Sorry if this has been asked...I did a search and couldn't find anything.

As you all know...Hurricane Charley went through central Florida. Well bottom line is...I need gas. There is a shortage of gas and it seems that all that's coming in is 87 octane. What will happen if I fill up on this? I have about enough gas to make it home form work and that's it. I filled up before the storm and havn't been able to find a station yet.

Thanks,

 

It wouldn't kill it....

Seriously, a tank of 87 octane won't do irreparable harm to your engine.

 

The ECU will adjust the ignition timing to accommodate the lower octane fuel, It shouldn't be a problem, especially if you only run a tank through. You may be able to buy some time by filling up when you still have high octane gas in the tank. That way the low and high octane gas will mix, producing an octane rating somewhere in the middle. The only detriment is loss of performance. Just to be safe, I'd drive gently with no hard accelerations until you filled up twice with high test.

 

The higher octane helps prevent pre-mature ignition and detonation. These occur most frequently when it is really hot or when you are running high RPMs. Keep the revs below 5K RPM (Like you're breaking it in), and try not to lug the engine, either. Run a couple of tanks of the good stuff through before you start driving hard again.

 

Octane booster couldn't hurt either. Although I'm not sure how effective it would be.

 

Try to get an octane booster at autozone to see if it helps a little. What do u guys think?

 

Thanks guys,

It makes me feel a little better. I hate to do it but I don't really have a choice. I have about 1/4 tank left but i live 40 miles away. I can probably make it home but I'm not sure how much longer we will have a shortage of gas. Maybe I will only put in 5 gallons or so and hope that we get gas back soon. It can't get any worse I'm sure. But then again...I won't get power back to my house until Saturday so you never know

I will definatly get some octane booster if possible.

 

Good luck with everything man. Natural disasters are a horrible thing...

 

1) I'm not a fan of octane boosters for gasoline. Many of them feature some type of alcohol as the main ingredient, and while it boosts octane, it's not the best way to do so.

2) After Andrew, I would drive out of the impacted area to fill up, buy food, etc. Try driving straight north along the coast and you may be surprised how quickly regular services like gasoline, food and water availability become much more easy to find.

 

Hey guys,

Thanks again for all your replies. I found a station that had 93 (well it let me choose it anyways). I'm still treating it as if I put in 87 just to make sure. It's tough not to drive hard though The gas situation is almost back to normal. There are a few stations that still don't have any gas. My house is still without power though.

Thanks again.