tts42572
Well-Known Member
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I know this has beaten to death and I apologize. But I was totally unaware of the whole premium gas issue with the 2.0 Turbo when I placed my JLUR order a few weeks ago and now I'm kinda kicking myself as I might've gotten the 3.6 had I known I'd have to deal with this. Maybe at the end of the day using premium might not be a big deal if you can get better gas mileage with the 2.0 versus the 3.6 but that might be debatable. It seems like reported MPG are all over the board but seems like generally the 2.0 does at least a couple MPG better than the 3.6 on average so maybe that helps offset some of the premium cost.
Anyways, been doing a lot of reading on how these Turbo engines work and reading threads in this forum. It seems people are all over the board with the fuel they're using. I posted a poll in another thread and seems like about 2 out of 3 people are using premium in their 2.0 T engines. But there are many who say they just use 87 and everything is peachy. But IMO, just because you don't notice anything being different doesn't mean different things aren't happening in the engine.
I know the manual says the 87 octane can be used in the engine but that 91 is recommended for optimal performance for hotter temps or when engine is taxed at all. My understanding is that when lower octane gas is used, the engine has systems that will work to compensate for the lower octane gas. But when those systems have to be put to work, your sapping resources from the engine and maybe losing some power/efficiency that may or may not be noticeable depending on what's going on.
So while the engine can run fine on 87 octane gas, it has to do some extra work to run on that gas to try and protect itself from early combustion from using that lower octane gas. If you use 91 octane gas, the engine senses it doesn't have to work so hard to protect against early combustion thereby allowing it to operate at peak performance.
Are my understandings correct?
Have these 2.0T engines been around long enough to know if they'll be fine running 87 gas for say 5-6 years and 100K miles or something? Or are you setting the engine up for some problems with more maintenance needed down the road that maybe could've been avoided by just running higher octane gas?
Obviously, nobody wants to throw money away and buy higher octane gas if it isn't needed. Determining the need is the tough part!
It seems like generally that from what I've read that Turbocharged engines generally like higher octane gas due to the way they operate. I think with all the reading I've done, my plan is to probably use premium of some sort as I plan to keep the vehicle for at least 5-6 years and maybe longer. I'd really kick myself if I skimped on 87 gas and needed a bunch of engine work 4 or 5 years down the road because knocking sensors are worn out or something. I don't want to buy this awesome vehicle for 55K or whatever and skimp on the gas I'm putting in it.
Still kicking myself a little as I probably would've gotten the 3.6 has I known this. Should've done better research I guess. But at the end of the day, it'll probably come out pretty close since the 3.6 would've cost me $1,500 more. Guess it's just a matter of spending more up front or spending more $300 a year more for gas over the next 5 years. So I guess it doesn't really matter much. I initially thought I'd be saving money with the 2.0 but guess not.
Anyways, been doing a lot of reading on how these Turbo engines work and reading threads in this forum. It seems people are all over the board with the fuel they're using. I posted a poll in another thread and seems like about 2 out of 3 people are using premium in their 2.0 T engines. But there are many who say they just use 87 and everything is peachy. But IMO, just because you don't notice anything being different doesn't mean different things aren't happening in the engine.
I know the manual says the 87 octane can be used in the engine but that 91 is recommended for optimal performance for hotter temps or when engine is taxed at all. My understanding is that when lower octane gas is used, the engine has systems that will work to compensate for the lower octane gas. But when those systems have to be put to work, your sapping resources from the engine and maybe losing some power/efficiency that may or may not be noticeable depending on what's going on.
So while the engine can run fine on 87 octane gas, it has to do some extra work to run on that gas to try and protect itself from early combustion from using that lower octane gas. If you use 91 octane gas, the engine senses it doesn't have to work so hard to protect against early combustion thereby allowing it to operate at peak performance.
Are my understandings correct?
Have these 2.0T engines been around long enough to know if they'll be fine running 87 gas for say 5-6 years and 100K miles or something? Or are you setting the engine up for some problems with more maintenance needed down the road that maybe could've been avoided by just running higher octane gas?
Obviously, nobody wants to throw money away and buy higher octane gas if it isn't needed. Determining the need is the tough part!
It seems like generally that from what I've read that Turbocharged engines generally like higher octane gas due to the way they operate. I think with all the reading I've done, my plan is to probably use premium of some sort as I plan to keep the vehicle for at least 5-6 years and maybe longer. I'd really kick myself if I skimped on 87 gas and needed a bunch of engine work 4 or 5 years down the road because knocking sensors are worn out or something. I don't want to buy this awesome vehicle for 55K or whatever and skimp on the gas I'm putting in it.
Still kicking myself a little as I probably would've gotten the 3.6 has I known this. Should've done better research I guess. But at the end of the day, it'll probably come out pretty close since the 3.6 would've cost me $1,500 more. Guess it's just a matter of spending more up front or spending more $300 a year more for gas over the next 5 years. So I guess it doesn't really matter much. I initially thought I'd be saving money with the 2.0 but guess not.
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