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94 octane from sunoco?

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Old 01-05-10, 01:08 PM
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amemiya7
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94 octane from sunoco?

jus wondering how many of you guys put 94 octane from sunoco in your fd3s.. how much does it cost to fill up during summer/ summer prices.. and how is the car response to the 94 octane?
Old 01-05-10, 01:50 PM
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I think we all use it. Wouldn't know how it compares to other types of gas because its all I've ever used and its damn costly.

I think the tank is 70L or something and you figure its around 1.25/L, and its only going to go higher.
Old 01-05-10, 02:24 PM
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i put 91 shell
i daily drive, so its about 500 bucks a month in the summer
Old 01-05-10, 02:52 PM
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Honestly, it depends on your car mods. If your car is around stock power, 91 is fine. If you take it to the track, put 94 in regardless. If you have significant mods/power done to your car, you should already know to use 94 exclusively. If you want extra piece of mind, use 94 even with a stock car but its really not needed..

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Old 01-05-10, 04:12 PM
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94 octane is the safest way to go stock or other, fuel tank is 76L....
Old 01-05-10, 10:52 PM
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thanx a lot guys for your help.........plannning to go with a stock fd by this summer hopefully... i will get 1.... how many kms does it do within city and highway on a full tank of 94 octane?
Old 01-05-10, 11:13 PM
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Octane won't affect mileage - higher octane fuels actually contain less total energy as a rule, the octane rating simply refers to how resistant it is to compression ignition, so unless your spark advance/ignition map is being retarded by knock (unlikely on a stock car), your mileage will vary according to how heavy your right foot is and how much of your driving is stop and go, not by whether you use 94 or 91.

Realistically, expect you'll need a second job to pay for your gas if daily driving in the summer
Old 01-06-10, 12:04 AM
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WIth my car, whenevr i boost, im at 12 psi, i can tell the difference right away with 91 to 94, and 16 psi is on its way shortly, so 94 is no question.
Old 01-06-10, 07:47 AM
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I'm pretty sure in the manual, it specifically tells you to use recommended octane of 96 (?).
And then it goes on to say that 91 should only be used as a last resort.

I've only used 94 since I got the car.
Daily driving it wasn't too bad in the day. But thankfully I get to drive it on sunny days. Hell, I only got to drive the car 20 days last year. So fuel wasn't too much of an issue.

I hope this summer will be better than last years.
Old 01-06-10, 08:05 AM
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I happen to have the manual sitting next to me and it says and I quote...

Vehicles with catalytic converters must use ONLY UNLEADED FUEL, which will reduce exhaust emmisions and keep spark plug fouling to a minimum.

Your Mazda will perform best with premium unleaded fuel having a research octane number (antiknock index) of at least 95 [(R + M)/2 method, 91].

You may use regular unleaded gasoline with a rating from 91 to 94; this will slightly reduce performance.

Also, fuel with a rating lower then 91 octane could cause your emmission control system to lose effectiveness. It could also cause engine knocking and serious engine damage.
The numbers they are talking about is using the RON method of calculating fuel octane. Here in North America, we use a method (RON+MON)/2 for our octane numbers.

If the manual was written now it would read the same as the RX-8 manual does...

Your Mazda will perform best with fuel listed in the table.

Fuel Octane Rating*(Anti-knock index)
Premium unleaded fuel 91 [ (R+M)/2 method] or above (96 RON or above)

You may use a regular unleaded fuel with an Octane Rating from 87 to 90 (91 to 95 RON) but this will slightly reduce performance.

Fuel with a rating lower than 87 octane (91 RON) could cause the emission control system to lose effectiveness. It could also cause engine knocking and serious engine damage.
A stock car will work with 87 octane and only 91 is recommended. Keep in mind though this is for a completely stock car that is functioning correctly.

thewird
Old 01-06-10, 08:52 AM
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the upcoming summer, i was wondering if the shell 91 is as good as the petro-canada 94.
i can put octane booster if needed. but im running premix.
im in the process of finishing my build, here are the mods:

