Results 1 to 18 of 18

Thread: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

  1. #1
    LX User ESDEEZ's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Vehicle
    2.0 UKDM EX-I 4WALB 3g accord maroon thats back in service after a year of standing in a field. also lookin 4 a 3g in SL
    Location
    England again. then sri lanka....again
    Posts
    335

    Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    I only really fill up with super because A. It makes me feel better. And B. it says i should on the inside of my fuel filler flap. but is it safe to do so? plus it costs about £1 ($2 USD) per liter!
    We have fast cars but we have less time. We have wide screen tvs but narrower minds.



  2. #2
    3Geez Veteran A18A's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Vehicle
    1988 Honda Vigor
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    8,081

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    thats $7.40US a gallon :'( poor you guys

  3. #3
    3Geez Veteran MessyHonda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Vehicle
    89 LX-i(5speed)
    Location
    Bay Area
    Posts
    22,201

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    Quote Originally Posted by A18A
    thats $7.40US a gallon :'( poor you guys


    outch....i finally saw some gas down to 2.95 a gal out in san jose.

    1989 Honda Accord LX-i
    B18c1 swap since 7/2011
    175whp and 132tq
    Redzone tuned

  4. #4
    3Geez Veteran
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Vehicle
    89 LXi Sedan (sold) - Car free now, with hella bikes
    Location
    San Jose, CA
    Posts
    5,487

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    yeah i filled up for 2.99/gal the other day

    all 3geez is 87 octane right? you only need to put a higher one in if you get knocking or pinging

  5. #5
    3Geez Veteran MessyHonda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Vehicle
    89 LX-i(5speed)
    Location
    Bay Area
    Posts
    22,201

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    Quote Originally Posted by frantik
    yeah i filled up for 2.99/gal the other day

    all 3geez is 87 octane right? you only need to put a higher one in if you get knocking or pinging


    yeah i did a test tho since i drive alot. i put in arco 87 gas and it only gave me 280 to the tank. and then the next time i put in shell 87 and im on the half way mark with 180 miles...driving style is still the same with 4k shifts at somepoints. il put in another tank of shell and see what it really gets me.

    1989 Honda Accord LX-i
    B18c1 swap since 7/2011
    175whp and 132tq
    Redzone tuned

  6. #6

    2oodoor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Vehicle
    86 LX JDM B20A
    Location
    Georgia-lina
    Posts
    9,062

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    He said his gas door told him to use premium...
    what engine do you have in that car???

    You can use a blend of premium and regular, if you use at least 30 percent or 4 gallons of premium (12 gal tank) , it will upgrade the whole tank. An no there is no such thing as midgrade.. although they sure seem to be selling it.

    In general this works but different parts of the world, or even in the US, this may not always be as effective as it is here where I am in SE US. I am sure this is liable to spark debate, and I will say forefront it will be an unwinnable arguement due to the infiinate amount of variables.
    So by saying "In General" I mean that in as rural way as possible. Mixing the fuel that way has given me the desired results consistantly, but there are locations that have premium gas with improper blends of toulene or xylene that may not have an ideal concentration to be able to raise the octane of the present fuel it is added to.
    Last edited by 2oodoor; 08-02-2007 at 09:55 AM.

  7. #7


    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Posts
    3,179

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    Do some ressearch on line. Here is the short version. Buying gasoline that has a higher octane rating than that which keeps your engine from pinging is a complete waste of your money. You WILL NOT get better gas mileage from higher octane gas - lower, in fact, and you WILL NOT have more horsepower - less, in fact. Part of the issue is that pump "octane" is not the same thing as the actual chemical octane in the fuel. Also, gasoline manufacturers have sold us a bill of goods for so long that we actually believe it.

