Octane?
Printed From: Tippmann Paintball
Category: News And Views
Forum Name: Thoughts and Opinions
Forum Description: Got something you need to say?
URL: http://www.tippmannsports.com/forum/wwf77a/forum_posts.asp?TID=177628
Printed Date: 15 May 2026 at 3:24am
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Topic: Octane?
Posted By: Uncle Rudder
Subject: Octane?
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 7:39am
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I'm a bit confused on the "requirement" for some cars to run on premium grade fuel over the standard 87 octane. Some people tell me yes, some no. A Mitsubishi mechanic said that using 87 in a 2004 eclipse (which is soppse to run on premium) will only decrease horse power by 2 or 3, and mpg by about the same. Some of you guys blow my mind with your knowledge of engines and cars so could you please help me out?
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Replies:
Posted By: PaiNTbALLfReNzY
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 7:43am
| I think you can alternate between regular and premium, at least that's what I've been told. |
Posted By: barn_user
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 8:38am
| I'm supposed to run premium in my 99 Bonneville SSEi due to the supercharger but I don't. You can run regular just fine. About the only place you will see a difference between the two is under hard acceleration and maybe a 1-3 mpg drop. |
Posted By: adrenalinejunky
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 10:01am
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higher octane fuel is harder to ignite then lower octane, when cars say they require premium thats because they are set up to take advantage of this fact
using regular can result in premature detonation, (also called pinging or knocking, due to the sound it makes) which is not good for your engine. but cars have knock sensors that detect this and readjust the ignition timing to compensate, which is what results in the slight loss of power/milage. |
Posted By: Rambino
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 10:05am
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This is the key. Almost all (all?) modern high-compression engines also have sensors that will compensate for lower octane fuel, and the only negative effect is slightly reduced power and mileage. BUT - on older cars this may not be the case. Some older cars cannot adjust, and will experience knocking, which can cause a variety of problems. Bottom line - if your car starts knocking on lower-octane fuel, switch back. Otherwise you should be fine. ------------- [IMG]http://i38.tinypic.com/aag8s8.jpg"> |
adrenalinejunky wrote:Posted By: Predatorr
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 10:53am
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Thread hijack! The kids I had auto tech with kept telling me to do an occasional octane boost in my car, those little 5 dollar bottles you put in the tank. I just don't know why |
Posted By: .357 Magnum
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 11:08am
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Compression ratios.
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Posted By: adrenalinejunky
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 11:25am
octane boost? beats the hell out of me.... using fuel injector cleaner from a good time can be a good idea... but as far as i've ever heard the octane boosters are pretty much worthless. |
Posted By: Yomillio
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 11:36am
Another thread jack! I'm working on running through a tank right now with which I used Lucas injector cleaner, so I guess thats good. But are there any other fuel additives that are actually useful? What about oil additives? My car has almost 130,000 miles so anything I can find is pretty useful. ------------- 
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Posted By: .357 Magnum
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 11:39am
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Octane boosters work if you know how to use them. Just pouring it in your gas won't do crap. Pouring it in your tank and adjusting your timing to match will do something.
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Posted By: ammolord
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 11:40am
------------- PSN Tag: AmmoLord XBL: xXAmmoLordXx ~Minister of Tinkering With Things That Go "BOOM!"(AKA Minister of Munitions)~ |
Posted By: adrenalinejunky
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 11:48am
true, but most of them will only raise your octane by .2-.3 points... plus most modern cars dont have the ability to alter the timing without aftermarket parts. |
Posted By: adrenalinejunky
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 11:51am
lucas oil stabalizer is good. some oil additives can actually be bad though, such as ones that use teflon, the little bits can actually clog your oil passages. |
Posted By: .357 Magnum
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 11:51am
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Some boosters will raise it by 10-15. We put some in our schools drag car and bumped the timing. Gas was old but it still works. Speaking of I can't wait until our next race.
