87 octane help.. gas crisis

[playloudd308]

Okay, as many of you know people are flipping shit about gas. There is not a gas station that i have found near me that has premium. Would it hurt to put 87 in my tank? I have been told its a bad thing to do this even if i use octane booster. but i gotta do what i gotta do, i just dont want to mess up and make a stupid decision based on what my "experts" are telling me.

[Estrl M3]

It wont "Kill" your car if thats what your thinking

[playloudd308]

i know it wont kill it but i might have to run it for a few weeks, i have heard it does bad things.. to your injectors etc.

[shaeff]

Octane rating is simply the fuel's resistance to pre-ignition/detonation. Higher octane is more resistance to detonation. If you're going to use 87, just listen for spark knock. If you hear it, stop using 87. :)

I personally don't think it makes that much of a difference, even if there's a twenty cent differential between grades of gasoline. On a full tank, you're only saving about $3.00 a tank, which, if you refuel once a week, every week, is only about $156.00 a year. Hardly worth it, in my opinion...

[Xiphos]

Octane rating is simply the fuel's resistance to pre-ignition/detonation. Higher octane is more resistance to detonation. If you're going to use 87, just listen for spark knock. If you hear it, stop using 87. :)

I personally don't think it makes that much of a difference, even if there's a twenty cent differential between grades of gasoline. On a full tank, you're only saving about $3.00 a tank, which, if you refuel once a week, every week, is only about $156.00 a year. Hardly worth it, in my opinion...

It not the cost the bothers him, its his inability to find a gas station that has premium. Didn't know that was possible, maybe he isnt looking hard enough. I can get premium anywhere.

[GotBHP?]

It not the cost the bothers him, its his inability to find a gas station that has premium. Didn't know that was possible, maybe he isnt looking hard enough. I can get premium anywhere.

You aren't on the east coast where supplies were cut off for a while because of 'weather issues'.

I was in Charlotte, NC for about a month for work, and it was hard to find gas stations that had actually had gasoline for a week or so.

[TillRodsFly]

Octane rating is simply the fuel's resistance to pre-ignition/detonation. Higher octane is more resistance to detonation. If you're going to use 87, just listen for spark knock. If you hear it, stop using 87. :)

I personally don't think it makes that much of a difference, even if there's a twenty cent differential between grades of gasoline. On a full tank, you're only saving about $3.00 a tank, which, if you refuel once a week, every week, is only about $156.00 a year. Hardly worth it, in my opinion...


Yes, you are correct on the "resistance to pre-ignition/detonation". Re- read his post though...he can't find premium.

[TillRodsFly]

Here in Mid Tenn we had the shortage too. Of course the regular went out first since it was the most popular/cheapest. Then the mid and finally the high test. Naturally the gas stations focused of getting regular in first since it was in demand so the high test stayed empty. I think that is what he is facing now.

[shaeff]

LOL. Reading comprehension>me :(

I see the problem now. My mistake! I'm on the east coast, and I have no problem finding any gas I want. I hear that further south is a different story, though, (NC, SC, GA, etc...)

[Brent 930]

Okay, as many of you know people are flipping shit about gas. There is not a gas station that i have found near me that has premium. Would it hurt to put 87 in my tank? I have been told its a bad thing to do this even if i use octane booster. but i gotta do what i gotta do, i just dont want to mess up and make a stupid decision based on what my "experts" are telling me.

:nono

99% of all octane boosters don't work.

[Tim95M3]

dont worry about it. Just listen for any pinging or knocking, which I doubt would occur... And if it does occur, just ride a bike i guess :)

[Estrl M3]

It not the cost the bothers him, its his inability to find a gas station that has premium. Didn't know that was possible, maybe he isnt looking hard enough. I can get premium anywhere.

Lol... world events dude... haha

[sh0]

i ran a tank of 87 octane fuel with no problem. my gas milage just went down a lil

[shaeff]

:nono

99% of all octane boosters don't work.

Crap, I forgot to add that to my post as well. This is very true. 99% of them are a waste of money. They claim to increase octane rating by one full point, but they don't. Example:

Your gas is 93 octane. Adding that crap will make it 93.10 - not worth it!

[Jon68z]

:nono

99% of all octane boosters don't work.

Maybe so, but there are alot that do work, especially with 87 octane gas. The Lucas octane booster works and so does the "race gas" concentrate sold by Torco fuels, or what ever they are calling them selves now days.

Try this link: http://www.torcoracefuels.com/

I've tried both and perfer he Lucas 'cause I can pick it up at Kragens Auto Parts. But the Torco does a better job IMO. But be carefull about the Torco stuff, the IRS is investigating them :help so order it from a supplier with stock on hand and can ship it out to you immediately.

