I was informend that running regular 87 octane gas is ok for the vette and doesn't pose any ping or knocking problems by using it. Is 87 regular unleaded ok to use?

 

From what I understand (and I could be wrong) the computer in the newer Vettes is designed to retard the performance of the engine if you use lower grade fuel, so that you don't get any pings or knocks. If I'm not mistaken I believe I read that in a Corvette magazine (not sure which one), but if I can find the article and will post some quotes from it. If this is true I'm not sure what year they started doing that and wouldn't risk using 87 in an older model Vette. Hope this helps some.

 

my '87 vette with the L98 states in the owners manual to use 91 or higher as lower grade will reduce performance and cause the timing to be retarded to reduce the pings and knocks from lower grade fuel. I would not recomend it unless you are in a pinch situation.

 

All Corvettes from C4's up have a knock sensor made out a quartz material that picks up engine vibrations over a certain frequency. Early C4's have a ESC (Electronic Spark Control) module that monitors the knock sensor and retards timing 2 degrees to help eliminate detonation. Later models incorporated the ESC into the ECM ot computer, but still has the same function.

 

my 93 says to use 91 or higher also, i wouldnt run 87 in a vette.

 

My 92 owners manual says it recommends 91 octane or higher but the way i understand is that you may use less octane at a degraded performance without engine problems. Lets face it; use 91 or higher and enjoy the performance. Why own a vette and want to use 87 octane? I use 94 octane and there is a difference.

 

I have tried 87 in the l98 vettes. the previous owner of my car did quite a bit. No problems running it. however there is better peformance gains from higher octane fuel, so I run it all the time.