87 octane chip

[SanDiegoExplr]

the next mod looks like its gonna be a chip. I was thinkin either the diablo or superchip. Now my only gripe is about fuel. Here in Cali fuel prices are nothing short of insane for even regular fuel and theres no way that im gonna pay nearly 2 bucks for a gallon of premium gas. So my question is....do i need to run 91 octane if i use either of these chips? why or why not?

 

[aldive]

Both Superchip as well as Diablo recommend premium fuel for use with their chips.

 

[mrboyle]

The octane rating of a fuel is based on its ability to resist ignition. The higher the octane, the higher the tempature needed to ignite it. Aftermarket chip manufacturers recomend running a higher octane fuel, due to the revamped timing and fuel curves provided by the chip. Running a lower octane will cause severe detonation (ping) due to the timing advance provided by the chip. If you are interested in the power increase provided by the chip, you have to be willing to live with the added expence of running permium gas.

 

[mosinman]

sandiego explorer, this is off-topic, but do you like your 50 series flowies? 40 series are too loud for me.

 

[james t]

i will stand behind what aldive/mrboyle just said. the chip advances the timing. this REQUIRES the use of premium fuel. it is also good to change thermostat to 180 degree with a chip. IF the chip will allow enough retard to safely run 87, and it probably wont, the least you will get is stock non-chip performance. thus, if the chip did run on 87 and retatrded the timing so it wouldnt detonate, you would have no gains in performance. gotta use premium fuel...

 

[DesertSpive]

Sorry bro, you can't get something for nothing. If the chip used 87 and got more hp, it would be like that from the factory. I am running a Superchip and premium is on average .20 more a gallon here in CA, which equates to a mere $3.40 extra a fill-up based on 17 gallons. Skip McDonald's one day of the week and enjoy your new power.

--Sean

 

[Robert]

Same logic I used when I got my Superchip. The way I look at it is that it will cost me .20 a gallon of gas to use my Superchip regardless of whether the gas is running $1.30 or $2.00 a gallon. I did run a tank of 87 octane through my SOHC without any signs of pinging just to see if I could. Mine has knock sensors but I think the 5.0L do as well.