  8. #8

    2oodoor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Vehicle
    86 LX JDM B20A
    Location
    Georgia-lina
    Posts
    9,062

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    Quote Originally Posted by DBMaster
    Do some ressearch on line. Here is the short version. Buying gasoline that has a higher octane rating than that which keeps your engine from pinging is a complete waste of your money. You WILL NOT get better gas mileage from higher octane gas - lower, in fact, and you WILL NOT have more horsepower - less, in fact. Part of the issue is that pump "octane" is not the same thing as the actual chemical octane in the fuel. Also, gasoline manufacturers have sold us a bill of goods for so long that we actually believe it.
    goes on to prove you cant believe everything you read on the internet, or the F'n news... no offense DBMaster but what you say is only half true, as what I said. You cant really count on that to alway hold true depending on the type vehicle, environment, driving habits, and fuel composition. I have had cars that seemed to drink premium way too fast and sipped on regular.. then also I had the opposite. Running premium allows you to tweak your engine with more advance thus giving you max torque at an earlier point, some of us have to if we have higher compression and carbs that are tuned to dump gas.
    Pump octane rating is likely much different from one region to the next. It still has to fall into the mandated range. but use an example of alcohol, you can have 90 proof vodka at 20 percent per volume , and up to 40+ percent, still 90 proof. Those figures I am sure are not completley accurate but close you see my point?

  9. #9
    LX User paso100's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Vehicle
    1988 Accord LX-i sedan
    Location
    Central California Coast
    Posts
    313

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    Quote Originally Posted by ESDEEZ
    Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?
    No, it is not safe. It will cause irreparable harm ... to your wallet.

  10. #10

    bobafett's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Vehicle
    Stock 86 Accord LXi Hatch
    Location
    Longview, WA
    Posts
    6,545

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    Quote Originally Posted by DBMaster
    Do some ressearch on line. Here is the short version. Buying gasoline that has a higher octane rating than that which keeps your engine from pinging is a complete waste of your money. You WILL NOT get better gas mileage from higher octane gas - lower, in fact, and you WILL NOT have more horsepower - less, in fact. Part of the issue is that pump "octane" is not the same thing as the actual chemical octane in the fuel. Also, gasoline manufacturers have sold us a bill of goods for so long that we actually believe it.
    on a 3g yes this is probably true, but on some cars that is definitely not the case. and my 3g needs premium or else i DO get lots of knock. no detectable difference in performance, but i know my motor is happier without the ping ping ping.

    ie most high compression or boosted cars cannot burn 87 octane without getting too much predetonation (knock) which can kill an engine pretty quickly. in order to combat that you use a fuel with a higher octane rating that is actually harder to ignite and that will delay the fuel combustion to the appropriate time in the combustion cycle.

    on cars with computer controlled timing the ECU will usually retard the timing heavily to prevent this engine destroying knock. the result of bad gas is poor performance because your timing is not set to the proper amount of advance...

    am I way off here, because this is the way I have always understood it.

    if you DONT need higher octane gas, you are wasting your money, but if you DO get pinging and don't want to retard your timing, better gas CAN save your engine.

    IMHO...

  11. #11
    LX User
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Vehicle
    One Blue 1986 Accord Lx-i hatch back, One Gold 1986 accord Lv-i Hatchback
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    152

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    im a true believer of throwing the money down the drain lol the bp knows my normal lol

    $20.00 of 93 octane super unleaded
    and an octain booster so im runing bout 96 octain my engine loves it but not my wallet but hey im 16 with money to blow wont be able to say that when im in nti =-/ anyways best of luck


    93-94 is well worth it if u have the extra $

    also next oil change
    use


    then ur engine will be ready to make out with ya lol jk i change my ams oil every 1500 miles a lil over kill i guess but i rev the f/*/ out of her =-/

    its recomended to change amsoil every 7500 miles

    its the shizz
    Last edited by mike10562004; 08-02-2007 at 07:57 PM.

  12. #12


    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Vehicle
    1989 Honda Accord Lx-i
    Location
    Los Angeles
    Posts
    473

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    i seen as low as gas here as 2.79 in buena park

  13. #13
    LX User
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Vehicle
    One Blue 1986 Accord Lx-i hatch back, One Gold 1986 accord Lv-i Hatchback
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    152

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    2.86 =-/

  14. #14

    2drSE-i's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Vehicle
    1989 Honda Accord SE-i Coupe
    Location
    Oklahoma City
    Posts
    5,283

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    2.57 here buaahaha
    '89 SE-i Coupe
    Awaiting Garage
    Quote Originally Posted by AccordEpicenter View Post
    its better to be retarded than advanced

  15. #15
    LX User ESDEEZ's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Vehicle
    2.0 UKDM EX-I 4WALB 3g accord maroon thats back in service after a year of standing in a field. also lookin 4 a 3g in SL
    Location
    England again. then sri lanka....again
    Posts
    335

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    ill post a pic of the fuel filler................I've got an a20a4 by the way.....
    We have fast cars but we have less time. We have wide screen tvs but narrower minds.

