no more supreme fuel
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Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Nelson, BC
Dude, your car will be totally fine with a tank or two of lower octane.
First off, octane ratings are a measure of the fuel's resistance to detonation. The thing is, detonation is caused by more than just the fuel's octane rating, it is also influenced by engine tuning...stuff like ignition timing, air-fuel ratios, heat, and load. This is where the knock sensor comes in. When the ECU detects detonation (caused by anything: low octane, lugging the engine, whatever,) it pulls timing to stop the detonation.
So what's the worse that can happen? Well, retarded timing leads to power loss. On a small engine like in our cars, you'll probably notice the few missing horses. That's the worst thing. The second worst thing IMO, is that some detonation does have to first occur before the knock sensor pulls timing. So your engine will see a tiny bit of knocking. But is this really bad? No, not really...the engine sees worse at low revs in a high gear. As long as you aren't running 87 for the lifetime of the car, it's fine. A tank or two, here and there, won't do a thing. BTW, knock sensors have been in most performance engines since the early 90s.
Finally, there's one more important factor that affects detonation, and therefore your choice of octane. Altitude. IIRC, Grande Cache is higher up than Edmonton, and at these altitudes, you can actually get away with lower octane gas than recommended. I've got some hardas**** buddies who know their shit about tuning, and at these altitudes, they'll run 89 on much more highly strung engines than a stock Honda motor. And they can back up their talk with the appropriate datalogging too. It goes like this:
Higher altitude = less O2 than the ECU expects = richer AF ratio = more knock resistance = lower octane requirements
And regarding the octane boosters, don't bother. Every scientific experiment on them has shown that a single bottle raises octane ratings a negligible amount. You'd need a whole flat of that stuff to get a tank of 87 to 91.
Seriously, there's no need to park your awesome car over this. Go enjoy it.
First off, octane ratings are a measure of the fuel's resistance to detonation. The thing is, detonation is caused by more than just the fuel's octane rating, it is also influenced by engine tuning...stuff like ignition timing, air-fuel ratios, heat, and load. This is where the knock sensor comes in. When the ECU detects detonation (caused by anything: low octane, lugging the engine, whatever,) it pulls timing to stop the detonation.
So what's the worse that can happen? Well, retarded timing leads to power loss. On a small engine like in our cars, you'll probably notice the few missing horses. That's the worst thing. The second worst thing IMO, is that some detonation does have to first occur before the knock sensor pulls timing. So your engine will see a tiny bit of knocking. But is this really bad? No, not really...the engine sees worse at low revs in a high gear. As long as you aren't running 87 for the lifetime of the car, it's fine. A tank or two, here and there, won't do a thing. BTW, knock sensors have been in most performance engines since the early 90s.
Finally, there's one more important factor that affects detonation, and therefore your choice of octane. Altitude. IIRC, Grande Cache is higher up than Edmonton, and at these altitudes, you can actually get away with lower octane gas than recommended. I've got some hardas**** buddies who know their shit about tuning, and at these altitudes, they'll run 89 on much more highly strung engines than a stock Honda motor. And they can back up their talk with the appropriate datalogging too. It goes like this:
Higher altitude = less O2 than the ECU expects = richer AF ratio = more knock resistance = lower octane requirements
And regarding the octane boosters, don't bother. Every scientific experiment on them has shown that a single bottle raises octane ratings a negligible amount. You'd need a whole flat of that stuff to get a tank of 87 to 91.
Seriously, there's no need to park your awesome car over this. Go enjoy it.
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Joined: Dec 2007
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Originally Posted by RockyMountainS2k,Aug 24 2009, 08:09 AM
I dont recomend it.
There was a s2000 tow'd in once that he had put 87 octane and it was huffing and shaking. s2000's dislike lower grades.
There was a s2000 tow'd in once that he had put 87 octane and it was huffing and shaking. s2000's dislike lower grades.
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