Beaglelover

I'm new to the HHR crowd and must say this vehicle exceeds my expectations. Great choice! Now, here's my question. We have an 07 LT2 with 84,000 miles. Owners manual says to use premium fuel with an octane rating of at least 89. We've had the HHR for only a few weeks and have only had to gas up 2 times. Due to cost, I've been using the usual cheapy 87 octane and it seems to be working fine. What credence is there in "having" to use a higher octane fuel? Please, educate me .... thanks!!!

badassbowtie

basically its boils down to the cost per mile...the higher octane has better efficiency but costs more...
87 is OK to run in the 2.4l
lots of good info:
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/show...commended+fuel

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/general-hhr-4/gas-premium-regular-28528/

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/general-hhr-4/do-i-need-premium-unleaded-30633/

45woody

I also have an 07. Have used 87 octane fuel ever since I bought it new.
Now have 58K miles on it. Had to have all 4 injectors as well as the injector rail replaced, all kinds of particulate inside. Started out as rough idle. Check engine light came on. Took it to a reputable service outlet. They said to use a better grade of gas and brand. Like you, I wanted to save some money on fuel. Not sure of the tradeoff. This replacement exercise was not cheap.

BlackknighT

Hey 45woody-saw this was your 1st post. Welcome!

My 2009 LS (2.2) runs fine on 87 octane but I found I get more mileage from 89 octane, but lose power & mileage when I use 92 octane. Very strange. I had happened to get the 92 when I was filling my 5 gal container for my generator, and saw I was low on fuel in the HHR so I figured what the heck, why not. Won't be spending that extra money again. Best running (but least mileage) in my 2.2 is ethanol. (no-I do not want to start a debate, just what my 2.2 does best on.)

Mike

Snoopy

I believe if you read your Owners Manual it states YOUR 2.2 is made for non leaded 87 octane. The original posters vehicle is a 2.4 and his Owners Manual PROBABLY says RECOMMENDED 89, with further discussion regarding the use of other lower grade fuels being acceptable.

In other words, his engine is made for a "flexible" grade of gasoline. Your vehicle is NOT (other than E-85).

To the original poster....use whatever grade of fuel you feel comfortable with AND what YOUR vehicle operates best under.

prod

to be able to take advantage of higher octane fuel, the ecm must be programmed for it. From what is in the owners manual, the 2.2 isnt, while the 2.4 can detect it, usually after running for a while.
Higher octane allows for more advanced ignition timing, giving more power.
I plan to get a tune this spring for 91 octane.

chefan

i have an 07 with...lol..214 182 on it.usually put mid grade in but use lucas fuel treatment once in a while.treat er to high test sometimes but doesnt really make a difference

Snoopy

^^^^^huh^^^^^

can you restate that in plain english???

A Crazy Canuck

With Premium 92 being over 25 cents a litre more than regular and mid grade 19 more, I am not going to bother with trying it out on our 2.4. The manual says recommended not required, and so far ours has ran great on the cheap stuff.
(Did I mention that we get raped without mercy on gas prices in Canada?)

Tonight's price around town is:
87 127.9/litre (...that's $4.85 for a US gallon)
89 145.9/litre
92 151.9/litre
diesel 149.9/litre
That is a joke.

bigjacksauto

If u can find pure gas ethanol free instead of 10percent ethanol added you normally pay more but its nice to see the difference it can make in gas mileage.
So if you can find ethanol free super its usually the 93 octane minus the e85 ethanol mix which brings it back to 91 octane your gas mileage at 65 should go up 3-5 mpg from what I have seen.
When I had my 2.4 I would use the 87 when i was just driving but most times I woj ld have the premium in since there was a noticeable hp increase.