GV70 Octane Recommendation

[Mgmusser]

What octane fuel are you putting in a 2023 GV70 2.5T? Genesis of Cherry Hill told me unleaded regular, but all the reviews I watch and hear say Premium?

 

[johners]

Premium is recommended not required, which is the same as someone like Ford recommends for their EcoBoost turbo engines. You get better mileage and more horsepower with premium in a turbo engine, but it costs more. So it's probably a preference thing.

 

[vprasanna]

I’ve had my 2.5T GV70 for about 8500 Kms now. I didn’t notice any “significant” difference between the regular and the high octane fuel. It would make a difference if by a few micro seconds if you are using launch control or timing on a track. In terms of mileage, I think the fuel cost would put a gradual hole in your pocket, but the mileage gain wouldn’t be that noticeable.

 

[MrBuddha]

You can do either - but I did feel like it ran smoother with premium. Other than that I didn’t notice a big difference.

 

[deewan]

I've tracked about 1,000 miles using 91 octane and 9,000 miles using 87 octane. Per the Fuelly app, I've seen no difference in MPG. The biggest different I noticed was when the companies switched to winter blended gas, but that was still only 2-3 MPG and I also began doing a fair amount more city driving.

 

[resdoggie]

If you drive your G at its maximum performance potential e.g. foot to the floor all of the time, you need premium fuel or race gas which has higher octane levels to prevent detonation i.e. ping, which if severe enough, will grenade the engine. But you would still need to defeat the knock sensors which will retard the timing to prevent knock, detonation, ping, rattling engine sounds. Use regular gas if you drive normal. Use premium for a lead foot or racing. Octane rating has little to no effect on gas mileage.

 

[deewan]

@resdoggie
One question I have is with the ECU's in the GV70, would a driver with an extreme lead foot experience an engine ping/knock with the lower octane gas igniting at a lower temperature? Or would they likely only notice a slight decrease in horsepower with extreme acceleration? I'm asking out of curiosity and in no way arguing with anything you said. Just curious of the ECU can adjust for a lead foot and lower octane fuel the same way it can for normal driving.

Racing and those even more extreme conditions I believe there would be a bigger chance for a small issues.

 

[resdoggie]

In a nutshell, because the entire combustion process and all the variables affecting the process cannot be explained in 25 words or less (more like 2500 words), the knock sensor is connected to the ECU which has all the maps to control the entire combustion process based on the feedback from all the various sensors, When engine knock or ping is detected in the cylinder(s), the ECU will retard the timing to protect the engine. Retarded timing = less performance. Using a higher octane gas can allow the controlled burning of the gas to begin sooner and slower in the cylinder and therefore allows the timing to be advanced. Advanced timing = more performance. Remember, we are talking about conditions at very high rpm or high engine loading such as driving up steeper inclines. Reducing cylinder temperatures is achieved by proper timing for the engine, use of aluminium in cylinder heads/blocks and cold air intakes, to name a few. The aforementioned all have an affect on reducing cylinder temperatures and thereby the onset of ping. Max performance as in hp is achieved at or near full throttle conditions. But the vast majority doesn't drive like that and some have never put their foot to the floor, lol. So no need for higher octane gas for that category of drivers. Hence, a premium fuel recommendation because its a forced induction engine which should use higher octane fuel if used for max performance. But if not, regular will suffice 99% of the time.

 

[deewan]

In a nutshell, because the entire combustion process and all the variables affecting the process cannot be explained in 25 words or less (more like 2500 words), the knock sensor is connected to the ECU which has all the maps to control the entire combustion process based on the feedback from all the various sensors, When engine knock or ping is detected in the cylinder(s), the ECU will retard the timing to protect the engine. Retarded timing = less performance. Using a higher octane gas can allow the controlled burning of the gas to begin sooner and slower in the cylinder and therefore allows the timing to be advanced. Advanced timing = more performance. Remember, we are talking about conditions at very high rpm or high engine loading such as driving up steeper inclines. Reducing cylinder temperatures is achieved by proper timing for the engine, use of aluminium in cylinder heads/blocks and cold air intakes, to name a few. The aforementioned all have an affect on reducing cylinder temperatures and thereby the onset of ping. Max performance as in hp is achieved at or near full throttle conditions. But the vast majority doesn't drive like that and some have never put their foot to the floor, lol. So no need for higher octane gas for that category of drivers. Hence, a premium fuel recommendation because its a forced induction engine which should use higher octane fuel if used for max performance. But if not, regular will suffice 99% of the time.

Thank you. Best explanation I've heard to date.

 

[resdoggie]

I'm an old hotrodder. My old cast iron block 350 gen 1 small block chevy was built to about 450 hp and 10.7:1 scr. It was able to run on 91 octane. People would ask how could that be on todays pump gas? The big thing was bleeding off cylinder pressure with a longer duration/high lift roller cam and newer aluminium cylinder heads with modern combustion chamber design. Todays cars bleed off cylinder pressure with VVT i.e. variable valve timing. This valve train design keeps the intake valve open longer (bleeding off cylinder pressure) at higher rpm where it makes power and delaying/preventing the onset of ping.

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[dhuhtala]

If you Google some real-world comparisons of regular vs premium, the newest tests on higher-performance cars show that there is a slight improvement, but often under 5%, so not sure if it's noticeable without looking at the numbers on paper. I generally use regular because I drive so much - forecasting 30,000 KM in my first year with my 2.5T.

 

[Newfan]

In a nutshell, because the entire combustion process and all the variables affecting the process cannot be explained in 25 words or less (more like 2500 words), the knock sensor is connected to the ECU which has all the maps to control the entire combustion process based on the feedback from all the various sensors, When engine knock or ping is detected in the cylinder(s), the ECU will retard the timing to protect the engine. Retarded timing = less performance. Using a higher octane gas can allow the controlled burning of the gas to begin sooner and slower in the cylinder and therefore allows the timing to be advanced. Advanced timing = more performance. Remember, we are talking about conditions at very high rpm or high engine loading such as driving up steeper inclines. Reducing cylinder temperatures is achieved by proper timing for the engine, use of aluminium in cylinder heads/blocks and cold air intakes, to name a few. The aforementioned all have an affect on reducing cylinder temperatures and thereby the onset of ping. Max performance as in hp is achieved at or near full throttle conditions. But the vast majority doesn't drive like that and some have never put their foot to the floor, lol. So no need for higher octane gas for that category of drivers. Hence, a premium fuel recommendation because its a forced induction engine which should use higher octane fuel if used for max performance. But if not, regular will suffice 99% of the time.

Great logical explanation! Thanks for taking me to school on this much discussed topic.............