Anyone switched to 87 octane?

[Hemi395]

My experience with my truck is it pulls all kinds of timing on 87, a bit less on 89, and virtually none on 93. When timing is pulled it kills power/fuel economy so if I can afford it, my truck gets 93.

You may not hear it knocking, you may not feel a difference in performance, but the pcm is most likely pulling timing on 87/89 octane gas.

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

My experience with my truck is it pulls all kinds of timing on 87, a bit less on 89, and virtually none on 93. When timing is pulled it kills power/fuel economy so if I can afford it, my truck gets 93.

You may not hear it knocking, you may not feel a difference in performance, but the pcm is most likely pulling timing on 87/89 octane gas.

That is what I believe as well ... I tried the 89 for a year, actually on Sept 11 it will be 1 full year of using 89 on my truck ... so what are my thoughts ?

1. It definitely dropped my MPGs
2. There was noticeable power loss especially on WOT
3. Shifting through first 4 gears in town was sluggish

Even though I don't care for MPG it's nice to have those extra 2-3 MPG if all you have to do is use 91 instead of 89 ...

The power loss was quite evident especially on the highway under WOT ... with the 91 the WOT was smooth and you can feel the full power generated by the engine as a whole .... and WOT is good for engines as it can clean up any build up inside, so any chance I get on the open highway I floor it ...

Also, higher octane from what I have always been told helps your engine run cooler ... so why not use 91, just because of the high price ? lol ... I rather pay a little more now at the pump than having to dump a few thousand on an new engine later on ...

 

[Hemi395]

That is what I believe as well ... I tried the 89 for a year, actually on Sept 11 it will be 1 full year of using 89 on my truck ... so what are my thoughts ?

1. It definitely dropped my MPGs
2. There was noticeable power loss especially on WOT
3. Shifting through first 4 gears in town was sluggish

Even though I don't care for MPG it's nice to have those extra 2-3 MPG if all you have to do is use 91 instead of 89 ...

The power loss was quite evident especially on the highway under WOT ... with the 91 the WOT was smooth and you can feel the full power generated by the engine as a whole .... and WOT is good for engines as it can clean up any build up inside, so any chance I get on the open highway I floor it ...

Also, higher octane from what I have always been told helps your engine run cooler ... so why not use 91, just because of the high price ? lol ... I rather pay a little more now at the pump than having to dump a few thousand on an new engine later on ...

100% agree. I notice throttle response is a bit better and 2/3s to WOT is definitely improved. And thats because its not pulling timing. I notice the biggest difference when I'm towing. Almost 1mpg difference while towing my camper on 93 vs 89 which is huge.

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

100% agree. I notice throttle response is a bit better and 2/3s to WOT is definitely improved. And thats because its not pulling timing. I notice the biggest difference when I'm towing. Almost 1mpg difference while towing my camper on 93 vs 89 which is huge.

A bit similar with me with how this one guy explained to me that having the 37s .... almost like towing and going up hill is better to have higher octane since it's similar to towing is what I understood ....

Nevermind ...I see you are tuned ..what tune did you go with and who tuned it?

 

[Hemi395]

A bit similar with me with how this one guy explained to me that having the 37s .... almost like towing and going up hill is better to have higher octane since it's similar to towing is what I understood ....

Nevermind ...I see you are tuned ..what tune did you go with and who tuned it?

Makes sense, the bigger tires are similar to hauling weight.

Well, I'm sort of tuned lol. I got fed up with tuners not getting shift points right, shift feel, etc so I took the stock tune and messed around with shift points myself until I got it where I like it. I left all the fueling and timing tables stock since I don't have any background in tuning and I don't want to grenade my truck lol. However, even on the bone stock tune I noticed the same difference on 93 because the engine tune is essentially stock.

Sorry I should've mentioned that my "tune" is very mild and mostly trans tuning.

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

Makes sense, the bigger tires are similar to hauling weight.

Well, I'm sort of tuned lol. I got fed up with tuners not getting shift points right, shift feel, etc so I took the stock tune and messed around with shift points myself until I got it where I like it. I left all the fueling and timing tables stock since I don't have any background in tuning and I don't want to grenade my truck lol. However, even on the bone stock tune I noticed the same difference on 93 because the engine tune is essentially stock.

Sorry I should've mentioned that my "tune" is very mild and mostly trans tuning.

Nice ... the shift points is what I would like to change on my truck too .... HP or Diablo?

 

[Hemi395]

Nice ... the shift points is what I would like to change on my truck too .... HP or Diablo?

I'm using HP

 

[ramffml]

Add me to the list of guys who will swear I can notice a difference between 87 and 91. I run 89 now because of insane prices, but I will never put in 87 again after hearing the poor hemi pinging away pulling my trailer up a steep hill. 30 seconds of pure horror.