[thejlevie]

Running 87 octane isn't going to hurt the engine. The knock sensors will tell the DME that a lower than desired octane rating is in use and the DME will retard timing to compensate. Gas mileage and power will suffer from the retarded timing and one would be well advised to be gentle with the car until the correct fuel is available.

If 87 octane is all you can find, put it in the tank and drive the car gently. As soon as you can find 91 or greater switch back to it.

[Brent 930]

OR, instead of wasting time and money on 87 with octane boosters... "drum roll"

Put in 91 octane or better!

[Jon68z]

OR, instead of wasting time and money on 87 with octane boosters... "drum roll"

Put in 91 octane or better!

He is in the south east, they are currently having a Gas shortage, thus no Premium.... It was already posted earlier in the thread.... Guess you missed it:eek:

[bmwf106]

i live north of Atlanta and i waited 2 hours in line to get gas. Believe it or not I was happy to do so. I pass 10 gas stations everyday on my way to work and its been over a week since 1 had gas. I filled up almost 2 weeks ago on 87 and have had no issues. Ive averaged 24.3mpg since then says the obc. I have 70ish miles to go. I hope we get gas soon. Ive not seen premium at any station since the hurricane. At this point I would put anything that will burn in the tank. When you see gas stations out of gas this long, it really shows how dependant we are on it. BTW, gas was $4.20/gal for regular here. I paid it and was happy to just find it.

[esp42089]

Just repeating what has already been said, 87 is fine, but play it safe and limit the chance for knocks by keeping your RPMS low, this will conserve gas as a added bonus. Octane boosters are a waist of money, if you cant find premium, run the cheap stuff and drive like your 90.

[ButtDyno]

Okay, as many of you know people are flipping shit about gas. There is not a gas station that i have found near me that has premium. Would it hurt to put 87 in my tank? I have been told its a bad thing to do this even if i use octane booster. but i gotta do what i gotta do, i just dont want to mess up and make a stupid decision based on what my "experts" are telling me.
If only your car came with... some sort of... documentation... you know... something that would help answer questions like these.

Like... an owner's manual. Or something similar.

[swollix]

yeah here in GA it is rediculous. Last week I paid $4.99 for premium gas, just glad to find it...

[playloudd308]

If only your car came with... some sort of... documentation... you know... something that would help answer questions like these.

Like... an owner's manual. Or something similar.

lol, long story short, i had a drunk friend in the car and she decided to throw some stuff out the window.

but on the bright side.. both neighbors filled up with premium and they are asleep right now so... :devillook

[letterM]

injectors, oxygen sensors and your cats - wave buh bye.

BIG NO NO.

[missionhcky09]

i live north of Atlanta and i waited 2 hours in line to get gas. Believe it or not I was happy to do so. I pass 10 gas stations everyday on my way to work and its been over a week since 1 had gas. I filled up almost 2 weeks ago on 87 and have had no issues. Ive averaged 24.3mpg since then says the obc. I have 70ish miles to go. I hope we get gas soon. Ive not seen premium at any station since the hurricane. At this point I would put anything that will burn in the tank. When you see gas stations out of gas this long, it really shows how dependant we are on it. BTW, gas was $4.20/gal for regular here. I paid it and was happy to just find it.

$4.20 is average here in california! i wish we considered that expensive...

[racer m]

yeah here in GA it is rediculous. Last week I paid $4.99 for premium gas, just glad to find it...
ouch ... i paid 3.87for 93 in tampa today.

[Dispatch20]

injectors, oxygen sensors and your cats - wave buh bye.

BIG NO NO.

Not even close (assuming you are serious).

Our cars have knock sensors that will retard timing upon pre-detonation. With 87 octane, timing will be retarded and less power will be made. Your fuel economy and engine output power both go down.

No damage will happen. Why would injectors care what octane the gas is? O2 sensors and cats can get damaged by running super rich, but 87 octane won't make your car run super rich.

[shaeff]

Not even close (assuming you are serious).

Our cars have knock sensors that will retard timing upon pre-detonation. With 87 octane, timing will be retarded and less power will be made. Your fuel economy and engine output power both go down.

No damage will happen. Why would injectors care what octane the gas is? O2 sensors and cats can get damaged by running super rich, but 87 octane won't make your car run super rich.

This guy speaks the truth. 87 octane fuel won't hurt anything. o2 sensors and cats can also get damaged by running leaded race fuel. :)

[Casebrius]

I ran some 89 a couple times recently and noticed pinging under hard acceleration at low speeds. I also wonder about the higher content of methanol causing pinging.

