Gas Prices & Performance

mmm, i guess it could. You wouldn't be able to advance timing much if any. If you have the money to spend on an H/C/I then i don't see why you wouldn't be able to step up to atleast mid-grade. I think you'd be fine in running an H/C/I w/ cheap gas as long as it doens't ping. Higher Octane doens't make you go faster, it burns slower and is a preventer of pinging.
 
It is all in the tune...

Cheap gas means less agressive tune.. not sure how much HP it is worth though but I think I could live without the extra power to be able to use cheap gas safely...
 
With alum. heads that tend to have a cnc'd chamber that helps fend off det/ping due to the smoothness and the alum. itself with the better heat transfer as long as you dont have like 10.5:1+ comp. I would think you would be ok with a decent tune.

remember you will get the most power out of running the lowest octane you can find that you do not get det./ping out of.

P.S. if your building an decent H/C/I v8 and cannot swing mid or prem. fuel you may just want to put that whole perf. thing on hold until you can. I mean the diff. is gen what .20-.30c a gallon from 87-93 or whatever you have avail.
 
Running the 91/93 octane because you have the timing bumped cancels each other out and doesn't make any sense to me.

So as long as your static compression isn't very high, (8.5:1 to 10.0:1) I would run 87 octane only because there is no need for it.
Scott
 
blksn955.o said:
With alum. heads that tend to have a cnc'd chamber that helps fend off det/ping due to the smoothness and the alum. itself with the better heat transfer as long as you dont have like 10.5:1+ comp. I would think you would be ok with a decent tune.


Since "I BELIEVE" that 95% of pinging problems are a result of poor head design .... I agree with you 100% here. The rigid chambers of stock heads (especially after some carbon build-up that comes with miles) are what I believe cause most pinging issues.


Yes, you can build an H/C/I setup that runs effectively & efficiently off of 87.
 
It also depends how you use your car...

For me I use mine as a commuter vehicle... 10-14k miles per year... so that is a lot of gas each year... so the adder would be $2-3 a week.... Not much but it makes a difference...