Question for G80 Sport Owners

[pmcjr]

Can you use regular gas in the Sport with no ill effects? Is premium gas only recommended to get the max horsepower and final question...if you use regular, would you say the Sport still outperforms the G80 3.8?
Thank you.

 

[1FstYota]

Can you use regular gas in the Sport with no ill effects? Is premium gas only recommended to get the max horsepower and final question...if you use regular, would you say the Sport still outperforms the G80 3.8?
Thank you.

With high compression and turbo charging even the 92 oct rated is not enough sometimes so going any less just hurts performance even more. You will most likely burn more fuel on top of that. It will still be a bit faster than 3.8 motor, but not worth it IMO.

Why do you ask?

 

[pmcjr]

With high compression and turbo charging even the 92 oct rated is not enough sometimes so going any less just hurts performance even more. You will most likely burn more fuel on top of that. It will still be a bit faster than 3.8 motor, but not worth it IMO.

Why do you ask?

For me a big decision factor in buying the G80 was it ran on regular gas. If Genesis could design the G80 3.8 to run on regular gas, other car models could too. 311 hp is adequate. I like the Sport design elements, but maybe not enough to buy premium fuel if it's not really necessary.

 

[EdP]

For me a big decision factor in buying the G80 was it ran on regular gas. If Genesis could design the G80 3.8 to run on regular gas, other car models could too. 311 hp is adequate. I like the Sport design elements, but maybe not enough to buy premium fuel if it's not really necessary.

Perhaps this will help from the manual
5.0 engine
Your new vehicle is designed to use
only unleaded fuel having an octane
number ((R+M)/2) of 87 (Research
Octane Number 91) or higher. For
improved vehicle performance, premium
unleaded fuel with an octane
number ((R+M)/2) of 91 (Research
Octane Number 96) or higher is recommended.
(Do not use methanol
blended fuels.)

 

[pmcjr]

Perhaps this will help from the manual
5.0 engine
Your new vehicle is designed to use
only unleaded fuel having an octane
number ((R+M)/2) of 87 (Research
Octane Number 91) or higher. For
improved vehicle performance, premium
unleaded fuel with an octane
number ((R+M)/2) of 91 (Research
Octane Number 96) or higher is recommended.
(Do not use methanol
blended fuels.)

EdP...that's what I thought. Recommended but not required.

 

[lobsenza]

I run my 5.0 on regular with no issues. I would get slightly more power and possibly slightly better fuel economy on premium, but not worth the cost difference to me.

 

[Florida Alan]

I run my 5.0 on regular with no issues. I would get slightly more power and possibly slightly better fuel economy on premium, but not worth the cost difference to me.

From all I've read, premium fuel will not give better mileage. Higher octane is usually required for higher compression engines, and possibly better performance.
I use 87 octane all the time without any problems. Why waste your money on premium?

- - - Updated - - -

Can you use regular gas in the Sport with no ill effects? Is premium gas only recommended to get the max horsepower and final question...
if you use regular, would you say the Sport still outperforms the G80 3.8? Thank you.

I've owned both, and my sport is much quicker. I use regular 87 octane exclusively.

 

[pmcjr]

Florida Alan...thanks. I'm now back in the considering a Sport camp. I refuse to buy a car that requires or needs premium fuel.

 

[EdP]

Florida Alan...thanks. I'm now back in the considering a Sport camp. I refuse to buy a car that requires or needs premium fuel.

At 40 cents a gallon difference locally, I'd agree. I did buy 2 gallons of premium for my snow blower because it has no alcohol in it.

 

[silberma]

Any car that requires premium gas can run on regular gas because the NOx sensors will retard the ignition timing when sensing knock to prevent engine damage. Premium gas provides better performance but same gas mileage as regular because both fuels have the same BTU content.
My BMW and Infinity call for premium gas but I use regular gas because my driving is not aggressive. When driving on mountain roads or high speed on highways I switch to premium for the better performance. Been doing this for years without issues.

 

[1FstYota]

So weird to buy a higher performance turbo engine just to put piss gas in it. Aggressive driving has nothing to do with how the engine is handling knock, I guess each to their own, if you paid 60k for 365 hp but realistically driving around with 320 cause your engine is pulling so much timing from 87 oct gas then whatever floats your boat.

 

[kolme]

So weird to buy a higher performance turbo engine just to put piss gas in it. Aggressive driving has nothing to do with how the engine is handling knock, I guess each to their own, if you paid 60k for 365 hp but realistically driving around with 320 cause your engine is pulling so much timing from 87 oct gas then whatever floats your boat.

I agree in general that buying a high performance engine, but robbing it of it's performance with less than ideal gas is a weird decision. Plenty of folks pay $1000s to gain a few dozen horsepower (as did many of us), why waste that investment by skimping out at the pump?

 

[EdP]

So weird to buy a higher performance turbo engine just to put piss gas in it. Aggressive driving has nothing to do with how the engine is handling knock, I guess each to their own, if you paid 60k for 365 hp but realistically driving around with 320 cause your engine is pulling so much timing from 87 oct gas then whatever floats your boat.

Valid point. For 12,000 miles a year the up charge is about $225 a year.

 

[armen212]

likewise i also owned both variants but I have never in the time i've owned my sport put 87 in it, always 91. but for comparing it to the 3.8 there's really no way to compare them. you can install a custom exhaust put 91 add a cai and summer tires and it still wouldnt be faster than the sport. the power difference is a good amount and even more so for how that power is made.

