Hey guys. Dad has mentioned that i should run my car on 98 for a tank to clean it out etc.

Is it worth it? In the short and long run, what will I gain or lose from running a tank (or more) through and is it justifyable in a magna?

For cleaning perhaps, given all big fuel companies claim that they add additional cleaning agents into their 98 fuels. I would suggest perhaps to use additives made for cleaning of fuel system together with normal fuel, if you are really concerned. Truth is all fuels must have cleaning agents added, its part of AS. Performance wise it will not add any power as magnas dont have knock sensor to advance timing to take advantage if higher octane.

Unless you are using e10 than using 98 will produce more power and better economy due to higher calorific value.

I've always used 98 RON in my car moreso for the cleaner burn and economy. Performance is no better but fuel consumpsion is much better I have found.

It certainly won't hurt so give it a go mate.

try 2 or 3 tanks of it and see if your fuel economy improves, if not not may as well switch back. for cleaning purposes you'd most likely be better off running some injector cleaner through on regular petrol tbh

I've run mine on 98 for some time and the fuel consumption is better....

I've run mine on 98 for some time and the fuel consumption is better....

But does the better fuel consumption warrant the added 15cpl?

No but the smoother engine and peace of mind should :D

No but the smoother engine and peace of mind should :D

Yes but you need to decide why your running on 98 as opposed to 91. If its for peace of mind and a cleaner fuel then okay, if its for fuel consumption, do the consumption savings out weigh the cost per litre?

Yes but you need to decide why your running on 98 as opposed to 91. If its for peace of mind and a cleaner fuel then okay, if its for fuel consumption, do the consumption savings out weigh the cost per litre?

It doesn't. If you're putting 98 in it for the sole purpose of better fuel economy, you're going to be disappointed. I use 98 for a number of factors, including (not significantly) better fuel economy, peace of mind, the fact that my Magna seemingly runs better on 98 - and my work pays for every second tank :D

Science behind octane rating will tell you its all a placebo effect , below are the facts

Higher octane does not have more energy
Higher octane does not burn cleaner
You get more power out of high octane due to following: your car has knock sensor and adjusts timing to suit, or you tune your car for more aggressive spark to permanently run on higher octane
Also cars with high compression or forced induction will run on high octane as it is designed to withstand higher temperatures and not knock
Magnas with 9.0 CR wont cause an issue, unless like i said you tune your spark for it & lean out your AFRS

Cleaning is perhaps the only possible benefit of running higher premium fuels but only due to additives manufacturers put in them, even then no one knows how effective it is.

Above does not apply to E10

Its simply not possible for high octane to give more power or better in economy in a magna. Unless you are filling up with low quality regular unleaded. It simply can not make your car run smoother, it just cant as it has no properties that would do that, if your car is running smother on it than really i would question quality of fuel sold at a particular service station.

95 would be the best compromise between cost and economy

Even with cars with a knock sensor the effects aren't huge, yes you can feel them but we are talking a few hp. Knock sensors adjust minutely to stop any engine knock, They are not capable of adjusting large amounts like getting your car re-tuned. (This is what i know from holden knock sensors anyway and i presume they are all very similar).

Even with cars with a knock sensor the effects aren't huge, yes you can feel them but we are talking a few hp. Knock sensors adjust minutely to stop any engine knock, They are not capable of adjusting large amounts like getting your car re-tuned. (This is what i know from holden knock sensors anyway and i presume they are all very similar).

The primary goal of a knock sensor is to allow the timing to be advanced and take advantage of the high octane fuel. They arent really for preventing knock, otherwise all 3rd gens would be running rough as guts and running to lean

The primary goal of a knock sensor is to allow the timing to be advanced and take advantage of the high octane fuel. They arent really for preventing knock, otherwise all 3rd gens would be running rough as guts and running to lean

My mechanic mate from holden said it doesn't chamge to much. 3rd gens don't run shit because they are tuned safe like all aussie cars :P
E.g. s15 200sx vs s15 silvia, 40kw difference pretty much just in a tune :P, Obviously that is an extreme case though.

