gasoline

Asked by nnp4 Oct 13, 2008 at 05:59 PM about the 2007 Chevrolet Corvette

Question type: General

I accidently put 87 unleaded in my '07 Corvette.  I've always used 93 which is required, but just "forgot" this time.  Will this affect the engine? What should i do?  thanks.

14 Answers

1,040

I don't know exactly what it's gonna do but it could likey start to knock, especially when driven hard. If you are worried about it you can siphon it out or take the tank down and dump it completely out.

3 people found this helpful.
16,755

In the US the octane ratings are often higher than stated... It is a minimum octane rating after all. So there is a possibility that you didn't even put lower than 91 octane in, but if you did it would likely go as to little or no effect. Possibly pinging abnormally high engine temperatures, but nothing that the engine can't take for atleast awhile... It's a Chevy not a Ferrari, it'll tkae some abuse and neglect without even complaining. If the engine start bucking, has trouble idling, or problems starting, I'd drain the tank and put some good gas in. But that shouldn't be an issue.

2 people found this helpful.
105

You're going to hear knocks and such, if you didn't fill up completely, fill the remainder with 93, and like every couple gallons or so fill up with 93 so the octane level starts to even out. It's not going to blow up or anything, its not like you put diesel in a gas motor.

4 people found this helpful.
315

If you're really worried, you can get your hands on some acetylene and drop few ounces in your tank - that should raise the octane rating by a few points. They also sell "octane booster" at most convenience stores, but I have some doubts as to their effectiveness.

2 people found this helpful.
35

Don't you mean acetone? acetylene is a gas, not a liquid, it is used in cutting torches.

3 people found this helpful.
315

hah, roger. Sleep deprivation wins again!!

1 people found this helpful.
2,735

You shouldnt see that much of a difference unless your ECU is tuned tightly to 93... You could always throw a bottle of NOS octane booster for the cheap fix (but i doubt thier potencey) or you could buy the more expensive Z-MAX octane booster which does boost octane quite well... A dose of it was shown to bring octane levels of 91 octane (premium gas in canada which we use in the vettes here with no problems or power loss) to 97 octane in a 60l batch of gas... so its got some bite to it... but a 07 vette should take a bit of variance in octane...

4 people found this helpful.
315

It won't affect the engine at all. The engine runs best on 91 octane, and knock sensors will retard engine performance with the lower octane fuel. No need to worry about anything. The ECU is smart enough to compensate for your error. You may se a slight dip in performance, however.

7 people found this helpful.
45

If you are really worried throw in a can of octane boost (be sure to get the kind for cars that use unleaded).

1 people found this helpful.
50,765

Years ago before computer in cars, it may ping under heavy loads, but run fine on regular driving. Nothing will happen with one tank of gas. You may have had a higher octane gas in the tank that will mix with it. If you concerned, fill up again when you get 1/4 tank gone for a few times and it will be fine. Just wash and wax your car as a form of apology to your car and it will purr really soon.

6 people found this helpful.
41,935

A HUGE marketing research study, Optimized chemical mechanism for combustion, the MIT researchers deemed AKI — and more specifically, MON — to be an outdated measure of engine performance, originally designed to apply to older, carbureted engines rather than modern, fuel-injected engines. To bring the octane rating system up to date, the team considered doing away with MON, and basing engine performance solely on RON. " Virtually nothing is gained by filling up with a premium or more expensive grade of fuel than the vehicle manufacturer has recommended, the experts say. And many of the same experts explain that drivers may not lose much performance from their cars by using a lower grade of fuel than recommended by the car manufacturer. There is little difference in energy content of regular versus premium gasoline. They both contain about 111,400 British Thermal Units of energy per gallon. The price difference, however, between the fuel grades is anywhere from 20 cents to 40 cents, depending on where you live in the United States. The experts' consensus goes against the long-held belief by thousand of drivers who fill up with premium only, or on every third or fourth trip to the pump. The idea is to fill up with premium every so often to clean out the engines or rev up the performance of older engines. But according to the experts, this practice is like tossing quarters in a wishing well, since most engines are designed to operate on relatively low-octane regular unleaded gasoline."

7 people found this helpful.
30

I own a 2005 Vette, the owners manual states 87 octane gasoline is OK -- you should use 91 Octane but 87 won't hurt your engine. I also states DO NOT use any ethanol mixed gasoline.

3 people found this helpful.

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