 

[1FstYota]

likewise i also owned both variants but I have never in the time i've owned my sport put 87 in it, always 91. but for comparing it to the 3.8 there's really no way to compare them. you can install a custom exhaust put 91 add a cai and summer tires and it still wouldnt be faster than the sport. the power difference is a good amount and even more so for how that power is made.

Realistcally your looking at maybe 45 to 50whp difference, its the torque delivery that makes the 3.8 and 3.3t totally different animals.

 

[larrymg1]

I believe the manual for the 2018 G80 Sport 3.3TT only "recommends" premium fuel. It is "not" a requirement and does not effect warranty.

 

[Gone With The Wind 2]

Just in general, if premium is recommended, you're free to run any octane. ECU will adjust timing as needed. Understanding you'll get less HP/MPG. How much varies, as it could be negligible. Such as the case with the 5.0, where you lose something like 4 HP on 87 vs 91 octane. To the point where Genesis stopped advertising the power improvement. Yet they continue to note all testing ("research") is still done with 91, and that 87 is perfectly fine.

Not 100% sure about exact octane-based improvements for the 3.3T. From what I've read, it's likely the same situation. I think Genesis just feels that high-end vehicles are expected to run premium, so they test it like that.

However, if manual says premium required, then yeah, you'd better run the fuel they say. Otherwise you risk knock and long term engine damage. Not the case with Genesis.

Here is info from page F6 early in the 2018 owners manual; not sure what, if any, change in verbiage over the model years.

FUEL REQUIREMENTS

3.3/3.8 engine
Your new vehicle is designed to use
only unleaded fuel having an octane
number ((R+M)/2) of 87 (Research
Octane Number 91) or higher.(Do not
use methanol blended fuels.)

5.0 engine
Your new vehicle is designed to use
only unleaded fuel having an octane
number ((R+M)/2) of 87 (Research
Octane Number 91) or higher. For
improved vehicle performance, premi-
um unleaded fuel with an octane
number ((R+M)/2) of 91 (Research
Octane Number 96) or higher is rec-
ommended. (Do not use methanol
blended fuels.)

 

[keithl]

Any car that requires premium gas can run on regular gas because the NOx sensors will retard the ignition timing when sensing knock to prevent engine damage. Premium gas provides better performance but same gas mileage as regular because both fuels have the same BTU content.
My BMW and Infinity call for premium gas but I use regular gas because my driving is not aggressive. When driving on mountain roads or high speed on highways I switch to premium for the better performance. Been doing this for years without issues.

Funny my 3.7 Infiniti, the manual explicitly said "REQUIRES Premium and had warning that use of lower could damage engine and in emergency you can use 1/4 tank or regular and not drive aggressive. The rule of thumb is if manual says recommended then you can use regular, if it says required you need to use premium. Even with sensors the car will only retard the timing so far.

 

[Gone With The Wind 2]

To add to my previous post, I actually did find different HP/TQ numbers listed on Genesis website for the 5.0 when running 87 vs 91.

And then we only have one set of power figures for the 3.3T as it's perfectly happy with the recommended regular fuel. Just how they built & tuned it.

G80 5.0
Horsepower 420 @ 6,000 RPM (premium) / 407 @ 6,000 RPM (regular)
Torque (lb.-ft.) 383 lb.-ft. @ 5,000 RPM (premium) / 372 lb.-ft. @ 5,000 RPM (regular)

G80 3.3T Sport
Horsepower 365 @ 6,000 RPM
Torque (lb.-ft.) 376 lb.-ft. @ 1,300-4,500 RPM

G80 3.8
Horsepower 311 @ 6,000 RPM (regular)
Torque (lb.-ft.) 293 lb.-ft. @ 5,000 RPM (regular)

Also notable, the 5.0 only lists one set of MPG figures regardless of octane. I suspect any changes with MPG in their testing were negligible.

 

[Pr0metheuz]

To add to my previous post, I actually did find different HP/TQ numbers listed on Genesis website for the 5.0 when running 87 vs 91.

And then we only have one set of power figures for the 3.3T as it's perfectly happy with the recommended regular fuel. Just how they built & tuned it.

G80 5.0
Horsepower 420 @ 6,000 RPM (premium) / 407 @ 6,000 RPM (regular)
Torque (lb.-ft.) 383 lb.-ft. @ 5,000 RPM (premium) / 372 lb.-ft. @ 5,000 RPM (regular)

G80 3.3T Sport
Horsepower 365 @ 6,000 RPM
Torque (lb.-ft.) 376 lb.-ft. @ 1,300-4,500 RPM

G80 3.8
Horsepower 311 @ 6,000 RPM (regular)
Torque (lb.-ft.) 293 lb.-ft. @ 5,000 RPM (regular)

Also notable, the 5.0 only lists one set of MPG figures regardless of octane. I suspect any changes with MPG in their testing were negligible.

I am getting the G80 Sport soon and do find it odd that they don't identify the horsepower for regular gas. My Experience Manager said the HP gets reduced by about 15, but reading AAA studies on the cost-benefit of using premium in premium recommended vehicles shows it's not worth it. I think I will use regular gas for long trips where I'm mostly at a constant speed and highway driving. For city driving, I'm going to try to stick with premium and ethanol free gas. Of course, I'll see if I can notice a difference. Anyone out there notice a difference when trying different grades of gas?