Octane and S60's

I have put premium gas in my S60 since new. I have heard that some folks are using regular. What do you all think should be used. In my area the price of premium gas is about $2.14 per gallon and it would be nice to save a buck or two.

Thanks

Reply to
Ed Hayes
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Ed -

I use 87 octane. The manual says that 87 is ok, so I use 87. I had a Ford Explorer in 1998 and I was putting premium in it (I was younger and dumber back then). I went through 3 oxygen sensors. When the mechanic finally asked me what kind of gas I was using and I told him, he said that the gas was the problem.

Other than a Corvette or a Dodge Viper, I don't know any cars on the market today where premium is recommended.

My $0.02 Charlie

Reply to
Charlie Derk

On 30 Aug 2003, "Charlie Derk" tapped on a keyboard and the electrons formed this:

Premium has been required in both of my BMW 540's and in our current

530.
Reply to
Larry Jandro

The manual in our 960 states "A minimum octane of 91 is recommended for optimum performance"

Reply to
Rob Guenther

using lower grades has not seemed to have any effect on my performance, we are talking volvos, not MBs or any other car

Reply to
JohnDoe

One poster stated other then the Viper and Corvette he does not know of any other car that needs premium fuel... Well I am correcting him with more cars that need it.

Reply to
Rob Guenther

that could be true, but I've had my xc70 over a year and I use 87 octane, get about 24 mpg and am happy with the performance, buy expensive fuel if it makes you feel better, but it doesn't do anything for me.

Reply to
JohnDoe

You might not notice it if its all you have ever used, if you never really drive the car hard, or if you never tow anything with it.

We can see a difference with our 960, it could be because the engine is far more sensitive to fuel type, it is also very high compression: 10.7:1 ratio, so without the premium it might knock (knock sensor would kick in and retard timing).

With our old VW Golf you could feel a slight difference with 94 octane (only availible at a few gas stations like Sunoco and Pioneer) vs 87 octane.... but not worth the money, there was no detectable difference with 91 octane (premium).

Reply to
Rob Guenther

Yeah it really depends, some engines will work fine on cheap gas, others will ping. My turbo running higher than stock boost pings easily on cheap gas but runs fine at 16 psi on premium.

Reply to
James Sweet

It's not that simple. My 2000 S80 T-6 runs fine on 87 but thats because it has an engine knock sensor that retards the timing if it detects pre-ignition. For best performance I run 91-92 and get better economy to boot. The manual recommends 91 octane and says I will get better performance with it but that 87 will not hurt the engine.

Mike

Reply to
Mike

Yeah you've got a much more sophisticated control system, the 240 lacks a knock sensor so you've gotta be real careful running too much boost with insufficient octane, particularly in warm weather.

Reply to
James Sweet

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