Hey Fit people! My wife is expecting to get her Fit in a couple weeks and she mentioned something about you can use regular (89 oct.) gas in it. My eyes popped out at hearing that. Driving a Prelude VTEC I have to use high-oc all the time. I've never put regular in any car I've driven now that I think about it...
She's getting a Base model automatic and has no plans to modify it for performance purposes. Just thought I'd ask you guys and gals what you're using. Thanks for the input!
Thanks Ultra! regular is required? wow.... that's creepy! so don't run premium?
I would just read the manual but we don't have one yet! haha. Thanks for the input!
Mods: DC Sports DAC, DC Sports 4-2-1 Header, 4Bidden Shifter, 97-01 Prelude Moonroof Retrofit, JDM Black Housing Headlights
You can run premium but you may get worse gas mileage. Running premium fuel won't hurt anything... However, There was an article a while back in Honda Tuning where they tested an Accord with all 3 fuel grades and found that using the suggested 87 octane not only produced the best gas mileage, but also the most power. We're talking fractions of 1 horsepower here, but there was a clear difference in gas mileage.
Honda suggests 91+ Octane for our Preludes and we use it... if Honda suggests 87 for the Fit, use that... haha. I run 87 octane in my fit and get 36-41mpg (5MT Fit Sport)... I ran 89 to see if there was a difference and there was a HUGE one! About a 4mpg drop in my fuel economy...
the higher the octane the harder it is to detonate. therefore only high compression engines or cars fitted with forced induction will require high octane fuel in order to resist pre-detonation.
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Take it from an old refinery engineer.
Generally the higher octane the more energy producing components like Toluene there is in the gasoline as that is a significant part that opposes spark knock or detonation. And in most tests the bTU per pound of the three grades of gasoline, 87, 89, & 91, shows the energy content increases with octane grade. Higher energy contents naturally mean higher gas mileage.
The problem with consumer testing is getting each test precisely the same on power load, something the computer-controlled lab engine has no trouble with.
Even though the statistical mpg increases with grade so does the cost even more so;therefore, using the lowest grade that doesn't generate spark knock is the best. Unfortunately , you can't 'hear' spark knock as well as the sensor. Worse, the variation in octane output from the refinery is enough that you can't count on it being the same all the time. You can have 87 labelled being better than labelled 89, or even 91.
Take it from an old refinery engineer.
Generally the higher octane the more energy producing components like Toluene there is in the gasoline as that is a significant part that opposes spark knock or detonation. And in most tests the bTU per pound of the three grades of gasoline, 87, 89, & 91, shows the energy content increases with octane grade. Higher energy contents naturally mean higher gas mileage.
The problem with consumer testing is getting each test precisely the same on power load, something the computer-controlled lab engine has no trouble with.
Even though the statistical mpg increases with grade so does the cost even more so;therefore, using the lowest grade that doesn't generate spark knock is the best. Unfortunately , you can't 'hear' spark knock as well as the sensor. Worse, the variation in octane output from the refinery is enough that you can't count on it being the same all the time. You can have 87 labelled being better than labelled 89, or even 91.
I would have expected 87 octane to have more chemical energy because it has less toluene.
I would have expected 87 octane to have more chemical energy because it has less toluene.
Toluene has one of the highest enerfgy contents of all ingredients in gasoline. Increasing toluene content is added power. A good part of the reason for increasing power with higher octane is the increasing energy content of the components that have increased resistance to knocking.
A long time secret of SS racers was to 'lace' their gasoline with toluene. I know many who added 5% of the fuel volume as toluene. Its not nice stuff to handle tho', gloves and protective aprons, masks are desireable.
I run 87 octane in my fit and get 36-41mpg (5MT Fit Sport)...
Wow, how in the world are you getting ~40mpg in this car (unless most of your driving is done on the highway)? I drive a combo of both city and highway, and I'm barely clearing 30mpg.
haha. I run 87 octane in my fit and get 36-41mpg (5MT Fit Sport)... I ran 89 to see if there was a difference and there was a HUGE one! About a 4mpg drop in my fuel economy...
While I realize the area around Chicago is flat - I am surprised too that you get 36 to 41 mpg and only 32 to 37 mpg with 89 octane. Sounds like somebody has the nozzles marked reverse. Whatever, keep on buying it there til they find out. Or are you drafting big trucks ?
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that's creepy! so don't run premium?
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