Higher Octane Question
- DJester187
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Higher Octane Question
I was just wondering, to settle a conversation, if a engine that has been designed to use 87 octane was running on 93 what would be the drawbacks (besides the cost)? I had heard that a small amount of power would be lost due to the full ignition of the fuel would be in the 'exhaust cycle' of the engine. Any truth to that?
Electric Black '93 MX-3 GSR, Curved neck KLZE, KL36 ecu, Outlaw Engineering Thermal Spacers, Custom CAI, Carbon Fiber Invader Style hood, 2.25" straight pipe exhaust, custom muffler, lowered 1.8", and a set of 17" Exel DL-46's. With more to come once I get some $$$....
- PATDIESEL
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No not really any cumbustion in the exhaust cycle. But not any real gain unless you have some timing or fuel and air controller.
Higher octane burns slower letting you advance the timing safely. That is the benefit, but only in conjunction with the afore mentioned parts.
Higher octane burns slower letting you advance the timing safely. That is the benefit, but only in conjunction with the afore mentioned parts.
ZE -strait neck,headers,2.5 exhaust,pheno spacers,lower cross member,GC coils,MS struts,Brembo slotted rotors,filled MS mounts,SS brake/clutch lines, CAI,to rear bat reloc,Hella headlamps,Hella DE fogs 180WHP
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high octane allows u to get better mpg well least ive noticed with my storm. also little more get up and go. cost sucks, but if u turbo or nos your mx3 u should run high octane to prevent detantion.
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- vozaday2000
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but in cars such as the newer 2.0 "neon's" it is rated for the 85 octane and will actually perform worse with the higher octane. but with most cars it doesn't matter, it is just that the computer doesn't agree with the octane level on some cars
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'94 MX-3 GS KLZE, KL01 Cams, Fidanza Flywheel, Centerforce Dual Friction Clutch, WeaponR Ram Air, 2 1/4 exhaust, Nichi Neptune Rims, Toyo Proxy 45 Rubber.
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yep but basicly if higher octane didnt do something or wasnt required no need to have it for sell, but good idea to run 91-93 octane with turbo or nos setups
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Everyone in the world seems to say "I get better MPG with higher octance and my car is faster", is think thats a load of crap. I have never noticed an increase in MPG using a higher octance then specified, Although I have noticed that using a lower octane then the manufacturer recommends will worsen MPG and power <retards timing> for the average econobox the only benefit from higher octane will be a lightened wallet - unless you have the mods to use the higher octane. Although in some rare cases higher octance can be a benefit - The SCC 350z dyno results show that a higher octane did gain a few HP IIRC.
- jschrauwen
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After owning the same MX for nearly 11 years I can be very intuitive as to how it's running. That said, from nearly day one of owning the MX I've strived to use higher octane gas. Why, because I actually noticed the difference. There was a difference in ease of starting, normal highway driving, acceleration/passing and bumper to bumper driving. Always kept the KL08 and ZE tuned to normal specs. On those occasions when I wasn't able to use a higher octane for a couple of successive tank fulls I noticed a difference in almost all of the above mentioned situations, to the negative. After the fact confirmation to me is the colour and condition of my spark plugs and the numbers from my compression checks. It tells me that I must be doing something right because when I see plugs from others that subscribe to the lower octane (cheaper) gas, there is a noticeable difference. I don't profess to know the science behind it all, but only what has worked for me in the past and it gives me that piece of mind that I must be doing something right. I'll gladly pay the extra 12 cents per litre difference between the 87 octane and the 94 octane for the results that I achieve. A cleaner, better (perhaps a little hotter) running engine that should last a long time. Then again, to each his own.
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People think their cars run better with high octane because they paid more for it. A car is designed to work for a certain octane. When you put higher in, it hurts you more than helps you. There is more additives in the higher octane fuels at the pump to clean your engine out etc.. Performance wise, you are hurting yourself. Unless you are in a situation where you are detonating you don't need a higher octane.
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---Don't try and church your car up, MX-3's aren't fast---
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- jschrauwen
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What do you attribute the increase in power and performance in vehicles that have the opportunity and use a really high octane (106 octane) race gas on their street vehicles when on the track? Your partially right ... cars are designed to work for a certain minimum octane. The key word here is minimum. When you put higher in, it does not hurt more than it helps you. What more additives are you refering to? If you're refering to the possibility of a possible ethanol content of 10%, I'm more than happy to see that in there. You're absolutely right that if you encounter pinging (detonation), switching to a higher octane is a good alternative.slowmx3 wrote:People think their cars run better with high octane because they paid more for it. A car is designed to work for a certain octane. When you put higher in, it hurts you more than helps you. There is more additives in the higher octane fuels at the pump to clean your engine out etc.. Performance wise, you are hurting yourself. Unless you are in a situation where you are detonating you don't need a higher octane.
'92 GS-ZE - sold, '95 GS - sold, '02 Protege LX - Daughter, '00 Audi A4 2.8 QTip, Ducati TT2
90 JDM RHD 300ZX TT - 572.1 RWHP | 590.0 RWTQ | 21 PSI | Pump gas
90 JDM RHD 300ZX TT - 572.1 RWHP | 590.0 RWTQ | 21 PSI | Pump gas
i am with him on this onePATDIESEL wrote:No not really any cumbustion in the exhaust cycle. But not any real gain unless you have some timing or fuel and air controller.
Higher octane burns slower letting you advance the timing safely. That is the benefit, but only in conjunction with the afore mentioned parts.
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Actually, it depends on the car's computer. I've seen tests where cars lost power going from 87 to 93. But I've also seen where it gains a few. But the gains are minimal either way on a normally aspirated engine. More gains can be had running higher octane than the owner's manual says if you're running turbo or supercharger.jschrauwen wrote:What do you attribute the increase in power and performance in vehicles that have the opportunity and use a really high octane (106 octane) race gas on their street vehicles when on the track? Your partially right ... cars are designed to work for a certain minimum octane. The key word here is minimum. When you put higher in, it does not hurt more than it helps you. What more additives are you refering to? If you're refering to the possibility of a possible ethanol content of 10%, I'm more than happy to see that in there. You're absolutely right that if you encounter pinging (detonation), switching to a higher octane is a good alternative.slowmx3 wrote:People think their cars run better with high octane because they paid more for it. A car is designed to work for a certain octane. When you put higher in, it hurts you more than helps you. There is more additives in the higher octane fuels at the pump to clean your engine out etc.. Performance wise, you are hurting yourself. Unless you are in a situation where you are detonating you don't need a higher octane.
- Nd4SpdSe
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With my compression being low on my car, last week i decided to try a tank 87 to see what would happen...man, it drank that like water
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2004 Mazda RX-8 GT - Renesis Wankel : LS3 Coils, BHR Mid-Pipe + Falken RT-615K 245/40r18
2011 Mazda Mazda2 GS - 1.5L Manual : Yozora Edition (1 of 500)
2003 Nissan Xterra SE - 4x4 Supercharged : 2" Body Lift, 4" Suspension Lift & 33" MTR Kevlar
2001 Nissan Frontier SE - The Frontrailer : Expedition/Off-Road Trailer Project