87, 89, or 91?
Placebo effect.Question!
Do any of those who use better than 87 octane (or any octane rating as specified by the manufacture) have any engineering or scientific fact that you're getting a better product for the car? My belief is that if the engineers designed the car for 87, then that's what you should use. All the expert information I have read over the years have always said that higher octane rating gas than what is recommended is always a waste of money! I have never seen, head or read any FACTS indicating anything different! And I might add my own experience over the years has proven to me that the recommended octane rating for any car I owned always gave me the best performance and the most economical situation. Its a known fact that higher than recommended octane is a waste of money. And no it does not clean an engine!
Now will someone prove me wrong!
Before you gang up on me, I do understand that there are a few unique instances that might warrant higher octane than recommended. The particular car that might ping because of manufacturing anomalies for instance. Or higher elevation might cause knocking IF you're using gas from a lower elevation purchase.
Before anybody replys please look at the first few articles as listed here:
A few of these articles show testimony of people swearing that higher octane made a difference but not one gave any scientific proof or statistical proof (data comparison).
Octane recommendations
Your vehicle is designed to use
“Regular” unleaded gasoline with a
pump (R+M)/2 octane rating of 87.
I put almost 300 miles on my car yesterday with 89 in the tank. At an average of 70-72mph I got approximately 41mpg. More than happy with my car's performance on 89.My wife switched from 87 to 89 in her FIT and MPG was increased by 3-5 miles.
Don’t take my word for it, try it your self, or ask your Smog Tech.
Well, I won't say you're right or wrong (I don't see any data). However, I fill up 3, 2 gal gas containers about once every 3 to 4 months and run all my lawn and garden tools including 4 & 2 cycle engines. Regardless of how old the gas might be I have never seen even a hint of poor engine performance from any of my gas powered items, including snow thrower or lawn tractor. Not sputter, skip or spurt. And it doesn't seem to affect how often I need to refill the appliance. I will however, dump any stored gas into the cars when change of season takes place between warm and cold.I don't think Regular fuel will hurt Fiesta unless you store the car with a tank of it! It is very short lived as a useable fuel. It is also a damn poor fuel for lawn mowers and garden tractors. It has no shelf life if kept in a can in a hot shed or garage. I cant speak to any definitive fuel economy result that is universal. I am certain that there are so many variations of Reformulated fuels/oxygenated fuels out there that a blanket comparison is difficult.