Idling to warm up is the worst thing you can do to your engine. Feels great for your tush and toeseis, but absolutely the wrong thing to do mechanically and economically.
High octane fuel burns slower, so it could conceivably allow some of the energy to go out the exhaust pipe as unburned hydrocarbons for the catalytic converter to eat. Unless your car has extra high compression and was specifically tuned for high test, it's a waste of money.
USE of PREMIUM FUEL IN OUR KIZASHI's
When I put 89 octane in my Kizashi, I feel about the same amount of power increase as when you add racing stripes to your car.
No improvement to mileage though.
Seriously though, when I put 89 in my Kizashi I can actually accelerate when my car is in 6th (manual mode) at highway speeds. When I have 87 in, it seems like I can floor it in 6th at about the same speed, and literally nothing happens.
I've been tempted to put 91 in my cars this holiday season (it was $2.01/gal the last time I was at QuikTrip a few days ago), but the general consensus here seems to be that premium isn't going to help significantly. So I've been sticking to 89 and saving a couple bucks every fill-up.


Seriously though, when I put 89 in my Kizashi I can actually accelerate when my car is in 6th (manual mode) at highway speeds. When I have 87 in, it seems like I can floor it in 6th at about the same speed, and literally nothing happens.
I've been tempted to put 91 in my cars this holiday season (it was $2.01/gal the last time I was at QuikTrip a few days ago), but the general consensus here seems to be that premium isn't going to help significantly. So I've been sticking to 89 and saving a couple bucks every fill-up.
My Cars (Their Names)
'93 Ford Escort (Jorge - Prior)
'06 Kia Optima EX (Sakuya - Prior)
'11 Suzuki Kizashi SE AWD (Azumi)
'09 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Base 5MT(Akari - Prior)
'11 Chevy Cruze Eco 6MT (Erika - Prior)
'12 Suzuki Kizashi Sport SLS AWD (Kitsune)
'93 Ford Escort (Jorge - Prior)
'06 Kia Optima EX (Sakuya - Prior)
'11 Suzuki Kizashi SE AWD (Azumi)
'09 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Base 5MT(Akari - Prior)
'11 Chevy Cruze Eco 6MT (Erika - Prior)
'12 Suzuki Kizashi Sport SLS AWD (Kitsune)
So I got a Chevy Cruze Eco with the 1.4L turbo in it back in mid Nov and for the last two months, I've been putting 89 octane in it. Well, due to a discount I had saved up for the past month, I was able to get Shell 91 octane V-Power for $1.61/gal. Big difference it made. On the 89 octane, the car would kind of hesitate if I tried to accelerate hard in first/second gear. Since putting in the 91, the hesitation is gone, power comes on more consistently/evenly in open throttle, and it does feel like it makes more power at all RPM's. Maybe not a lot more power, but you can feel it pull a little harder now.
Since I put this tank of 91 in the Cruze, I not quite as inclined to trade it in for another Kizashi as I was about a week ago.
Maybe I should start putting premium in Azumi too, and see if I can tell what kind of difference that makes. She has the CVT, so maybe it'd help, or maybe it wont.
Since I put this tank of 91 in the Cruze, I not quite as inclined to trade it in for another Kizashi as I was about a week ago.
Maybe I should start putting premium in Azumi too, and see if I can tell what kind of difference that makes. She has the CVT, so maybe it'd help, or maybe it wont.
My Cars (Their Names)
'93 Ford Escort (Jorge - Prior)
'06 Kia Optima EX (Sakuya - Prior)
'11 Suzuki Kizashi SE AWD (Azumi)
'09 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Base 5MT(Akari - Prior)
'11 Chevy Cruze Eco 6MT (Erika - Prior)
'12 Suzuki Kizashi Sport SLS AWD (Kitsune)
'93 Ford Escort (Jorge - Prior)
'06 Kia Optima EX (Sakuya - Prior)
'11 Suzuki Kizashi SE AWD (Azumi)
'09 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Base 5MT(Akari - Prior)
'11 Chevy Cruze Eco 6MT (Erika - Prior)
'12 Suzuki Kizashi Sport SLS AWD (Kitsune)
Premium fuel is definitely recommended for turbocharged engines and not only for performance-oriented vehicles with them. Everything from the Jeep Renegade, Nissan Juke, to your Chevy Cruze will run better on Premium fuel if they have the turbo engine. I think you'll likely see less of a performance return on a normally-aspirated engine, especially one without direct injection. My main hesitation with these kinds of small displacement turbo cars is that it's somewhat odd to get the same grade of gas as an expensive luxury or performance vehicle when it was intended to be economical. I like the idea of burning cheap Regular in non-luxury or performance vehicles so I'm somewhat wary of small turbos as being practical.KansasKid wrote:So I got a Chevy Cruze Eco with the 1.4L turbo in it back in mid Nov and for the last two months, I've been putting 89 octane in it. Well, due to a discount I had saved up for the past month, I was able to get Shell 91 octane V-Power for $1.61/gal. Big difference it made. On the 89 octane, the car would kind of hesitate if I tried to accelerate hard in first/second gear. Since putting in the 91, the hesitation is gone, power comes on more consistently/evenly in open throttle, and it does feel like it makes more power at all RPM's. Maybe not a lot more power, but you can feel it pull a little harder now.
Since I put this tank of 91 in the Cruze, I not quite as inclined to trade it in for another Kizashi as I was about a week ago.
Maybe I should start putting premium in Azumi too, and see if I can tell what kind of difference that makes. She has the CVT, so maybe it'd help, or maybe it wont.
2025 Mazda CX-50 Preferred Hybrid
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
- Speed_Racer
- Posts: 383
- Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2012 7:58 pm
- Location: Salt Lake City
All you rich kids, I run 85 in mine.
'12 Kizashi,'03 SV650,'04 DL1000
I'd always heard that turbos run best with premium. But like Kuro said, the Cruze is supposed to be "economical", so I figured it would be designed to run better on lower octane fuels.
I can't even find 85 around where I live anymore.Speed_Racer wrote:All you rich kids, I run 85 in mine.
My Cars (Their Names)
'93 Ford Escort (Jorge - Prior)
'06 Kia Optima EX (Sakuya - Prior)
'11 Suzuki Kizashi SE AWD (Azumi)
'09 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Base 5MT(Akari - Prior)
'11 Chevy Cruze Eco 6MT (Erika - Prior)
'12 Suzuki Kizashi Sport SLS AWD (Kitsune)
'93 Ford Escort (Jorge - Prior)
'06 Kia Optima EX (Sakuya - Prior)
'11 Suzuki Kizashi SE AWD (Azumi)
'09 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Base 5MT(Akari - Prior)
'11 Chevy Cruze Eco 6MT (Erika - Prior)
'12 Suzuki Kizashi Sport SLS AWD (Kitsune)