Premium vs. Regular
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From: Dallas, Texas, US
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If you're gonna use premium, use Chevron's...its detergent/cleaner "techron" has been proven to work; same for Exxon and Mobil.
Like OPGForce said, you do not have to use it...I've always driven all my cars very hard (Redline shifts 90% of time, cruising at 70-90mph on long hauls -- always premium, never a prob) plus if you get a blower or turbo, the extra octane will protect your engine from knocking/pinging.
In the end, it comes down to whether you can/want to spend the extra 15-25 cents/gal over regular.
Like OPGForce said, you do not have to use it...I've always driven all my cars very hard (Redline shifts 90% of time, cruising at 70-90mph on long hauls -- always premium, never a prob) plus if you get a blower or turbo, the extra octane will protect your engine from knocking/pinging.
In the end, it comes down to whether you can/want to spend the extra 15-25 cents/gal over regular.
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From: Salem,Oregon
Rep Power: 0 Been using premium ever since the car emptied the dealers full tank of whatever it was. Plus where I am currently at the extra octane helps out I have found being 5,000 ft or more, people up here have told me the same thing so who knows. I generally drive normal but there are times on long trips where I push my car up there on the speedometer. But whatever you guys can afford fill it up. I don't drive my car a whole lot so I don't fill the tank all that much 
Nick
Nick
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From: Charlotte, North Carolina, US
Rep Power: 0 I use regular most of the time. I fill up with 93 octane about every 5 tanks or so. I just do it because I think it helps to keep the engine clean. Who knows, may not do anything but cost more.
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From: san diego, California, US
Rep Power: 0 << I use regular most of the time. I fill up with 93 octane about every 5 tanks or so. I just do it because I think it helps to keep the engine clean. Who knows, may not do anything but cost more. >>
Yes that is what you should be doing but you really only need to do it about once a month to reduce deposits. Honestly it saves you money in the long run.
<< I feel the engine runs alot smoother w/ premium. I only use Exxon & mobil 93 octane. Maybe its all in my head, haha.... >>
I'm just curious where you are both getting 93 octane the highest we have here is 91. I thought I remember hearing that the 92 isn't available anymore (well at least here).
Oh and to answer the question run 87 octane and then about once a month run a full tank of 91 octane it will clear out the deposits the 81 octane left because it burn hotter and you save money in the long run. These cars are designed for 87 octane.
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From: Columbus, Ohio, US
Rep Power: 0 Our "premium" here in Ohio is 93 Octane, with 89 being "Plus" and 87 being "Regular". I had to run premium in my old car, but in my 10,000 mi with the Civic so far, I've run solid 87. No problem at all, and car runs great. I run a fuel system cleaner every oil change.
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From: Rockville, Maryland
Rep Power: 0 Talked to a friend of mine (a mechanic) and he said that 87 would actually get you better gas mileage then 94 octane. The reason being is that 94 if more refined and will burn quicker, while 87 is less refined and will take longer to burn. Thus you might feel more power with a higher octane but you will suffer in gas mileage. How much you will suffer I dont know. Just a thought though.
Oren
Oren
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From: Portland, Oregon, US
Rep Power: 0 Here is something somebody posting awhile back that proves we don't need to run high Octane gas. The is from the goverment:
The Low-Down on High Octane Gas
The Low-Down on High Octane Gas
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From: Connecticut, US
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<< I use regular most of the time. I fill up with 93 octane about every 5 tanks or so. I just do it because I think it helps to keep the engine clean. Who knows, may not do anything but cost more. >>
Yes that is what you should be doing but you really only need to do it about once a month to reduce deposits. Honestly it saves you money in the long run.
<< I feel the engine runs alot smoother w/ premium. I only use Exxon & mobil 93 octane. Maybe its all in my head, haha.... >>
I'm just curious where you are both getting 93 octane the highest we have here is 91. I thought I remember hearing that the 92 isn't available anymore (well at least here).
Oh and to answer the question run 87 octane and then about once a month run a full tank of 91 octane it will clear out the deposits the 81 octane left because it burn hotter and you save money in the long run. These cars are designed for 87 octane. >>
A few comments. Our cars are designed for 86 octane. Also, running premium (we have 94 here) will not reduce deposits, it will actually cause more. If you're worried about deposits, add a bottle of Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner every few thousand miles. My favorite station would have to be Amoco ...too bad they're aren't very many here in CT.
