2000 Z28 what king of gas

[tx77015ls1]

got a 2000 Z28 A4 with 81000 miles. Should I run 93 or cheep 87? And if I run 87 what will happen? Will the car run right?


Thanks, Jason

[SeVeReDiStOrTiOn]

you could get some detonation....which is a very bad thing. the higher octane in fuel makes it burn slower so it won't ignite before the spark plug sparks.

[Street Fighter]

If you have a LS1 car you need to use 91 or higher,not doing so will hurt performance and may be even your motor.Our manual calls for 91 or more.If you can't afford the fuel, you really can't afford the car.

[Snake Eater]

Even for daily driving? I thought you could put low octane such as 86 for daily driving, then high octane such as 91 for street/track racing? Correct me if I'm wrong.

[rbob93]

Even for daily driving? I thought you could put low octane such as 86 for daily driving, then high octane such as 91 for street/track racing? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Read your manual for fuel requirements.

If you have the 3800 V6 engine (VIN Code K), use
regular unleaded gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher.
If you have the 5.7L V8 engine (VIN Code G), use
premium unleaded gasoline rated at 91 octane or higher
for best performance. You may use middle grade or
regular unleaded gasolines, but your vehicle’s
acceleration may be slightly reduced.

Now that reduced performance is probably in the form of timing being taken out by the PCM due to the knock the knock sensors is picking up.
Knock = Bad things for your engine.

[quicky06]

you could get some detonation....which is a very bad thing. the higher octane in fuel makes it burn slower so it won't ignite before the spark plug sparks.


it doesnt make it burn slower. the octane lever reprsents the fuels resistance to explode. you dont want it to burn slower you want it to burn faster. the more the fuel is compresed before it is fired the more octane you need other wise it will explode on the compresion cycle causing bad things.

[SeVeReDiStOrTiOn]

it doesnt make it burn slower. the octane lever reprsents the fuels resistance to explode. you dont want it to burn slower you want it to burn faster. the more the fuel is compresed before it is fired the more octane you need other wise it will explode on the compresion cycle causing bad things.

that's what I said...just worded different. And yea, by resisting detonation it is burning slower...thnx though

[noblesramair]

I use only 93 octane in my LS1 trans am. Its just better gas! If you want to keep a healthy motor for as long as possible get the good gas!

[WS SICK]

Run 93 all the time!! Best gas is Shell V-Power 93 or Chevron Techron 93. Other 93 is garbage.

[JerseyLS1TA]

Exxon 93 octane here in my 99 T/A all the time

[bww3588]

Sunoco Ultra 94. then on track days, sunoco 110.

[Danger731]

And I'de guess it takes the PCM about 500 miles to recognize that you put 91 octane in for the track and vice versa

[sonnyred]

The manual states that you can use 87 but performance will suffer slighty. I used 87 and it ran alright, did't knock until i hit 125mph.Been using 87 for 25k miles.I'v had no problems with with my 2000ss.

[Snake Eater]

okay, what do you mean by "knock?"

[sonnyred]

PING---Heard it loud and clear.But thats ok don't do those numbers enough to worry about it.Still fast enough to buckle the rear quater. Got to get some suspension upgrades.

[quicky06]

that's what I said...just worded different. And yea, by resisting detonation it is burning slower...thnx though

not really it STARTS burning at a diffrent time

[pet_monk]

personally i run esso 94 equivalant... the europeans call it like 107 or something, but then i never know when i might have to try and woop up on a porshe or beemer.. or something else fast and european just really glad i don't have to pay there prices... i couldn't afford a bicycle at there prices.... good stuff is 1,45 euro per liter... .75 euro per dollar... and like 3.75 liters per gallon... that puts it at like damn near 10 dollars a gallon.. sure makes the 2.90 a gal i pay seem cheap as shit

[GatorSS]

I'd run the good stuff if I were you.

[Fade2Black]

USE 93 ONLY or 94 if you go to sunoco
Anyone ever use turbo blue? Is there much of a difference?

[toneloc60]

to be perfectly honest, I run 87 in my 2000 Z28 M6 all the time. I haven't heard a ping or a knock yet. I haven't experienced any stumbling or had a check engine light. The plugs look fine too. So, why run the expensive stuff when ultimately it makes no difference. Then again, I don't have any mods either. However, unless you have something that changes the compression ratio (boost of any kind), you shouldn't need to run higher octane. A lot of people live with the misconception that premium grade gasoline is better for their engine. Even when what they are running for compression ratio doesn't require it.

[sonnyred]

Right on toneloc i'v been running 87 in my 00ss runs great. No knock ,no pings just runs great and it dos'nt foul the plugs.

[noblesramair]

Any gas will make a motor run but there is a difference between better quality gas and crap gas. My first car was a 90 dodge daytona (dont ever buy one!!!) it had really shitty injectors in it but i could always tell when i put the really shitty gas in because it would studder so damn bad! For example when i ran higher quality gas it wouldnt do it and the 87 octane would make it run even worse! Gas city was the worst i found in my car along with thortons. Phillips 66, Amoco, Mobile 1, Shell, and believe it or not but Clarke gas made my car run better compared to the others. But thats just my experience.

[SleeperZ28]

This has been on the news and in news papers dozens of times over the years. And all the test/reports that I can remember have come up with the same result. The labels and blurbs in the owners manuals and on the gas doors/caps that state a car must be run on premium gas is BS. Some cars may require premium fuel for optimum performance, but running you car on 87 is not going to kill it. Last time I checked my Camaro didn't have a turbo, variable valve timming, ultra high compression, or a supercharger. My first car was a 70 Volkswagen beetle, (don't laugh it was a good car) which I put @70k on it running 87 only. You were supposed to run the car on like 89-91 octane gas and that car went over 200k in it's lifetime on 87 with cylinder heads that were designed for leaded gas and it's still running. The TPI 350 in my 55 wagon is supposed to run on 91, again only 87 and it still runs like a swiss watch. I've run my 01 M6 Z28 on everything from 87 to 93 and the only difference I've seen, is that the lower octane requires a sligtly higher rpms when taking off or when you down shift and take off going around a corner before it starts to dog down. I'm not worried, if the engine take a dump, and the technician that rebuilds it can convince me that it was because it was from lower octane gas than maybe I'll change my opinion. But then again, I'm just going by what I've heard. That in mind I wont be setting any land speed records or blasting down the 1/4 running 87, but for just driving around it doesn't matter

[Motrv8d Steve]

:lmao: I like how we have a real consensus on this... heh

[02z28ls1]

I won't consider running anything but 91 or higher in my car.With that high a compression ratio it needs it.The knock sensors will kill timing to compensate for lower octane so it won't ping-but IMHO why would you kill performance in your car when all you here from ppl on this forum is performance?All the hotrod equipment you put on your car and you are worried about saving $2.40 a tank full?For me thats less than$90 a year in my car-actually less because I gas up at a station less than a mile from my house w/only .10 cents difference between 87 and 93 octane.Then for me thats less than $45 a year.Small price to pay to keep the detonation from pounding the bearings into tinfoil.Do the math .10.5 to 1 compression is high- and it's that way for performance.Higher than that would require race fuel.