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Premium Gas?

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Old 12-30-2010, 12:52 PM
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Premium Gas?

I know premium gas is recommended for the rx-8, but is the mid grade acceptable as well?

And yes, thinking this would be an already-covered topic, I did a search but it yielded no relevant results!
Old 12-30-2010, 12:58 PM
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use it and tell us how you feel.
I think the engineers decided premium for a reason.
Old 12-30-2010, 01:45 PM
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it will work most of the time.
Old 12-30-2010, 01:54 PM
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been discussed for many times before, thing is... wt's the point?
Old 12-30-2010, 02:02 PM
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ive been using it for about a month now. i didn't really notice a difference. however, I installed a K&N cool air intake last week and forgot to reset my computer, so my engine started acting funny. Lost a lot of fuel mileage, and once the engine had been running a while, it would make a weird sound and have power loss in 2nd/3rd/4th gear anywhere over about 5k rpm. Seems better after I did a reset though.

Anyone else know if mid grade gas is okay to use?
Old 12-30-2010, 02:07 PM
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Originally Posted by dezau
been discussed for many times before, thing is... wt's the point?
The point is, is it going to damage my engine or decrease performance? I don't understand your statement.
Old 12-30-2010, 02:20 PM
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Let's just say, it could. The apex seals are susceptible to damage from pre-ignition. There is a knock sensor, that will retard the timing. But, it's been said that it isn't sensitive enough. Once the PCM gets the input from the knock sensor and retards the timing, it shouldn't be a problem.

As for performance, the retarding of the timing would cause it to decrease.

I tend to run Mid-Grade (89 octane) in the winter and Premium (93) in the summer. My RX7 race car ran best on Regular (87), but that engine didn't have the compression of the Renesis.
Old 12-30-2010, 02:28 PM
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Originally Posted by tommy_ed
The point is, is it going to damage my engine or decrease performance? I don't understand your statement.
what K&N intake you using? the Typhoon? its not even a CAI, and it reduces performance as well.
Old 12-30-2010, 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted by jasonrxeight
what K&N intake you using? the Typhoon? its not even a CAI, and it reduces performance as well.
yea, it's the typhoon. it reduces performance? why would anyone want one? lol
Old 12-30-2010, 02:42 PM
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Originally Posted by tommy_ed
yea, it's the typhoon. it reduces performance? why would anyone want one? lol
because they(or more likely hoping their friends will) think it look/sounds c00l. and because obviously it isnt advertised quite honestly....(which happens to be a big reason i think many of our forum's parts pushers arent worth the air they breathe. they knowingly pass on false/shady claims to fill their purse)

Last edited by paulmasoner; 12-30-2010 at 02:45 PM.
Old 12-30-2010, 02:47 PM
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Originally Posted by tommy_ed
The point is, is it going to damage my engine or decrease performance? I don't understand your statement.
i mean why are you tryin to put mid grade gas in the car? to save money? lol
Old 12-30-2010, 02:52 PM
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I don't remember seeing that intake installed on a car outside of pictures. From what I've read, it draws as much hot air from the engine as it does cold air from the outside. The frame lacks a way to seal out the engine air. Of course warm intake air is more susceptible to pre-ignition.
Old 12-30-2010, 03:02 PM
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Welcome to the addiction


Originally Posted by jasonrxeight
what K&N intake you using? the Typhoon? its not even a CAI, and it reduces performance as well.
Yep. Documented. Search. but honestly just looking at it will tell you it is not really a cold air intake.

Originally Posted by tommy_ed
yea, it's the typhoon. it reduces performance? why would anyone want one? lol
Yes. And a lot of people (you) just mod for the sake of modding without doing any research what so ever.

Originally Posted by alnielsen
I don't remember seeing that intake installed on a car outside of pictures. From what I've read, it draws as much hot air from the engine as it does cold air from the outside. The frame lacks a way to seal out the engine air. Of course warm intake air is more susceptible to pre-ignition.
What he said.


As for your original question, well that question has been answered in this forum abagillion times.
Old 12-30-2010, 03:07 PM
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yea as a matter of fact there are a couple down at the end of the page "Similar Threads" lol
Old 12-30-2010, 03:36 PM
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not sure why I'm getting so much hostility? This is my first rotary engine, and I still have a lot to learn. You were all new to the rx-8 at one point.

My dad got me the intake used for christmas, I didn't think I needed to research whether an intake would REDUCE performance, I would have never thought they would even sell one that did. But, like I said, I have a lot to learn.

As for the gas issue, yes, I want to save money, that's why. What other reason would I possibly have for wanting to use the lower grade? And as I stated in the original post, I did a search and none of those came up. In fact nothing close to the OP came up. Click search and type in "premium gas".

The next time someone new comes to the forum and needs help, try not to be so arrogant, it just makes you and the forum look bad. And no, that comment is not directed towards everyone. To those who actually helped, thanks.
Old 12-30-2010, 03:47 PM
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Originally Posted by tommy_ed
not sure why I'm getting so much hostility?
There we are, now you are officially and properly welcomed lol

Dont take it personal, you actually got very mild responses overall compared to others. Its just the way of things. We all asked questions that had been answered a thousand times before. We are n00b, we get flamed, we learn a little, but we still all are n00b sometimes.