My mechanic mate from holden said it doesn't chamge to much. 3rd gens don't run shit because they are tuned safe like all aussie cars :P
E.g. s15 200sx vs s15 silvia, 40kw difference pretty much just in a tune :P, Obviously that is an extreme case though.

Indeed, the 74 is tuned very safe from the factory

My mechanic mate from holden said it doesn't chamge to much. 3rd gens don't run shit because they are tuned safe like all aussie cars :P
E.g. s15 200sx vs s15 silvia, 40kw difference pretty much just in a tune :P, Obviously that is an extreme case though.

But then with a tune for 98, wouldn't you see increases all across the board, more so given the safe tune nature of the 74? Or am I wrong..

Yeah you do. Still don't gain a shitload like on a turbo car though.

As far as the science bit goes, the reason you get better fuel economy from the 98RON is because they are also formulated as a higher density fuel than the regular unleaded or E10.

I once ran the old E10 95 octane which is a lower density fuel and found it to be nearly 20% worse in the fuel consumption stakes.

Even on standard 91 octane didn't see the same mileage for a tank. I concede that the 91 RON would still work out a little better in the overall $ vs mileage equation.

That said and with nearly 113k on the clock, I've had no issues with fouling plugs or dirty injectors. And no I've never used fuel additives either. So that is a testement to using 98RON since 2006 in my car.

****ing hell you guys have raped this thread. I'm not going to put 98 in. THERE.

TBH I don't give a shit if your car grew wings and cannons and killed people. The question was whether it's worth putting 98 in. But no, everyone swarms in and fights like women about the ups and downs.

*fills tank up with 91*

It's called discussion dude, it happens on forums. You shouldn't honestly have to ask. For the sake of an extra $10 throw two tanks of it in and see if there is a difference to how your car runs, cuts through all the bullshit and opinions and gets You your own answer.

It's called discussion dude, it happens on forums. You shouldn't honestly have to ask. For the sake of an extra $10 throw two tanks of it in and see if there is a difference to how your car runs, cuts through all the bullshit and opinions and gets You your own answer.

I don't really want to chuck random fuels into my car and hope it doesn't blow up. It's my ride to and from work, with my brother relying on a lift on the way and me not having a second way to get to work.

****ing hell you guys have raped this thread. I'm not going to put 98 in. THERE.

TBH I don't give a shit if your car grew wings and cannons and killed people. The question was whether it's worth putting 98 in. But no, everyone swarms in and fights like women about the ups and downs.

*fills tank up with 91*

what..

I don't really want to chuck random fuels into my car and hope it doesn't blow up. It's my ride to and from work, with my brother relying on a lift on the way and me not having a second way to get to work.

You need to calm down mate and not be so rude. All i can see is people helping with meaningful discussion.

98 wont blow your car up ffs

Wow, sorry guys. Came home in a shit raging mood. Going through one of those stages where I feel like I'm going to die in my car due to lack of safety features and the cause of me having such a cheap and dangerous car stemming back to my dad and his whole "buy a cheap outright car from a dealer" which saw me in a near miss today which could have ended badly if I had of not noticed the car infront of me and his actions. I don't want to be a statistic, let alone a statistic that gets to be one not from stupid actions, but by cheaping out and having a car without neccessary safety features (who needs airbags, traction control and ABS?

Apologies to anyone offended by my reply. It just appeared as though I'd sparked a debate on whether 98 is worth putting in 3rd gens.

I might try a run through of 98 and see how my car runs. I was hesitant because I wasn't sure whether the properties of 98 might cause issues or something easily preventable by not putting 98 in.

I don't really want to chuck random fuels into my car and hope it doesn't blow up.
There is NO chance that running a better grade of fuel will "blow up" your car. Cash aside, you have absolutely nothing to lose whatsoever by running 95 or 98.

Everyone is "swarm[ing] in and fight[ing] like women about the ups and downs" because it's the only way that you can decide whether it's worth the extra money. I think everyone (myself included) just assumed that you knew that there is no detriment in running a higher octane fuel?

