new to club-have had 2007 Shinka for one year. Anyone using regular gas instead of premium? any risk other than decreased performance?

 

in before you're told to search

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ight=87+octane

 

Some use regular, most probably don't. Subject has been debated alot. Mazda recommends premium and its really not that much more money - even over a year - so that's what I stick with. Congrats on the car and welcome to the club.

 

When I got my car the dealer filled it up with 87.. The next day I went out for a drive took it to redline I got a flashing CEL. I was freaking out so I got the forum did some looking around. So the next time I filled up I used 91 have not seen the CEL since then

 

89's good enough unless you're at a strange altitude. Also, avoid gas with ethanol in it as you will get significantly worse mileage. If it's ethanol, go for the highest octane you can.

 

i have used everyting
regular=barely ran
mid-grade=runs ok
premium=always runs that i'll i use...

 

I once put regular in my 8. It snuck into my room at night and beat me senseless with its hood. I think it muttered something anti-Semitic on it's way out, but I was too busy trying to stop the bleeding to be sure.

 

Strictly v-power.

For both my FD and my DD.

 

A truthful ?

Is V-power that much better? 20 cents more per gallon is alot to me?

 

93 or better! The car is not meant for lower. I did go regular for about 2 months, no lie! I was so excited on the car and the dealership/salesman were in no way knowledgable. Vp gas is good for racing, but hella expensive 103 they recommend.

 

I eat nasty burritos and then fart into my tank. The car runs a little rough but it acts like a major octane boost.

 

i use shell mid-grade. 89 in nyc. however, every 2 fillups i treat my car to a tankful of v-power.

edit: i also premix which apparently lowers your fuels octane level.

 

I ran 87 all winter without any problems.

When summer came around, I figured Id go for 91.

I tried 89 and still ran the same.

And this week I did the throttle body bypass and tried a full tank of 87.
On my second tank and its still running dandy.

No cells at WOT, held it at redline for long periods of time and no problem.
Feels the same, drives the same, just as much power... no difference.

I also premix about 4-6oz per tank.

p.s. Price difference for premium here can go as far usually as 10-11cents. Thats over 5$ per fill up. I fill up on average 3 times every 2 weeks.

lets say 75 tanks a year x 5$ = 375$ in my pocket.

I wouldnt mind paying it if it did make a difference, but it doesnt.

The hottest month is july, upper 90's and 100's for 4 weeks, but thats past. in lower 90's Im not feeling the need for anything above 87 at the moment.

 

Theres an article somewhere that v-power is considered top for premium fuels.

I think sunoco 93 is up there as well but for 10-20 cents more a gallon, thats like 3 to 4 bucks more per fillup.

Ill pay that difference.

 

Wow! A 50 gallon tank?

Price differences are regional. Around here (Northern Virginia) Sunoco and Shell tend to be comparably priced. BP/Amoco is consistently 20 cents a gallon higher than other stations. Prices do vary by neighborhood, with a couple of Sunoco stations being the cheapest.

Ken

 

50liter tank

actually 60 but I never put in more than about 50 to top it off.

 

Interesting, it's nearly the exact opposite here. BP/Amoco is consistently cheapest, Shell is consistently about 10-20 cents more. Not sure about Sunoco, ours is such an ungodly hellhole that I don't trust anything coming out of those pumps - therefore, the price never gets checked.

 

You're right.

Although i dont care about price, i care about quality. Thats why i stick with v-power only.

And today i got 20 bucks worth @ 3.97.

Which is relatively cheaper than BP or sunoco.

...around me that is.

 

yeah i might try some v-power some weekend when i'm "out" and see how it runs now I use Mobil or BP I have always used BP but never had Mobil or shell in PA when I lived there so I was not very sure what is a good fuel...

 

I doubt you're gonna "feel" a significant difference between BP or v-power since you're NA but i know with me, since im turbo'ed, i def felt a difference.

Which is why i made the switch a year ago and never went back to anything else.

 

I work at a gas station, talk to the fuel distributors and in my areas case, we an independant gas station get the exact same fuel from the same distribution point and same tanks as the Shell, BP, Citgo, and Holiday gas stations in the same town. The shell station here says they have V Power gas, normally charges more than other stations, but in fact sells the same fuel. So before you go buying fuel and just paying for the hype and advertising make sure that your Shell is going out to their tanks and dumping some extra mystery additive into the tank after the tanker goes from that station and goes down the road and puts the same gas into another stations tanks lol.

 

I doubt that is true but even if it is.

That "extra additive" they put after the truck leaves leaves my car running good.

So ill stick with that "v-power" if people still wanna call it that.

 

Chevron Suprem 93 FTW

 

I always use v-power. I've been a loyal buyer of Shell gas for a long time now; from experience I've found my cars to have most consistently run well with Shell gas. I won't go to any other station if I have a choice.

 

Name brand 87 works just fine for me - no recognizable difference compared to 91.
There will always be nay-sayers regarding using regular gas in the RX-8, but who cares... if your car runs fine, use it. If it doesn't, then run 91 or whatever makes your car (or you) feel happy.