93 plus octane fuel

mrbluesky · Post by **mrbluesky** » 15 Nov 2010, 18:29

Hi,
I live in Birmingham Alabama and occasionally make trips to an area south of me that has a gas station that sells above 93 octane fuel. I think there are lots of folks that drag race in that area. One pump has 100 octane fuel (approx 5 bucks per gallon). I own a 2002 S60 2.4T. Would you recommend that I run some of this fuel in my car? I was wondering about the benefits in performance and possibly other secondary benefits. Would anyone know if this would be a good choice to run a half tank of 100 octane fuel in my car occasionally?
thank you.

flyfishing3 · Post by **flyfishing3** » 30 Nov 2010, 13:32

i've run 100+ a couple times. def. saw a performance upgrade but i wouldn't run it everyday.

if you can get 93, stick with that unless you're hitting the strip.

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 30 Nov 2010, 14:17

In a low pressure turbo, you're not going to experience any performance upgrades... Octane doesn't measure performance. Octane is the fuel's resistance to knocking. In these cars, the computer will retard the ignition timing to compensate for running lower octane i.e. 87 or something. That way there is no engine damage. You should notice a difference between 87 and a higher grade 90+ especially under lots of load and turbo use... but 100 is like racing fuel and will provide no additional benefits. Unless that is, you consider running your wallet dry a benefit!

I run 91 in my car (Shell V-Power) and call it good. I think the price difference between regular and premium is negligible, but anything more is waste.

hrahn · Post by **hrahn** » 21 Dec 2010, 05:46

I am always astounded at these low octane numbers. Over here in Germany, 92 was the old norm but has now been almost eliminated since 95 ("Super", the former premium) is priced exactly the same. "Super plus" is 98 octane, and Shell V-Power over here is 100 octane.
Suddenly our higher gas prices (compared to yours) make a little more sense, though not by much. Currently, we pay about 1,45€/litre 95oct...
That would be 7,22 US $ per US gallon. And yes, prices are a tad on the high side with the holidays near.

But I wouldn't let anything less than 95 near my T5. 98 though is a little bit of a waste, good for the occasional Autobahn-rage-run, but no difference in daily commuting.

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 21 Dec 2010, 07:24

Octane is calculated differently in Europe and the US though.... 93 in the US is akin to 98 in europe. As for the kg/cal numbers im not sure, but I'd guess the presence of ethanol in the US blends might make this number a teeny bit lower.

mrbluesky you want to be sure that the 100 Octane is UNLEADED. Unless you want to go replacing your cat and O2 sensors. I'm not sure how the mapping is set on the 01's, it may be able to make a bit more power. If its unleaded try it and see.

hrahn · Post by **hrahn** » 21 Dec 2010, 07:50

@boosted5cyl: Thanks, didn't know that and just looked it up. Yep, so our 98 is roughly comparable with your 93 and our 95 would be about 90 octane in the US.
Ooookay, then just ignore my thoughts about running the premium stuff ^^
(and this makes me even more angry at the high fuel prices...)

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 21 Dec 2010, 07:52

hrahn wrote:@boosted5cyl: Thanks, didn't know that and just looked it up. Yep, so our 98 is roughly comparable with your 93 and our 95 would be about 90 octane in the US.
Ooookay, then just ignore my thoughts about running the premium stuff ^^
(and this makes me even more angry at the high fuel prices...)

Yeah tell me about it. I'm from Ireland orignally and the prices for petrol SUCKED!