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Hi everyone,

I have just made the plunge, after years of admiring at a distance and ten months of drooling (after my first test drive!), I have purchased a 2000 Discovery. I have been reading up on them and I know about the expense of operating it. I live in Canada and the heated windshield and seats will be worth any extra expense!

Not that I mind putting in the more expensive fuel but my question is this; I know that the disco requires premium fuel, but why? I have a friend that I think is very knowledgeable with vehicles and he says that there is really no difference in the performance of the fuel. I thought that the higher octane was only needed if you had a pinging in the top end of the motor.

Can someone please explain this to me; it will give me something to do until I pick it up on Tuesday.

Thanks in advance.

John Briggs

Viviane · Accepted Answer

In Australia there's been a real problem with some additive (name escapes me) which some unscrupulous fuel outlets were adding to fuel in huge quantities.  This allowed them to sell their fuel more cheaply while stuffing up engines in the process.  Apparently this was all perfectly legal as there was nothing that they could be prosecuted for.  Now there is legislation that caps the addition of the additive .  Anyway, the Disco does work on regular unleaded but the car sellers recommend premium, only because there will be less of that additive.  We use premium unless we can't get it - we justify this because we only use the car  at weekends and on holidays.  Hi everyone,     I have just made the plunge, after years of admiring at a distance and ten months of drooling (after my first test drive!), I have purchased a 2000 Discovery. I have been reading up on them and I know about the expense of operating it. I live in Canada and the heated windshield and seats will be worth any extra...

Jack Kerouac · Answer

I was advised to use premium due to the higher compression ratios than that of an ordinary car.

I have just made the plunge, after years of admiring at a distance and ten months of drooling (after my first test drive!), I have purchased a 2000 Discovery. I have been reading up on them and I know about the expense of operating it. I live in Canada and the heated windshield and seats will be worth any extra expense!

Not that I mind putting in the more expensive fuel but my question is this; I know that the disco requires premium fuel, but why? I have a friend that I think is very knowledgeable with vehicles and he says that there is really no difference in the performance of the fuel. I thought that the higher octane was only needed if you had a pinging in the top end of the motor.

Can someone please explain this to me; it will give me something to do until I pick it up on Tuesday.

Thanks in advance. John Briggs

Gordon Wedman · Answer

Its my understanding that the V8 engines have a knock sensor.  Thus if you use regular and the engine starts pinging, for example, going up a hill in too high a gear, the timing will be retarded to reduce this.  The downside is that you will also lose power and go up the hill more slowly.  I suppose if you had frequent pinging you might eventually do some damage.Even with premium fuel I experienced some pinging when I bogged the vehicle down trying to go up a nasty gravel hill in 1st gear high range.  I asked a mechanic about this and he said the computer can only retard the ignition by 15 degrees so in some situations you could still get ping even with premium.I think if you want maximum power and minimum worries you need premium gas.For sedate driving around town, no heavy throttle, you could probably use regular or compromise with mid-grade.  Hi everyone,     I have just made the plunge, after years of admiring at a distance and ten months of drooling (after my first test drive!), I...

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