I own a 94' gsr and have always put premium in it, but since gas prices have gone crazy, is it really that bad to put regular unleaded in it everyother time i fill up? or do i HAVE to put premium in my car?

 

put in 91+

there is a knock sensor that will retard the timing to allow for lower grade fuel, but the performance will drop way down

say you fill up the tank once a week, you'll end up saving what, $150-200 a year? granted that alot but for the extra 3 bucks in the tank i feel a whole lot better just putting the premium in.

and stop whining about gas prices. i see people paying upwards of a dollar for a bottle of water which is less than a 1/4 gallon and not saying "oh my god water is prices are so high i think i'll switch to drain water" :rant: sorry i'm just sick of hearing it, pay the money, you need your car, they have you by the balls, live with it

:edit:

and to directly answer you in simple terms

you can use lower than 91, but it is highly recommended you stick to 91+

also if you do use anything lower than 91 at least use 89, i'm nto sure it will be able to retad the timing that much to compensate for 87

 

cant putting lower grade fuel in damage ur engine? err teh vtec

 

like i said there is a knock sensor along with a timing retard system to help prevent knock... thats basically the major thing...

 

the only reason there are different octane ratings is because of different compression ratios. I use the highest octane because it is cleaner. Do a clear an bright test your self get a sample of each octane in a glass jars and look for yourself. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question90.htm

 

you dont want the engine knocking ALL because all u did was put in a lower grade fuel. It might ruin the engine's internals (pistons most likely) and hurt u in the long run. fuel prices are bad now, but they will go down, they will...

 

Follow the owner's manual. Use premium unleaded.

Even if premium unleaded is 20˘/gal more expensive than midgrade, you're only spending about $2.50 more per tankful.

Detonation is what kills motors. By using gas that doesn't meet the OEM octane requirements, you risk detonation and significant engine damage.

True, the ECU has a knock sensor and it will disallow the VTEC switchover should it detect detonation. But for such minimal savings, it's a moot point IMO.

Like I said before, follow the owner's manual.