Premium Gas or Mid Grade??

[njhustler]

Ok so my dilemma is , my company pays for my gas but they will only pay for regular gas. I'd really like to get the 2013 si sedan in tw. Ive read through this thread with mixed reviews and still unsure if regular (87 octane) will do. Ive contacted my local Honda dealership's service department but I am awaiting a call back. From my little knowledge of cars I know that the car will adjust to the regular gas. I'm just worried about buying the car and eventually damaging the engine knock ping. I know some cars recommend premium but run fine on regular (2005 volvo s60 t5) while others hate it (bmw 330). Please help as I would love an SI.

 

[webby]

from the manual -

2.4L engine models
Unleaded premium gasoline, pump octane number 91 or higher

Use of a lower octane gasoline can cause occasional metallic knocking noise in the engine and will result in decreased engine performance.
Use of a gasoline with a pump octane less than 87 can lead to engine damage.

^ from the 1st page. Or, go buy flashpro ($695),... get a tune from VitViper ($169), and have it setup to run e85 instead of premium.

 

[Monk]

How often do you trade in for a new car? Every 2-3 years?
What about paying the difference between premium and regular?
I would not run regular in a engine that requires premium......

 

[trustdestruction]

I definitely would not recommend neglecting the engine like that

 

[njhustler]

Seems like im up shits creek. Every car that i am interested in recommends premium fuel , SI , wrx , focus st ect. The problem is my company now reimburses me for mileage , so I can use any grade of gas that I choose. I signed my offer letter today for my new job and they supply gas cards. I am in NJ and e85 is scarce. I think I will get the Si and just throw in octane booster every fill up. Any downside to this aside from the mmt?. Also regular out here is 87 octane , I guess I can live with decreased performance and the occasional knock / ping.

 

[webby]

If they reimburse for mileage...buy premium. You'll get worse gas mileage ...and ultimately pay more money if you don't run premium. Plus the fact that they can deny warranty work if you'd have engine issues. I've seen techs even comment on here recently that they've sampled gas tanks.

 

[trustdestruction]

There is no reason to buy an Si if you are okay with the decreased performance of using 87 octane. Just use 91+... It's only a couple dollars extra per tank. At the very least use the octane booster... But then you have to make sure you are using the right amount and the total will be higher than just buying premium to begin with

 

[Bulkybear]

The problem the OP is describing is his company won't pay for premium (mine won't either). Way around that would be to have your company pay for regular in the Si and you just buy some octane booster out of pocket.

 

[bobshur]

Can't you just add the difference? We're talking about a couple of dollars.this is a premium fuel car,it will run like *** without it.

 

[hotshot]

Are you guys serious with the octane booster? That stuff literally turns 87 into 88.

Buy the SI, buy the premium gas, pay the difference

 

[Bulkybear]

Can't you just add the difference? We're talking about a couple of dollars.this is a premium fuel car,it will run like *** without it.

I dunno about the OP but my company has a fuel card and denies any purchases other than regular fuel.

 

[webby]

Are you guys serious with the octane booster? That stuff literally turns 87 into 88.

Buy the SI, buy the premium gas, pay the difference

not even that according to some reports...

If you read the fine print on octane booster additives, the "points" that they raise the octane is tenths of a point. As in .1, .2, etc...So, if it claims to increase the octane of 10 gallons by 3 points, then you would need approximately 33 bottles to increase the octane of a 16 gallon tank (our size) from 87 to 93.

 

[Dar-Dar]

Lol. 33 bottles. That costs more than just getting premium to begin with.

 

[webby]

In his case, his work won't compensate him for anything but regular gas. That's his issue....and he's trying to get around that.

 

[VitViper]

DOn't ever run anything but premium on this car! It's extremely prone to knock and using lower quality fuel WILL cause the motor to knock.

 

[bobshur]

DOn't ever run anything but premium on this car! It's extremely prone to knock and using lower quality fuel WILL cause the motor to knock.

^ I'm sure he knows his stuff!

 

[hotshot]

The only way they can do that is if they're reimbursing you with a receipt. If theyre giving you a gas card, they cant stop you from getting premium. It doesn't make sense why they'd be picky over the $3 difference, because you could just as easily get an an accord that takes regular and holds MORE gas. Ask them to take $3 off the top of what they're reimbursing you. Or just go get a daily driver. If it were me, I'd buy a $2000 hatch or something w/ no car payment and drive that around.

 

[hotshot]

I dunno about the OP but my company has a fuel card and denies any purchases other than regular fuel.

That just doesn't make sense. Usually you have to swipe the card before you make the fuel selection.

 

[squiggy]

Holding more gas wouldn't be the issue I'd be concerned with when arguing discussing this with the employer. He could just go out and buy a truck that gets 16 mpg as opposed to the Si with 28 mpg. I know as an employer I would rather pay the $3 a tank instead of 75%+ more per mile.

 

[squiggy]

That just doesn't make sense. Usually you have to swipe the card before you make the fuel selection.

The accounting department can just look at the receipt and make the employee reimburse the company for an illegitimate charge.