Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Mustang guy going for a Contour SVT...

Thought I would chime in here, I bought my SVT three months ago, I drove it home to AZ from New Orleans, anyways on the way back I used mostly 91-93 octane but for two fill ups i put in 87, I got about twenty miles less per tank, so in my mind it's worth the 2-3 dollars for the 91......I do have a good friend that bought a 99 SVT brand new and has run 87 from day one and hasnt had any problems with it and he has put almost 120k on it now, so it really comes down to the saying here that you have to pay to play......

Do you sincerely think that there is no beneficial gain to higher octane fuel (in a vehicle that is tuned specifically to use it)?

You also seem to state that there is NO danger in using less octane on the same vehicle, and the fear of "blowing up your engine" is not rational, nor probable. You seem to lump "no damage" in there with blowing up your engine. Just like they are one in the same.. of the same magnitude.. you just blew right over any detrimental things that COULD happen (though not completely "blow up your engine") and skip to the worst of the worst.

I'm sure you're right. Car companies are sure to make GOBS more in sales because the potential clientele will certainly purchase MORE of these vehicles because they are going to cost MORE to operate. That makes sense.. Last time I looked in to it, the way to make more money/sales was to offer a vehicle that required more money to operate. (enthusiasts aside)

Oil companies are controlling everything, right?
91+ is just a gimmick to make some CEO rich..




Ray

Just to comment...I am not a cheap (blank) that the member seemed to impose that people wanting to put 87 octane in were.

I dont seem to remember being cheap when I decided to buy this car.

The whole reason I was wondering was if you CAN put 87 in. Obviously you can, and that deteriation is speculation based on performance.

I mean, I haven't read anything up on it, and I understand the SVT is a performance car, but shouldn't you be able to put whatever the heck gas you want in it?

It's my understanding that its not the oil companies that make the $ off of higher octane gas... its the gas stations... the way that i have been told that it works (correct me if im wrong please) is that gas stations buy all of one kind of gas... all the gas that is shipped to them is, say (for example) 87. they then add in special additaves to boost up the octane rating. Kind of like those fuel additives that you can buy in any auto parts stores to add octane to your gas except on a larger scale. they mix up the 89, 91, 93 and whatever else there. either that or they buy 87 and 93 and mix them to get the 91 and 89... its one of the two... lol i've probably just confused people...

A knock sensor functions by DETECTING knocking. Therefore, detonation, or at least pre-ignition must occur before the sensor can tell the PCM to retard timing. Knocking and pinging will damage the engine over time, even if it isn't severe enough for catastrophic failure at the time.

Using below 91 octane should be viewed as a safety net, rather than a hammock. Use it when you have to, but not on a regular basis. Or engine life will be reduced, as well as catalytic convertor life.

SVT engines have 10 to 1 compression. 87 octane = stupid!
the only thing that would be saving your motor is a little thing called a knock sensor. say your sensor was bad and you were in 5th gear with the air on rolling three deep up a hill with crap gas...BOOM! engine rebuild please.