What happens to Vipers without premium fuel

[Stretch]

my 4-banger has only gotten premium from day 1

[C-Note]

Originally Posted by Stretch

my 4-banger has only gotten premium from day 1

Why?
If it doesn't call for it YOU DONT NEED IT!!

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by C-Note

Why?
If it doesn't call for it YOU DONT NEED IT!!

2.0L Supercharged I4

I forget the wording exactly, but if it wasn't required it was highly recommended.

[C-Note]

Ok, supercharged, I get ya....

[Stretch]

Yep I'm working my way up to all 10 cylinders

[VENUM INJECTION]

The book on my 08 recommends at least 91 octane. Does anyone know why some areas of the country only offer as high as 91, whereas others are 93. I am from Biloxi,MS and 93 is premium. I now live in El Paso, TX and 91 is premium, but noone knows why there is a difference. Second question, don't engines burn cleaner and run cooler with higher octane fuel? Thanks in advance.

[Detlef]

I live at 5000 feet and was told I could run regular and mid grade instead of premium as long as I am not on it hard. Regular is 85 and mid grade is 87 here. Thoughts from experts?

[Joseph Dell]

Originally Posted by Detlef

I live at 5000 feet and was told I could run regular and mid grade instead of premium as long as I am not on it hard. Regular is 85 and mid grade is 87 here. Thoughts from experts?

Regular is 85??? time to move!

But seriously: The engine will run better on the higher octane fuel. 85-87 is pretty low. While I'll get some slack from some for saying this... : If it were any _other_ car other than a viper, the conventional wisdom would be to put in a tank of 85 and see how it runs. If it pings and runs like crap, then move up to a higher grade. If it runs fine, the keep running 85.

I know people who _swear_ that their cars run better AND get better mileage on the higher grades of gas. Yours may or may not be that type.

Also, since i can't contain myself: You can afford the car but not the gas? c'mon... it's a viper! Even if the total cost of fuel triples (and it has in some places, or it may in others), then your total annual fuel consumption still isn't THAT expensive. so you go from 2k to 6k... if you can afford a viper it isn't that horrible. IMHO.

And now back to your regularly scheduled octane-debate...

[InjectTheVenom]

Originally Posted by C-Note

Ted,
Just buy the cheap gas and poor some of that Canadian wisky in for octane boost

Ah, don't you mean Maple Syrup ?

[C-Note]

All higher octane does is hold off combustion, that is why lower octane fuel will "ping" in a high compresion engine, is is combusting prematurly.
Running high octane fuel in a lower compression engint that deos not need it can acctually hurt your performance.
The fuel is not any higher quality and it is not any cleaner.
If your car does not have high compression or boost from forced induction, SAVE YOUR MONEY and buy the regular fuel.
I think as long as you stay with the top end gas stations you wil not have fuel problems.

[GTS Bruce]

As I understand it premium fuels besides higher octane have a more robust additive package for deposits etc. Yes/No ? GTS Bruce

[Detlef]

Yes our regular is 85 at 5000 feet, no matter were you move to in a high altitude environment. So I tried 87 in the tank and don't notice anything different. This is for around town driving of course. A friend in the VCA has been using 85 with no perceived adverse effects either and got 30+ MPG highway miles on the last muti-day driving trip we took. Mind you, that was in a GenI Viper.

Since compression isn't high in a stock Viper engine as compared to the 11 to 1 engines of years past, should all be OK for regular driving, if regular is driving that doesn't attract the local authorities

And as to the affordability remark, why pay more for something you may not need under the right conditions?

[Sweet Ride]

Not that it's an authority by any means, but check out the following:

Octane rating - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gives a decent breakdown of different octane characteristics. Some decent info on regional variances as well.

[snowrunner]

If an engine Recommends or requires it then you must use it. Many engines have knock sensors (able to determine low octane) which will change the fueling and ignition curve and will cut power dramatically.

High elevatiosn will run lower octane #'s as the air density is lower.

Rule of Thumb - if the Manufacturer requires high octane then run it. The news media have no idea about the real usage of premium. A high octane number will not benefit a car that doesn't require it (like a neon, camry, etc).

Modified cars with super chargers or turbos MUST run Premium or higher. Really any high-performance engine will require it as well. Daily drivers likely don't, but read the owners manual.

Running lower than required octane will destroy and engine quickly. The original Durango R/T (1999 - 2000MY)with the 360 didn't have knock sensors and required premium. As soon as the owners put lower octange fuel in they detonated and were basically scrap.

Put the right gas in!

[C-Note]

Thanks Sweet Ride,

I rest my case.....