MYTH BUSTED**

[xgen_turbo]

https://www.caranddriver.com/review...onda-cr-v-vs-bmw-m5-ford-f-150-dodge-charger/

Interesting read. The CR-V's 1.5 Turbo is pretty much identical to the 1.5 Turbo in the Civic's, and I was shocked to find out how much more HP it made to the wheel on 91+ octane; Though with barely any improvement on the acceleration times ...

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[xgen_turbo]

**No Improvemnt on acceleration**

 

[Micah]

Fuel won't matter if the ignition and fuel mapping cannot adjust for it. Check out the TSP Stg1 map for the non Si.

 

[JT Si]

I think the result was obvious from the recommendation from Honda to use regular.

If they did the same test on the Si where premium is recommended to get the rated 205HP it would probably be a different story.

 

[VarmintCong]

https://www.caranddriver.com/review...onda-cr-v-vs-bmw-m5-ford-f-150-dodge-charger/

Interesting read. The CR-V's 1.5 Turbo is pretty much identical to the 1.5 Turbo in the Civic's, and I was shocked to find out how much more HP it made to the wheel on 91+ octane; Though with barely any improvement on the acceleration times ...

Is the busted myth that higher octane doesn't help?

Two of the 4 vehicles showed significant improvement with higher octane and the 3rd, the BMW, showed some improvement only going from 91 to 93. .

 

[REBELXSi]

I think the result was obvious from the recommendation from Honda to use regular.

If they did the same test on the Si where premium is recommended to get the rated 205HP it would probably be a different story.

I wonder how much difference it actually makes.

 

[ian408]

Interesting article. A lot of the results have to do with vehicle programming. In the Motorrad world, some vehicles can be programmed to run on lower grade fuels (BMW recommends 91 in almost all of their bikes).

I guess that for me, the manufacturers recommendation is where I'd be looking for which octane fuel to run. This is a given because the fuel mapping, etc. is set by the mfg.

Personally, you'd be better off understanding additives are put into the fuel before it's shipped to the seller and using the best additive package at the octane recommended by the mfg.

 

[BriteBlue]

Regarding the Dodge Charger, what would the results have been if they used the recommended 89 octane? Would it be any different than the 93 octane? Or does the power top out with 89 octane?

Here's what I'm wondering -
With most cars it seems if you use lower than recommended octane the computer will adjust timing, etc so the engine will run without knock, detonation, whatever, so that it won't damage itself, & consequently lower the power a bit.

But does the computer also have the ability to increase ignition timing & change valve timing if higher than recommended octane is used, & consequently increase power a bit? IOW can adjustments be made in both directions?

 

[NikkoPH]

Please correct me if am wrong, from what i understand the 10th gen civics ignition timing can be tuned by entering maximum limit. If a 10th gen civic is tuned with a higher ignition timing limit then it will definitely benefit from a higher octane gas.

Again, please correct me if i am wrong.

 

[VarmintCong]

The difference in my Sport between 87 and 93 is pretty obvious, it just feels more lively. Anyone with a non-sport tried both?

 

[RelapseZ]

The difference in my Sport between 87 and 93 is pretty obvious, it just feels more lively. Anyone with a non-sport tried both?

I have the naturally aspirated 2.0L and it's definitely a noticeable difference in how the car responds to the gas and acceleration on 93. I notice some gas stations are even better than others when it comes to performance.

 

[frontlinegeek]

Some differences could be down to E10 87 vs straight gas of any kind as there is a 5% power loss due to ethanol.

Otherwise, octane is almost always about knock.

 

[IDriveACivic]

Butt dynos ftw!

 

[fenix-silver]

Regarding the Dodge Charger, what would the results have been if they used the recommended 89 octane? Would it be any different than the 93 octane? Or does the power top out with 89 octane?

Here's what I'm wondering -
With most cars it seems if you use lower than recommended octane the computer will adjust timing, etc so the engine will run without knock, detonation, whatever, so that it won't damage itself, & consequently lower the power a bit.

But does the computer also have the ability to increase ignition timing & change valve timing if higher than recommended octane is used, & consequently increase power a bit? IOW can adjustments be made in both directions?

Really just depends on the manufacturer and whether they want to put in the time/money/energy to program and test the vehicle to take advantage of higher octane fuel. I'm sure most modern ECUs are fully capable of being able to take advantage of higher octane. My old WRX was designed for 91 octane, but I had it tuned for 93. If you are designing an economy car where 99% of the public just wants to run the cheapest gas they can find, why bother spending engineering dollars to test changes to allow the car to take advantage of higher octane?

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