Is 89 octane ok?
01-13-2008, 08:09 AM
#2
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01-13-2008, 08:21 AM
#4
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Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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........
01-13-2008, 08:30 AM
#6
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Here's what others had to say SS First Fill Up.
01-13-2008, 03:24 PM
#7
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If your going to use lower octance on a higher performance engine then you would have been better off running the non-ss version of the HHR. Boosted engines need the higher octanes to prevent pre-detonation. Higher performance engines in general run at higher compression ratio's to get those extra HP's of performance. The whole point of getting the SS was to get those 260hp's. Now you have the performance and your going to cheap out and hope that the lower octane doesn't pre-detonate. Believe what you want to believe, but the fact is Octane is gasolines ability to resist predetonation. On the compression stroke the fuel can explode before the spark plug does its job. This causes major stress on an engine as its fighting against everything else and can even cause damage. On lower octane cars the car has been tuned, tested and run many miles to work with the required fuel. In performance cars the same is true except they know that not ever where has the same fuel octane or even availability (IE California has 91 max octane while NY has 93). So when the computer detects pinging (pre-detonation) and finds that it is happening more then allowed it will reduce performance to protect the engine. I know in the LS1 and LS2 and probably the LS3, that GM produced everyone of them had this ability. Now you have a tiny 2L boosted engine. Its creating more then normal cylinder pressure, pushing way more air into the cylinder which allows it to dump even more fuel into the cylinder which allows it to create more power.
Now you can take the risk, lose some power, possible lose some MPG's as the burn in the cylinder may not be as efficient and lose some of the protection a boosted engine needs. Your also only saving $3.00+ on a 16 gallon fill up (regular to premium).
Now you can take the risk, lose some power, possible lose some MPG's as the burn in the cylinder may not be as efficient and lose some of the protection a boosted engine needs. Your also only saving $3.00+ on a 16 gallon fill up (regular to premium).
01-13-2008, 03:33 PM
#8
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Ok, Razinhell....
Thanks for that post.
You apparently know about fuels and confirm what a few other members have said, but many others don't believe.
Because you are specific in your statements I believe you have some credentials. Would you care to reveal them??
Thanks for that post.
You apparently know about fuels and confirm what a few other members have said, but many others don't believe.
Because you are specific in your statements I believe you have some credentials. Would you care to reveal them??
01-13-2008, 03:42 PM
#9
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Join Date: 11-02-2007
Location: At the crossroads
Posts: 23
This is also a good website for info
http://science.howstuffworks.com/gasoline3.htm
What is octane?
If you've read How Car Engines Work, you know that almost all cars use four-stroke gasoline engines. One of the strokes is the compression stroke, where the engine compresses a cylinder-full of air and gas into a much smaller volume before igniting it with a spark plug. The amount of compression is called the compression ratio of the engine. A typical engine might have a compression ratio of 8-to-1. (See How Car Engines Work for details.)
The octane rating of gasoline tells you how much the fuel can be compressed before it spontaneously ignites. When gas ignites by compression rather than because of the spark from the spark plug, it causes knocking in the engine. Knocking can damage an engine, so it is not something you want to have happening. Lower-octane gas (like "regular" 87-octane gasoline) can handle the least amount of compression before igniting.
The compression ratio of your engine determines the octane rating of the gas you must use in the car. One way to increase the horsepower of an engine of a given displacement is to increase its compression ratio. So a "high-performance engine" has a higher compression ratio and requires higher-octane fuel. The advantage of a high compression ratio is that it gives your engine a higher horsepower rating for a given engine weight -- that is what makes the engine "high performance." The disadvantage is that the gasoline for your engine costs more.
If you've read How Car Engines Work, you know that almost all cars use four-stroke gasoline engines. One of the strokes is the compression stroke, where the engine compresses a cylinder-full of air and gas into a much smaller volume before igniting it with a spark plug. The amount of compression is called the compression ratio of the engine. A typical engine might have a compression ratio of 8-to-1. (See How Car Engines Work for details.)
The octane rating of gasoline tells you how much the fuel can be compressed before it spontaneously ignites. When gas ignites by compression rather than because of the spark from the spark plug, it causes knocking in the engine. Knocking can damage an engine, so it is not something you want to have happening. Lower-octane gas (like "regular" 87-octane gasoline) can handle the least amount of compression before igniting.
The compression ratio of your engine determines the octane rating of the gas you must use in the car. One way to increase the horsepower of an engine of a given displacement is to increase its compression ratio. So a "high-performance engine" has a higher compression ratio and requires higher-octane fuel. The advantage of a high compression ratio is that it gives your engine a higher horsepower rating for a given engine weight -- that is what makes the engine "high performance." The disadvantage is that the gasoline for your engine costs more.