I still notice slight pinging on 89. Oddly enough, since deleting my active grill I will also swear it's pinging even less now on 89, even though my temps only dropped 4 degrees C.

Maybe the oil temps only dropped 4 degrees but the air getting inside the engine is much cooler now because the engine bay temp is far lower?? I know for a fact it only pings when the engine is hot, so it's definitely temp related in my case.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Check this video out form Reckless Motorsports USA ...Randy took some logs and found tons of knock using 87 and 89 on the 5.7 hemi .. just talked to someone about using 91 instead of 89 and 87 and he told me to check this video out ....

I will definitely be going back to 91 ... I liked how my truck felt with 91 and if I can get the 2 MPG back and avoid knock then it's a no brainer ...

87 vs 89 Ram 1500 5.7 hemi

Finally touching base on 87 vs 89 as everyone wants to fight but nobody has real information to share.

www.youtube.com

I am not going to sit through that long commercial for Jasper, but noted pretty quickly there's "upgrades" to the engine. Looks like he changed the pistons, so I'm figuring he changed the compression. If the compression is higher, of course he needs higher octane fuel to prevent pre-detonation.

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

Add me to the list of guys who will swear I can notice a difference between 87 and 91. I run 89 now because of insane prices, but I will never put in 87 again after hearing the poor hemi pinging away pulling my trailer up a steep hill. 30 seconds of pure horror.

I still notice slight pinging on 89. Oddly enough, since deleting my active grill I will also swear it's pinging even less now on 89, even though my temps only dropped 4 degrees C.

Maybe the oil temps only dropped 4 degrees but the air getting inside the engine is much cooler now because the engine bay temp is far lower?? I know for a fact it only pings when the engine is hot, so it's definitely temp related in my case.

Well higher octane gas is also supposed to help your engine's temps stay cooler ...

But there is a difference with 91 that's for sure ...

 

[Marmay]

Using 87 in my Ram for the last 3 months and no difference at all,except more $ in my packet.

 

[Hemi395]

Using 87 in my Ram for the last 3 months and no difference at all,except more $ in my packet.

We're you using a scantool to watch knock retard before 87 and while running 87?

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

We're you using a scantool to watch knock retard before 87 and while running 87?

I highly doubt he was, if not he would see the knocking logged in the data ...

 

[Hemi395]

I highly doubt he was, if not he would see the knocking logged in the data ...

Exactly my point

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

Exactly my point

I am having fun today no lie .... some people just think others are not as informed about certain brands, products, companies and individuals ... I love to sit back sometimes and just ROTFLMAO watching them post away ...then one comment is all it takes for them to think about their next post because they pretty much know they just stuck their foots in their mouths ....

 

[1979PowerWagon360]

More timing, more torque IS more power.

 

[HEMIMANN]

I think his point was it wasn't audible. How about knocking off with the smug superiority complex.

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

I think his point was it wasn't audible. How about knocking off with the smug superiority complex.

You are the one that got upset because I didn't agree with you a few posts ago homie .... now that you see that I am actually quite knowledgeable, you have basically nothing to say other than throw passive aggressive insults lol ...

But yes, my point "IS" knocking is really only detected and 100% confirmed through data logs ... I have been messing with the tuning side of cars for a very long time, not that it really matters and while I don't even consider myself a mechanic, I know a thing or two about this very subject on vehicles, I just don't go and make it obvious so that I don't come off as either condescending or patronizing ....

But if you want to take shots at me be prepared to get concrete facts or theories that are well known .... then I will drop the knowledge I have whether I hurt feelings or not ...

I know you can have civil conversations because I have seen you have them with others, but if my knowledge intimidates you that is on you .....

 

[Marmay]

We're you using a scantool to watch knock retard before 87 and while running 87?

Let's put it this way,so far so good,and the manual state,87 is acceptable for this type of engine, if some problems may occur in the future? Dont know,but I know 2 others Ram owners and they have more then 100 kms ,and all they use is 87.

 

[Randy Grant]

You are the one that got upset because I didn't agree with you a few posts ago homie .... now that you see that I am actually quite knowledgeable, you have basically nothing to say other than throw passive aggressive insults lol ...

But yes, my point "IS" knocking is really only detected and 100% confirmed through data logs ... I have been messing with the tuning side of cars for a very long time, not that it really matters and while I don't even consider myself a mechanic, I know a thing or two about this very subject on vehicles, I just don't go and make it obvious so that I don't come off as either condescending or patronizing ....

But if you want to take shots at me be prepared to get concrete facts or theories that are well known .... then I will drop the knowledge I have whether I hurt feelings or not ...

I know you can have civil conversations because I have seen you have them with others, but if my knowledge intimidates you that is on you .....

So, you have been messing with modern cars with multiple computers on board that keep everything running smoothly at, what, gigabyte speeds. But, you aren't a mchanic, and, have none of the training and/or expertise. Boy, your smart.