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Posted By: adrenalinejunky
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 11:57am
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10-15 actuall points or 10-15 "market hyped" points?
a market hyped point is worth 1 tenth of a real point, seriously. |
Posted By: Yomillio
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 12:04pm
Heh, I got some of the Lucas oil stabalizer when I got the injector cleaner, too. Just waiting for the next oil change to roll around, and I might do it early because the guy I bought it from did the last oil change with conventional oil and I definitly want synthetic in there. I also have heard great things about Restore, so I might give that a try. -------------
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Posted By: The Guy
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 12:19pm
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octane to hectane ratio
------------- http://www.anomationanodizing.com - My Site 
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Posted By: blackdog144
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 12:19pm
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i have to use 92 octane in my maverick. When i used 87 it ran like crap. My friend has to use 92 octane in his torino with octane booster because his 408 stroker cant just run off of 92 octane. ------------- http://imageshack.us">  
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Posted By: JohnnyCanuck
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 12:39pm
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I built my engine for propane, which I run 99% of the time, when I run gasoline, I have to use octane boost with premium or it will knock under acceleration, which is why I hardly ever use gasoline.
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Posted By: Brian Fellows
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 3:16pm
Hectane ignites much more readily than octane. |
Posted By: evillepaintball
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 3:28pm
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what are the benefits/drawbacks of synthetic oil as opposed to conventional?
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Posted By: adrenalinejunky
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 3:39pm
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synthetic oil molucules are smaller, so they can get into smaller spaces and thus do a better job of lubricating. however, because of this they also have a tendency to leak and or burn faster if your car leaks and or burns oil
synthetic oil also doesnt break down over time like conventional. and synthetic oil's tend to do a much better job of keeping an engine clean, though this again can sometimes make leaking or burning worse due to less gunk to block the openings. |
Posted By: evillepaintball
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 4:14pm
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any reason you can think of why my dad has a vendetta against synthetic oils? The cars are an 04, an 05, an 08 so im sure they arent burning or leaking.
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Posted By: The Guy
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 4:27pm
exactly, higher octane prevents premature detonation. Or engine knocking. ------------- http://www.anomationanodizing.com - My Site
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Posted By: adrenalinejunky
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 4:58pm
there are a myriad of synthetic oil myths that make people not want to use it. they damage seals, produce sludge, create problems for catalytic converters or oxygen sensors, void warranties, etc... none of its true, but they still get circulated which causes people to believe it. there are a few other disadvatages too that dont have to do with cars, it can cause problems with some plastics (like delrin) and in some chemical environments it can potentially decompose, but thats only a problem in certian kinds of industrial work. |
Posted By: mod98commando
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 5:00pm
Heh, you want to hear about gunk? I recently changed the intake manifold on my 84 firebird which I'm assuming was run with conventional oil until I got it (about 6,000 miles ago). When I popped the old manifold off there was so much black gunk on the top of the block that I took a plastic spoon and just spooned it all out. It was a disaster in there. I don't even want to know what the rest of the engine looks like. I've heard a few stories of people who ran synthetic for the life of an engine and when taking parts off to swap/inspect, noticed that the parts were extremely clean as opposed to my gunked mess of a 305. ------------- oreomann33: Everybody invades Poland Rofl_Mao: And everyone eats turkey Me: But only if they're hungary Mack: Yeah but hungary people go russian through their food and end up with greece on everyth |
Posted By: adrenalinejunky
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 5:14pm
| indeed, i've also heard quite a few stories of people switching to synthetic after having run conventional and having to change thier oil in under 1000 miles because it cleaned so much crap out of the engine that the oil itself became nasty. |
Posted By: cdacda13
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 6:02pm
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As stated before, conventional oil deposits tend to clog by leaks, thus stopping leaks. Story time. While doing headers on my 92 camaro, I had to remove the valve covers to get them in. I noticed a huge gap in the passenger side valve cover gasket. Stopping this leak was a 2 inch long, 1 inch wide piece of oil deposits. I was quite surprised. Either way, the next engine that goes into the car will be synthetic ran through it. |
Posted By: SSOK
Date Posted: 26 August 2008 at 6:17pm
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Oddly enough, I noticed one set of rocker arms and valve cover was noticealby more dirty then the other set in my truck. ------------- 
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