Can My 92 Es300 Run Off Of Regular Unleaded 87?

[Shayan]

Hello,

Does my car need 89 or 93 octane or is the 87 ok?

I used to use 89 octane but is now to high.

But i will if i have to

Thanks

[djspawn00]

you can run off of regular, you will not get the best performance or mileage per tank but it will run.

[sheab]

it will run .. but the question is for how long .. i would say dont take the risk of a big repair cuz .. its an old model car .. after while the engine will break down --- WITH Reguler .. rest is up to u!

[vstolyarov]

I think its ok to run 87 in winter and run 89 when it gets hot,

I think timing non-adjustable?

and computer figures out how to lose hp when you run 87, you also would need to reset battery to start running 89 or you won't notice difference.

[juno_reaction]

I think 89-97 octane is for super sports cars or a waste of money otherwise. Unless you own a Ferrari, Acura NSX, Aston Martin, then you need'nt worry about what kind of octane you use. Gasoline is gasoline and it still burns and makes your car go regardless! Besides, an old '92 with high milage? You wouldn't notice a difference if it hit you in the face. I used to drive a 1998 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 (before the insurance costs drove me close to suicide) and it was strictly recomended that I use 97 "premium" until the costs of that killed me too, so out of the better judgement of the manuals I switched to 87 "regular". I never noticed a difference in HP or milage (16/18). Save your money.

[djspawn00]

I think 89-97 octane is for super sports cars or a waste of money otherwise. Unless you own a Ferrari, Acura NSX, Aston Martin, then you need'nt worry about what kind of octane you use. Gasoline is gasoline and it still burns and makes your car go regardless! Besides, an old '92 with high milage? You wouldn't notice a difference if it hit you in the face. I used to drive a 1998 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 (before the insurance costs drove me close to suicide) and it was strictly recomended that I use 97 "premium" until the costs of that killed me too, so out of the better judgement of the manuals I switched to 87 "regular". I never noticed a difference in HP or milage (16/18). Save your money.

The NSX runs fine off of 87 also... I've never seen 97 available in NY though... the best we get is watered down 93 from crooked pumps.

[Toysrme]

You first two are completely lost.

Shayan your engine was designed not only to run no higher than 87octane, but it is so ungodly de-tuned you could most likely run 80 octane & still not trigger the knock feedback on the OEM engine.

Runniong any higher than 87 will do nothing but grossly increase emsssions, reduce power output, and reduce economy.

[juno_reaction]

LOL! I didn't even know 80 octane existed...

[Toysrme]

20 years ago you could still buy what wuold be classified as 80 octane by today's standard. you could saturate it with something stupid, or you could leave it in the tank for 6-9 months.

[Ray92es]

You first two are completely lost.

Shayan your engine was designed not only to run no higher than 87octane, but it is so ungodly de-tuned you could most likely run 80 octane & still not trigger the knock feedback on the OEM engine.

Runniong any higher than 87 will do nothing but grossly increase emsssions, reduce power output, and reduce economy.

I second that. I have close to 200k and mine runs great. I only use 87. The manual states that you only need 87. Unless you're knocking, which the computer usually adjusts for, you need not going higher.

[juno_reaction]

The NSX runs fine off of 87 also... I've never seen 97 available in NY though... the best we get is watered down 93 from crooked pumps.

Lol, over here in the gunshine state we have 87, 93, and 97. I had no idea it varied by state or emission laws, if it does.

[wwest]

Hello,

Does my car need 89 or 93 octane or is the 87 ok?

I used to use 89 octane but is now to high.

But i will if i have to

Thanks

The carburator is GONE...!

With the advent of Fuel injection and knock sensors the need for premium fuel is basically obsolete.

If the engine tends to knock or ping the mixture is simply enriched slightly, enough to prevent it.

Except for knock/ping due to lugging the engine with a manual transmission.

[juno_reaction]

In other words, Shayan, you don't need to use that "Premium, ultra, super", whatever, lol. I think we can all agree on this. Again, save your money.

[Shayan]

thanks alot guys.

I will save my money

lol

im working on struts now

eheheh

too $$$$ expensive

[Toysrme]

Hello,

Does my car need 89 or 93 octane or is the 87 ok?

I used to use 89 octane but is now to high.

But i will if i have to

Thanks

The carburator is GONE...!

With the advent of Fuel injection and knock sensors the need for premium fuel is basically obsolete.

If the engine tends to knock or ping the mixture is simply enriched slightly, enough to prevent it.

Except for knock/ping due to lugging the engine with a manual transmission.

well, technically that's not true.

The knock loop retards the ignition timing in steps, and it does not touch fueling. and it should also be noted, that except for pure race bread OEM engine management systems (see Bosch's), or aftermarket EMS. knock sensor loops only operate at a relatively small, high rpm range. Normally it would be 3500rpm'ish to 5500rpm'ish. Anytime you're not in that rpm range, the loop is not active.

