The Fuel Grade Poll

[mldavis2]

I just filled my GTO today, and although we have perhaps the cheapest regular (87) gas in the U.S., the gap between 87 and 91 today was $0.60/gal. So the gap may be based on the base price of regular 87, or the price of 91 may be more nationally based than 87 which is more locally priced. Interesting differences.

 

[KiwiStinger]

91 RON is equivalent to 87 octane over in the Americas.

We know that the car will run fine on 87 octane, but some sources including Kia documents, "recommend" premium, which is 91 or 93 octane (95 RON). Does the NZ manual or info suggest any recommendation for 95 RON?

I have a simple question that no one has answered so far on this forum or another one: At what octane level is the official advertised HP and torque developed? If it's 87/91 RON, then there is ZERO performance reason to use anything other than regular gas. If the official HP numbers are only developed using premium, then obviously some people will want that.

Some premium fuels have more additives and cleaners than regular. The car will unlikely develop more power with higher octane, because the engine computer will simply adjust for it. The higher octane could provide higher fuel efficiency, but not likely to the extent that the price gap between regular and premium justifies. At least where I live, the price gap between regular and premium has grown steadily in the past years. This gap varies dramatically from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, too... For a long time it was 10 cents/L as in NZ. Now it is 13, 14, 15 cents at most stations.

Before Canada switched to metric, premium was always 3 cents per (UK) gallon more than regular. Then, magically, it became 3 cents per litre, which is a 4.5x increase in cost. Then it crept up to 10 cents and stayed there for many years and now is higher as I mentioned.

For the metric and math challenged Americans, 15 cents per litre is more than 55 cents per US gallon!!!! Where have you ever seen premium 55 cents more than regular in the USA???

You could write a book thicker than the owners manual about the vagaries of fuel pricing ! As regards NZ I quote exactly from the owners manual :

"Your new Kia is designed to use only unleaded fuel having an Octane Rating of RON (Research Octane Number) 91 /AKI (Anti Knock Index) 87 or higher (do not use methanol blended fuels.)"

So the manual leaves me with the option to enjoy the benefits, real or perceived, of higher octane fuel if I so desire.

 

[Marc Collins]

You could write a book thicker than the owners manual about the vagaries of fuel pricing ! As regards NZ I quote exactly from the owners manual :

"Your new Kia is designed to use only unleaded fuel having an Octane Rating of RON (Research Octane Number) 91 /AKI (Anti Knock Index) 87 or higher (do not use methanol blended fuels.)"

So the manual leaves me with the option to enjoy the benefits, real or perceived, of higher octane fuel if I so desire.

Thanks. As soon as we confirm that the advertised power rating is achieved with 87 octane/91 RON, my decision will be final. None of my money will be wasted on premium.

 

[StingerYYC]

Thanks. As soon as we confirm that the advertised power rating is achieved with 87 octane/91 RON, my decision will be final. None of my money will be wasted on premium.

My exact thoughts.

 

[Marc Collins]

I just filled my GTO today, and although we have perhaps the cheapest regular (87) gas in the U.S., the gap between 87 and 91 today was $0.60/gal. So the gap may be based on the base price of regular 87, or the price of 91 may be more nationally based than 87 which is more locally priced. Interesting differences.

Wow...is that price gap pretty normal in your area?

 

[VegasStinger]

If I have time to go to Costco I'll put in premium otherwise it's regular unleaded. Seeing that I normally fill up twice a week that's roughly a $12 savings per week if I purchase regular over premium.

 

[Nardo]

Here in NZ the owners manual says to use 91 RON or higher, the other option here being 95 RON, which is 10 cents a litre more (sorry, can't give you Gallons $) I will use 91 for the time being (done 850 km's/ 530 miles so far) May try 95 later, or even alternate tank fills (would that give me 93 ?)

That is funny.

Here in Germany the handbook says to use 95 RON. It also says that 91 RON can be used with decreased power. However, 10 cent per l is quite a bit..

 

[Nardo]

91 RON is equivalent to 87 octane over in the Americas.

We know that the car will run fine on 87 octane, but some sources including Kia documents, "recommend" premium, which is 91 or 93 octane (95 RON). Does the NZ manual or info suggest any recommendation for 95 RON?

I have a simple question that no one has answered so far on this forum or another one: At what octane level is the official advertised HP and torque developed? If it's 87/91 RON, then there is ZERO performance reason to use anything other than regular gas. If the official HP numbers are only developed using premium, then obviously some people will want that.

