Gasoline octane for V-6

[RustyHookz]

I've been putting the mid-grade gas in my V-6 (89 octane). Regular unleaded is 87 octane, and super is 91 or 93. Am I wasting my money springing for the mid-grade? Will I run better on premium? Is the regular octane all I need?

[PieNsky]

The manual says to use 87. Save your money.
I have wondered though if there are gas stations selling lower octane gas. There were L99 owners that swore only premium gas had ever been in their Camaros but they were performing as if low octane gas was in it. They had to reset using the fuse pull but our V6 does not need this done.

[ROD1]

Originally Posted by RustyHookz

I've been putting the mid-grade gas in my V-6 (89 octane). Regular unleaded is 87 octane, and super is 91 or 93. Am I wasting my money springing for the mid-grade? Will I run better on premium? Is the regular octane all I need?

That is a good question. So far no one has answered it to my satisfaction. The V6 has 11:1 compression and would traditionally merit high octane. However, due to the injection system it will run on 87 octane without getting "knock". Ive wondered if you could get the car to relearn on high octane that you might get better gas mileage and performance.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by ROD1

That is a good question. So far no one has answered it to my satisfaction. The V6 has 11:1 compression and would traditionally merit high octane. However, due to the injection system it will run on 87 octane without getting "knock". Ive wondered if you could get the car to relearn on high octane that you might get better gas mileage and performance.

You can't. Not unless you get it tuned by the aftermarket...which is apparently difficult to do with DI engines.
The Direct Injection 'feature' on the engine is precise, and offers charge cooling benefits...which is why knock is avoided at such a high compression.

The computer for the LLT doesn't have maps available for high octane fuels.
All it knows is 87. So you'd really only be wasting your money.

[The_Blur]

The manual says to use 87. Use 87.

[slicker]

well i hope im not wassting my money but i use chevron mid grade in mine scince day one, im happy and getting avarage of 17 mpg in the city.

[Black Diamond]

I use 93 ever since the first fill up 17,000 miles i consistently have better than 19 mpg city

[OUR72GTO]

Ya.......... I always like to buy a brand new car then ignore what the manual says.You can't trust what the makers says.

I like to give the oill companies extra profit each fill. It makes me feel good, like giving to charity.

[mrray13]

I actually spend more moeny to run 87 octane, without ethanol, compared to running 89 octane with 10% ethanol. I'm averaging almost a full 1mpg more with plain jane 87 compared to any gas with ethanol. All the higher grades around where I'm at have ethanol, most stations even have ethanol in the 87. So I spend about $.05 more per gallon to run teh only non-ethanol 87 octane gas in the area, Casey's brand, and the car runs better and gets better mpg because of it.


In short, run 87, and try to find non-ethanol mixed.

[ROD1]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

The manual says to use 87. Use 87.

LOL!

[hb35man]

I run premium fuel in eveything I have.Does my Camaro need it? No.Does premium have any benefits? Maybe.Will I save money on regular? Yes,on a whole tank of 19 gallons about four bucks but I'll just blow it at Starbucks.

[2ndgenz28]

Do a MPG check and change no driving patterns.

report back

[scrming]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

You can't. Not unless you get it tuned by the aftermarket...which is apparently difficult to do with DI engines.
The Direct Injection 'feature' on the engine is precise, and offers charge cooling benefits...which is why knock is avoided at such a high compression.

The computer for the LLT doesn't have maps available for high octane fuels.
All it knows is 87. So you'd really only be wasting your money.

Not sure I completely agree... My casual observation is the knock sensors are more active and pulling more timing when I run 87 octane than when I run 91... Yes, that car can run on 87 but I think that is only because GM is trusting the knock sensors to work and pull timing, reducing performance. The knock sensors will kick in before you can actually hear the car pinging...

[The_Blur]

Originally Posted by mrray13

I actually spend more moeny to run 87 octane, without ethanol, compared to running 89 octane with 10% ethanol. I'm averaging almost a full 1mpg more with plain jane 87 compared to any gas with ethanol. All the higher grades around where I'm at have ethanol, most stations even have ethanol in the 87. So I spend about $.05 more per gallon to run teh only non-ethanol 87 octane gas in the area, Casey's brand, and the car runs better and gets better mpg because of it.


In short, run 87, and try to find non-ethanol mixed.

All US engines cane handle 10% ethanol without any performance change. Ethanol generally comes from the US, too, so you'd be investing at least 10% of your fuel money at home. I don't know how you came to the conclusion that you're getting better fuel economy without ethanol, so I look forward to your scientific write-up.

Originally Posted by hb35man

I run premium fuel in eveything I have.Does my Camaro need it? No.Does premium have any benefits? Maybe.Will I save money on regular? Yes,on a whole tank of 19 gallons about four bucks but I'll just blow it at Starbucks.

Using the wrong fuel is bad for your engine. Don't do it. If your car says that regular is required, that means that regular is required. The word "required" implies that there is no better way to go. I can't understand why anyone would think that adding octane on a car not made for it could possibly be good. That's like driving in the oncoming traffic lane because it's also good for your car and your safety. It's not, and neither is using the wrong gas.