(which is also why most engines can still be made to ping at part throttle accelleration under certain circumstances. the knock loop is simply not active at that point)

but yeah, premium fuel is still needed on some engines, but you can get away with it now-a-days without any damage inccured.

I wouldn't want to run a newer engine rated for 91octane on 87 for it's entire life, but the occational tankfuls in a row of a lower octane are not going to give any particularly wear to the engine. over time, there would be some pitting on the piston face if you were pinging during the process, but that's obvious. :)

[Lacebug Sydney]

Down here at the !Removed! of the world we have this new petrol (sorry, I know you guys call it gas) called Shell V-Power (I think it's 98 Octane). It was developed by Shell petroleum and Ferrari. I run it in the 2000 model Es300 and it purrs like a beautiful big panther.

Cheers

Stephen

Sydney. Oorstraya B)

Here's the blurb on that Petrol i was telling you about....do you guys get it in the good ol' USA??

New Shell V-Power is a high density, high performance 98 octane fuel containing Friction Modification Technology (FMT). Designed to reduce friction in the engine, and improve engine performance and responsiveness, new Shell V-Power has been developed by the same scientists who develop Ferrari’s racing fuels.

[juno_reaction]

We've had it here for a while now I think. Again though, I never noticed a difference, although it probably means that it is a long term difference. Shell has been know to produce high quality gasoline.

[Toysrme]

It's not 98 octane, it's 98 ron. we run octan, which is a combination of ron & mon ratings. You just use ron ratings. 98 ron would be the equivilant of our 93 octane.

[wwest]

Hello,

Does my car need 89 or 93 octane or is the 87 ok?

I used to use 89 octane but is now to high.

But i will if i have to

Thanks

The carburator is GONE...!

With the advent of Fuel injection and knock sensors the need for premium fuel is basically obsolete.

If the engine tends to knock or ping the mixture is simply enriched slightly, enough to prevent it.

Except for knock/ping due to lugging the engine with a manual transmission.

well, technically that's not true.

The knock loop retards the ignition timing in steps, and it does not touch fueling. and it should also be noted, that except for pure race bread OEM engine management systems (see Bosch's), or aftermarket EMS. knock sensor loops only operate at a relatively small, high rpm range. Normally it would be 3500rpm'ish to 5500rpm'ish. Anytime you're not in that rpm range, the loop is not active.

(which is also why most engines can still be made to ping at part throttle accelleration under certain circumstances. the knock loop is simply not active at that point)

but yeah, premium fuel is still needed on some engines, but you can get away with it now-a-days without any damage inccured.

I wouldn't want to run a newer engine rated for 91octane on 87 for it's entire life, but the occational tankfuls in a row of a lower octane are not going to give any particularly wear to the engine. over time, there would be some pitting on the piston face if you were pinging during the process, but that's obvious. :)

Long, LONG, ago, when carburators ruled, A/F mixtures were FIXED, absent changing the jets, so the only avenue for preventing engine knock due to pre-detonation was to !Removed! the timing.

But with the advent of electronic fuel injection that all changed.

When I took factory delivery of my 2001 Porsche C4 the factory rep explained to me that in my travels throughout europe I had to be certain I did not inadvertently fuel the car with LEADED gas, otherwise the on board computer would "handle" most any octane level I would be likely to find during my travels. I asked how can that work and he explained that for quite a number of years, for most marques with SFI the engine ECU had been tuned to adjust the mixture first, not timing, to prevent engine ping.

And why not...?

And by the by, pre-detonation is not always due to too early ignition, especially in high compression engines that normally require premium fuel grades, it is more often due to dieseling, in this case a result of a too lean mixture or a too low fuel grade.

The solution?

enich the mixture.

[Lacebug Sydney]

It's not 98 octane, it's 98 ron. we run octan, which is a combination of ron & mon ratings. You just use ron ratings. 98 ron would be the equivilant of our 93 octane.

Toysrme. What's the difference between ron and octane; I'm eager to learn.

Cheers

Stephen

[juno_reaction]

Although I realize the autheticity (or lack thereof) of Wikipedia, there's just such a wealth of information to be found here! If you're looking for the long and hard version of the difference between "RON" and octane, look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

[chumch]

I think 89-97 octane is for super sports cars or a waste of money otherwise. Unless you own a Ferrari, Acura NSX, Aston Martin, then you need'nt worry about what kind of octane you use. Gasoline is gasoline and it still burns and makes your car go regardless! Besides, an old '92 with high milage? You wouldn't notice a difference if it hit you in the face. I used to drive a 1998 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 (before the insurance costs drove me close to suicide) and it was strictly recomended that I use 97 "premium" until the costs of that killed me too, so out of the better judgement of the manuals I switched to 87 "regular". I never noticed a difference in HP or milage (16/18). Save your money.

The NSX runs fine off of 87 also... I've never seen 97 available in NY though... the best we get is watered down 93 from crooked pumps.

According to the NSX owners manual the NSX can be run on 87 octane because the car will detune itself but may be noticably less powerful.