GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Just wondering what everyone was using.

Premium, have to with S/C!

I'm using regular unleaded now but will be trying out premium once Unichip arrives back from reprogramming.

i'm usin 89 octane. i've had my vibe a lil over a yr now n for about the past 3 or 4 months i've been usin 89. i've been gettin better milage and noticed smoother accel and running in general. before switching on the highway i would get 33mpg max but i've now hit a high of 42 and norm highway of 38mpg goin 65-70 and passing here n there

I think premium is pretty much required for the GT's

Quote, originally posted by tcam »I think premium is pretty much required for the GT'sReally? (removed)

this may come as a shock colonel.

I use 87 Octane or better if a higher octane is same price or cheaper than the 87 like it is in several parts in the midwest.

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »Really? lmaoHa! Yep, that horse looks pretty dead to me.

I too notice better mileage with 89 over 87, so if 89 is about the same as 87 ill buy it. otherwise its usually the cheap 87

I mix my own... (removed)?

Quote, originally posted by Toasted7 »I mix my own... (removed)?I've heard of people doing this with Diesel, but not gas.

Quote, originally posted by Toasted7 »I mix my own... (removed)?what? your broke (removed) doesn't have a refinery in the back yard?

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »what? your broke (removed) doesn't have a refinery in the back yard?I just use my "Mr. Fusion" and last week's garbage.

I'm using 87 but will probably switch to the next grade when my unichip gets here so I can install it.

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »what? your broke (removed) doesn't have a refinery in the back yard?I see those around here, but I think they refine meth.

i mix the crappy 90 octane with Torco race fuel at every fill up at the pump. makes for some very expensive gas.

trdvibe HA thats what you get for having a sweet fast awd turbo yea thats right thats jealousy in my voice.....

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »i mix the crappy 90 octane with Torco race fuel at every fill up at the pump. makes for some very expensive gas. why?

Quote, originally posted by Psychobroker »why? With her cobb setup (i think she has a cobb chip) she needs to run like above 90 but i dont think they sell it around her... i just pulled at out of my but but i think thats the reason..I just looked and stock needs like 91 octane anywho so i think thats why she mixes it ^

because my car is set up (ECM) for 93 octane. i decided i wanted to get the most out of the engine with the current mods (gutted pipes and ECM). it makes about 15-20 awhp diff b/w 91 and 93 octane maps in the car. once i'm allowed to do real modification to the engine, then i may consider alcohol injection. but we'll see..... not sure what i'll end up doing with the turbo/sti upgrade. or if i even decide to upgrade to the 6spd spec B version.... in a couple years. who really knows. it's a long way off in the future anyways. with the higher octane fuel, and remapping, i'm getting about 2-3 mpg BETTER fuel economy, even with the occasional WOT.

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe ». with the higher octane fuel, and remapping, i'm getting about 2-3 mpg BETTER fuel economy, even with the occasional WOT.WOT WOT

Quote, originally posted by coldmm803 »i'm usin 89 octane. i've had my vibe a lil over a yr now n for about the past 3 or 4 months i've been usin 89. i've been gettin better milage and noticed smoother accel and running in general. before switching on the highway i would get 33mpg max but i've now hit a high of 42 and norm highway of 38mpg goin 65-70 and passing here n thereDo you have any mods on your car? I don't understand how you can get 22% increase in millage from just adding 2 octaine.

i dunno, higher octane fuel seems to do really well for me too.

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »I see those around here, but I think they refine meth. that would be that ammonia smell silly!>dammit billy! i told you no baths this week, daddy needs to use the tub to make some money!as far as higher octane=better mileage, i'll trust the experts that say that's hogwash. higher mileage just doesn't make sense.

well, because my ECM is geared toward a specific higher octane maps, then it would be expected for me to get better gas mileage. higher octane fuel will definitely help performance in any vehicle, just not sure if it's worth it on all vehicles. depends on what you're wanting to do with your car/truck. then you have to figure out the cost effectiveness if you are only looking to get better fuel economy. to get a 1-2% increase (i think 22% is a bit far reached imo) and pay another $.10/gallon isn't cost effective. i use higher octane and mix my fuel because i wanted a higher performance fuel mixture for my car, having better fuel economy was a bonus and helps offset the cost of doing so. it was never the INTENTION. if so, then i'd be very upside down! LOLplus, going from just 87 to 88 octane isn't enough of a difference to make big leaps and bounds in fuel economy or performance. with the mixture I use, it's about the equivalent of 94-95 octane from the crappy 90 octane available here.

for you, i understand, your pooter is mapped to do so. with a base vibe, however, i don't see how anything but the reccomended fuel could do anything for you.-edit-this is a pretty reliable source:http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline...e.htm

I ran a tank of 90 with a fuel additive once... Honestly never felt a difference from it and 87 octane.

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »for you, i understand, your pooter is mapped to do so. with a base vibe, however, i don't see how anything but the reccomended fuel could do anything for you.-edit-this is a pretty reliable source:http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline...e.htmoh, i agree. the ECM needs to tell the difference. so if you use higher octane, need to reflash or reset the ECM for the best results.