S5 Jspec engine with aggresive streetport
- FD UIM/TB/Elbow
- FMIC
- Stock turbo with ported wastegate (for now, but looking for a BNR stg3-4)
- HKS air filter
- RB Rev2 complete exhaust system
- Innovate Wideband
- Haltech e6k
- Wahlbro Fuel pump
- lightweight pulley
- All emissions removed
- Premix
Old 01-06-10, 10:32 AM
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hey when i bought my fd i was specifically told to use only shell 91 because of it not having an ethenol in it... or something along the line of it.... My car is quite modified such as street porting so should i change and use sunoco 94?
Old 01-06-10, 07:02 PM
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Originally Posted by azx78er0
hey when i bought my fd i was specifically told to use only shell 91 because of it not having an ethenol in it... or something along the line of it.... My car is quite modified such as street porting so should i change and use sunoco 94?
Yup, or stay off boost
Old 01-06-10, 07:10 PM
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Originally Posted by anees
thanx a lot guys for your help.........plannning to go with a stock fd by this summer hopefully... i will get 1.... how many kms does it do within city and highway on a full tank of 94 octane?
Depends on how heavy your right foot is, I only drive mine on Sundays and i go though a tank every hour or so.... Good luck with your purchase.
Old 01-06-10, 10:27 PM
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wow... thanks guys .. thats a lot of info which will help me in this summer
Old 01-07-10, 12:16 AM
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The amount of energy is the same regardless of octane rating but higher octane fuel burns slower. Higher octane fuel does not provide more power, it allows an engine management system to be tuned for higher compression ratios and combustion chamber pressures. The slower burn characteristic is what prevents detonation.

As much as this shouldn't happen, I actually get better mileage with higher octane fuel in vehicles that don't necessarily call for high octane fuel. Years ago all my FBs and FCs got 5-8% better fuel mileage on 94. Nothing but 94 in the FD and the extra $ spent on fuel in the summer is par for the course I guess.

....and come summer time, you should get Jim Kutschke or thewird (Marco) to show you how they extract every Joule of energy out of their tankfulls of 94 at the track....
Old 01-07-10, 12:36 AM
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Originally Posted by got_boost
the upcoming summer, i was wondering if the shell 91 is as good as the petro-canada 94.
i can put octane booster if needed. but im running premix.
im in the process of finishing my build, here are the mods:

S5 Jspec engine with aggresive streetport
- FD UIM/TB/Elbow
- FMIC
- Stock turbo with ported wastegate (for now, but looking for a BNR stg3-4)
- HKS air filter
- RB Rev2 complete exhaust system
- Innovate Wideband
- Haltech e6k
- Wahlbro Fuel pump
- lightweight pulley
- All emissions removed
- Premix
Octane booster is a waste of time. The highest booster I have seen is what they call 60 points, which actually only increases your octane by 0.6 for a full tank (average sized tanks) of gas. A complete waste of money. You'll get WAY more benefit by buying a gallon of race gas and powering it in. Remember octane doesn't give you power, it increases the knocking resistance of the fuel which can then lead to more aggressive tuning but on its own it does nothing but a safety buffer.

Use 94.

Originally Posted by rd_turbo
....and come summer time, you should get Jim Kutschke or thewird (Marco) to show you how they extract every Joule of energy out of their tankfulls of 94 at the track....


thewird
Old 01-07-10, 12:58 PM
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Originally Posted by thewird

A stock car will work with 87 octane and only 91 is recommended. Keep in mind though this is for a completely stock car that is functioning correctly.

thewird
Just a little question. I am going to be purchasing my FD hopefully within the next week or so and it will become a daily driving car for me. My work is probably 10km away and it doesn't require me taking any major highways (but I can if I want to). The car will remain bone stock for the most part (minus some little necessary mods, but nothing too ostentatious or extravagant).

My questions are:
1. Should I go with 91 octane from lets say Esso or Petro, use Shells gas, or go with 94 from Sunoco. The reason I ask is because I currently get crazy rewards points with Esso that over a while ends up giving me enough AirMiles to pay for a trip once a year. And since I won't necessarily be pushing my car to the limit just about now, I wonder if the difference in fuel will really affect my engine longevity.

2. Should I be taking the car on the highway to work? I heard that driving a car for like 20 minutes a day is the worst thing you can do for the car. Plus I heard that FDs really don't function unless they are being pushed a bit.

Thanks.
Old 01-07-10, 01:36 PM
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If your car is bone stock, I wouldn't hesitate to use 91. As for driving it a short distance, 20 minutes should be enough to get it into full operating temperature. But just to be on the safe side, before arriving at your exit on the highway, give it a squeeze to high RPM (6k-7k RPM) in a gear. It's mostly just so carbon doesn't build up or plus fouling up, also theres something about the oil which I can't quite remember.

