High octane gas on ELANTRA

Since the model has a automatic timing adjuster, can 2000 ELANTRA adjust
to the higher octane (higher advance) gasoline and make full use of
it, or it is only a waste of money.
BMW, for example, will adjust fire timing according to the octane
rating, hence with higher octane gasoline (more cost) you will get more
mileage.
I contacted Hyundai manufacturer and some local reps, yet nobody was
able to answer it. I tried this to test myself, but is very hard to
figure out without very precise measurements.

 

The manual for my 04 Sonata specifically said not to use Premium Fuel.

So I am guessing it is a waste of money.

 

Not only is it a waste of money, but it will cause carbon buildup in the
engine over time. So basically, you're paying more to ruin your engine.

 

I was told that higher octane fuels have higher amount cleaning
additives to prevent this. And lover sulfur contamination, the most
destructive part. True, if the engine is not running at the correct
temperature, it will increase deposits. Some mechanics wrote, if you
would like to make 1/2 mil km on the same engine, you must use premium
gasoline. (Mercedes mechanic).

So, ELANTRA has the automatic timing build in, but it is limited to
regular gasoline only, so the engine will fail (cannot use higher
quality fuels) just as any regular car, it that the notion here? (We do
not want to compete with Mecry after all .

All EU high end cars use only higher octane gasolines.

 

That's utter nonsense if you try to apply it to all engines. Perhaps
Mercedes engines require premium fuel and if they do, you should use it.
Frankly, this sounds like VERY OLD information (50's or '60's perhaps?),
probably from an old mechanic.

No, that's just nonsense based on faulty information.

The problem is that higher octane fuels burn more slowly than lower
octane fuels. When you use high octane fuel in an engine designed for
lower octane, it doesn't burn completely and it creates deposits. As for
additive packages, there is little or no difference anymore between fuel
grades, so there's no advantage there. All modern fuels will keep your
engine clean, providing you're using the correct fuel to begin with. I
don't believe there's any difference in sulfur content either, as it's a
regulated pollutant (sulfur dioxide). Sulfur is more of an issue in
diesel fuels.

The computer controlled ignition timing is there to prevent knocking,
pinging and detonation in the event that poor quality fuel with a lower
than recommended octane rating is used. It does so by retarding the
timing. It will not advance the timing beyond its normal parameters if
high octane fuel is used, so there is no benefit. If you really WANT to
pay the extra money for premium fuel, you can have your ECU
re-programmed to advance the timing more and gain some horsepower in the
process, but you'll void your engine warranty. The BSEPowerchip does
this: http://www.hyundaiaccessorystore.com/Hyundai_Tiburon_Powerchip.html

The chips for the 2.0L Tiburon work in the Elantra (same engine).

That's irrelevant. If the engines are designed for premium fuel, use it.
If not, use what the manufacturer recommends. In Hyundai's case, that
means 87 octane regular unleaded.

 

There is a separate page for Elantra Powerchips:

http://www.hyundaiaccessorystore.com/Hyundai_Elantra_Powerchip.html

 

The additive part was true two decades ago, but not anymore. The
statement the mechanic made is not true for all engines. It may be true
for high compression engines that really need the higher octane to avoid
detontation, but it certainly isn't true for engines designed for 87 octane.


Matt

 

"The additive part was true two decades ago, but not anymore."
CHEVRON gas station claim that premium gas have "more" Techlorin than a
regular gasoline. It this claim untrue?

Also, higher octane gasoline presents a less sulfur content due to
higher fuels (More expensive as Pentane, Hectane, Octane, alcohol etc.
All additives to increase octane ratings). This itself would increase
the engine life span. (Mechanic comment) Regular benzene (87)is an
inferior fuel by a comparison. Unfortunately, Hyundai does not utilize
this option due to the low cost targeted market. Your power and the
lifespan of the engine would be determent then by an octane rating, not
by the manufacturer.
I prefer options...............

 

I rarely buy Chevron gasoline, but I've never seen this claim at a
Chevron station. They claim their gasolines with Techron (never heard
of Techlorin) clean better than other brands of gasoline, but I've not
seen a claim of their premium having more Techron than their regular.
However, this wouldn't surprise me because, as someone else posted
earlier, high octane gasolines are more prone to cause combustion
chamber deposits so it only makes sense that Chevron would add more
Techron to help mitigate this problem.

Personally, I prefer good information more than options. You are
getting bad information. Don't take my word for it. Search around on
your own. The information is plentiful. Here's just one sample I found
in less than 5 seconds.

http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aabyb100401.htm

 

I have searched for years and found nothing, more articles just like the
link above. All abstract talk, no formulas, no real manufacturers. It
does not even address the sulfur contaminants, or describe who really
make a good low octane gasoline. (No, there are not all the same). All
talks we all already know. Rule of thumb, a good information do not come
from the Internet, but from the mechanic who fix the car every day. And
he got no time to write about it, because he is fixing it.
Of course, the exception is the "HYUDNAI mechanic" helping us here.

