08 civic vti gets any benefits from premium 98 unleaded

[jazznewbie]

hi everyone,

I am thinking about filling the civic with 98 premium fuel such as bp utlimate or shell v power, etc. Is it worth spending a few extra dollars ? Does it actually make any difference or I should just stick with normal unleaded ?

Thanks

[Stevil]

Jazznewbie been quite a few tests that showed 98 and 95 premium gives you 5% more kms than 91 unlead and at least 10-15% more than the ethanol crap. Round my way if 95 is within 10cents of 91 I will use it every time. If 98 is within 5 cents of 95 then I upgrade to. I know it sound a bit weird but my FD1 gets over 700km out of a tank so I must be doing something write. Cheers

[johnnyluu]

plus it's better for your engine since there's less pollutants and residuals from higher octane
Be a man. dont be a cheapskate on a car that deserves much more

[curtis265]

I found no difference whatsoever in a civic. It's more important to use expensive oil rather than expensive fuel...Just don't use 91.

my 2c.

are you familar with the actaual difference between the fuels??

[jazznewbie]

I know it sound a bit weird but my FD1 gets over 700km out of a tank so I must be doing something write. Cheers

wow.. 700km, that's impressive. Just curious, how much reserve is in the tank when the yellow light comes on.

[Stevil]

Mate it varies with the yellow light. I have had it come on with 2 bars left and 10kms later there are no bars. I have found that when the last bar has disappeared it generaly has 1-1.5 litres left. The light coming on might mean 60kms or as little 20km left, either way its smart to fill. Had a good run early this week out west, filled up and drove 412km then filled up again as the guage was just beneath half. Took just over 24 litres of 98 which works out at 5.8l/100km. Car had just done 20K and was set at 100km with cruise control.

[kiwitrains]

The engine is designed and manufactured to run on 91 octane fuel putting any higher octane fuel in will make no difference and in fact can have a depretmental effect on the valves as the fuel can burn at a higher temperature could reduce the life of the valves and seats. In other words mate you are wasting your money.

[CitizenErased]

The engine is designed and manufactured to run on 91 octane fuel putting any higher octane fuel in will make no difference and in fact can have a depretmental effect on the valves as the fuel can burn at a higher temperature could reduce the life of the valves and seats. In other words mate you are wasting your money.

If this is true, I've wasted a lot of money for no apparent reason..

[Stevil]

Kiwitrains thats a big statement ! Got any evidence to back up your claim ? remember we are taliking about a modern motor here.

[kiwitrains]

Hi Stevil, it is not a big statement only what most manufactures state in there handbook that whatever octane fuel the engine is designed for it is a waste of time increasing that octane it also applies to additives for oil etc. they also state that additives can be detrimental to the engine now if you believe the manufacturer all well and good but I know from experience some people do not for some reason.

[Stevil]

Kiwitrain hey I'm prob wrong but I understood the Ecu was designed to adjusted itself to take advantage of the high RON ie 95 and 98 fuel and 91 is the minimum ?.

Now I've only done 20K in my FD1, but I def get more K's when I use 95 and 98 and acceleration is def better, I rarely if ever put 91 in. Just recently after having almost run a tank of 98 dry I put some 91 in and almost immediately when I got back to a hotel (very short distance ) I could hear my engine knocking ! next day I kept Revs to a minimum and knocking later disappear ! so either my car adjusted timing or I need to smoke some more crack ?

[kiwitrains]

Stevill you are correct the ECU does compensate for higher octane fuel but the argument is does it have any adavantages, you seem to so good luck, the following statement is from a recent Ford handbook `Higher octane fuels may be used without detriment but offer no significant advantage` also on oils `Do not use supplement oil additives or other engine treatments. They are unnecessary and could,under certain conditions, lead to engine damage which is not covered bt warranty.

Knocking on your engine, it should not do that even putting the 91 the ecu would act immediatly, crack well that is up to you !!

