Just got back from holiday, so just found this article, including quotes from DC dealers, that it's perfectly fine to use regular, esp. given the present fuel prices...Any thoughts?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...080501595.html

 

...Hmmm...

 

Very interesting indeed. Thanks for the info and I look forward to hearing from those that try it.

 

yes, the SRT quote from chrysler was interesting. i think the lexus may be downgraded from 89 to 87.

 

Thanks for the info, very interesting article. Might do a little experimenting.

 

Regular gas here is 85 octane. Yeah, switching from 91 to 89 won't make a huge difference, but I'm not going to 85. BTW, gas here is 91 (premium), 87 (mid), 85 (regular) and sits about $2.45/gallon for regular (decent compared to the rest of the country).

 

My $0.02...don't listen to anyone who is recommending the use of lower octane gasoline for this (or any other high compression engine that recommends it) unless he or she has an engineering degree and represents the company that made your car.

 

I'm sure there are people with engineering degrees on this site. I do not see the absolute need to follow the advice of people who work for DM, esp. when some of their brethren think it's OK to use regular...I'm not cheap, but petrol is outrageous right now.

 

Where is here? I have never seen 85.
All stations here the lowest is 87, except some Sunoco's have 86.
Is you gas rated r+m/2?

 

If a person is so cheap they are looking at saving a couple of quarters or so at fill-up, I would suggest at least doing it right and have the fuel setting changed at the dealer to the lowest possible (85 if I remember correctly). MB's have this option since they are exported all over the world, so I would think the crossfire should have the same adjustable setting.

Since I noted a tiny gain from switching to from 91 to 94 oct. that a local station just started offering...IMO, downgrading your gas is not worth it...Take a packed lunch to work an extra day as a trade off if your that much of a penny pincher.

 

Utah, we have craptacular gas.

 

I don't know, if you read the article. It indicates that there is no sound economic or automotive reason for paying an extra 10-15% for premium...it's like giving an extra $400 per year to the OPEC cartel...forget the issue of cheapness, is there any good reason for paying extra for premium, besides that DC says so?

 

I'm not a penny pincher, I just hate paying so much extra for premium on principal. It used to be that around where I live (South Carolina, North Carolina) premium was only about 7 cents more per gallon. Last night I went to get gas, and premium was 21 cents more per gallon. That's just crazy. I can afford to pay the extra $200 a year (based on 18 gallons used a week), but a lot of people can use the extra money.
BTW, I changed my driving habits just a little bit, and I managed to pull out 24.87 mpg on my last tank!

 

That would be me, (though I admit that I do not work for DCX). And, because I understand the importance of preventing knock from happening in a high compression engine with aggressive spark timing, I am not filling up with anything less than premium.

 

The real problem is not that gasoline is SOOO expensive, it's just that it rose so sharply so fast. With few exceptions, we have some of the cheapest gas on the planet. Gas in the US 45 years ago (hi test) was about .25 per gallon. A new car was 1,500 - 2,000. We have had it pretty good for a long time. We all need to stop ******n and just enjoy. You take a very big chance of hurting your engine if you don't stay with premium.

 

I hold a BS in mechanical engineering and a MS of nuclear engineering - so yes, there are people with engineering degrees that frequent this site!

~'bird

 

Oh yeah. I enjoy getting hammered every time I pull up to the pumps. Meanwhile, the oil companies are enjoying record profits.

 

profits up 35% this year. what bs.

 

Just remember if the car manufactures start telling you it is ok to use 85, 86, 87 octane take it with a grain of salt. I believe they will tell you just about anything so, you will buy their cars. lol.
High compression is just that, a knock sensor to retard the timing will help but the mechanical attributes of the engine don't change.
I bought my crossfire to drive it like a sports car so, I'm sticking with a minimum of 91.
Regular may not hurt if you are going to baby your car around but then what was the point of buying it?

 

85??? Where do you live? Bolivia?