Effects of using regular gas in G37??
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Joined: Apr 2007
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From: Albuquerque, NM
This subject always cracks me up, especially when it comes from someone who has opted to obtain a performance car. Just do the math and see if your concerns are warranted. Assuming 30 cents more a gallon for premium (probably not really that much) and assuming you drive 10,000 miles a year and get 20 mpg, that comes to 500 gallons of gas. So 500 gallons at 30 cents more per gallon comes to $150. Do you really want to downgrade the potential performance of you car so that you can save $150 per year?
Doug
Doug
The car is Premium Only! It was tuned for Premium only, use Premium Only!
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Joined: Mar 2007
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The higher the compression ratio (and 11.0:1 is definitely on the high end), the greater the possibility that detonation ("engine knock") might occur. Detonation occurs when the air/fuel mixture ignites suddenly rather than gradually. Imagine normal combustion as the flame gradually spreading throughout the unburned mixture. With detonation, some of unburned mixture is hot enough and at a high enough pressure that it can spontaneously ignite, before the flame ever reaches it. This causes the pressure to rise even higher and a wave to form and bounce around in the cylinder, resulting in a pinging noise, interruption to the combustion cycle, and greater stress on the engine itself.
This is where the octane rating comes in to play. The higher the octane rating, the more resistant the fuel is to detonation. I'm a little fuzzy on the actual how/why of this part, so hopefully someone else can chime in.
This is where the octane rating comes in to play. The higher the octane rating, the more resistant the fuel is to detonation. I'm a little fuzzy on the actual how/why of this part, so hopefully someone else can chime in.
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 442
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From: Santa Clara, CA
Explanation of octane rating by howstuffworks.com: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question90.htm
Explanation of octane rating by howstuffworks.com: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question90.htm
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Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Pasadena, CA
Thanks for the responses. If the G requires it, premium it will get!
Saving money was not the main issue for my question--wasting money was. I have owned several other high performance cars, all of which were far more expensive than the G37, which called for premium fuel. In all cases, regular did the job just fine albeit a little less mileage per tank, mainly because the computer adjusted for the lower octane.
Saving money was not the main issue for my question--wasting money was. I have owned several other high performance cars, all of which were far more expensive than the G37, which called for premium fuel. In all cases, regular did the job just fine albeit a little less mileage per tank, mainly because the computer adjusted for the lower octane.
Man, I couldn't help but post a reply to this.. it erk's me when someone purchases a car that performance oriented, (like the G) and wants to pinch pennies when it comes down to maintaining it. You paid for a 40k car that requires permium gas.. you should have accepted that prior to making the purchase. I dont really see how your really saving that much money if you realize that you end up getting "a little less mileage per tank." So the maybe, ummm, $150 a year that you would be saving if you actually got the same mileage as using premium turns into a $75 - 100 savings. In return, you get a car that doesnt perform up to the way it was built to and possible ping and knock problems in the long run... then you end up spending even more money later on to fix that.. lol.. Ok, lemme stop.. I can go on and on.. I just don't understand that way of thinking.. lol
Man, I couldn't help but post a reply to this.. it erk's me when someone purchases a car that performance oriented, (like the G) and wants to pinch pennies when it comes down to maintaining it. You paid for a 40k car that requires permium gas.. you should have accepted that prior to making the purchase. I dont really see how your really saving that much money if you realize that you end up getting "a little less mileage per tank." So the maybe, ummm, $150 a year that you would be saving if you actually got the same mileage as using premium turns into a $75 - 100 savings. In return, you get a car that doesnt perform up to the way it was built to and possible ping and knock problems in the long run... then you end up spending even more money later on to fix that.. lol.. Ok, lemme stop.. I can go on and on.. I just don't understand that way of thinking.. lol
LOL
Not to be mean but I would like to see someone post something up saying that they filled up the G with regular and destroyed their engine. Turn that post into a sticky and relate back to it whenever someone asks...