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »I ran a tank of 90 with a fuel additive once... Honestly never felt a difference from it and 87 octane.that was for drag racing. you're not gonna be able to tell a difference. and good to know since it'd be a giant waste of money to add torco to your tank! LOLhowever, i would imagine that higher octane fuel for the VGT would be better fuel consumption if you can lay off the gas! otherwise on an NA engine that only requires 87 octane and no ECM mods, better gas may only net better fuel economy due to less pressure of the right foot knowing how much more you just paid at the pump! LOL

good, now that we are in agreeance, what can we do to convince all the "i know i felt a difference" people?

I filled up a full tank of 90 octane fuel that you dumped the torco into. I drove on that for the next two weeks after drag and no difference felt. However once the unichip is in and I'm through this tank of 87 octane, I'll try it again with 90 and see if there is any difference.

well, fuel additives do help imo. however, unless you change the mapping in the car, i really don't see how just higher octane will increase fuel economy if all variables stay constant. it will burn cleaner, but will you actually get a noticeable difference?? this is on NA engines, mind you. adding a turbo or s/c to a vehicle, or even high output engines like the 2zz are a different story.

great! now we get to spend another $.20/gallon more for a still NA engine that will essentially get the same fuel economy... not sure if it'll be worth it. unless you had them gear the fuel mappings for 90 octane, i don't think it's going to matter much.

actually, if you read my link, premium isn't any cleaner either, it's just a myth.of course, this knowledge isn't readily available from the gas station or anything. then how would they get Mr. rice to fill up with premium to make the intake tornado more efficient?

what??? are you shooting down my intake tornado??

Using plain old 87 from QuikTrip. The Vibe runs as smooth as the day I got it. Versus the Malibu V6 that I had, that was starting to run rough by this mileage. I put what ever was cheap into it.

I think the only thing you might feel is if you got a bad batch of "any" gas and it kicked you down into the lower octane tables. This assumes that the Vibe does indeed have those tables where timing may be pulled if it senses bad gas or knock.

to clarify my original statement. i'm a college student living on campus so the only real "highway miles" i get are from the 2 hr (120mi) drive home on the trunpike or home-> campus, where 85% of the drive is highway and goin 65-70ish and i try to set the cruise as much as possible. Around home if i were to go to the mall from my house which is about 6 miles, only half of that is highway, so half of the time i'm doin 60 n the other half is 35-40. If i'm around campus the highest i get is 45 mph and dealing with bad drivers (15 min out of Philly)since i'm a poor college student i dont have any mods, but if u guys wish to buy me some i'll put them on

i've also noticed that some places are starting to put 10-15% ethanol in the gas so that will start causeing lower mileage, i've seen it at a few sunoco places

I once thought it would make a difference, that was pretty stupid of me. In the end, my Vibe ran like absolute CRAP after I ran 93-94 octane in it frequently... And started running even WORSE if I tried going back to the recommended 87 octane. Somehow it became accustomed to the higher octane or something. Screw that, the Accent only gets 87 octane as recommended and I've had the best luck with Chevron, so I try to run that at every opportunity. Gets good mileage and runs smooth as silk. I'll never run premium in the new car, don't want to ruin a good thing... I don't think it will add much to my measly lil' 110 HP anyway. Keep the premium for those that require it.

god i wish we had 93-94 octane available here!

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »god i wish we had 93-94 octane available here! What's up wit dat? Would it be the altitude or some other environmental factor that keeps them from offering the stuff? Or is it just that they don't have enough people up there that would run the higher octane so they don't bother to go through the extra expense to offer it?IIRC, isn't your "premium" 90 octane? Crazy stuff, that's only one point higher than our middle grade.

i can't remember why, but we used to have 92 octane. it was something about refineries or what not. we have to export the oil OUT of state to have it refined and then shipped back.... I believe. thus why i have to spend $$$ on Torco to increase my octane from crappy 90 to 93-94.

The primary difference in octane is the temperature at which fuel burns. The higher the octane, the higher the temperature at which the fuel burns. That is why supercharged and turbocharged engines should take premium (93 octane or higher) fuel. Those engines tend to operate at higher temps so in order to avoid detonation, a fuel which burns at higher temperatures is required.For cars not designed to run on higher octane fuels, putting anything more than 87 octane fuel into their systems is a waste and actually stands a very good chance of decreasing the performance of your engine while increasing the load on your wallet.There can be a benefit to occassionally using higher octane fuels in engines designed for lower octanes, but it isn't due to the octane itself. Often times, better additives are added to the higher octane fuels. These additives can help keep the engine clean and increase engine performance. Such cleaning, however, is not necessary for every fill-up. Several times per year should suffice, but given the price difference between regular and premium, it is probably cheaper to buy a bottle of STP every 3 -5 months and toss that sucker in.All in all, unless your engine has been specifically tuned to run on higher octane fuels, or you are running a high compression/boosted engine, stick with quality 87 octane fuels. If you want more power and performance out of your engine, you'd be best served taking the money you'd otherwise spend on fill-ups and saving for a supercharger.