For example, please help me to find which gasoline manufacturer has the
lowest and which highest sulfur content? The real engine and
environmental killer.

 

In my area, nearly all the assorted national and local gasoline chains
pull their fuel from the exact same tank farm. The fuel comes in from
ONE pipeline. If there was any difference at the refinery, it's become
generic gasoline by the time it reaches the tanks.

Chevron, BP, Quik Trip, Phillips 66, Sams Club/Walmart, Costco, and
countless others all pull gas from the same place. I see the trucks
every day. The ONLY difference is the name on the side of the tanker
truck, which sometimes have no names at all just to keep it
interesting.

Some of these trucks carry their load to other terminals where it gets
put into tanks again, remixed with other tanker loads, and sent out
again sometimes in brand-name trucks, which have absolutely nothing to
do with the brand of fuel inside. It's just generic gasoline.

Given that the fuel is more or less the same, I pay little attention to
price (some people obsess about saving 10 cents a fill. A dime is not
worth a bother imo) and pay MUCH more attention to whether the gas
station maintains their pumps and tanks, whether they seem to actively
worry about water seeping in, whether the apron is filthy or not, and
so on.

The fuel can be 5-star perfect name brand ultra octane stuff but it's
going to be worthless junk if it's full of water because some fleabag
gas station couldn't be bothered to monitor their quality. Given how
little stations make selling gas, quality is often the last thing they
worry about.

Drivers also sabotage themselves by letting their cars run down to near
empty before refilling. Super fuel is not going to help with that
either.

 

The sulfur content has more to do with the crude than the brand. Since all
the refineries take from different wells at different times, it is not
possible to say a particular brand is exactly the same nation wide. Aside
from that, the gas in the tank is not always from the refinery whose name is
on the sign.

A very few people say they can tell the difference, but I never cold. Over
the years, I may have had a tank or two that did not seem up to snuff, but
going back to the same station a couple of weeks later, no problem. I buy
where it is convenient and the price reasonable. Not worth driving 20 miles
to save two cents a gallon.

 

You can believe whomever you choose. If you believe a mechanic knows
more about gasoline chemistry and engine combustion than the chemists
and engineers, that is your call.

It is becoming more apparent that your real mission here is to make a
political statement about sulphur content of gasolines than to know what
is best for your engine.

Matt

 

How so?

 

I think he's referring the the problem of water accumulation in the
tank. With the new MTBE-free fuels containing 10% ethanol, it's no
longer a problem as you effectively have "dry gas" added to every tankful.

 

What a load of crap! Heck, I know more about cars than a lot of the
monkeys I've met who work on them. The automotive business is rife with
folklore, myth and outright stupidity that passes for fact. Yes, there
are certainly intelligent, well educated mechanics that I know and
trust, but the fact that someone works on cars is no indication that
they understand anything about fuel chemistry or what happens inside an
engine. That doesn't mean they can't repair them, but it does make their
advice suspect. I repair computers all the time and I'm certified to do
so, but I couldn't tell you how a CPU works internally.

Have you ever heard of Google? Try searching on "sulfur content in
gasoline" and you'll get more information than you know what to do with,
much of it from government regulatory agencies. Quit being so lazy and
don't give us any more crap about there not being good information
available on the Internet. If you really believe that, why are you here?

 

Here are some sulfur-related excerpts from one of the sources I found:

"Effective on January 1, 2006, the per-gallon sulfur cap for gasoline
produced at most refineries dropped to 80 ppm. This standard does not
apply to all gasoline because there are different regulations for small
refiners and for refineries in the Rocky Mountain area."

"On January 1, 2004, the first phase of the EPA low sulfur gasoline
regulations were effective. The phase-in of these standards was
completed in 2006 for most refineries and importers. In 2006,
specifications for gasoline content changed from the previous 500 ppm
sulfur ceiling for RFG outside of California to a required 30 ppm annual
average and a per-gallon cap of 80 ppm for most gasoline (with some
delays for gasoline produced in the Rocky Mountain area or produced by
small refiners)."

The rest of the article can be found at:

http://www.npra.org/issues/fuels/gasoline.cfm

 

Anyone I've ever spoken to at Hyundai with an opinion on this has said that
at best higher octane is a waste money and that it will likely cause more
engine deposits.

 

I don't think it is a problem even with regular gasoline since the EPA
started requiring vapor recovery systems.

Matt

 

Water and dirt and other debris.

Tanks rusting from the inside out is another issue. Plastic fuel tanks
have ended that.

Fuel also acts as coolant for the in-tank fuel pumps. Run it dry
enough and the pump will overheat and possibly wear faster.