FWIW if you wanna read a little more on gas, here are about 10 threads on it that were found in a single search for "premium gas" restricting the results to just those with the key words in the title of the thread...

https://www.rx8club.com/search.php?searchid=6825094
I did a search and none of those came up. In fact nothing close to the OP came up
ROFL
Old 12-30-2010, 03:50 PM
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Coarse, Rough, yes. Hostile, I wouldn't consider it that. If it were, I would start editing/deleting posts. Some of the people around here get impatient with others, especially noobs, that don't search for answers. I never got this treatment. When I first visited the site I read 9 months worth of posts before I even got a login. Then I had access to more areas to read. I think you could count on your hands the number of my post in my first 6 months of this site.
As for the intake, I think you got caught in hard place with it being a gift from your father. You had to put it on out of respect. Wait a while, mod the stock air box (there is a DIY) and put that back on.
Old 12-30-2010, 03:54 PM
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The 5 similar threads at the bottom of this post all have "premium gas" in their title, I am thinking you didn't search correctly. Choose all forums and I usually go for titles only when I search.
Old 12-30-2010, 04:03 PM
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Okay seriously. I searched. Go back and read the first post where I mention this. Maybe it has something to do with the strangely complicated search method with 20 different options. I chose "premium gas", clicked search and it took me to another menu with a bunch of other options. I saw an option for "all forums" and figured that was the way to go, so I clicked search. It's not my fault I didn't know to search a special way.

It seems counter-productive to me to berate an individual for not being able to properly operate the search method rather than just responding with useful input. If it's such a huge concern (which it seems to be), maybe you should make a sticky called "proper search protocol"

Ugggghhhhhhh. There is about a 1:4 ratio of useful vs. useless responses in this thread. 1 representing useful. That's sad. And to say that this is normal is equally sad. On the other forum I'm on, we try to welcome new members who don't know their way around yet. Not push them away with arrogance. Thanks again for the USEFUL responses, I'll be removing the intake this weekend.
Old 12-30-2010, 04:18 PM
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Originally Posted by tommy_ed
not sure why I'm getting so much hostility? This is my first rotary engine, and I still have a lot to learn. You were all new to the rx-8 at one point.

My dad got me the intake used for christmas, I didn't think I needed to research whether an intake would REDUCE performance, I would have never thought they would even sell one that did. But, like I said, I have a lot to learn.

As for the gas issue, yes, I want to save money, that's why. What other reason would I possibly have for wanting to use the lower grade? And as I stated in the original post, I did a search and none of those came up. In fact nothing close to the OP came up. Click search and type in "premium gas".

The next time someone new comes to the forum and needs help, try not to be so arrogant, it just makes you and the forum look bad. And no, that comment is not directed towards everyone. To those who actually helped, thanks.
I hope I didn't come off as hostile. Some days we are very nice and helpful to noobs and some days noobs get flamed to death. Just keep in mind before you post that if you are going to ask a question, chances are it has been asked and answered before. It just gets annoying when people come on everyday and ask the same question, over and over. Especially when we have a FAQ section and stickied threads.

Happy motoring!
Old 12-30-2010, 04:19 PM
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It's a same that a normally fine company like K&N would produce something like this. There are many that don't care and are successfully using that intake.
Old 12-30-2010, 04:19 PM
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Originally Posted by tommy_ed
maybe you should make a sticky called "proper search protocol"
ask and you shall recieve: DIY: how to use the search function of the rx8club.com forum

rofl, too bad its not really a sticky though. seriously, we can be harsh sometimes. sometimes even worse. blow it off, dont take it personal. this is probably the best single online source of good information and knowledgable folks for this car, so you'll really wanna stick around
Old 12-30-2010, 04:23 PM
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Originally Posted by tommy_ed
Okay seriously. I searched. Go back and read the first post where I mention this. Maybe it has something to do with the strangely complicated search method with 20 different options. I chose "premium gas", clicked search and it took me to another menu with a bunch of other options. I saw an option for "all forums" and figured that was the way to go, so I clicked search. It's not my fault I didn't know to search a special way.

It seems counter-productive to me to berate an individual for not being able to properly operate the search method rather than just responding with useful input. If it's such a huge concern (which it seems to be), maybe you should make a sticky called "proper search protocol"

Ugggghhhhhhh. There is about a 1:4 ratio of useful vs. useless responses in this thread. 1 representing useful. That's sad. And to say that this is normal is equally sad. On the other forum I'm on, we try to welcome new members who don't know their way around yet. Not push them away with arrogance. Thanks again for the USEFUL responses, I'll be removing the intake this weekend.

Here's something useful: If you're looking to save ~$1.50 in every tank of fuel by using a different and lesser fuel grade, then you bought the wrong car.
Old 12-30-2010, 04:23 PM
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Originally Posted by paulmasoner
ask and you shall recieve: DIY: how to use the search function of the rx8club.com forum

rofl, too bad its not really a sticky though. seriously, we can be harsh sometimes. sometimes even worse. blow it off, dont take it personal. this is probably the best single online source of good information and knowledgable folks for this car, so you'll really wanna stick around
I just stickied that thread, tho I don't necessarily think it belongs as in the Tech threads.

Originally Posted by soya
Here's something useful: If you're looking to save ~$1.50 in every tank of fuel by using a different and lesser fuel grade, then you bought the wrong car.
As I pointed out earlier, I made more power in my RX7 with regular, than with higher octane fuels. There also may be a time/location when premium isn't available so the car has to be able to run on a lower octane. The west coast premium is rated at 91 octane. 89 isn't that different.
Old 12-30-2010, 04:32 PM
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Originally Posted by tommy_ed
ive been using it for about a month now. i didn't really notice a difference. however, I installed a K&N cool air intake last week and forgot to reset my computer, so my engine started acting funny. Lost a lot of fuel mileage, and once the engine had been running a while, it would make a weird sound and have power loss in 2nd/3rd/4th gear anywhere over about 5k rpm. Seems better after I did a reset though.

Anyone else know if mid grade gas is okay to use?
I just got a new exhaust and now I'm hearing a funny noise too. Should I rest the computer? And if so, how??


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