  16. #16
    SEi User Hauntd ca3's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Vehicle
    1988 ca3 si exclusive
    Location
    new zealand
    Posts
    1,878

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    What to look for at the gassy is the MON number on the pump.
    This stands for minimum octane number. The higher the better.
    You wont make better power or better economy but the safety margin before dentonation is greater. It almost true that it is harder to burn. The higher the number the more resistant it is to abnormal ignition or pinging to most people.
    As a mechanic i have seen many engines that should run pulp running on regular. It almost always results in Cracked heads,pistons,broken rings and at wosrt case i have seen a snaped crank. The forces generated when an engine pings is better than ten times the force of regular combustion.
    And no motor manufacturer builds an engine that will put up with that for long.
    So in other words, put the best that you can afford if your engine is modded.
    If not ring your local honda dealer and ask what the factory reccommends.
    In NZ they reccommend 96 octane for the b20a and all twin cams and vtec motors and 91 for the rest.

  17. #17
    LX User
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Vehicle
    One Blue 1986 Accord Lx-i hatch back, One Gold 1986 accord Lv-i Hatchback
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    152

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    yaya just broke 3.29 wtf

    f* iran

  18. #18

    Ichiban's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Vehicle
    82 Honda Accord B20A, 76 Honda XL 175, 04 Honda Foreman ES, 83 Toyota shortbox 4x4
    Location
    North of You.
    Posts
    2,091

    Re: Is it safe to run my car on super unleaded?

    Quote Originally Posted by DBMaster View Post
    Do some ressearch on line. Here is the short version. Buying gasoline that has a higher octane rating than that which keeps your engine from pinging is a complete waste of your money. You WILL NOT get better gas mileage from higher octane gas - lower, in fact, and you WILL NOT have more horsepower - less, in fact. Part of the issue is that pump "octane" is not the same thing as the actual chemical octane in the fuel. Also, gasoline manufacturers have sold us a bill of goods for so long that we actually believe it.
    Some people have a pretty twisted idea of what octane actually does. The above statement is totally correct. Low octane fuels have big molecules that have lots of bonds, and hence, lots of energy (breaking apart a bond releases energy). But being a big molecule, they are easier to break apart and more unstable. What does this mean to you? Low octane fuels are more unstable and like to detonate under compression. High octane fuels are more volatile, have less energy due to their smaller molecules, and resist detonation as their smaller molecules are more stable.

    So why do race cars demand high octane, less powerful fuel?

    Because with it they can pack in more fuel/air into a cylinder, or compress that mixture further to improve the burn without risking engine destroying detonation.

    That's right: The increase in compression more than offsets the loss of power caused by running the less powerful high octane fuel.

    The moral of the story: Run the lowest octane your engine compression, boost and timing will allow. Using higher octane than you need will waste fuel, and reduce power.

    Oh, and one more thing. Higher octane fuels ARE more "flammable" The smaller molecules are more prone to forming a vapour, and will IGNITE more easily, but under compression they are less prone to DETONATE, due to the chemical stability of the smaller molecule.

    Oddly enough, some vehicles with carburetion problems will run slightly better on high octane fuel because of it's ability to form a vapour more easily.

    Somebody should sticky this because it's a question asked over and over again.
    Last edited by Ichiban; 11-20-2007 at 08:11 PM. Reason: the holy trinity got to this one....
    ICHIBAN!
    "Now, even more better!"

Similar Threads

  1. Only Two! *56k safe*
    By Cheeseburger in forum Classic Honda Pics & Videos
    Replies: 40
    Last Post: 07-17-2007, 03:11 PM
  2. leaded or unleaded fuel?
    By rdn in forum 3geez Accords
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 01-26-2004, 05:11 AM
  3. Replies: 11
    Last Post: 10-10-2002, 10:08 AM
  4. Premium Unleaded
    By Toby in forum Performance
    Replies: 39
    Last Post: 09-12-2002, 08:53 PM
  5. Safe RPM
    By mag_pbg in forum Classic Honda Community Chat
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 08-25-2002, 02:47 PM

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
This website uses cookies
We use cookies to store session information to facilitate remembering your login information, to allow you to save website preferences, to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners.
     
Links monetized by VigLink