89 Octane Gasoline

[SMB]

87 Octane Gasoline

Anyone using 87 Ocatane in CA? When I purchased the 05 LR3 SE the dealer/saleman mentioned that using 87 octane would work without any downside! He was a very active member of LR groups and clubs and such and since then I have been running on 87 without any problems. Had 50k+ on the 05 and now 12k+ on the 07! Any opinions?

SMB

 

[grommet]

91 (US) is the recommended octane for most environments, per Land Rover. Feel free to deviate if you wish. We've had octane discussions before; use search. FYI: I almost always use 91, but I'm also at sea level most of the time... if I use 87, I lose MPG on both of my "recommended 91 octane" vehicles.

 

[SoCalLR3]

I am in Los Angeles and always use the lowest octane fuel available. 87 or 89. I have had no problems, engine runs smoothly, and actually have noticed increased mileage with the lower octanes.

 

[sgregg67]

I used to use only 91 religiously, but for the past few months 89 and I see no difference. Gas mileage is the same and performance is the same. I'm in Orange County So. Cal.

 

[SMB]

Tested 91 Octane vs 87

Spent the past few days driving long distance...have filled up with 91 octane last three full thanks (vs previous 12k+ using 87) octane. Checked the tire pressure regularly (always have) and no increase in MPG. I wonder how much the learing of the ECU would allow for changes in octane, thou...may need to try for longer period to potentially get benefits. From past experience I know that inflating tires by +20% has made a good difference but then again, in hot weather and higher speeds can run the danger of damaging in-tire pressure sensor and/or risk blow out!

Correction to my posting...I alwasy us 87 octane and never had any knocking or issues!

 

[Airboss]

Don't forget that summer is upon us now. With the higher temps it may be prudent to use a higher octane fuel to help prevent knock. Just my $.02.

 

[grommet]

FYI: The engine was designed with a higher compression ratio to meet it's performance specifications. The higher compression ratio is what determines the octane requirements. It isn't a scam invented by the petrol industry. (The "true" requirements will vary depending on the environment... for example, high altitude lowers the octane demand.)

The engine compensates for less than optimum octane by retarding the timing... so you should rarely experience constant "knock"/detonation. The risk is, if you run too low of an octane for an extended time... you might develop problems associated with long-term detonation. But in reality, most won't keep their vehicle that long...

Do what you want. Just be aware that octane requirement wasn't just invented by marketing.

 

[nwoods]

My truck ran with much less vigor on 87. It just was unhappy. I run 91 all the time now.

Would love to know one dealer or sales guide that wheels with us at www.SCLR.org! Who is he?

 

[SMB]

Change of Response

Hum! Interesting! On the 5th tank of 91 (been running 87 since 0 miles 'til now...~12k miles) now and today really floored the car a bunch of time and drove rather hard accelarating on the freeways. Then filled up again and although today was rather hoter than most day in the past few monts (~82-87 degrees), with regular highway driving at an average of 75 miles/hr got back upto 17-18... The same drive would not have yielded these results with 87 octane cause have tried it before! Maybe I messed with the computers programming by driving hard and now it is reset plus the preffered octane! I like this car!

 

[LR3invancouver]

better performance

I live in Vancouver, BC. Here we have easy access to 92 and 94 octane. I have switched between low octane (89) and high (94) and there is a significant difference in performance. The high octane give improved torque and mid-band power. I haven't noticed any difference in MPG but I will pay extra for the added power any day (and we currently pay around $4.00 (USD) a US gallon.