Some premium fuels have more additives and cleaners than regular. The car will unlikely develop more power with higher octane, because the engine computer will simply adjust for it. The higher octane could provide higher fuel efficiency, but not likely to the extent that the price gap between regular and premium justifies. At least where I live, the price gap between regular and premium has grown steadily in the past years. This gap varies dramatically from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, too... For a long time it was 10 cents/L as in NZ. Now it is 13, 14, 15 cents at most stations.

Before Canada switched to metric, premium was always 3 cents per (UK) gallon more than regular. Then, magically, it became 3 cents per litre, which is a 4.5x increase in cost. Then it crept up to 10 cents and stayed there for many years and now is higher as I mentioned.

For the metric and math challenged Americans, 15 cents per litre is more than 55 cents per US gallon!!!! Where have you ever seen premium 55 cents more than regular in the USA???

Maybe our friends from Korea can tell us what their handbook says. Germany clearly says to use 95 RON, which is the minimum here today (91 RON isn't available for 10 yrs or so). We have 98 and 100 RON as well, but it does not make sense to use since 95 RON is recommended.

 

[Marc Collins]

I have no concern that Kia would say use the minimum available in any particular country. The simple question, that still no one seems to be able to answer, is what octane level is required to get the advertised HP and torque numbers?

So, out of interest, in Germany where you cannot use anything below what is classed "premium" elsewhere, are the HP and torque numbers the same as North America, or higher? If they are the same, we still don't know if higher octane fuel is used to calculate. If they are higher, then it is a clue that more power will be gained by using premium. If they are the same it can also mean that the engine computer adjusts itself to produce the advertised power whatever you put in it. The higher octane will be cleaner for the environment, though, and maybe better for the engine in the long term.

 

[Nardo]

These are the number for Germany:
370 HP @ 6000 U/min
510 Nm @ 1300 - 4500 U/min
0-100 km/h in 4,9 s

 

[Nardo]

I think we need to put the Stinger on the dyno to check the differences.

 

[Marc Collins]

These are the number for Germany:
370 HP @ 6000 U/min
510 Nm @ 1300 - 4500 U/min
0-100 km/h in 4,9 s

Same as North America....which may or may not be with similar higher octane fuel as Germany. It would take 2 seconds for Kia to clarify, but like all manufacturers, they prefer to leave these things shrouded in mystery. Wonder why?.........

 

[Nardo]

Same as North America....which may or may not be with similar higher octane fuel as Germany. It would take 2 seconds for Kia to clarify, but like all manufacturers, they prefer to leave these things shrouded in mystery. Wonder why?.........

These are the number from the Kia USA homepage:

365 Hp
376 lb-ft

Maybe these 5 HP are the difference?

 

[Marc Collins]

These are the number from the Kia USA homepage:

365 Hp
376 lb-ft

Maybe these 5 HP are the difference?

510 Nm is exactly 376 ft-lbs. The HP is calculated slightly differently in Europe than in USA/Canada (check every other car and you'll see the same slight difference), so these are the same numbers.

 

[climbbike1]

I'm new here. Just got my GT2 less than a week ago. My manual says 95RON/91 anti knock rating which equates to 93 octane in the US. So why would anyone be using anything but premium in the US?? The part of my manual that says this has a sticker over something that used to be there so I can't read what used to be there. Did they change the original recommendation or something?

 

[johnnywalker]

I'm new here. Just got my GT2 less than a week ago. My manual says 95RON/91 anti knock rating which equates to 93 octane in the US. So why would anyone be using anything but premium in the US?? The part of my manual that says this has a sticker over something that used to be there so I can't read what used to be there. Did they change the original recommendation or something?

Can you share a picture? This is from the original manual

 

[climbbike1]

Here you go.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[johnnywalker]

Here you go.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Yup they've changed it.

 

[climbbike1]

I guess technically it doesn't say don't use a lower rating. Still for me, I'm not going to buy a $50k car then cheap out at the pump to save a couple bucks.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[johnnywalker]

I guess technically it doesn't say don't use a lower rating. Still for me, I'm not going to buy a $50k car then cheap out at the pump to save a couple bucks.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

True. Still interesting they've revised the manual. Now I'm wondering if people out there have been experienced problems that prompted the updated.