As for what gas station you use, thats all a matter of opinion. I generally go to Shell for 91 and Sunoco for 94 but that is just a habit. You can try different stations to see if your car runs better but really as long as your putting the correct octane it shouldn't matter. Just as long as its "name-brand" stations like the ones you mentioned which usually have stricter quality controls then say a privately owned station would.

thewird
Old 01-07-10, 04:07 PM
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Originally Posted by RX7Klutch
Just a little question. I am going to be purchasing my FD hopefully within the next week or so and it will become a daily driving car for me. My work is probably 10km away and it doesn't require me taking any major highways (but I can if I want to). The car will remain bone stock for the most part (minus some little necessary mods, but nothing too ostentatious or extravagant).

My questions are:
1. Should I go with 91 octane from lets say Esso or Petro, use Shells gas, or go with 94 from Sunoco. The reason I ask is because I currently get crazy rewards points with Esso that over a while ends up giving me enough AirMiles to pay for a trip once a year. And since I won't necessarily be pushing my car to the limit just about now, I wonder if the difference in fuel will really affect my engine longevity.

2. Should I be taking the car on the highway to work? I heard that driving a car for like 20 minutes a day is the worst thing you can do for the car. Plus I heard that FDs really don't function unless they are being pushed a bit.

Thanks.
"functioning correctly" are the key words to Marco's statement, use 94 and be safe. You should keep this saying in mind when you decide to cheap out on fuel.......
"You can pay me now or pay me later"
Quote:
2. Should I be taking the car on the highway to work? I heard that driving a car for like 20 minutes a day is the worst thing you can do for the car. Plus I heard that FDs really don't function unless they are being pushed a bit.

You need to boost your car at least 1-2 times a week, I mean 2nd or 3rd gear red line WOT....this willl take care of any carbon build-up, good fuel is needed for this action to be done safe, as in no engine failures.
Old 01-07-10, 07:27 PM
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Originally Posted by RX7Klutch
Just a little question. I am going to be purchasing my FD hopefully within the next week or so and it will become a daily driving car for me. My work is probably 10km away and it doesn't require me taking any major highways (but I can if I want to). The car will remain bone stock for the most part (minus some little necessary mods, but nothing too ostentatious or extravagant).

My questions are:
1. Should I go with 91 octane from lets say Esso or Petro, use Shells gas, or go with 94 from Sunoco. The reason I ask is because I currently get crazy rewards points with Esso that over a while ends up giving me enough AirMiles to pay for a trip once a year. And since I won't necessarily be pushing my car to the limit just about now, I wonder if the difference in fuel will really affect my engine longevity.

2. Should I be taking the car on the highway to work? I heard that driving a car for like 20 minutes a day is the worst thing you can do for the car. Plus I heard that FDs really don't function unless they are being pushed a bit.

Thanks.

Famous last words.
Old 01-07-10, 07:39 PM
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so I got a question guys...

out here in alberta we do not have sunoco at all..

the big names, shell, esso, perto canada, and mohawk/husky


they all have the 91 premium, but out here (not sure about out east) mohawk/husky offers a 94 octance, but on the pumps it says "with up too 10% ethonal"

it has been the form of a few debates out here.... i'm just curious what you guys would suguest, I have a friend out here that swears by the husky 94, but i also know some tuners that will not tune cars that run it... any input..


J.
Old 01-07-10, 07:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Prôdigy2nd
so I got a question guys...

out here in alberta we do not have sunoco at all..

the big names, shell, esso, perto canada, and mohawk/husky


they all have the 91 premium, but out here (not sure about out east) mohawk/husky offers a 94 octance, but on the pumps it says "with up too 10% ethonal"

it has been the form of a few debates out here.... i'm just curious what you guys would suguest, I have a friend out here that swears by the husky 94, but i also know some tuners that will not tune cars that run it... any input..


J.
You guys got corn juice(E85) out west? If we could get it in bulk, drums or jerry cans in Ontario I'd be all over it.....would solve lots of issues.
Old 01-07-10, 08:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Prôdigy2nd
so I got a question guys...

out here in alberta we do not have sunoco at all..

the big names, shell, esso, perto canada, and mohawk/husky


they all have the 91 premium, but out here (not sure about out east) mohawk/husky offers a 94 octance, but on the pumps it says "with up too 10% ethonal"

it has been the form of a few debates out here.... i'm just curious what you guys would suguest, I have a friend out here that swears by the husky 94, but i also know some tuners that will not tune cars that run it... any input..


J.
There is nothing wrong with ethanol in the fuel. If anything it will burn cooler. Although, I'm not sure if that cooler burn is already taken into account in the octane calculation. Either way, nothing wrong with the fuel except it might make a touch less HP since ethanol has less energy per volume.

Thewird
Old 01-07-10, 09:33 PM
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I don't know what you guys are talking about 91 works fine for me...no engine failures as of yet.


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