8th Generation Honda Civic Forum - View Single Post

ponderosaTX · 11-28-2008, 10:59 PM

I have my 07 Civic Sedan Owner's Manual in front of me. It says:

U.S. SI model only

Your vehicle is designed to operate on premium unleaded gasoline with a pump octane of 91 or higher. Use of a lower octane gasoline can cause occasional metallic knocking noises in the engine and result in decreased engine performance. Use of a gasoline with a pump octane number less than 87 can lead to engine damage.

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I have read several articles in magazines like Car & Driver where the staff measured the impact of using regular fuel in engines designed for premium. In every case (including a BMW M3), the performance loss (measured in peak horsepower) from using 87 octane gas was modest--on the order of 5-10%
and turbo-charged engines suffered from greater power losses than normally aspirated engines. The dynanometer curves comparing regular and premium gas for normally aspirated engines looked very similar.

I ran 87 octane in 1996 Integra GSR for many years without audible pinging or other incidents; I switched from premium to regular after gasoline prices went up and my Integra was out of warranty. I have regularly used 87 octane in 07 Civic SI sedan since the end of the break-in period and I cannot tell the difference between 87 octane and 93 octane either subjectively in observed performance (including pinging) or objectively in measured mileage. If were tracking my car, I would certainly use premium fuel but for everyday driving, 87 octane is fine.

Is pinging harmful? Some Acura TL owners report (on edmunds.com) that their cars audibly knock on premium gasoline but Acura (Honda) has refused to do anything beyond treating the car with BG 44K because pinging "is normal".

BTW, the testing standards for deposit control in "top tier" gasoline are the same for 87 octane as for 93 octane. See Top Tier Gasoline

On the wisdom of using 87 octane gas in a car designed for premium , "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers" appear to agree with me. See

Car Talk | Premium versus Regular

Do I think every car designed to run on premium fuel will run happily on reglar? No. In the early 90s, I drove a Porsche 944 Turbo S equipped with an Autothority Chip that significantly increased turbo boost. I was terrified when I was forced to use 89 octane gas for one fill-up.

11-28-2008, 10:59 PM	#129 (permalink)
ponderosaTX Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2	Read the Owner'sManual I have my 07 Civic Sedan Owner's Manual in front of me. It says: U.S. SI model only Your vehicle is designed to operate on premium unleaded gasoline with a pump octane of 91 or higher. Use of a lower octane gasoline can cause occasional metallic knocking noises in the engine and result in decreased engine performance. Use of a gasoline with a pump octane number less than 87 can lead to engine damage. -------- I have read several articles in magazines like Car & Driver where the staff measured the impact of using regular fuel in engines designed for premium. In every case (including a BMW M3), the performance loss (measured in peak horsepower) from using 87 octane gas was modest--on the order of 5-10% and turbo-charged engines suffered from greater power losses than normally aspirated engines. The dynanometer curves comparing regular and premium gas for normally aspirated engines looked very similar. I ran 87 octane in 1996 Integra GSR for many years without audible pinging or other incidents; I switched from premium to regular after gasoline prices went up and my Integra was out of warranty. I have regularly used 87 octane in 07 Civic SI sedan since the end of the break-in period and I cannot tell the difference between 87 octane and 93 octane either subjectively in observed performance (including pinging) or objectively in measured mileage. If were tracking my car, I would certainly use premium fuel but for everyday driving, 87 octane is fine. Is pinging harmful? Some Acura TL owners report (on edmunds.com) that their cars audibly knock on premium gasoline but Acura (Honda) has refused to do anything beyond treating the car with BG 44K because pinging "is normal". BTW, the testing standards for deposit control in "top tier" gasoline are the same for 87 octane as for 93 octane. See Top Tier Gasoline On the wisdom of using 87 octane gas in a car designed for premium , "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers" appear to agree with me. See Car Talk \| Premium versus Regular Do I think every car designed to run on premium fuel will run happily on reglar? No. In the early 90s, I drove a Porsche 944 Turbo S equipped with an Autothority Chip that significantly increased turbo boost. I was terrified when I was forced to use 89 octane gas for one fill-up.