V6 and Premium fuel?

[mc_acoustic]

Just curious...

I have a V6 2010 camaro... I usually run 87 octane fuel....

Is there any benefit going to 89 or 91 or higher?

More horse? Better mileage? Smoother ride?

Just curious since the manual says 87 or higher...

Was wondering if anyone did the research and found out anything

[kostnkost]

I hear you get a nice placebo effect

[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.

[kostnkost]

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.

Key here is "benefit" in which the OP asked. Is it beneficial to spend more money on higher octane to gain what?

[MagnumForceGB]

If you are drag racing then I would use premium. Its going to be expensive filling up the car anyways, huge fuel tank.

[BowtieBelle]

Originally Posted by MagnumForceGB

If you are drag racing then I would use premium. Its going to be expensive filling up the car anyways, huge fuel tank.

Hey you! When are we heading to Thunder Valley again?


Also, to the OP... I use 87. Some say that oh, it must mean I don't love my car, blah blah blah, but the fact is that the 30-50cent difference between 87 and premium adds up. I bought the V6 so I could use cheaper fuel because my car is a DD that's gotten 66k in two years. If I thought 87 was going to tear it up, I'd use premium, but for me the benefits just aren't enough to make me switch over.

But there are a host of different ideas and points of view on this. Use the search and you'll see a lot of threads.

[The_Grinch]

If you have a stick and want a little forgiveness on taking off from a Dead Stop, go with Premium. I have killed the car several times on regular 87 oct. never on 92 or 93. I am sure you other Manual owners know the frustration of the deadband that the LLT has just as the clutch starts disengaging.

[menendez1293]

I have only ran 93 since I have owned the car. The dealer probably put 87 in the first tank but since then It has been 93. I don't drive my car every day and I really fill the thank up maybe once every 4 months so the extra couple of dollars so no big deal.

[axis]

The ONLY time you'll benefit from higher octane is if you're having a issue with the lower octane fuel. If the 87 in your area isn't causing your engine to knock, buying higher octane will do absolutely nothing but lighten your bank account. There isn't a high and low octane table in the PCM, like the SS has. As long as you're not knocking, the PCM is giving you all the timing that's available in the OEM tune.

[13blackLS]

like someone mentioned above, this car is my daily...so i use 89 in the camaro (didnt notice a difference from the first tank of 87 the dealership put in there), but i use 93 octane in my rx8.

[dkp2LT]

IMO I'm only throwing money away if I put anything higher than 87 in the tank.

[GretchenGotGrowl]

Originally Posted by axis

The ONLY time you'll benefit from higher octane is if you're having a issue with the lower octane fuel. If the 87 in your area isn't causing your engine to knock, buying higher octane will do absolutely nothing but lighten your bank account. There isn't a high and low octane table in the PCM, like the SS has. As long as you're not knocking, the PCM is giving you all the timing that's available in the OEM tune.

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.

[MagnumForceGB]

Originally Posted by BowtieBelle

Hey you! When are we heading to Thunder Valley again?


Also, to the OP... I use 87. Some say that oh, it must mean I don't love my car, blah blah blah, but the fact is that the 30-50cent difference between 87 and premium adds up. I bought the V6 so I could use cheaper fuel because my car is a DD that's gotten 66k in two years. If I thought 87 was going to tear it up, I'd use premium, but for me the benefits just aren't enough to make me switch over.

But there are a host of different ideas and points of view on this. Use the search and you'll see a lot of threads.

We might head out there at the end of May, we are going to Tulsa in 2 weeks though. Got my new tune and will be doing a Datalog there.

OP, are you planning any major mods?

[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.