I use top tier conaco/phillips 87 non ethanol and I average 50mpg actual every month. If I could get my hands on a top tier 91 non ethanol pump I would use it. But for now im completely satisfied with the results of 87 knowing my car is getting great mpg and im not putting ethanol into my engine.
which grade of gas are you using?
I would like to know what grade of gas you all are using and why. I filled up today with Ethanol 89 octane and thought about getting 87 octane but wasn't sure how good the car runs. I know it increases mpg a little. Can anyone give thoughts or opinions?
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i've felt those pulses a couple times so i might give 89 a try sometime.Try a tank of each on your car and see how it does. It mostly depends on your driving...I'm a bit heavy-footed and so I'm sure I'm throwing away MPG on 87. The car feels a bit slower, so I push it a bit harder. If you drive conservatively all the time, there may not be a difference.
Turbo engines aren't a fan of low octane gas, so they pull timing and decrease power when they detect knock. This happens often on the Cruze - you can often feel little "pulses" in power between 2000-3000 RPM. Every time that happens, you're throwing away power/MPG.
87 octane does contain slightly *more* power per unit than higher octanes, BUT it has less knock resistance. For engines such as your Cavalier that do not benefit from higher octane by increasing timing advance, they will get the best MPG on 87 since they able to use the engine's full potential on that gas.
93 octane doesn't give you more power persay, but it lets higher-performance engines run closer to their maximum potential by not pre-igniting.
actually 93 might give more power. if it can let the motor run max timing and if that max timing is at mbt - max brake timing. mbt would be max timing for best hp on a dyno. so if the ecu allows this much timing with high octane fuel then you should get more power. if the ecu never allows mbt the higher octane may still help as the ecu won't pull timing as much if at all.
My car runs the best on 93 octane with 10% ethanol, but I get my best gas mileage with 91 octane with no ethanol. Around here you really have to look for the 93 octane stations, most only have 91 octane as their premium grade.
I started marking all the local ones in my Nuvi, within 6months I already lost one(station switched to 91 octane no ethanol). I find I get 2-6mpg better with no ethanol gas(depending on % city and speed driven on the hwy), all my tanks with over 40mpg have been with no ethanol gas.
Highest I have got on 93octane with 10% is 38.9mpg with the cruise set at 68mph. In similar weather and also cruise at 68mph on 91 octane no ethanol I managed 43.3mpg. Both were 100% hwy trips of over 250miles.
I started marking all the local ones in my Nuvi, within 6months I already lost one(station switched to 91 octane no ethanol). I find I get 2-6mpg better with no ethanol gas(depending on % city and speed driven on the hwy), all my tanks with over 40mpg have been with no ethanol gas.
Highest I have got on 93octane with 10% is 38.9mpg with the cruise set at 68mph. In similar weather and also cruise at 68mph on 91 octane no ethanol I managed 43.3mpg. Both were 100% hwy trips of over 250miles.
Manual says only to use top tier gas, since alcohol and gasoline does not bind chemically, avoid that like the plague. Difference in price between ethanol 87 and ethanol free 91 octane used to be twenty cents. now closer to a half a buck.
Already got a bad mix with just the low octane gas.
Don't like it, but would no way add ethanol to my Cruze or any other vehicle than I would pour ethanol down my grandsons throat.
Another disadvantage of ethanol they don't tell you about is buying a gallon of milk, a pound of cheese or hamburger are pure luxury items now. But I gather enough people haven't figured that out yet.
Already got a bad mix with just the low octane gas.
Don't like it, but would no way add ethanol to my Cruze or any other vehicle than I would pour ethanol down my grandsons throat.
Another disadvantage of ethanol they don't tell you about is buying a gallon of milk, a pound of cheese or hamburger are pure luxury items now. But I gather enough people haven't figured that out yet.
When I bought my car I got a 500$ gas card to Petro Canada. In Canada it is top 3 in stations. I filled up with 94 octane from there and after it ran out I have been using shell 91 vpower. The difference between the two on mpg's or performance.
My reasoning for using these is it has only seen 91+ octane and I am going to tune it. I don't know how it runs on 87 but , it runs perfect on 91.
And as for price you pay. I would kill for that, for shell 91 I paid the equivalent to 5.85 a gallon we get gas by the litre and pay from 140-145 per litre for 91.
My reasoning for using these is it has only seen 91+ octane and I am going to tune it. I don't know how it runs on 87 but , it runs perfect on 91.
And as for price you pay. I would kill for that, for shell 91 I paid the equivalent to 5.85 a gallon we get gas by the litre and pay from 140-145 per litre for 91.
Have run several tanks of 93 in my 1LT with no detectable effect on performance. I bought this car for economy and I happily use 87 and pocket the difference.
Agree totaly! I know many people say you're wasting your money and that it realy makes no diferance but for me and my Cruze we will use premium!I experimented with 85, 87, 89, and 91 (Denver altitude allows many cars to run a lower octane than the rating). I ended up running 91 octane in both my ECO MT and LS. Both cars simply drive much better on 91 octane.
I run 94 and Arianna loves me for it! I will settle with 91 if I can find 94 but I do notice a difference.
Same here. Also before I was tuned - switched to 93 as it helped with throttle response during high ambient temps and A/C on.93 octane*.
