Re: News article on switching to Regular gasoline
I too run 87 and haven't noticed a demonstrative change in performance from 91. As an engineer, I can tell you the difference between 87 and 91 is minimal (if I remember from school correctly) and I'm sure that someone on this board is a chemical engineer and can explain the octane difference to all of us. I do notice that a lot of people on this board are very sure of themselves on the subject of 87 being dangerous to run, without anything to back up their statements... anything that qualifies as scientific that is. This is not the first time I've read an article stating that 87 is safe to run, and so I do.
Since I too don't have any scientific evidence to back up my supposition, I can only use my experience in 20K miles and say that I get 26-28 mpg consistently with 87 and more then acceptable performance. I would imagine that if you are driving your car hard a higher octane would be advisable, but something higher then 91. The old guys can remember when you could by 103+ and there is a difference when you’re talking that delta.
Just my opinion and experience...