No I dont.

 

I use 87 octane of whatever brand is cheaper. I will also drive till the light comes on for me to fill up. I used to run the highest octane from Shell when I first got it. But heard that there really is not a gain to it, so I just went back to 87 octane. I also always run those Gumout addictives every fillup and oil change, which helps a bit.

 

Using whatever fuel you want is fine. But running it low all of the time is bad for the fuel pump. Our cars actually use fuel to cool the pump, so if you run it low a lot, it has a higher rate of overheating and failing.

 

Yeah no gain from the higher octane, just delays the combustion a bit, so you get more fuel into the cylinder before it ignites. And really only high performance engines can get any real advantage from this.

It's not really wise to run your car until the low fuel ight comes on. This will lead to a premature and costly fuel pump failure. Reason being the intank fuel pumps we have relies on the surrounding gasoilne to keep the fuel pump cool. So the more it heats up, the quicker the component will fail from all the excessive heat. So keep at least a 1/4 tank in her.

Excerpts from an article I read:

■High Octane is used to reduce engine knocking sound - Knocking in engines take place when pressures developed inside cylinder is very high. It is quite normal for an engine to knock slightly when the driver goes full throttle, but regular knocking could cause severe harm to your engine.

■Higher octane gasoline delivers more engine power - Absolutely not. Higher octane fuel are not designed to give more power. Many people have taken this for granted.

■High octane is used ONLY if the manufacturer recommends it. Typically all cars are designed to run perfectly on regular 87 octane petrol. Higher octane is used for expensive luxurious cars. According to the analysis conducted by the experts & analysts at Automobile Association of America (AAA) only 5% of vehicles sold in America require premium gasoline only. However if we compare the figure required with figure generated, 20% of fuel sold in the US is premium gasoline i.e. high octane.

Regular usage of high octane could lead to the development of carbon deposits on engine valves causing damage and hindering performance.

 

So, from your whole write-up there Greg, that introduces a question from myself: should I be running 93 octane in the Cruze (1.4L Turbo) even though I'm seeing a decent mileage increase by doing so? I've asked this questing to multiple people. I know some cars specifically say NOT to run higher octane fuel. The Cruze manual states to "use regular unleaded gasoline with a posted octane rating of 87 or higher". It does mention running higher octane if there is knocking; not my case. I've seen guys with the Cruze ECO running premium and getting insane mileage numbers; like 'up to' 60mpg. Granted, that's the ECO, but still.

 

If the compression ratio of the engine is above 11:1 I would run it. If not and the manual says 87 is fine, stick with the 87 if your wallet prefers it.

Most newer cars have 2 different fueling tables for high and low octane if the car can "run both kinds"

 

From everything I know with my previous vehicles I did not see an increase in mileage. Which lead me to research on the net other users and professionals opinions. And the general concensus is use of a higher octane gas will not give you better mileage. These newer turbo engines such as yours I would bet have already been optimized to peak performance with the manufacturer rated low octane fuel. Guess you have a quest ahead of you, log book, calculator and a couple months of consistent driving habits. be interesting to see your final determination.

Excerpts from an article:

Unfortunately many car owners have a firm belief that higher octane fuel improves car mileage and performance. To cut the long story short, higher octane neither improves mileage, nor acceleration. If you want to save on your motoring costs, then instead of going for high octane, use regular petrol. Typically High octane is sold at a price higher in the range of 10% to 14% than regular petrol. High octane is just a cleaner version of regular unleaded petrol and has nothing to do with performance. Regular petrol in the USA has an octane rating of 87, whereas high octane has a rating in between 88 and 100. As a result switching from lower octane to higher octane would not result in improved mileage.

 

I can say the mileage has been steadily improving since I started running 93, however that was right in the window gas stations have to switch to their "summer fuel" and I've also done quite a few long highway trips in the past two months. That said, I can't say for sure that I'm 100% confident in the improvements. My average for my usual driving before switching was about 27-28mpg; after, for the same type of driving, it was 28-29. Last tank I just ran was my best: 35.6mpg (about 95% highway).

I'll have to do some more researching and digging. Living in the Detroit area, it'd be nice to talk directly with an engineer that worked/works on the 1.4L ECOTEC Turbo. One of my neighbors works for GM so that'd be a good start. Maybe he can point me in the right direction.

 

I run 93 in all my cars.The monte needs it with the cam/compression I run.The truck just seems to be happier with it.No real mpg/power difference just a smoother idle/rev.
The is high octane better arguement has been going on forever.A lot says no difference in mpg/power an theres a few that says there is.I've had cars that 93 made a big difference with an some that it really didn't make any difference with.I found it's all in what the car likes with what you've don''t to it an how you drive it.But thats just what i've seen

 

As of 6/24/2013 @ 3:30 pm the lowest gas prices in the Toledo, Ohio is at the Maumee Speedway location

Unleaded $2.94
Plus $3.04
Premium $3.14