New Chevy 6.0L gasser -- Octane?
Just bought the new Chevy 2500HD with 6.0L gas ... and wondering what you guys run for octane. And why you choose it? -- The 'why' is important too ... because it's not just about mpg, it's about ...
Forum Discussion
Octane is a measure of anti-knock or pre-combustion that can occur before the spark plug is able to ignite the fuel and before the piston is in the correct position, hence the knock as the gas pushes back against the piston on the upward stroke. Higher compression engines are more prone to pre-combustion and need higher octane gas.
Gas engines in trucks are engineered to run on regular gas. Burning a higher octane rated gas accomplishes absolutely nothing with these engines. Using a higher octane rated gas than the manufacturer specifies is about as dumb a thing as anyone can do. It will waste your money and can do nothing for the engine's performance as the higher octane gas does not have a higher btu value.
Take a high compression engine that is designed for high octane gas and use low octane gas and the engine computer will retard the spark to compensate and power will be lost and usually the fuel economy will suffer as well. But that is entirely different from using a higher than needed octane rated gasoline in an engine.
Better to put your money where it will affect the performance and longevity of the engine with regular maintenance and the occasional use of a fuel injector cleaner.
All engines will knock to a degree when under a heavy load at full throttle as when going up a steep grade and that is not indicative of the gas having too low an octane rating.
Gas engines in trucks are engineered to run on regular gas. Burning a higher octane rated gas accomplishes absolutely nothing with these engines. Using a higher octane rated gas than the manufacturer specifies is about as dumb a thing as anyone can do. It will waste your money and can do nothing for the engine's performance as the higher octane gas does not have a higher btu value.
Take a high compression engine that is designed for high octane gas and use low octane gas and the engine computer will retard the spark to compensate and power will be lost and usually the fuel economy will suffer as well. But that is entirely different from using a higher than needed octane rated gasoline in an engine.
Better to put your money where it will affect the performance and longevity of the engine with regular maintenance and the occasional use of a fuel injector cleaner.
All engines will knock to a degree when under a heavy load at full throttle as when going up a steep grade and that is not indicative of the gas having too low an octane rating.
