Regular gas in WRX

[Chris Phillipo]

TOTAL CROCK OF BS!!!!! No carmaker would sell an engine that will be
damaged by regular gas. Otherwise their warranty claims would be
unbelievable. Yes the performance MAY suffer slightly but not enough
for most people to notice. Case in point- 2001 VW Passat 1.8 T.
"Requires " premium but has used only 87 octane for 125000 miles. Many
problems with vehicle due to VW "quality" but none that could be
attributed to lower octane. Run whatever gas you want.

If you put the wrong gas in your car and wreck the engine then there
will be no warranty claim. New car warranties do not cover stupidity.

 

[GW De Lacey]

TOTAL CROCK OF BS!!!!! No carmaker would sell an engine that will be
damaged by regular gas. Otherwise their warranty claims would be
unbelievable. Yes the performance MAY suffer slightly but not enough
for most people to notice. Case in point- 2001 VW Passat 1.8 T.
"Requires " premium but has used only 87 octane for 125000 miles. Many
problems with vehicle due to VW "quality" but none that could be
attributed to lower octane. Run whatever gas you want.

Do not believe a single word in the above paragraph. Serious damage in
the most likely outcome resulting from use of the incorrect fuel. If
your engine is designed to be run on 98 RON, and it becomes damaged
through use of the incorrect fuel, chances are that your warrantee
will become void.

I sometimes wonder what tree morons like this fall from.

 

[FNO]

If you put the wrong gas in your car and wreck the engine then there
will be no warranty claim. New car warranties do not cover stupidity.

Very true. The owners manual specifically states what type of fuel should
be used in the car. For the WRX, it is 91 min, with 89 to be used in an
emergency. However, it also states that prolonged use of fuel less than the
recommended octane can result in severe engine damage.

If the engine grenades, the technician can read the ECU values. It will
tell them whether the ignition was retarded to the danger point, and what
boost level the automatic BOV was at, as well as a variety of other
parameters. If any of them are outside the 'recommended', there is no
warranty.

And yes, manufacturers WILL produce an engine that can be damaged by regular
gas. It is called 'a performance engine'.

 

[FNO]

Dan <(e-mail address removed)> wrote in message


TOTAL CROCK OF BS!!!!! No carmaker would sell an engine that will be
damaged by regular gas. Otherwise their warranty claims would be
unbelievable. Yes the performance MAY suffer slightly but not enough
for most people to notice. Case in point- 2001 VW Passat 1.8 T.
"Requires " premium but has used only 87 octane for 125000 miles. Many
problems with vehicle due to VW "quality" but none that could be
attributed to lower octane. Run whatever gas you want.

What a stupid statement. That's like saying that if I run Mazolla corn oil
in the car until it seizes, that the manufacturer will have to replace the
engine. After all, no manufacturer would produce an engine that will be
damaged by Mazolla corn oil, would they?

Performance WILL (not MAY) suffer, and there are plenty of research numbers
to tell you by how much. For the STi, a 2-point octane drop below the
recommended 93 results in the loss of some 35 HP and 30 lb-ft of torque.
That is a 10% loss. Assuming the WRX is similar, it would DEFINITELY be
noticeable; not to mention the crappy gas mileage from highly retarded
ignition. You got lucky with the Passat. In addition, since VW has a great
reputation for quality, how do you know that not following the
manufacturer's recommendations were not the cause of the 'quality problems';
after all, if you are burning regular gas in the thing, what other
manufacturer's recommendations are you ignoring?

 

[busterb]

..

What a stupid statement. That's like saying that if I run Mazolla corn oil
in the car until it seizes, that the manufacturer will have to replace the
engine. After all, no manufacturer would produce an engine that will be
damaged by Mazolla corn oil, would they?

Performance WILL (not MAY) suffer, and there are plenty of research numbers
to tell you by how much. For the STi, a 2-point octane drop below the
recommended 93 results in the loss of some 35 HP and 30 lb-ft of torque.
That is a 10% loss. Assuming the WRX is similar, it would DEFINITELY be
noticeable; not to mention the crappy gas mileage from highly retarded
ignition. You got lucky with the Passat. In addition, since VW has a great
reputation for quality, how do you know that not following the
manufacturer's recommendations were not the cause of the 'quality problems';
after all, if you are burning regular gas in the thing, what other
manufacturer's recommendations are you ignoring?

Let's see the problems with the Passat: oil pump, camshafts, water
leak from cabin air filter causing death of trans control computer and
ruined carpets,
multiple sensors failing. This was a vehicle made in Germany- I feel
for the suckers buying vw's made in mexico. You are free to pay more
at the pump. I personally would never buy a vehicle that requires
premium fuel but to each his own.

 

[FNO]

.


Let's see the problems with the Passat: oil pump, camshafts, water
leak from cabin air filter causing death of trans control computer and
ruined carpets,
multiple sensors failing. This was a vehicle made in Germany- I feel
for the suckers buying vw's made in mexico. You are free to pay more
at the pump. I personally would never buy a vehicle that requires
premium fuel but to each his own.

That's fine. Then you probably shouldn't buy a performance vehicle. But to
suggest it is safe to run lower octane fuel in one, is rediculous.

 

[Ignignokt]

You are free to pay more at the pump.

And at the dealership. And at the maintenance shop. And to your insurance
company. There are lots of cost variables associated with each different
vehicle. But it's just a little bit hypocritical to condemn the spending of
more money at the pump when you, in fact, already own a car that required
you to spend more money at the dealership. There are lots of cars out there
that would have been cheaper at the dealer than your Passat. You elected to
spend more because you wanted to get more. For some of us, this concept
follows us to the gas pump. Just because you're too cheap to give your
vehicles their proper care and feeding doesn't mean that we should *all* be
so cheap.

I personally would never buy a vehicle that requires premium fuel

You mean a vehicle like a 2001 VW Passat with a 1.8 L turbo engine in it?
Perhaps you meant to write "I personally would never buy premium fuel for my
cars that require it." Because you obviously *did* "buy a vehicle that
requires premium fuel." Moron.

but to each his own.

Indeed. And thank goodness for that.


- Greg Reed