Regular Gas

[crashkelly]

I can only chuckle a bit as I continue to see all this concern about gasoline and costs. As the price of a gallon of gas has increased over the years, this debate about premium over regular becomes a red herring. Here is why:

When gas was $1.00 a gallon, premium was $1.20. This meant there was a 20% cost increase to burn the good stuff.

When gas was $1.50 a gallon, premium was $1.70. It was then a 13.3% cost increase to run the high octane.

At $3.00 a gallon for 87 octane, the price difference PER GALLON is still about TWENTY CENTS! So in fact, it is now only about 6.5% more expensive to run what the manufacturer recommends.

At 20,000 miles per year, and 18 average mpg, your using 1,111 gallons a year. At $0.20 a gallon that $222 a year or $18.50 a month, or SIXTY CENTS A DAY!!!!!

If all you can afford is 87 octane, perhaps you can't afford a car?

LMAO at the last line of that post!

 

[HeavyH20]

Yep, premium all the way. The extra $150 per year over regular is more than affordable. Most people here spend that on owning their car for 10 days. It is a rounding error at best on the total ownership cost of the car.

 

[hellcat]

If you run regular gas in a car that is turbo'd or has high compression setup etc, you can run regular gas reasonably safely. The problems occur when you start running the car hard, racing, spirited driving or whatever the reason. Most modern cars do have a safemode or a low octane map built in, but if you are unsure, just drive your car carefully and keep in mind that regular fuel will cause detonation in your motor much easier than premium gas.

 

[SuperStretch18]

If you run regular gas in a car that is turbo'd or has high compression setup etc, you can run regular gas reasonably safely. The problems occur when you start running the car hard, racing, spirited driving or whatever the reason. Most modern cars do have a safemode or a low octane map built in, but if you are unsure, just drive your car carefully and keep in mind that regular fuel will cause detonation in your motor much easier than premium gas.

So basically, buy a performance car and drive it like my grandma? I don't get it (drunk)

 

[SuperStretch18]

No offense BTW; I'm sure that you put premium in the evo!

 

[1Sleepy93]

So basically, buy a performance car and drive it like my grandma?

That's pretty much what happens. I like having the 244hp I paid for so Premium is the only thing my CX will ever see.

 

[S_T]

Funny you say that sleepy - i'm curious if my cx runs in a slightly degraded mode with the piss poor 91 octane we have in cali as opposed to other standard premium 93.

 

[Killer]

I can only chuckle a bit as I continue to see all this concern about gasoline and costs. As the price of a gallon of gas has increased over the years, this debate about premium over regular becomes a red herring. Here is why:

When gas was $1.00 a gallon, premium was $1.20. This meant there was a 20% cost increase to burn the good stuff.

When gas was $1.50 a gallon, premium was $1.70. It was then a 13.3% cost increase to run the high octane.

At $3.00 a gallon for 87 octane, the price difference PER GALLON is still about TWENTY CENTS! So in fact, it is now only about 6.5% more expensive to run what the manufacturer recommends.

At 20,000 miles per year, and 18 average mpg, your using 1,111 gallons a year. At $0.20 a gallon that $222 a year or $18.50 a month, or SIXTY CENTS A DAY!!!!!

If all you can afford is 87 octane, perhaps you can't afford a car?

Best post of this thread. (first)

 

[wongster]

well my friend was like you too.. he had a bmw 3 series, and it recommends to premium too.. but he was cheap, and only pumped regular gas, and would not listen to any of us because he said he doesnt notice a diff.. well after a 2 years of doing it his engine died on him... so now he has learned his lesson and pumps what it recommends..

honestly if your that cheap to pump 87 why get this car? get a crv or a rav4 ...

 

[CX-7owner]

I can only chuckle a bit as I continue to see all this concern about gasoline and costs. As the price of a gallon of gas has increased over the years, this debate about premium over regular becomes a red herring. Here is why:

When gas was $1.00 a gallon, premium was $1.20. This meant there was a 20% cost increase to burn the good stuff.

When gas was $1.50 a gallon, premium was $1.70. It was then a 13.3% cost increase to run the high octane.

