V6 and Premium fuel?

[two_wheel_mayhem]

Originally Posted by kostnkost

I hear you get a nice placebo effect

Butt dyno.


I sleep better at night not plagued with these difficult decisions. Another reason to drive a V8 Camaro, it's a no brainer you just pull up and pick the highest priced one. If the nozzle doesn't fit in your tank you must have grabbed the diesel by mistake.

[Sir Nuke]

all it will truely do is lighten your wallet.

[two_wheel_mayhem]

Originally Posted by Bobaloo

One asset yet to be mentioned is additives in premium fuel. I used to run a tank full every 3 or 4 fill-ups as I believe that premium fuel has more cleanning additives. It sure won't hurt anything but as some say it is considerably more expensive. Now I only run Shell premium.

I take taken thousands of engines apart, they all have carbon buildup on the valves and pistons when used on the street with pump gas.

People that run their engines harder and tuned correctly, have less carbon buildup. If I just have the heads off a motor I won't even touch that crap stuck to the top of the pistons. I have scraped it off before though, and it's pretty thick sometimes.

[SC2150]

KM is correct. Not only does the 11.3:1 compression ratio dictate 93 for optimine performance, it is also optimine fuel economy. The Bosch ECU is constantly pulling timing on 87 so the engine is not running at peak efficiency thus leass fuel mileage and less power.

Also, as these are direct injection engines, there is no benefit to the additives as no fuel passes the intake valves to keep them clean as in a carb'd or port injection engine.

[Baba]

5 months after I purchased my 2011 2LT Convertible, I switched from 87 Oct. to 93 Oct. I had posted a few times asking whether sluggish acceleration between 2nd and 3rd and 3rd to 4th gear was common with the manual transmission and most advice that came back was to get the rpm's up to approx. 3k. With 93 Oct. I believe my Camaro accelerates more quickly and smoother. Can't say MPG's are any better but the performance has definitely improved over 87 Oct. Just my experience. Oh, BTW, I just filled her up earlier this month since November, 2012. Only has 3,400 miles on her in almost 2 years. Engine isn't even broken in yet.

[ernie scar]

Your car with the V6 has come tuned from the factory to run low grade octane fuel, keep the money in your pocket. Stick with using the cheap fuel in your car you won’t notice that much, if any change in performance if you are using the car for everyday use.

If in the future you decided to upgrade to the SS or ZL1 then it’s recommended that you use premium fuel in these cars. This has to do with engine knock, etc.

But having said that the computer in the SS and ZL1 can adjust to run lower octane fuel if it had to, but I wouldn’t make this a common practice.

Hope this helps.

[ernie scar]

Originally Posted by Baba

5 months after I purchased my 2011 2LT Convertible, I switched from 87 Oct. to 93 Oct. I had posted a few times asking whether sluggish acceleration between 2nd and 3rd and 3rd to 4th gear was common with the manual transmission and most advice that came back was to get the rpm's up to approx. 3k. With 93 Oct. I believe my Camaro accelerates more quickly and smoother. Can't say MPG's are any better but the performance has definitely improved over 87 Oct. Just my experience. Oh, BTW, I just filled her up earlier this month since November, 2012. Only has 3,400 miles on her in almost 2 years. Engine isn't even broken in yet.

I am not trying to be negative or rude. I am just trying to be helpful.

If you’re not driving your car because of storage. Make sure you throw some fuel stabilizer in the tank. It won’t matter what octane the gas has if it’s not treated it will break down over time and make the engine run like S#!T.

If you are only filling up the car a couple times during the driving season it wouldn’t hurt to throw a can in the gas tank with each fill. I have been doing this for years with seasonal drivers and have had no issues. Stabilizer is cheap engine repair is expensive.

[TooCool5]

We get one of these threads every few months... wow

[TastyBake]

Originally Posted by KMPrenger

Is less timing being pulled a placebo effect? Is a slightly smoother and stronger dyno result a placebo effect?

A fair amount of research has been done on this forum over the past few years, showing what I stated above.

My honest opinion is this: Yes running a higher octane can be beneficial, but are the results from doing so are probably not big enough to be real noticeable.

Originally Posted by GretchenGotGrowl

The problem is, there is quite a bit of KR with the LLT on 87 octane. You get a bit more timing (and power) if you use higher octane. However, there are no timing tables, as you said above, so you don't have to do a fuse pull to get the benefit when switching back and forth. When you want the extra power for the track, just fill up with 93 the day before and engage in a little spirited driving. In between days at the track, just run 87 and save some money.

These two.


Is it beneficial?
Depends. There is less knock retard with 93 than with 87. Higher octane not only prevents knocking, it lowers KR from the PCM. If lowering KR is a requirement, then its beneficial. If you don't care, then no.

Is it required?
No. If you experience knocking, then get the car fixed.

Will I get more power?
Yes. How much, I dunno.

Will you notice?
Probably not. Just note KR is higher in higher revs.

Will I get better fuel economy from using high octane?
Yes. but there are bigger factors like your driving behavior that affect your mpg more than higher octane.

Will I get my money back from the mpg increase from using by using higher octane?
No.

Is using higher octane a waste of money?
Depends. For a daily driver that isn't driven hard, its a waste of money. If you take it to the track or really, really want all the power you can get stock, then go ahead.

Well, do you use higher octane?
Yes. I want to ensure I got all the passing power I can have on the highway. But I know I don't need to use 93.


If anyone disagrees with these points, reply.

[Ir0nM4n]

Originally Posted by ernie scar

Your car with the V6 has come tuned from the factory to run low grade octane fuel.

Based on what?

Where is it stated that the V6 is tuned to run on low grade octane?

Please read below,

Originally Posted by GretchenGotGrowl

The problem is, there is quite a bit of KR with the LLT on 87 octane. You get a bit more timing (and power) if you use higher octane. However, there are no timing tables, as you said above, so you don't have to do a fuse pull to get the benefit when switching back and forth.

Until proven otherwise the V6 can adjust to the fuel placed in tank.

As far as net value to the customer who knows. For me .30 cent (premium fuel) increase means my fuel purchase will cost 2.40 more per two weeks. I am ok with 4.80 each month adding to 57.60 for the year. BTW, I only use 8 gallons per two weeks.

[dkp2LT]

Originally Posted by TooCool5

We get one of these threads every few months... wow

Yep. But at least it's better than the "How much do you pay for insurance?" and "What radar detector do you use?" threads.

[jd10013]

Originally Posted by TastyBake

Well, do you use higher octane?
Yes. I want to ensure I got all the passing power I can have on the highway. But I know I don't need to use 93.

I do also, but mostly because of price. I never drive to empty, so we're talking 2 or 3 bucks per tank.

[heRS]

I ran 93 in mine for a while, all I really noticed was it blacked up the tailpipes I figured it wasn't burning it like it should, so I went back to 87 - tailpipes stay nice and clean now.

[Rocky1974]

Originally Posted by dkp2LT

Yep. But at least it's better than the "How much do you pay for insurance?" and "What radar detector do you use?" threads.

I pay $125 a month, but that's for a Silverado and 3 Camaros. Full coverage on everything. And I have a Beltronics RX-65.