i know that premium gas is a waste of money to use in cars that don't call for it, but when i had my 2003 Honda Civic and used regular gas...it would idle louder and using premium gas stopped the problem.

so when i bought my Honda Fit Sport in March of 2008, i have been using premium gas, thinking it is superior to regular gas and keeps my engine cleaner.

i am getting around 29 MPG and that is using the A/C all the time down here in hot South Florida. my friend who works at a Honda dealer said that if i were to switch to regular gas, i would experience no pinging or rough idling, and my gas mileage would improve..
what do you guys think?
i am afraid to use regular gas since i have been using premium since i bought the car and don't want my car to start idling rough, etc.

 

The ECU will adjust itself...but if it makes you feel better, you can use half a tank of your premium, then add half a tank of mid grade...when that burns down, fill it with half regular? And continue with regular after that?

I switch sometimes, for different reasons and haven't had any problems.

 

yeah that sounds like a good idea.
the reason i will get better MPG, my friend told me, is that premium gas increases the power of the engine and RPM's aren't free!!

 

Keeping the engine cleaner? That's a marketing ploy - as far as I know, all grades of fuel have the same detergents, respective to their brand.

For what it's worth, it's perfectly safe to run 87 octane in your Fit. The computer will use more aggressive ignition advance on 93 octane fuel - but whether that equates to more or less power/fuel efficiency is unproven. In my experience, environmental influences (temperature, tires, type of driving, etc.) have 10x the amount of impact on fuel efficiency than what grade fuel I'm using. 87 or 93, I don't see any measurable difference in my mpg.

 

Buy regular gas. Send me the monetary difference for Premium gas if it makes you feel better.

(One of these days someone will go for that and I'll be set. haha)

 

My experience with using premium fuel in my Fit has been that there is an improvement in fuel mileage if you are the kind of person that drives in a faster more aggressive manner than a person concerned with fuel mileage figures in a car that has had the addition of better flowing intake and exhaust changes.... I have seen seen tanks of fuel that averaged between 37.5 to right at 39 when driving at speeds that would be disturbing to a lot of people but not uncommon on roads and highways here at hours when traffic is low.... In addition to 93 octane fuel I have also added octane booster to the tank and realized considerably better acceleration in the upper 3 gears . There are people on other forums outside of the US and inside that drive 1300cc and 1400cc Fits at speeds of 100 MPH for many miles at a time on mountainous roads that can attest to the gains in power and efficiency from using fuel of the highest available octane in the countries in which they live... I can't really compare my car's performance to other than those with similar modifications to mine and using 87 hasn't been an option for me in the last 11 months and what I have posted about was of in reference to the state of tune of my car before then.

 

you know what, i am gonna be stubborn and continue using Premium gas..along with Chevron's concentrated gas additive with Techron every 1,000 miles.
the 29 MPG is in city driving with the A/C running full blast all the time, so actually that isn't too bad.
if i drive more on the highway (say 60 highway, 40 city,) my MPG usually averages around 34 and that is doing 70-75 MPH.

i also replaced the original Dunlops (those tires wore out so fast and made the steering feel numb,) with Goodyear Eagle GT's.
even though the recommended PSI is around 32 PSI, i usually go with 36-38 PSI.
it gives my Fit a totally different driving experience...the ride is rougher but not too much, just enough to feel nice and sporty. and it gives the steering wheel excellent feedback.

hey, does anyone here use Z-Max Micro-Lubricant oil additive? it also comes with a gas additive.
the only gas additive i use is the Chevron with Techron Concentrate, and ONLY use Chevron gas.
i would normally stay away from oil additives, but have seen commercials with professional race car drivers promoting them and heard that it is not a product that will damage your engine like Prolong or Slick 50

 

LOL... i would'nt trust a product based on the fact that is recommended by a race car driver... the truth is that he probably does'nt even put it in his engine... but i fill my fit with 87 and from time to time i put 93 (i have free gas with a reward system and i can choose any type i want) but i don't notice any difference whatsoever) i prefer putting my money on synthetic oil instead of mineral...

 

I messed up with a super concentrated product with the same Teflon particulate in it as slick 50 when it caused the needle bearings on the rocker arm shaft on a Harley to shelf destruct with the debris migrating into the oil pump locking it up and twisting the shaft to it in to.... If I hadn't been able to do my own labor and get parts at wholesale I would have been out at least $1200 but it was still an expensive lesson..... I purchased some Prolong at a big discount and left it in the barn for a few months and decided to use it in our old truck but when I opened it and stuck my finger into and down the side of the bottle I felt a thick dry film like dried linseed oil.... I figure it is good to coat tractor implements that are left outdoors to prevent rust but linseed oil is cheaper.

