Not sure if you all had seen this one either. I posted in NE, but thought my Vintage pals might be interested. Check out #3. We've had recent discussions on that one.

Looking to save gas?

6 gas-saving myths
Sure you want to save gas, but there's a lot of bad advice on how to do it. Some of it makes no difference, and some of it can wind up costing you.

Premium Gas needed?

 

There are a couple points made by Consumer Reports that I will have to take issue with:

Running premium vs. regular. A couple years ago Oscar Jackson did a little test in a 2000 Civic Si. This car, like ours, will run on regular but premium is specified by Honda. He ran several tanks of each and found that the improvement in mileage with premium meant he got about the same mileage per dollar either way. But of course with premium he got the benefit of better performance. Not exactly a scientific study but I think the point is if you drive like Oscar Jackson and not like one of the testers at Consumer Reports your mileage might indeed improve on premium.

Then there is this: "When sensors detect regular instead of premium fuel..."
The sensor that does this is the knock sensor. While the engine isn't about to explode but I don't particularly like the idea of making my engine knock until the ecu decides to dial back the timing. Plus there is that "loss of performance" thing. Not what I bought my S2000 for.

I also take issue with the part about aftermarket gas saving devices. Since I installed the "tornado" in my intake, my mileage has gone up 60%! I can't wait to install that little magnet thing around my fuel line so the gas molocules will line up more efficiently. I expect to get up to 45MPG with both devices in place.

Interesting article. Especially the sections on dirty air filters and morning fill-ups. Thanks for posting it.

 

Please post link for those mods!

Thanks for the reply.

 

Just run premium in this car. It's a matter of engine compression. Specifically, the S2000 has a high enough compression that it needs the extra resistance to detonation.

If you want to save money, you are better off driving less than switching to lower octane gas for the S2000.

 

I used to put an egg under the accellerator to make sure I was gentle on the pedal, but the current price of eggs no longer makes it cost effective for me.

Around here it helps to buy gas on Tues and Wed. Kroger shoppers can get up to 20 cents a gallon off the pump price. Speedway gas cards will save you 2 dollars per every 50 bucks you pump. My RX 300 computer tells me that I get an immediate 2 mpg on Shell and Mobil gas.

Desperate measures for desperate times.

 

Motorcycles respond quite poorly and immediately to off-octane gasoline. Likely because of compression issue and no knock sensors.

 

I don't drive. It is so hard since I have a brand new Fit which is so much fun to drive. Once a week to the grocery store and other errands ...... that's it!

 

I get 5% back on gas with my AMEX business platinum card. I think they refer to it as a simply cash card.

 

For the sake of discussion, lets say regular is $3.70 and premium is $4.04. That's a difference of $.34 or 9% and it seems like a lot. Now lets say you drive 12,000 miles annually and get an average of 25 miles per gallon. This works out to 480 gallons of gas annually. 480 gallons at the additional $.34 per means you are only spending an additional $163.00. Not a big deal when you really look at it.

 

With the Rotrex super charger I got somewhat better fuel mileage on the trip to Seven Springs and back that with NA (as high as 28.7 mpg). But there would be no way even to consider using regular gas with it installed -- it has a Hondata ECU reflash and requires a minimum of 91 octane with the stock head gasket. Paying $45 to fill up an S is painful, though.