[Stevil]

I know its shouldn't have knocked but it did (Very weird I thought). I drive 55-60K a year and have done so for the last 17 years with my job. What Ford writes is generic lawyer waffle car companies love putting into manuals. Plenty of tests have shown higher octane fuels delivers more kms per tanks. I will agree with you on oil supplement and additives, best thing to do is take a long drive if you want your car to operate at peak performance.

[kiwitrains]

We agree to differ Stevil, all the best. By the way you are just the guy the oil companies marketing departments love I should know I work for one.

[curtis265]

better idea: try it and if it genuinely makes a difference use it... if not just spend the cash on fully synthetic

[HONTUNE]

I have had a few fd civics with "pinging noise" from engine.. Honda Australia advised us to drain the tank and fill with 98 unleaded and perform ecu update. Same goes for CU2 euros.. It only takes one bad batch of fuel. If your engine isn't pinging, regular 91 unleaded will be fine.

[pitiek]

While we are on oil topic, can anyone tell me what is the standard oil that is used by authorised Honda service centres? Is it fully synthetic?
My 70k service is up next month and I was thinking on changing to fully synthetic since many people recommend it.
Any recommendation on which synthetic oil should I use for my R18?

[HONTUNE]

I'm a Mechanic at a Honda dealer and we normally use normal Honda FEO we recommend Honda FEO Ultra to our customers. My personal preference is Honda FEO Ultra or Mobil 1

[pitiek]

Thanks for the info mate..
Repco is having oil sale until Oct 16 and they have 5L Mobil 1 5W-50 for $50
Can I use this oil for R18 and is it a good price for it?

[HONTUNE]

No worries man.. Try and get the 5w 30

[curtis265]

in the US they use 5w20. I don't think u need an ultra high viscosity :S

http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2012563

[pitiek]

I can only find Shell Helix 5W 30 in the repco catalogue special, are they any good?

[Fredoops]

I'm a Mechanic at a Honda dealer and we normally use normal Honda FEO we recommend Honda FEO Ultra to our customers. My personal preference is Honda FEO Ultra or Mobil 1
You guys actually USE FEO? Gee arent you the special bunch lol :-)

Every dealer I went to between Sydney and Brisbane uses Castrol Magnetec or GTX instead.

anyway, any over Xw-40 is not suited for honda's.

[pitiek]

I just had a chat with mechanic from Austral Honda in Brisbane and he was saying that I better stick with Honda FEO (semi-synthetic) since my civic always use them since new (70k now). Is changing engine oil from semi synthetic to fully synthetic will cause more harm than good?
Mobil 1 5W30 is not on special at Repco, they are $86 for 5L.. Quite expensive hey..

[Fredoops]

I just had a chat with mechanic from Austral Honda in Brisbane and he was saying that I better stick with Honda FEO (semi-synthetic) since my civic always use them since new (70k now). Is changing engine oil from semi synthetic to fully synthetic will cause more harm than good?
Mobil 1 5W30 is not on special at Repco, they are $86 for 5L.. Quite expensive hey..
yes.... ask then which oil they use... LOL... they dont use FEO.......... Think Castrol Magentec....

Anyway, there is no problem whatsoever switching between dino (Honda feo is not semi-syn....) and full syn oil.

Full-syn oil is a detergent-type oil, so it'll be like detox'in the engine, as such what you can do is flushing the engine oil to get all the old gunk out (which you will have a if you've never run full-syn oil before...).

Of course you don't HAVE to do that, but i'd prefer my engine cleaned :-)

Synthetic oil is expansive, but since I switched to full-syn oil Im a convert, Worth.Every.Cent. It's like cheap horsepower (coming from dino to funn-syn, car rev's much happier)... and it last longer than dino/semi-syn oil anyway so your money drive you longer.

If you are looking for cheaper synthetic oil, have a look at those 2 niche retailers, one in brisbane and one in melbourne.
http://www.gllubricants.com/
http://www.performancelub.com/

[curtis265]

i'm using kendall fully synthetic. Fair bit cheaper than the other brands