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From: Detroit, Michigan, US
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Okay guys, time to dispel another myth............
The octane of the gas that you use means only one thing: how much of a compression ratio it can handle. Here's what I mean:
Info to understand 1:
As you all (should) know, a standard internal combustion engine works by mixing fuel and air, compressing the mixture, causing an explosion, and then using the energy created by that explosion to power the vehicle. In the case of any piston engine, this compression is created when the piston rises towards the spark plug after the fuel/air mix has been put into the piston chamber.
Info to understand 2:
Boyle's law states that as volume decreases (as it does when the piston compresses the fuel/air mix), pressure will increase, and temperature will also increase. Therefore, as the fuel/air mixture is compressed, it gets hotter.
Info to understand 3:
All materials have a temperature at which they will just plain old burst into flames, for example paper is 451 degrees farenheight (yes, like the Ray Bradbury book, "Farenheight 451").
Therefore, if you compress the fuel/air mix enough to get it hot enough, it will explode BEFORE the spark plug fires, which is not a good thing. This event is termed "pinging", or sometimes "knocking". If you could find, say, 10 octane gas and you put it in your car, it would explode every time your pistons tried to compress it before your spark plugs would fire. In high-preformance cars that use very high compression ratios, higher octane gas is needed to prevent pinging. Therefore, always use the lowest octane that the manual says to use; it will cost you less and nothing else will be different!
Okay guys, time to dispel another myth............
The octane of the gas that you use means only one thing: how much of a compression ratio it can handle. Here's what I mean:
Info to understand 1:
As you all (should) know, a standard internal combustion engine works by mixing fuel and air, compressing the mixture, causing an explosion, and then using the energy created by that explosion to power the vehicle. In the case of any piston engine, this compression is created when the piston rises towards the spark plug after the fuel/air mix has been put into the piston chamber.
Info to understand 2:
Boyle's law states that as volume decreases (as it does when the piston compresses the fuel/air mix), pressure will increase, and temperature will also increase. Therefore, as the fuel/air mixture is compressed, it gets hotter.
Info to understand 3:
All materials have a temperature at which they will just plain old burst into flames, for example paper is 451 degrees farenheight (yes, like the Ray Bradbury book, "Farenheight 451").
Therefore, if you compress the fuel/air mix enough to get it hot enough, it will explode BEFORE the spark plug fires, which is not a good thing. This event is termed "pinging", or sometimes "knocking". If you could find, say, 10 octane gas and you put it in your car, it would explode every time your pistons tried to compress it before your spark plugs would fire. In high-preformance cars that use very high compression ratios, higher octane gas is needed to prevent pinging. Therefore, always use the lowest octane that the manual says to use; it will cost you less and nothing else will be different!
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From: Anniston, Alabama, US
Rep Power: 306 In other words, in the thoughts of Spaceman Bob, if you are using premium fuel in your stock Honda (compression ratio), then you are wasting your money, both in gas mileage and gas price per gallon. Do you really think Honda messed up when they said to use regular? They designed our cars to maximize everthing. Maximum gas mileage, maximum smog reduction, maximum efficiency. All you are really doing is giving the big gas giants more money!
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From: Detroit, Michigan, US
Rep Power: 0 well MPG won't go down, but price per gallon will go up, so PRICE per MILE will also go up. It's just a waste of money unless you are running a higher than normal compression ratio. Also, and I DON'T know the answer to this, using NO2 MAY affect this somehow, but I've never done this so I don't know if it will or won't affect anything
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From: Charlotte, North Carolina, US
Rep Power: 0 We need to get one thing straight here! The owner's manual DOES NOT state to use REGULAR gasoline.
The following paragraphs are taken from the 02 civic owners manual, p. 164
Gasoline
Your Honda is designed to operate on unleaded gasoline with a pump octane of 86 or higher. Use of a lower octane gasoline can cause a persistent, heavy metallic rapping noise in the engine that can lead to mechanical damage.
We recommend gasolines containing detergent additives that help prevent fuel system and engine deposits.