*: Tuned, so I have to run premium, and premium around me is 93 octane.
my car will pulsate on 87 so ive been using 89 with little to no pulsating. a/c use is when the pulsating was most problematic on 87.
I use 89 ethanol simply because its cheaper....not that I couldn't pay another 10 cents a gallon for the 87 octane, I just am so use to using 89. I have used it quite a few times when I had my 2005 cavalier like I mentioned earlier in this thread=]. I got acceptional gas mileage with 87 I thought. The car ran fine. Only thing now is id like to run 87 in mine but im not sure how well its going to run. I don't want it running like **** that's for sure. I have the 1.4L turbo...so if anyone has the same engine which I know a lot of cruzes do, can you tell me what works good for you based off your experiments? Worse case ill just keep using 89 ethanol. Some of you may not know this, but all 89 ethanol gas is made here in iowa from our local corn. When you pull up to the station next time, look at the 89 gas sticker......If it has a picture of a corn stock on it, that was made here in Iowa =]. I never had a problem with this gas ever, and only difference is the mpg difference between 89 and the other octane ratings and/or whatever else the differences are.
91+ Phillips 66 mainly until I went to Ohio and used Sunoco 93.
I use top tier conaco/phillips 87 non ethanol and I average 50mpg actual every month........... QUOTE]
OK, I`ll bite. What are you getting when you go back up the hill?
I have a 2013 ECO auto. Sticker is 38 hwy. And as I recall the manual was 42 hwy. I drive 160 miles a day in NE Pennsylvania in semi hilly roads, mostly hwy. I get about 33 MPG`s using 87. Everything in my area is 10% ethanol blend.
You must have a manual. But 50 MPG?
This is my monthly mpg average report for the past year. http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/27-fuel-economy/13400-monthly-avg-mpg-log.html
Im currently at a 49mpg average over the past 120k miles.
Now I have used higher octanes and I am unable to notice a difference in mpg or performance. As I said I use 87 non ethanol and im still able to average 50mpg or more. The only difference in mpg I notice is caused by the weather which changes everyday.
As for performance the cruze MT gives me the acceleration I demand in 3rd and 4th gear.
Im currently at a 49mpg average over the past 120k miles.
Now I have used higher octanes and I am unable to notice a difference in mpg or performance. As I said I use 87 non ethanol and im still able to average 50mpg or more. The only difference in mpg I notice is caused by the weather which changes everyday.
As for performance the cruze MT gives me the acceleration I demand in 3rd and 4th gear.
Your car is rated at 39mpg hwy(38 is the regular automatic). What was your speed on the highway? anything over 70mph the turbo/auto MPG really drops. at 75MPH I get 32mpg. Really need to drive about 90% hwy in the 45-70mph range to get closer to your window sticker numbers.I have a 2013 ECO auto. Sticker is 38 hwy. And as I recall the manual was 42 hwy. I drive 160 miles a day in NE Pennsylvania in semi hilly roads, mostly hwy. I get about 33 MPG`s using 87.
Try filling up before you get on the hwy and as a soon as you ramp off, that way you can test different speeds to see where your sweet spot is. With my 1LT automatic with the RS package 68mph gets 39+ MPG on no ethanol 91 octane.
EVERYONE HERE running 87 octane should keep track of your cost per mile, even though premium cost more the cost per mile is the same or slightly less because I gain 2-4mpg on my monthly average. You get the added bonus of better throttle response and from what I have seen more power when you need it.
I find I get 2-6mpg better with no ethanol gas, however I only ever buy the 91octane no ethanol(though last fill up I bought 89 octane no ethanol).I have a hard time beliving other drivers able to notice a difference between 87 and 91. If any driver asked me to fillup their cruze I find it difficult to believe anyone would be able to know for certain which octane I put in their car. Same goes for conventional oil vs synthetic or new transmission fluid. I have a hard time beliving anyone would know the difference for certain. Im not tryin to get anyone upset or offend anyone but thats just my opinion so who cares right.
My automatic cruze runs like compete crap on 87 octane. Trying to cross a 4 lane hwy was like driving a golf cart.... hit the gas nothing, nothing, nothing.... vrooom! Maybe with the manual you don't notice the detuned power curve, with the automatic you sure do. With 89, 91 or even better 93 octane the car runs like a top.
I only run Shell 93. I am untuned btw.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Knock Retard. The ECU is pulling the timing to avoid engine knocking and you feel it as pulses in the throttle. This also causes the car to waste fuel by burning it at a non-optimal point in the cylinder/piston cycle. Increasing the octane until the pulsing is gone will boost fuel efficiency and throttle responsiveness.my car will pulsate on 87 so ive been using 89 with little to no pulsating. a/c use is when the pulsating was most problematic on 87.
yup that pulsating in my brand new car sure was annoying. im glad a saw a thread about this last summer. that is when i switched to 89 with much better results. im lucky in that the station i always go to has 89 at the same price or only 5 cents more then 87. then you throw in the 10 cents off a gallon coupon i use everytime i fill up... ill take 1.00-1.20 off every fill up. =DWelcome to the wonderful world of Knock Retard. The ECU is pulling the timing to avoid engine knocking and you feel it as pulses in the throttle. This also causes the car to waste fuel by burning it at a non-optimal point in the cylinder/piston cycle. Increasing the octane until the pulsing is gone will boost fuel efficiency and throttle responsiveness.
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