At $3.00 a gallon for 87 octane, the price difference PER GALLON is still about TWENTY CENTS! So in fact, it is now only about 6.5% more expensive to run what the manufacturer recommends.

At 20,000 miles per year, and 18 average mpg, your using 1,111 gallons a year. At $0.20 a gallon that $222 a year or $18.50 a month, or SIXTY CENTS A DAY!!!!!

If all you can afford is 87 octane, perhaps you can't afford a car?

Lets not forget the loss of MPG when you run regular.

 

[Rick's CX-7]

Does anyone here have any data on detonation, pinging and/or reduced performance on these cars when using gas other than 93-octane? I'm talking dyno sheets, PCM read-outs, etc? Please share with the rest of us!

Anyway, I ran my car so empty, that it was basically running on fumes. I then put 10 gallons of BP 87 octane. Proceeded to take it to I-44 here in the Waynesville, MO area and let it have it. I floored the thing as far as I could go and didn't hear any pinging or detonation whatsoever. Now, I was going fast, so the wind noise was pretty bad. Again, despite the hot weather (about 90*F), the 87-octane gas and full throttle runs, I heard absolutely nothing.

Something interesting happened.....at some point on the second half of my lenghty run, the car began to stutter, as if I was pressing and releasing the gas pedal. It was a very fast fluctuation! I didn't bother to look down at the speedometer, so I can't tell if if was the gorvernor kicking in or something else, perhaps related to the gas. It seem as if it was some sort of fuel/timing cut-off. Maybe the knock sensors sensed something going on and pulled timing and/or fuel back. Again, I don't know what it was, so I can't put the blame on anything!

Oh by the way, I did go that fast.....I maxed out the PCM at 118MPH....governor kept it there.

Wongster,

Why did your friend's BMW fail? You sure put the blame on the fuel fast...which needless to say is a very broad assumption. What exactly happened to the car? Maybe he was so cheap, he never changed the oil!
Honestly, most cars can be safely run on 87 gas. The recommendation to run premium in some cars is mostly for performance/spirited driving conditions. CX-7s can safely run 87 for their lifetime in other than pure racing conditions.

I hope any response I get on my post is an educated one and with good taste. I'm not here to argue with anyone like high school girls. Please be responsible with your comments, and we could all learn a thing or two.

Rick

 

[erhayes]

My CX7 manual states that 91 octane is REQUIRED , not just recommended. To the original starter of this thread, I would say she probably is an easy driver and does not get into the turbo pressurizing range often. Now comes along Rick-Hi Rick who run 87 octane hard and appears to have little issue with it. Don't know what to say but, I will follow my manual for now and take the "91 octane required" as gospel. JMWay. Ed

 

[Rick's CX-7]

Well, it seems these cars run very rich.....so rich that you can get away with 87 without damage. The theory is that the extra fuel, albeit lower grade, cools down the chamber, thus preventing pingin/knocking.

I am not advocating anyone here disregard the owner's manual. I am simply testing and reporting back. I wish more people would do simple tests like these.

Ed,

I'm originally from Miami, FL. I love that state!

 

[MT Predator]

Anyone know the details about the new CX-7s coming out that do not require Premium? What did they change?

 

[Killer]

why spend close to 30k on a vehicle then skimp on the gas? (hand)

 

[MazdaSailz]

New '08 CX-7's and later model '07 can be run on regular, because of a software upgrade. Pretty cool.

 

[SuperStretch18]

This just really isn't a big deal. At last fill up, premium was 20 cents more than regular. X 16 gallons = $3.20 of a $50 fill-up. Personally, I would rather pay and zoom-zoom...

 

[gosensei]

New '08 CX-7's and later model '07 can be run on regular, because of a software upgrade. Pretty cool.

What's this upgrade you speak of? Any service bulletin or paper we can bring to the dealer to get it?

 

[Killer]

This just really isn't a big deal. At last fill up, premium was 20 cents more than regular. X 16 gallons = $3.20 of a $50 fill-up. Personally, I would rather pay and zoom-zoom...

Thank you.(cool)

 

[Mazda3]

New '08 CX-7's and later model '07 can be run on regular, because of a software upgrade. Pretty cool.

The late model 07's CANNOT be run on regular, only the 08's. This isn't just a PCM flash there are different parts being used.