted by 87 though.

Hi H, How'd ya paint yours, spray or brush? I wanted to brush mine so I wouldn't have to take everything apart but the auto store only had spray... Still have to cover everything when spraying the calipers though, not disconnecting the lines.

What pressure you running? Haven't driven it yet at 34psi. I run 36 psi front and 34 rear on all our other vehicles but they're not S's... The way I've been driving it and used to the handling at the low pressure I'll need to be very careful, the hard part'll be rememberin... Til it slides anyway!

When I get the chance I'll check the mileage but I don't drive for mileage if that makes any sense after buying 87 to save coin? Actually it's more principle and since the S still flies on 87, well guess I can just keep on driving like mad! More gallons per buck = more driving time and distance covered quicker. Rather buy cheaper gas and keep the pedal to the metal. I don't know, seem to be getting worse about the pedal down thing the more I drive it?

Anyone experience the increasae of "Sunday" drivers? I mean the people who drive well under the speed limit, never get over 2000 rpm, take 5 minutes to reach 30 miles per hour and coast to a stop from 3 miles back?

I'm gonna kill one of em I swear! But seriously they're a danger to society, I see people getting angrier than me and if ya can't pass and they won't pull over because they figure hey now everyone's saving fuel too! AARRrrrgh!

[Red Stwokay]

Originally Posted by Pablo

Here's a link to an article on this exact subject from the AAA

http://www.aaany.com/CarandTravel/Cu...remium_Gas.asp

Thanks Pab! My thoughts exactly... So how ya been?

I have heard exactly O, zero, zilch, nada knocks or pings. Have been and still kinda am a mechanic, I'd never do anything to harm my or another vehicle especially my lil' red buddy... And I probably push it harder than most people excepting of course the track folk...

[Red Stwokay]

Originally Posted by Java Junky

Will someone please kill that @*#&in' bug!
Izz'ere'a Flit button on the dash'a this thing?

Hey JJ, How ya been?

Hafta clean our shoes good when leaving here, roaches...