87 vs 93: The Showdown.

[Watchdoc]

Gasbuddy.com is your friend. Great app for andriod and iphone as well. You can quickly sort through prices and find your fuel. It would be interesting to have the statistics on all three grades of fuel.

 

[TIEfighter]

I know that most gasoline stations have 87 or 93 but only certain stations have 'top tier'. I was reading the owners manual the other day and it suggests only putting 'top tier' gasoline in the car. Would that also increase the MPG such as filling up with '93 top tier' rather than 'non top tier 93'?

 

[cheddarlump]

The only thing different between 2 octane ratings of gasoline are how quickly they burn. Yes, the higher octane can have more advanced timing, but that just starts the burn earlier, letting it burn slower. The energy content of regular gasoline is actually slightly higher than high octane.

I agree with the person who stated that it may be that the premium gas doesn't have as much ethanol added to it, although that's probably hard to be sure of. I know for sure that here in the Pacific NW, they put a lot of crap in the gas during the winter months like MTBE, and 15% ethanol, which really hurts mileage.

Either way, I'm vastly exceeding Chevy's estimates for mileage, and I don't even have the turbo motor.

 

[TilarP]

Well, I'm all for better gas mileage. I regularly drive thirty miles a day (mostly highway). Also, I saw someone mentioned resetting the MPG gauge. How do you do that? Right now I'm stuck at 26.2 which I feel is horrible.

 

[SSpeckerwood]

best we can get around me is 91....

 

[laborsmith]

TilarP, that is horrible. Even I do better and my driving style is such that no one who knows me seriously considers buying my used cars when I am about to change. Hand calculating my worst was just below 29, my most recent was 31.5. I am certain a less aggressive driver would do much better. On the other hand, a more aggressive driver (could you be one) would not.

JusticePete has admitted to barely breaking 20. Proof that youth will have it due.

Laborsmith

 

[sbpphoenix]

Well, I'm all for better gas mileage. I regularly drive thirty miles a day (mostly highway). Also, I saw someone mentioned resetting the MPG gauge. How do you do that? Right now I'm stuck at 26.2 which I feel is horrible.

hold the button on the end of the signal indicator switch

 

[SSpeckerwood]

TilarP, that is horrible. Even I do better and my driving style is such that no one who knows me seriously considers buying my used cars when I am about to change. Hand calculating my worst was just below 29, my most recent was 31.5. I am certain a less aggressive driver would do much better. On the other hand, a more aggressive driver (could you be one) would not.

JusticePete has admitted to barely breaking 20. Proof that youth will have it due.

Laborsmith

here is mine from yesterday.
this is what i've been averaging. if i drive 90mph the whole way home i average around 37mpg. if i do the speed limits i'm up around 42mpg on a tank. the best i've got was 45.7. these are real numbers. not off the dic

this pic is typical on the drive home

 

[RichieRocket]

I agree with the person who stated that it may be that the premium gas doesn't have as much ethanol added to it, although that's probably hard to be sure of. I know for sure that here in the Pacific NW, they put a lot of crap in the gas during the winter months like MTBE, and 15% ethanol, which really hurts mileage.

cheddarlump, there is an easy way to find out what ethanol content your fuel has. Buy a test kit and check it. In the following thread:
http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/t1030-2/ post#13
I tried to call my state energy dept, local fuel distributors, Mobil, etc but no one could tell me what the eth content was in my state. Our pumps just say "UP TO 10% ETH". So I purchased the test kit and found during March-May in my state, both 87 and 93 have 6-7% eth. See posting #13 for test kit details.

Others have stated their states allow no-eth 93, but 87 has eth...

Also, the amount if eth is seasonal, more in winter...in most states, MTBE was banned years ago because it was leaching out of tanks into ground water supplies.

I wish I could get no-eth fuel :sadbanana:

 

[TilarP]

here is mine from yesterday.
this is what i've been averaging. if i drive 90mph the whole way home i average around 37mpg. if i do the speed limits i'm up around 42mpg on a tank. the best i've got was 45.7. these are real numbers. not off the dic

this pic is typical on the drive home

Holy Crap! I got stuck behind some traffic yesterday on the way home and when I finally got through it I found myself doing 80! I felt bad for my baby. Haha The Sonic definitely doesn't feel like your going that fast compared to some of the other cars I've driven! And I did figure out how to reset the gauge..Still only getting 32 though! Hopefully the premium helps a little!

 

[nater]

I had to run 91 and higher in my Smart Fortwo, so I'm used to running higher octane. Getting 37-42 MPG per tank. 1.8L w/ 5 speed and 85% of my driving is highway.

 

[cmoore2004]

I filled up with 93 because we were supposed to be getting some hot weather. The hot weather stuck around for just one day. Feels less powerful and seems to have more of a knocking noise. I'll be sticking with 87 from now on...

No tune here.

Sent via Tapatalk from my Razr Maxx

 

[Malvino89]

Switched over to 91 instead of 87. Seems to run smoother and more responsive. I wouldn't dare do 93 without a tune. Sticking with 91 for now. Running a 1.8 5spd HB. So far too good. Still haven't reset the mpg gauge to see a difference...

 

[mitdr774]

I filled up with 93 because we were supposed to be getting some hot weather. The hot weather stuck around for just one day. Feels less powerful and seems to have more of a knocking noise. I'll be sticking with 87 from now on...

No tune here.

Sent via Tapatalk from my Razr Maxx

This is counter to how it always works as far as knock goes. The higher the octane rating, the higher the resistanceto knock. I run 93 in my car. I have the option of 87, 89, or 93 at the station I use.


I do not see where it would be required to have a tune to run 93. My car runs smoother, quieter, and gets better economy on 93 than it does on 87.

 

[Bogus]

87: $3.38

93: $3.58

gotta love those gas prices lol out here in southern cali im paying about $4.50 for 87.

and im a bit confused, so we can run any octane in our sonics? i can go to the gas station, put premium, and run better? with no mods? WOW!

 

[sx sonic]

Personally I haven't felt a difference in output or hesitation with either blend. I have switched back and forth a few times and my best with 87= 48.88. Best with 93=49.44. Worst was 37.46 and 37.38 respectively. Same station for each tank and hand calculated, temps have varied some and the engine was at 6119 last tank so the engines still breaking in

Just my input. Tyler

 

[mitdr774]

Maybe the 1.4 is more consistent? My 1.8 does much better on 93 than 87.

with 10.5:1 CR I feel much better with the higher octane rating. Even my 98 Z24 is filled with at least mid grade and it is only a 9.5:1 CR. For the extra $0.15-0.20 per gallon I am okay with it. There are worse things I could waste my money on.

 

[cmoore2004]

This is counter to how it always works as far as knock goes. The higher the octane rating, the higher the resistanceto knock. I run 93 in my car. I have the option of 87, 89, or 93 at the station I use.


I do not see where it would be required to have a tune to run 93. My car runs smoother, quieter, and gets better economy on 93 than it does on 87.

That's what I thought. Now that it's warmed back up, maybe I'll give 93 another try.

Sent via Tapatalk from my Razr Maxx

 

[Eric Smit]

It doesn't require a tune to run 93, if you specify that 93 is the octane you want to run in your tune, your tune will require 93. You can also tune for 87, 89, or any octane for that matter, with varying results.


-Eric Smit

 

[sx sonic]

Speaking of getting tuned for diffrenet grades does anyone know how much more output one could get with 93 over 87 in identical engines.

I'm aware of ocatanes role in knock resitance but am curious if anyone knows how much of a difference 4 or 6 octane can really make

Thanks
-tyler