It's called discussion dude, it happens on forums. You shouldn't honestly have to ask. For the sake of an extra $10 throw two tanks of it in and see if there is a difference to how your car runs, cuts through all the bullshit and opinions and gets You your own answer.

spot on!

Last time i checked what they were discussing before was answering to the question.... 'is it worth it' covers mileage, power difference (does it give any? and if not how to make it do so) and engine health

I don't know about you guys. But discussion about these sorts of topics is good. There's no fighting here :).... On a side note. "THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY"

Back on topic. Your all pointing towards the same conclusion. Money aside 91 vs 98 has no real major benefit. I tend to fill up on 91 and every so often "treat" her to a nice dinner"98" lol. And no there's no possible way to blow your engine by putting e10,91,98,premium in. Untie only way to blow in regards to fuel is if you where dumb enough to be doc brown and put a bottle of straight whiskey in there. Though I don't even think that would happen lol

I know my jdm diamante isnt hugely relevant in this topic, due to having a knock sensor. I found 91 was unusable, bad pinging etc, 95 was good. Tried 98 butthere was a reduction in fuel economy, and no notible increase in performance, infact it felt less responsive.

I know my jdm diamante isnt hugely relevant in this topic, due to having a knock sensor. I found 91 was unusable, bad pinging etc, 95 was good. Tried 98 butthere was a reduction in fuel economy, and no notible increase in performance, infact it felt less responsive.
That almost sounds like your knock sensor isn't functional, if you can detect bad pinging. If its working properly it should significantly reduce ignition advance very quickly until the knock becomes undetectable.

Hey M8. I threw my 2 cents worth as I have been running 98 RON in my car since 2006 (when I bought it). I thought that you'd appreciate the feed back from someone who does use exclusively. Can't understand why you went into a rant, but since you apologized and are still undecided, I'll recap again since you did ask whether it was worth putting in 98RON.

So from my experience:
The fuel economy is better (around 8 % vs 91 RON & around 20% vs E91) in my car (others may differ)
I have never changed the injectors or had them cleaned & the old spark plugs were still in good shape when they were all replaced 2 services ago.
No noticeable difference in power or performance (seems to go the same)
Even with the noted economy savings doesn't quite work out to be as good as value Km wise as standard unleaded (not taking into account potentially longer service life of plugs & injectors)
No blown engine after 113000 kms absolutely no dramas mechanically.

These are my observations and I'm happy to pay extra per tank which is offset somewhat by the better economy. In my opinion & for my purposes, it's worth it & it's very good for the engine & injectors.

Throw some in and try it, we can give you some info & our opinions only, at the end of the day it is up to you to figure it out for yourself if it is worth your while to keep putting in 98 RON. No one can tell you.

Wow, sorry guys. Came home in a shit raging mood. Going through one of those stages where I feel like I'm going to die in my car due to lack of safety features and the cause of me having such a cheap and dangerous car stemming back to my dad and his whole "buy a cheap outright car from a dealer" which saw me in a near miss today which could have ended badly if I had of not noticed the car infront of me and his actions. I don't want to be a statistic, let alone a statistic that gets to be one not from stupid actions, but by cheaping out and having a car without neccessary safety features (who needs airbags, traction control and ABS?

Apologies to anyone offended by my reply. It just appeared as though I'd sparked a debate on whether 98 is worth putting in 3rd gens.

I might try a run through of 98 and see how my car runs. I was hesitant because I wasn't sure whether the properties of 98 might cause issues or something easily preventable by not putting 98 in.

if you feel like that, calm down, take a few deep breaths, and try to put things in perspective. In a mood like this, people make bad decisions that can have severe long-term consequences. The most important safety feature of your car is the driver, and the most important outcome is your ongoing safety and well-being. Lots of cars go thru their entire life without the airbags, ABS etc ever activating. If you have a near-miss that puts your blood pressure up, consider pulling over to the side of the road for a few minutes to let your pulse get back to normal. A gen 3 magna is a very safe car: you're not putting your life on the line by driving one. The most important thing is getting home in one piece, and if that means a delay of a minute or 2, that's fine.