[joenationwide]

if you run 87 octane, your battery will die.


srsly, 87 octane is fine as long as you dont put serious load on the engine. This means do not lug the engine in low gears (try to accelerate in too high a gear), try to stay away from climbing steep hills, and don't race, accelerate too quickly, or put excessive load on the engine. Regular commuting will be fine.

[Estrl M3]

OR, instead of wasting time and money on 87 with octane boosters... "drum roll"

Put in 91 octane or better!

your an idiot dude, its not available in some parts of teh country at the moment. crawl out of your hole and read some news every once in awhile

[HMalice]

$4.20 is average here in california! i wish we considered that expensive...
91 is on average $3.75-$3.85 down in San Diego.

[TH3 Shifty]

methanol will boost it... you know what is 80% ethanol?? Blue windshield washer fluid.. not a joke.. it will work.. people use this when they have "meth injection" on their turbo..

would i do it? no... just run 87... dont be letting the engine hang out in the high RPMs... be easy on it...

/thread

[328iJunkie]

87 is fine on a stock tune, or even chipped. just dont beat on the car right after you switch. let it slowly retard timing to cope with the 87.

And all octane boosters are garbage. All they do is marginally raise your octane rating (.1 point or so). Thats all they cant do. They cant chemically alter the ~17 gallons of gas in your tank with 1 qt of fluid. All they are is usually a splash of toluene or xylene or something of the sort with some filler and since its only 1 qt it cant raise your total effective rating that much. Throw some toluene (~119 octane IIRC) in your tank if you really need to. Just be easy on it. It will eat stuff.

[WytLytnyn]

i live north of Atlanta and i waited 2 hours in line to get gas. Believe it or not I was happy to do so. I pass 10 gas stations everyday on my way to work and its been over a week since 1 had gas. I filled up almost 2 weeks ago on 87 and have had no issues. Ive averaged 24.3mpg since then says the obc. I have 70ish miles to go. I hope we get gas soon. Ive not seen premium at any station since the hurricane. At this point I would put anything that will burn in the tank. When you see gas stations out of gas this long, it really shows how dependant we are on it. BTW, gas was $4.20/gal for regular here. I paid it and was happy to just find it.I work in Alpharetta as well. There is a Chevron near Chastain that has all the gas you want now, but its $4.39 a gallon for premium. You gotta pay if you wanta play.

I ran about a .25 tank on 87 driving back from FL over the weekend. My economy went down 2 mpg from average. I did notice a bit of "sputtering" a certain points but nothing intrusive. As soon as I could, I topped off with 93 octane.

[Xiphos]

I suppose I'll stick with my $3.73 a gallon Shell premium gas where I can find at any gas Shell station.

[Brent 930]

your an idiot dude, its not available in some parts of teh country at the moment. crawl out of your hole and read some news every once in awhile

At least I can spell, and if I'm an idiot what does that make you?

Tough guy!

I say don't drive your car if you can't get at least 91 octane.

Even those silly scooters require at least 90 octane.

[roriii]

$4.20 is average here in california! i wish we considered that expensive...

Yea i bet, luckily we dont have so many taxes on the east coast.

[FinalBoss]

Running regular will in no way hurt the car. I have a motorcycle with 12.5:1 compression ratio that revs to 13,500rpm and I can even put regular in there. It's all about the tune, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, even the Veyron allow you to run regular power will be down, maybe 5 to 10hp and fuel economy might suffer by 1 to 2mpg.

[ButtDyno]

Yes. It says IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL that you can use 87 octane without hurting anything.

[Hammer03]

And all octane boosters are garbage. All they do is marginally raise your octane rating (.1 point or so). Thats all they cant do. They cant chemically alter the ~17 gallons of gas in your tank with 1 qt of fluid. All they are is usually a splash of toluene or xylene or something of the sort with some filler and since its only 1 qt it cant raise your total effective rating that much. Throw some toluene (~119 octane IIRC) in your tank if you really need to. Just be easy on it. It will eat stuff.

Bingo (although I've heard 114-116 octane equivalent). Available in rough purity at Home Depot and most paint stores. We get the good stuff (HPLC grade) at my work by the gallon. Home depot stuff was only ~6 bucks a gallon IIRC. But (whoever wants to try it) don't go nuts...

It will eat stuff.

[E36HB]

injectors, oxygen sensors and your cats - wave buh bye.

