# Mid Grade Fuel For The 1.4 Turbo



## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

You may find you have to switch back to premium for the hottest time of the year. But until then, enjoy the savings.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

We've had several members discover that mid-grade is sufficient for them. If it works for you definitely save the money at the pump.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

My experience with the 12 eco and now the Trax has been the same in Illinois heat.
Regular above 60 degrees.....awful driveability.
Mid grade or premium.....driveability recovers to about the same level, even at 99 degrees.......Sure can tell the A/C operating pressures are elevated though......really sucks the power when above 85 degrees or so, mid grade or premium.
Below those temperatures though, performance is relatively unaffected.

At this point in time I'll be staying with the mid grade swill.

Rob


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## winks79 (Dec 20, 2013)

I've always run 87 octane in mine, and have never had any problems with it, and I live in Alabama where is gets really hot in the summer. I have put almost 65k on the car without any issues. I know of others that do not have these issues that you guys speak of too. I guess it is just what the car gets adjusted to. Never had the stumbling or loss of power issues others complain of, my little Cruze runs good on it. Only thing I've changed is replace the iridium plugs for NGK copper plugs, and I could tell a difference in the idle and throttle response was better with the copper plugs. I get about 30-35k out of the copper plugs and regap them every 10k and seems to work great for me. For my use spending any more on 89 octane and up is just a waste of my money. Now I can tell the difference between summer and winter gas when it comes to fuel mileage. I commute about 60 miles a day to work, and on winter 87 octane I average about 33-34 mpg. On summer 87 octane my average goes up to 38-39 mpg. This is on a 13' LTZ/RS. I'm sure if I swapped to a higher octane I could probably notice a difference. If it ever starts giving me problems I will switch, but I figure if it was going to be an issue it would have shown up in 65k miles already, so I'm happy with it.


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## cruze01 (Mar 25, 2011)

ChevyGuy said:


> You may find you have to switch back to premium for the hottest time of the year. But until then, enjoy the savings.


I hear you and maybe but its been 90+ degrees here several times over the past few weeks, it runs great on the 89 octane.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

winks79 said:


> I've always run 87 octane in mine, and have never had any problems with it, and I live in Alabama where is gets really hot in the summer. I have put almost 65k on the car without any issues. I know of others that do not have these issues that you guys speak of too. I guess it is just what the car gets adjusted to. Never had the stumbling or loss of power issues others complain of, my little Cruze runs good on it. Only thing I've changed is replace the iridium plugs for NGK copper plugs, and I could tell a difference in the idle and throttle response was better with the copper plugs. I get about 30-35k out of the copper plugs and regap them every 10k and seems to work great for me. For my use spending any more on 89 octane and up is just a waste of my money. Now I can tell the difference between summer and winter gas when it comes to fuel mileage. I commute about 60 miles a day to work, and on winter 87 octane I average about 33-34 mpg. On summer 87 octane my average goes up to 38-39 mpg. This is on a 13' LTZ/RS. I'm sure if I swapped to a higher octane I could probably notice a difference. If it ever starts giving me problems I will switch, but I figure if it was going to be an issue it would have shown up in 65k miles already, so I'm happy with it.



Auto or manual? My 13 manual will stall on 87 if it's not tuned by one our vendors here. Even dead of winter I can't run 87.


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## winks79 (Dec 20, 2013)

Merc6 mine is auto. Never any problems at all. No stalling, or stumbling, no loss of power, no tune, runs as good as any vehicle I've owned. I seem to be the exception from all I've read on this forum, but there are a few of us that do not have any issues with running 87. I do understand that I am probably giving up a little power, as it is a turbo car, but I do not drive it like I stole it either. I do however pass people frequently and it has plenty of power to pass anyone I please. Never been afraid I was not going to make it around someone, as it has never given me any lag, always pulls strong. I have actually been impressed with what power it does have, and this is the first 4 banger I've ever owned. This car has 1/2 to 1/3 of the horsepower of any of my other vehicles, and to me it is a lot of fun to drive. I normally set the cruise control at around 60-65 mph, seems this is where I tend to get max fuel economy, and run the climate control in auto all year long, so compressor is engaged most of the time with the fuel economy readings I gave earlier. I will eventually give it to my daughter when she goes off to college next year, but until then I have been enjoying the fuel savings.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

winks79 said:


> Merc6 mine is auto. Never any problems at all. No stalling, or stumbling, no loss of power, no tune, runs as good as any vehicle I've owned. I seem to be the exception from all I've read on this forum, but there are a few of us that do not have any issues with running 87. I do understand that I am probably giving up a little power, as it is a turbo car, but I do not drive it like I stole it either. I do however pass people frequently and it has plenty of power to pass anyone I please. Never been afraid I was not going to make it around someone, as it has never given me any lag, always pulls strong. I have actually been impressed with what power it does have, and this is the first 4 banger I've ever owned. This car has 1/2 to 1/3 of the horsepower of any of my other vehicles, and to me it is a lot of fun to drive. I normally set the cruise control at around 60-65 mph, seems this is where I tend to get max fuel economy, and run the climate control in auto all year long, so compressor is engaged most of the time with the fuel economy readings I gave earlier. I will eventually give it to my daughter when she goes off to college next year, but until then I have been enjoying the fuel savings.


Sounds like you have a LTZ. My cousin has a 11 LTZ and he has the same luck with you and 87. it wasn't worth it to try and get him to run higher fuel as it may have been ECU recalled before he got it 2nd hand.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

My 2012 Cruze was very picky with fuel, anything less than 93 octane was a significant loss in performance and slightly MPG loss(more on this below). My 2015 sonic seems much better in this regard, I can't tell the difference when running midgrade 89 octane vs 93 octane. 

