On Car Talk one time they recommended that someone do a blind test on their spouse who insisted that more expensive gas was best, IIRC.
Simon: You are my beautiful sister. River: I threw up on your bed. Simon: Yep. Definitely my sister.
'War Stories'
Natter 37: Oddly Enough, We've Had This Conversation Before.
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
Jesse - Aug 09, 2005 9:03:04 am PDT #6700 of 10002
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
Kathy A - Aug 09, 2005 9:04:12 am PDT #6701 of 10002
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
Ever since I replaced my engine two months ago, I've been having intermittent problems with the "check engine" light appearing on the dashboard. It goes away when I fill up with premium, so I'm sticking with that until I get a new car in 2006.
tommyrot - Aug 09, 2005 9:06:09 am PDT #6702 of 10002
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
Kathy A, your car specifies premium gas?
Kathy A - Aug 09, 2005 9:07:33 am PDT #6703 of 10002
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
No, but it is over 103,000 miles, so I'm babying it until I can afford a new one.
tommyrot - Aug 09, 2005 9:09:00 am PDT #6704 of 10002
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
Well, most experts say that putting premium in a car that specifies regular has no extra benefit. I'm mystified, however, as to why your check engine light goes away when you add premium.
Vortex - Aug 09, 2005 9:14:55 am PDT #6705 of 10002
"Cry havoc and let slip the boobs of war!" -- Miracleman
Stupid wanker mail carrier didn't ring the doorbell!
Hey, at least he came to your door. Last time I had a UPS package, the guy just wedged the delivery slip into my mailbox, didn’t even bother to walk up the three flights to put it on the door.
Huh. They interview a mechanic that says substituting regular unleaded for premium is bad - that's a minority opinion I think.
I asked my dealer about it, who theoretically has no stake in what kind of gas I buy, and he told me that using regular unleaded wouldn't hurt the car, but it would run much better on premium. So, these days I spend about $37 to fill my tank. Fuckers.
Scrappy - Aug 09, 2005 9:18:37 am PDT #6706 of 10002
Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
tommyrot - Aug 09, 2005 9:28:35 am PDT #6707 of 10002
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
After reading my two links and the Cecil link I'm still confused.
OK, higher octane reduces or eliminates detonation. That makes sense. Detonation is when the fuel/air mixture spontaneously ignites (under the heat of compression) before the sparkplug fires. This is bad. But modern engine computers can detect detonation, and retard the spark to prevent detonation. Except retarding the spark means the spark happens later - i.e. the spark still happens after the detonation, so I don't see how that helps.
A lot of automotive experts are confused about this, or have contrary opinions, so I don't feel too bad about my confusion.
eta: And I think the Washington Post thing I linked to has several errors, so that doesn't help my confusion.
§ ita § - Aug 09, 2005 9:42:56 am PDT #6708 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I guess I'll keep with the premium, then.
Gack! I just noticed I have a noon meeting. No leaving the site for lunch. In fact, I need to bolt to the caf to get anything.
Matt the Bruins fan - Aug 09, 2005 9:48:24 am PDT #6709 of 10002
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand
I'm mystified, however, as to why your check engine light goes away when you add premium.
My Rules Girl the Car