Regular Unleaded Gas Question????

admdavs

New Member
Feb 25, 2004
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Chicago
With the increasing gas prices- not to say that I am going to try this, but just for the sake of curiosity- What will happen to a Cobra or Mach 1 if regular unleaded gasoline was put into the car as opposed to premium unleaded????? What kid of effects will occur within the engine????
 
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From what I understand pinging and detonation (VERY BAD). The computer will adjust to compensate and the car will run like crap. Oh, and the stupid check engine will probably come on and glow at you until your eyes fall out.

I think shortly afterwards, it will be followed by a tidal wave destroying LA and San Franciso, the release of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse, and the return of Jesus!

Seriously @ $.20 more you're only saving $3.00 on 15 gallons. Is it really worth it? If you're concerned about gas $$$, drive a hybrid and park the Cobra/Mach until (if) gas prices come down.
 
CHIP IT.

I CHIPPED (SUPERCHIPS) MY OLD 96 COBRA AND USED TO RUN REGULAR GAS.
IT RAN BETTER THAN PREMIUM SOMTIMES. I HAVE NOT DONE THIS TO MY 99 BECAUSE OF THE MODS BUT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THE CHIP CORRECTS THE LATER MODEL SVT'S.

MY FREIND BEAT ME IN A RACE, FOR A FULL TANK OF GAS IN A 01 COBRA SO I FILLED IT WITH REGULAR (HIS CALL) THE CAR ALWAYS RAN GOOD. :nice:
 
lemosley01 said:
Seriously @ $.20 more you're only saving $3.00 on 15 gallons. Is it really worth it?
I agree entirely- particularly when its put into those terms: $3.00 over 15 gallons- not worth saving a few bucks to destroy your ride. I was just curious what the repercussions would be!
 
I would NOT recommend doing that at all.

Like some said already, it will detonate and ping. This is bad, especially on 01's that already have ping issues. Alot of times, people can't even notice detenation at low levels, so they say their car runs fine. Then again, maybe they never rev it high enough. Reguardless, it is not good for the engine.

I don't see the point of chipping a car to run regular either, running it richer with variance in timing will waste more gas than the difference in price between regular and premium IMO. But it really depends on the driving style.
 
admdavs said:
I agree entirely- particularly when its put into those terms: $3.00 over 15 gallons- not worth saving a few bucks to destroy your ride. I was just curious what the repercussions would be!

Hope I didn't come across strongly - I knew you weren't going to do it, but those are the repurcussions.

I think my SVT supplement says 91 or higher - too bad no one around here sells 91 Octane (93, 89, 97) - probably less expensive.

I found a place here in Columbus, OH that is running a happy hour from 5-7 each evening where 89 and 93 are the same price as 87. Filled my car up last night at the (cheap?!!?) price of $1.99/gal. Gods, that has a terrible ring to it. Never thought I would be excited about paying less than $2/gal. Uggh.

If anyone is in Columbus, it is Billman's Citgo station on the corner of Sullivant and Norton Road (west side of Columbus).
 
As everyone stated, don't put anything less than 91 octane in the car. Lower octane burns faster (which means hotter) therefore detonation is more prone to happen. Detonation is what kills motors.

Think 93 is too expense...I have to run 94 octane ($2.35 a gallon) and I add 1 or 2 gallons of 110 race gas ($3.84 a gallon) to keep the motor extra safe since I'm still on the stock block.

That's $38.23 every fill up if I let it get down to E...and I get about 15mpg in the car now. Thank god it's not my daily driver. But what are you going to do. :shrug: Power costs money.
 
lemosley01 said:
I found a place here in Columbus, OH that is running a happy hour from 5-7 each evening where 89 and 93 are the same price as 87. Filled my car up last night at the (cheap?!!?) price of $1.99/gal. Gods, that has a terrible ring to it. Never thought I would be excited about paying less than $2/gal. Uggh.


Wow, that's an awesome business idea for a gas station, but there really aren't that many cars on the highway that require premium so it's really not helping that many people out...I'd participate though :nice:
 
missouri_guy197 said:
Wow, that's an awesome business idea for a gas station, but there really aren't that many cars on the highway that require premium so it's really not helping that many people out...I'd participate though :nice:

That's why they can get away with it - not many cars require 89 either, but the driving public doesn't know that higher octane isn't necessary if all your car calls for is 87. I get a kick out of watching people fill up with premium thinking they're getting a great deal! I can't recall how many times I've hear 'the car runs better and stronger on premium'. I used to believe that too. Now I try to dispel the myth. I really hate it when people pay more for premium when they don't need - they are getting ripped of then.

Isn't it funny how the oil companies help perpetuate this?

For me though, it truly is a great deal. Hope they keep on doing it. That way I can keep my foot in it!

Check out the results of detonation on your plugs - YIKES!
http://www.svtoa.org/articles_002.htm