The following paragraphs are taken from the 02 civic owners manual, p. 164
Gasoline
Your Honda is designed to operate on unleaded gasoline with a pump octane of 86 or higher. Use of a lower octane gasoline can cause a persistent, heavy metallic rapping noise in the engine that can lead to mechanical damage.
We recommend gasolines containing detergent additives that help prevent fuel system and engine deposits.
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From: Salem,Oregon
Rep Power: 0 This could go on for days I have read a lot on this and I just don't like 87 octane ran Premium 91 and 92 octane for quite awhile in my last cars. So I have the extra few cents on fill up so I just prefer 91 over the 87, I benefit from it, and most people here in mile high country do also. Just curious if anyone lives 5,000 or more feet and uses 87 or higher octane ?
Nick
Nick
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From: Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada
Rep Power: 0 hey listen ppl if u have an esso station in your town it is good to use super/suprem whatever cause with every 2 fill ups u get a free car wash that is why i use suprem!!! nothing else!!!! hey as long as u don't use disel your ok!
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From: San Diego, California, US
Rep Power: 0 Yup, the manual says at least 86 octane. Therefore, even regular 87 is more than enough for our cars.
<< . So I have the extra few cents on fill up so I just prefer 91 over the 87, I benefit from it >>
Not exactly sure what you're benefitting from, except maybe stimulating the economy by spending more on gas than you should.
And yes, it definitely is your money to waste... cuz that's exactly what you're doing. This ain't no luxury or high-performance sports car... why bother feeding it like one, when it's well-known that our little SOHC engines just aren't built to take advantage of the higher octane? But, like you said, it is your money ...
<< . So I have the extra few cents on fill up so I just prefer 91 over the 87, I benefit from it >>
Not exactly sure what you're benefitting from, except maybe stimulating the economy by spending more on gas than you should.
And yes, it definitely is your money to waste... cuz that's exactly what you're doing. This ain't no luxury or high-performance sports car... why bother feeding it like one, when it's well-known that our little SOHC engines just aren't built to take advantage of the higher octane? But, like you said, it is your money ...
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From: Massachusetts
Rep Power: 0 I've used regular for 9 months and just recently changed to premium 2 months ago. I find that the engine runs smoother once I get going, but it takes longer to start the first time I start it up each morning. Go w/ high test.
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From: Muskegon, Michigan, US
Rep Power: 0 Spacemanbob's explaination is correct. I only use premium gas and I can tell a difference when my wife has taken my car and put regular in it. I personally would think that using premium would be of benefit to people who have increased their air flow with an intake and exhaust setup because of the fact that there is more air and fuel being put into each cylinder therefore making the piston compress more of a volume. This would (IMO) increase the chance of your air/fuel mixture exploding early. I also would think this to be a major concern when running no2 in your vehicle. Just my opinion given the facts.
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From: Tinley Park, Illinois, US
Rep Power: 319 I just filled up w/ premium today. (I was using the mid-grade stuff). My azz-dyno sez the car likes to drink premium. There seems to be much more oomph in the lower revs, specifically the middle of the rev range. My engine is bone stock, so I think it's safe to say you don't need i/h/e to benefit from the higher octane fuel. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/beer_yum.gif[/IMG]
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From: Greenfield, Wisconsin, US
Rep Power: 0 well I use 93 octane and i got better gas mileage .. however I found that if your engine doesnt get hot enough then it is a waste of money .. I noticed a big differenace at high revs. plus higher octane is better for your engine since you going to get less knocking and pre detination found in lower octane. and. alos remember that our civics are ULEV so it will help you with less carbon build up on important sensors since it is more refined .. OH and on another note the cheveron Techron gas additive rocks it really does work per one of our other members (sorry forgot the name )
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From: Eugene, Oregon, US
Rep Power: 0 Well in my opinion the LX, DX rides don't need 91/92/93 octane. But the HX, EX can benifit, being that with a VTEC system you have a knock sensor. Where the computer is constantly advancing the timming untill it senses a knock/ping. The higher the octane the more you can advance the timming. Also the HX, EX have a 9.9:1 compression ratio, where as the DX, LX have a 9.5:1 compression ratio.
