Detonation with Cali Winter Formulation 87 Octane

[jr429]

Per title anyone experience this? We bought my folks a 2013 Genesis V6 Sedan and it's getting a little knock off the line. Just wanted to get every ones feedback on this...

Thanks

 

[username411]

With all the added stuff they put in our cali fuel I would recommend 89 octane our fuel sucks in California. I run 91 all the time.

 

[jlindh]

No, it's not normal. Are you sure you're not just hearing the normal GDI sounds?

 

[Mark_888]

The GDI engines do make a sound that may sound like pinging. In order know if it really is pinging, try using 25% premium and 75% regular at next fill-up using a name brand of gas. If the noise is still there, it is probably the standard GDI noise.

 

[dfd5280]

Here in Colorado my 4.6L pings on 89. Use 91 only.

 

[Mark_888]

Here in Colorado my 4.6L pings on 89. Use 91 only.

When you say 89, do you mean regular or mid-grade? In Colorado, due to the altitude, octane is lower than most other places:

• Regular 85
• Mid 87
• Premium 91

Unfortunately, the lower octane in Colorado is designed for older cars using carburetors where they need lower octane at that altitude. More sophisticated fuel injection or gasoline direct injection should always use a minimum of 87 octane, which mid-grade in Colorado.

Also, OP has V6, not a V8.

 

[Fast55]

The higher the altitude, the lower the octane requirement so they can usually get away with that, but it makes no sense that 87 would be a problem for a V6 even at sea level.

I've never put anything but "regular" 87 in my 2013 and no issues at all. I'd make a dealer trip to be sure, it's new.

 

[scottdk]

No, it's not normal. Are you sure you're not just hearing the normal GDI sounds?

^This is my guess on what the OP is hearing.....

 

[jr429]

Thanks for the replies. I've only driven the car a few times and I heard what was a bit of knock but didn't encounter any hesitation.

Unfortunately my dad is complaining this knock is accompanied by a bit of hesitation during acceleration so I'm assuming it's related - (perhaps adaptive timing kicking in?) but I"m not sure. Since it doesn't appear that this is a known issue with the car I've told him to take it to the dealer so hopefully we'll know more but I'm not sure how good the dealer is equipped to handle transient knock issues.

I remember in 03 with my Mitsubishi EVO the dealer had no clue how to solve the knock issues (false knock detection later fixed by algo upgrade on knock sensor s/w) and later in 07 my E55 AMG the tech had no clue how adaptive ignition systems worked (wtf!) which later turned out to be a cracked injector.

Anyways thanks for your guys input hopefully it's not anything serious.

Thanks

 

[Mark_888]

Thanks for the replies. I've only driven the car a few times and I heard what was a bit of knock but didn't encounter any hesitation.

Unfortunately my dad is complaining this knock is accompanied by a bit of hesitation during acceleration so I'm assuming it's related - (perhaps adaptive timing kicking in?) but I"m not sure. Since it doesn't appear that this is a known issue with the car I've told him to take it to the dealer so hopefully we'll know more but I'm not sure how good the dealer is equipped to handle transient knock issues.

I remember in 03 with my Mitsubishi EVO the dealer had no clue how to solve the knock issues (false knock detection later fixed by algo upgrade on knock sensor s/w) and later in 07 my E55 AMG the tech had no clue how adaptive ignition systems worked (wtf!) which later turned out to be a cracked injector.

Anyways thanks for your guys input hopefully it's not anything serious.

Thanks

I think you are making a mistake by taking it to a dealer right away. That are trained to say "that's normal" regardless of what the problem is.

Why not try some higher octane gas on your own just to see if the knock goes away? That test will help to narrow down the problem, and I guarantee you that using 25% (or even 50%) premium will not damage the V6 engine.

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[jr429]

The problem seems to go away with 91 octane but I'm not driving the car so it's hard to say. But it's serious enough that my dad complains about it and my mom just refuses to drive that car. The issues is if indeed the problem is disappearing with 91 octane and this problem is only specific to one car (and not Genesis in general) then obviously this indicates a more serious problem so I was hoping to get experience from other owners.

I've noticed the Genesis runs fairly black exhaust residue possibly indicating that their basemaps are not fully in line with California's 87 octane... I know my Sante Fe with its turbo theta motor is certainly not happy on 87 octane summer formulation but probably not serious enough to cause long term issues...

 

[dfd5280]

When you say 89, do you mean regular or mid-grade? In Colorado, due to the altitude, octane is lower than most other places:

• Regular 85
• Mid 87
• Premium 91

Unfortunately, the lower octane in Colorado is designed for older cars using carburetors where they need lower octane at that altitude. More sophisticated fuel injection or gasoline direct injection should always use a minimum of 87 octane, which mid-grade in Colorado.

Also, OP has V6, not a V8.

Yes, mid-grade. No matter where I buy mid grade it will ping. Before this I had a CTS V6 which is also supposed to run on regular. Didnt work for me either, pinged even worse than my Gennie.

 

[Mark_888]

Yes, mid-grade. No matter where I buy mid grade it will ping. Before this I had a CTS V6 which is also supposed to run on regular. Didnt work for me either, pinged even worse than my Gennie.

I don't think Hyundai specifies regular, they mention 87 octane as the minimum. As I mentioned earlier, I am very skeptical that modern engines work best at lower octane at altitude, since they already adjust for that in the ECU, etc.

 

[dfd5280]

I don't think Hyundai specifies regular, they mention 87 octane as the minimum. As I mentioned earlier, I am very skeptical that modern engines work best at lower octane at altitude, since they already adjust for that in the ECU, etc.

Being a mile high sucks when you are going for horsepower. We lose about 15% up here. That is why I am seriously considering a turbocharged car the next time around. There are 2 guys (TheFastLaneCar) on youtube who dragged 0 - 60 back to back a G37 Coupe about 335 HP vs Volvo S60 with a turbocharged I-5 240 HP. The Volvo was quicker at altitude. They also drove our Gennie last year and gave it high marks.

 

[videopho]

I use 93 in both of my Gennies.
I had no other choice in the coupe due to it's tuned to run in 93 or higher.
On the sedan I am lucky enough to be able to find or buy 93 pure gasoline pretty easily since there are several local gas stations carrying non-ethanol fuel for recreational marines.
If you had to use 87 I'd recommend top tier brand such as Chrevon or Shell or Costco.