Most stations here premium is 91 octane with no ethanol, my cruze and sonic both experience knock events at low RPM high load situations, its even audible with the drivers window down. An example of this, driving along at 30mph in 5th gear and you attempt to accelerate you will hear click, click click as it misfires(Data logged as well). This does not occur even on 87E10 fuel. My guess the car's air fuel ratio isn't quite right on this fuel, the car is tuned for 10% ethanol since that's whats available at over 95% of stations in the USA. 

I mention this because i noticed one station locally lists their midgrade as 89 octane with 5% ethanol, so after inquiring I found out why I may have had issues with midgrade with my cruze before. Some stations don't have enough underground tanks to have 3 fuel grades and those pumps mix regular and premium to make mid-grade. If a station here has 91E0 fuel as premium, you will be getting less than 10% ethanol. Sure enough every time I attempted midgrade in the cruze was from one of these blender pumps, though not as severe as no ethanol there was still knock events occurring. 

Only time I will run mid-grade now is if the station is selling 93E10 as their premium, I know then if the pump is doing some blending I'm not getting an inferior fuel that causes engine knock. Not one issues all summer when I run midgrade now. Since I traded the cruze, I tested this on a friends 2012 cruze and sure enough the car runs just fine on midgrade even when hot outside when avoiding stations that sell no ethanol fuel(this wasn't the case before).

I should add I tested other no ethanol grades in my cruze and 91E0 runs great in comparison(even with some knock), 89E0 was slightly worse than 91 but 87E0 when trying to accelerate up a hill knock was so severe the tachometer started dropping(as did my speed)every time the ECU dialed things back. To eliminate some variable in this testing I bought all fuel at the same station, a top tier Cenex station in Middleton,WI. They have two sets of islands, one with 87E0,89E0 and 91E0 and another set wih 87E10, 90E10 and 93E10. Pretty sad when 90E10 midgrade outperforms the much more expensive 91E0 premium fuel.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Premium here now averages 75 cents a gallon over regular so its hard to justify that much extra cost. Midgrade is typically 25 cents a gallon over regular, but a few local stations for the last 6+ years have been charging only 10 cents less than premium fuel for midgrade(about 65 cents a gallon over regular). No way I could buy midgrade for premium prices! 

I have a feeling with all the turbo cars on the market today its only a matter if time before the government requires a better fuel grade for our regular, suspect most people would complain over a 10-20 cents a gallon increase in price though.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

spacedout said:


> Premium here now averages 75 cents a gallon over regular so its hard to justify that much extra cost. Midgrade is typically 25 cents a gallon over regular, but a few local stations for the last 6+ years have been charging only 10 cents less than premium fuel for midgrade(about 65 cents a gallon over regular). No way I could buy midgrade for premium prices!
> 
> I have a feeling with all the turbo cars on the market today its only a matter if time before the government requires a better fuel grade for our regular, suspect most people would complain over a 10-20 cents a gallon increase in price though.


The 1.4 Multiair is a 91 octane engine IIRC per the Fuel Economy dot gov site.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

I've driven turbo engines (Mercedes, Ford EB) that run perfectly fine on regular. Even a 15/16 Gen 1 Cruze. My 2012 Cruze is not one of them.


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## winks79 (Dec 20, 2013)

Merc6 said:


> Sounds like you have a LTZ. My cousin has a 11 LTZ and he has the same luck with you and 87. it wasn't worth it to try and get him to run higher fuel as it may have been ECU recalled before he got it 2nd hand.


Yes, it is a 13' LTZ/RS. Never been to shop for anything yet. I received the recall for reprogramming the ECU over a year ago, just have not taken it in yet. Was waiting to see if water pump was going to go out and get them both done then. I know it is an emissions issue, but it is not affecting how well it runs, so it can wait. Bought new, and only issue so far is the broken vanity mirror cover on driver side. Was out of bumper to bumper when this happened, and not paying $60-$70 for a new cover. Very reliable and efficient car, been very happy with this car. Just change oil every 5k with synthetic, put gas in it, and change the copper plugs ever 30k as stated, is all I've done to it.


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

I have a 2012 Eco that is tuned. The last couple of tanks I have run 89 octane and it is "OK" but I still noticed something missing!!! So I recently filled with 93 and I noticed a difference. I definitely feel more "power off the line" and the gas gauge a moves a little less. I noticed with the 89 that it quickly went from 1/2 to 1/4. While the car can run "OK" with 89 93 gives it more incentive to move and more enjoyable to drive esp up hills in Cincinnati. I think I will stick with the 93. Price wise definitely a personally choice


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## Alex V. (Sep 20, 2013)

Count me as one of the mid graders. My '13 LT/MT runs drastically different on 87, but the improvement from 89 to 91/93 is one I can't detect. Also can't tell much difference between E-free or E-10 mid-grade.


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## MB2014LT2 (Feb 23, 2015)

I run 92/93 octane year round ever since I ran the gas out that the dealership put in it. I get 28/30+ MPG with a 50/50 mix of driving....and I have a heavy foot.. No complaints with that...being my truck only get 10/12 MPG.


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

I am one of those people that used/uses mid grade and power wise the car seems to run fine. I noticed the MPG down a little and the car misses that little extra "umph". But I don't know it is enough to warrant the price difference esp around the holidays. Seemingly I always end up back to using 90+ octane. Not always Shell or BP but at least Thornton's or Speedway in Cincinnati so it is not the higher end brands. Another thing tho my car is tuned. So that may be a consideration also. Your choice. As a matter of fact, I just finished running a couple of tanks of 89 and after "so so performance/MPG" I am back to 90+ premium. I am still wondering if it is worth it tho.


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