BIG NO NO.
:confused :rolleyes

[vega]

are you anywhere near cary? I have the exact same problem. The only noticeable difference in my car is the SHITTY gas mileage. I put 3.2 gallons in (in efforts to find 89/93 somewhere else) and it burned it in no time. I probably averaged 18mpg when I normally do 27-30 on my normal commute in my e46.

[Tbaker474]

injectors, oxygen sensors and your cats - wave buh bye.

BIG NO NO.

No. They will all be fine.

[E36 Maniac]

injectors, oxygen sensors and your cats - wave buh bye.

BIG NO NO.

Ya...thats for leaded fuels, octane has nothing to do with leaded/unleaded.

[The Letter M]

methanol will boost it... you know what is 80% ethanol?? Blue windshield washer fluid.. not a joke.. it will work.. people use this when they have "meth injection" on their turbo..

would i do it? no... just run 87... dont be letting the engine hang out in the high RPMs... be easy on it...

/thread

I would never add windshield washer fluid to fuel, or vodka, or piss for that matter...

Also, from what I understand, ethanol will boost octane rating, but since it produces less power than gasoline of the same volume, it is a moot point, unless you are really worried about pinging in vehicles without the ability to sense it and alter timing to compensate.

Once in a while you can get a way with low octane gas, but I wouldn't run it on that all the time, unless you never need the car to perform at its best, or you can't find anything higher, or you just don't care...

[shaeff]

methanol will boost it... you know what is 80% ethanol?? Blue windshield washer fluid.. not a joke.. it will work.. people use this when they have "meth injection" on their turbo..

would i do it? no... just run 87... dont be letting the engine hang out in the high RPMs... be easy on it...

/thread

Wait, WHAT? You are so seriously wrong it's troubling. Dude, do some research before you tell people to put windshield washer fluid in their gas tanks. That's a great way to screw up their fuel system for sure. Meth injection is a completely separate, and carefully laid out setup from your fuel injection system!

Methanol injection isn't done through your fuel injectors. It's a completely separate system that's injected at a designated pre-throttle body location in order to help cool intake temperatures. It is SUPPOSED to be completely evaporated before it enters the cylinders, which technically means that it does NOT enter the motor.

Turbo guys use it because when you use a turbo, the intake air is compressed. When air compresses, it heats up. Hot air lowers the threshold for detonation. Even with intercoolers, many guys like to run meth. injection to cool the intake temps even more, thus raising the threshold for detonation even higher, provided they tune the car properly.

It's used to COOL the INTAKE air temps ONLY. And there are special sprayers used for it to put it into a mist that's much finer than a regular fuel injector would make. You scare me. Seriously.

[Dispatch20]

Absolutely true. I have no idea what would make somebody put windshield wiper fluid in their gas tank.

This thread is a little rediculous. Next thing we know, people will be seriously suggesting that dumping sand into your intake manifold will port and polish the engine for you.


Wait, WHAT? You are so seriously wrong it's troubling. Dude, do some research before you tell people to put windshield washer fluid in their gas tanks. That's a great way to screw up their fuel system for sure. Meth injection is a completely separate, and carefully laid out setup from your fuel injection system!

Methanol injection isn't done through your fuel injectors. It's a completely separate system that's injected at a designated pre-throttle body location in order to help cool intake temperatures. It is SUPPOSED to be completely evaporated before it enters the cylinders, which technically means that it does NOT enter the motor.

Turbo guys use it because when you use a turbo, the intake air is compressed. When air compresses, it heats up. Hot air lowers the threshold for detonation. Even with intercoolers, many guys like to run meth. injection to cool the intake temps even more, thus raising the threshold for detonation even higher, provided they tune the car properly.

It's used to COOL the INTAKE air temps ONLY. And there are special sprayers used for it to put it into a mist that's much finer than a regular fuel injector would make. You scare me. Seriously.

[shaeff]

Absolutely true. I have no idea what would make somebody put windshield wiper fluid in their gas tank.

This thread is a little rediculous. Next thing we know, people will be seriously suggesting that dumping sand into your intake manifold will port and polish the engine for you.

Seriously, I almost choked when I read that! LOL at sand in the intake!

[GG///M3]

$4.20 is average here in california! i wish we considered that expensive...

Here in Long Island I'm paying $3.81 for 93.:)

[raysadude]

Absolutely true. I have no idea what would make somebody put windshield wiper fluid in their gas tank.

This thread is a little rediculous. Next thing we know, people will be seriously suggesting that dumping sand into your intake manifold will port and polish the engine for you.
:lol
i know you were being sarcastic but it still makes me lol

[panish]

I paid $3.49 for 93 here in Portland today. I feel pretty good about that.