[sky_line]

IT SAYS THAT YOU CAN USE REGULAR UNLEADED IN THIS CAR....I'M NOT SO SURE ABOUT THAT....WHAT DO YOU THINK....REGULAR OR PREMIUM....WE JUST BOUGHT THE2006 ION. MY WIFEY WENT TO THE WORKSHOP AND THEY TOLD HER TO MIX IT UP...REGULAR THEN MID-GRADE, THEN REGULAR... :willy:

 

[sky_vue]

Most manufacturers tell you their cars will "run on" regular.. I have always opted to go 1 grade above recomended. Helps with performance, makes it less likely for the engine to knock and what not.

Humbly.

 

[marklynn70]

Premium makes your car happy. You wouldn't drink anything less than the best so you shouldn't deprive your SKY of the same.

 

[sky_vue]

The only thing I would suggest is ask the mechanic (not the service rep). Been running my engine on the mid-grade forever. At first however I was using premium. After talking to the mechanic I was told this is sometimes not a good idea. His reason was that since the cars are tuned to run on crappy, you place premium and could end up getting carbon deposits that would over time suck the life out of your car.

I'm sure you could run the 93 oct (or 104 if you can find it) but it may require reprogramming the computer.

It's a thought. Welcome others.

 

[marklynn70]

93 Oct is the best I can get in my area. From there it starts the drastic downward spiral. I do concur you should get better information from your dealers mechanic. The only problem I see initially is that this will be new to him as well.

 

[sky_vue]

:willy: Doh, true true .. however the power plant will not be new, so perhaps the ion as a surrogate would provide enough information to make an informed decision on the part of the mechanic.

 

[marklynn70]

:lol: Maybe the owners manual will shine some light on the subject. I just can't seem to find mine. :lol:

 

[LS2 MN6]

What octane to run is very simple. Octane is the ability to prevent knock. If your engine is not knocking you are using the correct octane. The only reason you would use higher octane gas is if you did reprogram the ECU to run the engine harded thus creating knock and then requiring you to use higher octane to prevent that knock. This is what is done, on the fly, by Turbo Toys in the SRT-4.

 

[GMinTheDriveway]

The 2.4L ECOTEC in the SKY is the same one in the "Enhanced Performance" package on the 2006 ION. Unleaded regular 87 Octane recommended

Whatever the forced induction version engine whether it be 2.0, 2.2 or 2.4 doesn't matter, they will all be "Premium Unleaded recommended (but not required) 91 Octane or higher"

 

[brentil]

What octane to run is very simple. Octane is the ability to prevent knock. If your engine is not knocking you are using the correct octane. The only reason you would use higher octane gas is if you did reprogram the ECU to run the engine harded thus creating knock and then requiring you to use higher octane to prevent that knock. This is what is done, on the fly, by Turbo Toys in the SRT-4.

Yeah the Turbo Toys has a nice little button for 100 octane fuel.
For those who don't know higher Octane fuel has the ability to prevent knock because the higher the octane the higher its resistance to initial combustion. You can compress it higher at a higher temp before it explodes. Which is why a lot of high CR and [*]charged engines require it because of the very high levels of pressure required to get those levels of power.

It is not official yet, but the Sky might use 87 base instead of 91+ octane like the Solstice. We wont know till GM releases that bit of info officially. The Solstice can run on 87 or 91+ but reommends 91+ to prevent knock because it is a higher compression ratio engine (10.4:1). However the G6/Cobalt SS/ION/HHR (167HP/171HP/170HP/172HP) use 87 octane, so my guess would be a 170HP Sky would as well.

 

[KappaMan]

What octane to run is very simple. Octane is the ability to prevent knock. If your engine is not knocking you are using the correct octane. The only reason you would use higher octane gas is if you did reprogram the ECU to run the engine harded thus creating knock and then requiring you to use higher octane to prevent that knock. This is what is done, on the fly, by Turbo Toys in the SRT-4.

Except on many of today's engines, you'll never know if you knock - the engines will prevent knock by retarding timing automatically, and the only indicator is the loss of horsepower.

 

[swatthefly]

even that loss of horsepower wont be too much and it probably wont be noticable to anyone who isnt driving this car hard.

 

[swatthefly]

It is not official yet, but the Sky might use 87 base instead of 91+ octane like the Solstice. We wont know till GM releases that bit of info officially. The Solstice can run on 87 or 91+ but reommends 91+ to prevent knock because it is a higher compression ratio engine (10.4:1). However the G6/Cobalt SS/ION/HHR (167HP/171HP/170HP/172HP) use 87 octane, so my guess would be a 170HP Sky would as well.

waiiit a second... i missed that my first time through. the sky has a different compression ratio than the sol? well that would explain a few mysteries, but it creates more. maybe thats why the HP diff between the kappas?

 

[Skymaster]

My thought would be that Saturn would require 87 octane for the baseline Sky, 91 for RL version for reasons stated above. It would seem the 91 would be the best choice if you want to get the most out of the RL engine.

Just a thought ...

 

[brentil]

waiiit a second... i missed that my first time through. the sky has a different compression ratio than the sol? well that would explain a few mysteries, but it creates more. maybe thats why the HP diff between the kappas?

I believe they're the same. I just think it's tuned for higher ammounts of fuel and air ratios in at one time.

 

[swatthefly]

I believe they're the same. I just think it's tuned for higher ammounts of fuel and air ratios in at one time.

well i figured that much, but i guess i didnt even think about the compression ratio being related to that. back to the FAQ's for me.

 

[marklynn70]

It will be very interesting to see what the SKY can do horse power and rear wheel tourqe based on this new information.

 

[LS2 MN6]

It will be very interesting to see what the SKY can do horse power and rear wheel tourqe based on this new information.

What will be great is when some yahoo figures out what the maximum is for the stock components and retimes the system via the ECU (and then maybe swaps a cam on top of that).

 

[marklynn70]

That doesn't sound like it will be an easy task but a good idea none the less. :cheers:

 

[Fformula88]

IT SAYS THAT YOU CAN USE REGULAR UNLEADED IN THIS CAR....I'M NOT SO SURE ABOUT THAT....WHAT DO YOU THINK....REGULAR OR PREMIUM....WE JUST BOUGHT THE2006 ION. MY WIFEY WENT TO THE WORKSHOP AND THEY TOLD HER TO MIX IT UP...REGULAR THEN MID-GRADE, THEN REGULAR... :willy:

That sounds crazy. The computer has to learn what octane your running, and when you change it generally takes a few tank fulls for it to re-learn the new octane. By constantly switching grades, the computer cannot be running optimally.

even that loss of horsepower wont be too much and it probably wont be noticable to anyone who isnt driving this car hard.

I have seen estimates from different sources on different cars that indicate the loss of HP from using 87 octane when 91+ is recommended can range from 2% to more than 15%. 2% would be insignificant, but I would think 15% would be noticeable. Heck, I notice the HP loss when I run my AC, even in normal, easy driving.