 

the guy i am talking about is Carroll Shelby...so he is not your ordinary race car driver.
he said that he would even put his reputation on the line for this product. i know we have heard that a thousand times.
when i bought my 2003 Honda Civic, i used 87 at first. and a year later i noticed it would idle a little rough...i added premium gas and it was gone immediately..
but back then i was also using 7-Eleven gas and any gas station i came across.
NOT ANYMORE!! i have maybe 4 Chevron stations in the Fort Lauderdale area that i will only use..and then there are some Chevron stations i wont.
don't ask me why, but i like a station that is nice and clean and is always kept up..

getting gas is so confusing now...you have the gold standard..Chevron with Techron. you also have Shell that has nitrogen added (not sure about that) and unlike Chevron, Shell with V-Power (whatever that is also) is only in the premium gas
and now you have the "Oil Spilling" gas from BP with invigorate??

all i know is that Honda recommends using Top Tier gasolines and Chevron and Shell is in there...
i always use Chevron...anyone here use Shell or BP?

when it comes to oil, my car is still under warranty (and i wouldn't attempt changing my own oil anyways,) so i take it to the dealer where i bought the car here in Fort Lauderdale.
is Honda's Oil synthetic? and can i ask them to put a different oil in it if i buy it and bring it?

 

From my experience, I always got slightly better mpg with 87 than 91 in my car.

 

This is an emotional issue for a lot of people. Pardon me for sticking to facts for just a moment.

There's a thread around here somewhere showing recorded timing advance curves with premium and regular unleaded. The timing advanced further with premium. That translates into better performance with premium gas. Please note: performance is NOT equal to fuel economy. I have not seen anyone post improved fuel economy figures with premium vs. regular.

Some gas stations cut the amount of additives in regular to keep the price down. If you buy gas at those stations it is probably a good idea to run premium in the car occasionally, or buy Techron or its equivalent occasionally, to keep the combustion internals from getting too gunked up.

Those are, so far, my fact-based findings on regular vs. premium. They lead me to conclude that the best thing to do, for my Fit as well as my wallet, is to feed it good quality regular unleaded.

My commute is different now than it used to be, so maybe I'll try a few tanks of premium and see what happens. Or maybe not, who knows. What I am confident in is that I'm doing no harm to my car with my current habit.

 

I haven't read everybody's post fully, but remember that the octane rating is ONLY based on the fuel's resistance to spark. Higher octane, harder to ignite.

 

Premium is resistant to pre ignition from high heat or compression but at the correct air to fuel ratio no more resistant to spark ignition than a lower octane fuel..... If it wasn't for the fact that Germany's supply of tetra ethyl lead from the U.S. Ethyl Corporation at the time the U.S. went to war against them forcing them to use methanol to power their aircraft, World War Two could very well have ended up with them coming out on top..... High octane leaded gasoline is still available for purchase for use in gasoline powered race cars... I was able to buy 106 octane fuel in the late 1980s for use in racing motorcycles and I am pretty sure that was after leaded gasoline was still available for use on the road.

 

This has been covered at least a half dozen times over the years on here;

For the GD3 (not sure about the GE8), almost everybody that has tried premium VS regular objectively under controlled circumstances finds they gets better mileage with regular.

The exception are the people who "think it runs better" on premium... which is a placebo affect.

The only time the GD3 runs better on premium is when temps start getting crazy; it will prevent knocking in that situation. Now the car will de-tune itself anyway to prevent knocking, also you would only need a mid-grade fuel anyway.... with that said my Fit has never knocked on regular even under demanding summertime autocross events so we are talking Nevada in the middle of summer during a heat wave kind of temps.

Bottom line is Honda designed the fit to run on regular fuel, you really don't need premium fuel.

This is a common misconception; premium fuel basically has a higher octane... this is not the same as "more power"... actually octane is used to better control detonation under higher compression. This is why turbo and high compression engines require high octane fuel. Think of it more as an inhibitor; it actually does nothing to add power... which means it also does nothing for your MPG.

 

My owners manual says to not use less than 87 octane fuel.... That is a warning that 87 octane is as low as you can go not a recommendation that it is the octane level you should use. You don't need premium fuel, tires, batteries, brakes, shock absorbers,oil, antifreeze, transmission grease, brake fluid, wheels, hoses, belts, light bulbs, polish, wax, window washer fluid or even toilet paper to wipe your ass..... Why is the benefits of using something that isn't the minimal recommended product only seen as a waste of money when it is what you put in the tank of of their car but people will go into hock for a set of coilovers or wheels and tires or sneakers for cosmetic appeal and approval from others.

 

i personally get offended when i see car's that don't require the use of premium gasoline USE premium, because on my boosted car i previously owned, i was kinda forced to use premium when i didn't want too.... and that car was pushing Double the horses the engine made naturally... (to the wheels atleast) and i came close to putting 87 octane in.

thankgod i own this honda fit and i just throw any ole gasoline in it.

 

You can't "throw any ole gasoline in it." It has to have at Least 87 octane..... Why on earth would you own a car with a boosted motor or even a car with a compression ratio of 10.4:1 and not want to put premium fuel in it?? Why would you be personally offended by cars that don't require premium use premium???? That is really very funny

 

thankgod they don't sell anything below 87 octane then

 

you would throw any ole gas in it? even from one of those RaceTrac gasoline places that have like 20 pumps?
you would just stop buy any "no name" station and use their gas?
if that is so, talk about getting offended. i would NEVER put that crap in my Fit.
anyways who would get offended by someone using premium gas over regular?
do your friends have to walk on egg shells when they are around you so you don't get offended? (Just kidding by the way)