Hi,
If I used regular unleaded in a car that specifically states premium unleaded. Will it damage my car?
Thanks
Regular Unleaded Used Instead of Premium Unleaded
Ljt0505t on 01/07/2020 - 18:43
Comments
What he said.
Thank you.
I should have said the car I was looking at
Holden Equinox LT 2.0 Litre my19.
Says premium fuel.
Yet the Holden equinox ls+ 1.5 litre uses regular unleaded.I was seeing if I could get the LT 2.0 LITRE version and use regular fuel… but that's a no. Appreciate your input.
Different engines. Just because it’s the same vehicle, doesn’t mean anything. I am guessing that the 1.5 is an economy based engine, where as the 2.0 is more oriented around power. It’s only 500cc bigger but is almost twice the power.
Don't buy a Holden
It's a totally different engine man. It says premium, it needs premium. Same as you use the type of oil that it says, the brakes that it says, etc etc.
If you have money to buy a car that need premium petrol to perform the best. And you want to save and putting in regular petrol.
I think as emergency you can't find premium and put regular one or two time, it would make a difference. Not for long term
They don't specify Premium for no reason, and they certainly don't get any benefit from the fuel companies for doing so. But they do want you to enjoy your ride long into the future. If you do want to use regular, get the car company to retune your engine for regular - pointless really.
If the manufacturer states that you use it,use it.Do not go below 95 or 98,if your vehicle needs it to run properly.I certainly would not recommend putting in 91,if it states a minimum of 95 OR 98.To add further advice(source:RACV) if a manufacturer’state’s that you use 95 or 98,you must use it,OR risk engine damage.
I've always wondered if you could get away with E10 (94) instead of premium 95? Fair price difference for minimal octane differential if it works…
Yes and no. A RON of 94 is probably within the limits for a car that requires premium fuel. E10 however contains UP TO 10% ethanol. Therefore the RON of the fuel might be a lot less than 94.
I wouldn't risk running E10 in a premium fuel car. The owners manual will confirm it for you.
Wrong! The RON of E10 is 94 (and not 91) because of the ethanol. The RON of pure ethanol is well above 100.
It's up to 10% ethanol though so you're not guaranteed a RON of 94.
@kathmandu-jeff: Oh I see what you mean. I think those 'up to' fuels will be labelled as 91.
Fuel labelling standards are pretty strict, so I don't think they could just label it 94 and have it be any lower.
It's not just the RON that's important - it's the sulphur content in many cases which leads to manufacturers mandating premium fuel. Australian regular unleaded fuel is (relative to North America + Europe) poor quality with high sulfur levels.
E10 is regular unleaded fuel (with high sulfur content) + ethanol, so it's no good for an engine which requires low sulfur content. I believe many Suzuki cars are labelled minimum 95 RON because of this requirement, despite being sold elsewhere with no such requirement for premium fuel.
In NSW, pumps labelled E10 MUST be a minimum 94 octane, and they are labelled as such (saying 94 on the pump handles).
The NSW Government E10 website actually says it contains somewhere between 9 and 10% ethanol.
E10 is 94 RON
E10 is a blend of regular unleaded (RON 91) petrol and between 9% and 10% ethanol. Blending the ethanol at this ratio increases the RON to 94.
Wait for the huge explosion then the blinding light
most cars will just detune themselves to run on the lower octane. you may get 10-20% performance decrease so depending on the power output you might not notice it much. Depends if the manufacturer states "runs best on 98" or "Tuned for 95" vs "Only run on 95 and above" whether you will sustain damage if used long term. I know FPV falcons are tuned to run on 98 but will happily run forever on 91 or e10, it will just detune the car.
That's what I was going to say, there's specific forums for individual cars where experts can chime in.
I wouldn't risk it on most cars though
If all else fails, one could simply contact the manufacturer for precise details.
To know that it's running on lower octane fuel, the ecu has to hear knock, then it will pull timing. It will then advance it until it years knock again, then pull timing etc etc. So you are still getting knock, and it isn't good long term.
My car says premium recommended. So I just use regular . Better yet .e10 95 is like premium 95. Just use e10 95
E10 is 94 not 95.
And I am thinking it would be fine to use.It’s not just about the octane. Does the manufacturer say you can use e10? They specify premium for a reason.
Just don't hammer it. The knock sensors and ECU should look after it
Also, go to the auto parts store and get a can of octane booster.
Is there any reason you needed to keep the car/engine a secret?
Check the fuel flap. If it says 95 Minimum or 98 Minimum then you can not use any less or you will damage your engine fast (very fast if you have an aluminium engine). I wouldn't try to save a few dollars because the cost of a new engine will be far more.
Depends on the car. Most cars have a knock sensor as mentioned above and will make adjustments (retard the timing) to compensate. You can avoid this by driving very conservatively.
Apart from the concerns raised above, if the idea is to save money it wont - The car will probably burn more fuel per km, warranty is potentially void and there will be other consequences overtime such as damage to the engine or sensors etc. I would also speculate that environmentally (if that is a concern to you) emissions will likely be worse.
Thank you for all your comments.
I should have said the car I was looking at
Holden Equinox LT 2.0 Litre my19.
Says premium fuel.
Yet the Holden equinox ls+ 1.5 litre uses regular unleaded.My uncle who thinks he knows everything about cars… said regu is fine as long as your not going to flog it and don't expect fast speeds, but said it won't damage that can/engine.. but sounds like a it could damage it
My uncle who thinks he knows everything about cars
Or would you be better to listen to the manufacturer or some mechanics off the internet?
yep, that's why I am asking here.
From my time here at least pegaxs, brendanm appears to be legit mechanics. I think there’s a couple of others I’d trust for info but can’t think of their usernames right now.
In the short term no,
do not hammer it as you will hear 'hammering' under the bonnet,
that is pre-ignition; not good for your motor if you do it all the timeJust put the fuel in that the manufacturer recommends,
that is why hose nozzles are of different sizes.
And don't put diesel in petrol cars and vice a versathat is why hose nozzles are of different sizes.
No it isn’t. All unleaded nozzle are the same regardless of RON. There is no more leaded fuel, so that point is moot, but they used to be larger, and diesel nozzles are larger to stop morons putting diesel in their petrol cars, but it still doesn’t stop them… But the octane rating of the fuel has nothing to do with nozzle sizes.
I haven't worked in a servo since the early 70's - bite me
lead - I became a mechanic, after I was a bowser monkey
Yes and no. Will it damage it eventually, yes, if you run it long enough (and by long enough, I mean tank after tank after tank…) Will it damage it in the short term, no. But it may feel a bit sluggish to drive.
If you did it because premium wasn't available, it should be fine, but once you get to about half a tank, top it up with 98 or you can buy a bottle of "octane booster" from most auto parts stores that can help bring a tank of regular up to premium.
If you are thinking about doing it as a regular basis to save money, you wont. The engine is designed for a higher RON fuel, so it will run better and more economically on premium. Not to mention that over a long period of time, lower RON fuels may cause internal damage to the engine.