Over the first month and 1500 miles on this new Charger R/T, I am convinced that 89 octane gas from my local 76 station makes this car a lot happier than the 87 octane. I've ran couple tanks of each, running the last tank of 87 so low that I was worried about making it back to the station. Filled up with 89, and later that day it was like a switch was flipped.
Engine sound (from under the hood, not the exhaust) is a lot smoother, and the response at the pedal is noticeably better, too. Honestly, I wasn't happy at the idea of spending another .12/gal on fuel (couple bucks per tank); but almost every time I drive the car there's a time when I say to myself "definitely worth a buck" as I poke my foot at the gas pedal.
I know money is tight these days. But if you're running a stock Hemi, try a tank or 2 of mid-grade gas. Sure, the car can detune to safely run 87 - but run 89 for a while; you and your Hemi might just like it as much as we do.
Brian
2014 R/T Passat - just kidding, its a Charger...
All charger RTs, 89 is recommended.
One year, i think 2011, 91 was recommendedfor a few.
I wouldnt change from 89 unless tuned for different or you have no money.
My 2011 recommended 89. The only 5.7 engines that recommend 91 (to my knowledge) are the 6 speed Challengers. They have a slightly more aggressive tune and larger exhausts, giving and increase in power and Chrysler recommends the higher octane gasoline because of it.
Some guy in a chicago forum gave me shit cuz he asked something about fuel and i told him stock it askes for 89. Said his manual stated 91 octane. Here and there i have found that a few did say that for the 2011 5.7L. But the normal for all 5.7s is 89.
I did see that the manual recommends 89 for optimal performance or something like that. But I have seen a bunch of threads about it, and many people seem to think 87 is OK. After trying both, its obvious to me that the 89 is waaay better in these cars. My truck, can't tell much difference; but in the Charger its a no brainer for me going forward.
Since the car is tuned from the factory for 89 octane or better, it's no surprise that 87 octane didn't feel as good. It likely was producing knock that caused the engine computer to pull timing to compensate for it (loss of power).
You spent $30,000+ for a highly engineered high performance automobile with 390 hp. Why would anyone think it makes sense to castrate the beast to save $80 per year?
Do the math. If you drive 12,000 miles per year and get 18 mpg, the $0.12/gal gas savings is less than $80 per year.
When I purchased my 2014 Charger R/T five Months ago I asked the dealership what gas I should use in my new baby, and I was wondering if they would say 91, but when they came back with 87 is good for this car, I thought they were crazy. All my cars in my collection have always run 89 gas, and not all of them were high performance cars like the Charger, so guess what, I heard what they had to say, but went with 89 in my ride. 87 yeah right!
Same thing happened to me. When I bought my RT last month and the sales guy was filling up the tank for me, I was surprised when he put 87 in. Sure enough I got home, read the manual, and the 5.7 takes 89 per recommendation. You would think you would be more informed on the $35k product you are selling.
im switching for sure. I am sure i drive more than 12k a year...more like 124 mi X 6 days a week all month long 12 months a year. Thanks for the info as i was just going basic as the dealer recommended.
The best thing to do is run 87 and ACES IV in the fuel and you will produce the octane effect of 96 octane fuel for general non-performance use.
Put it in 89 and you will get 98 octane effects.
Remember that this gasoline these days is really garbage and now that we are into winter fuels, it is only going to get worse.....culminating in January where it will be zombie piss!
Use ACES IV and you will get more power, smoother running, more torque and better gasoline mileage too! :beerchug:
When my 2006 Charger Hemi started with the infamous stalling issues, the first thing the dealership asked was "what octane are you using?" At the time, I was switching back and forth between 87 & 89 every few tanks. After being told that was the problem, I went with 89.
With my 2014 R/T, I started with 89 and will not go under or over. Nor will I fill it past the 1st click or use any additives. Learned a lot of lessons with my old car.
What they told you was not correct....but not surprising as dealerships come up with all kinds of misinformation and frankly baloney!
The tank valve was not produced right in the 2006 cars and over filling does cause the problem from the vent tubes. They fixed that issue in later models like your 2014.
Octane has nothing to do with the tank issue at all as the engine determines how it will burn based on speed density tables in the ECM.
As far as additives, you would be good to review ACES IV not just on the Charger forums....where we have over 10,000 customers but rather google it and you will find over 40,000 customers use ACES IV on a regular basis. We have NEVER had nor caused a failure and we have a 98.7% reorder rate. The other almost 2% is the people died or sold their cars and now have a company car. So other than that, we are at nearly 100%.
Off the shelf additives I would agree with you but ACES IV is completely unique and one of a kind. :beerchug:
Dealer told me to just run 87 octane. So that's what I did. I read this thread and switched to 89. I can't believe the difference. Took a small 180mi trip yesterday and the car felt more smooth and I picked up a couple mpg.
20 in the dead of winter, 23-24 in the summer for m '11 R/T....all running 87. I've run both 87 and 89 and have seen no difference in smoothness, power, or fuel economy, whether it be the MI winter, or the dog days of the MI summer.
I don't drive the car in the winter. I'm running 87, but may try 89 when I get the car out next year. I'm not a lead foot, don't speed for the most part and am averaging 23mpg combined driving.
If you ignore tanks with under 150 miles driven:
Worst tank: 18.6 mpg over 184 miles
Best tank: 30.1 mpg over 326 miles
Although I don't really find these valid because of too few miles driven, if you count all tanks of fuel including those where I just topped off for one reason or another:
Worst tank: 17.29 mpg over 125 miles
Best tank: 35.1 over 125 miles
With just under 18,000 on the odometer, fuel cost for the car stands at $0.15/mile over the life of the car.
Remember that Ethyl alcohol is hygroscopic which means it absorbs moisture all the time. When it does this....since your gasoline tank is vented....it produces what is called phase separation. This drops your octane value down as much as 10 octane points and also produces formic acid.
When you start the car and move again, the phase separation will partly remix and then send the acids into your fuel system and attack the seals. Regardless of it is neoprene, buna-n, nitrile etc. It even attacks the nylon screen as you know nylon also absorbs water.
When we put ACES IV in the system, it stops the alcohol from being hygroscopic any longer and if there is any formic acid present, our anti-corrosion agents and anti-oxidants stop that so it is neutralized.
As far as ACES IV making a difference.....OH YEA! We have over 11,000 customers now and have a 98.7% reorder rate once people use it.
In a word...Palpable!:beerchug:
Here is ACES IV vs racing fuel. Used in 91 compared to VP-110 Produced more hp and torque than racing fuel did in a big block V8 for almost $6.00 less per gallon!. We see this all the time in all engines!
Here in the People's Republic of Maryland, we always get ethanol, well about 90% of the state does. There are a few places that sell pure petroleum but by and large, we have no choice here.
Ethanol blends typically have slightly poorer performance due to ethanol's lower energy potential.
As for your rubber components and gaskets, modern cars are designed to handle the ethanol blends that are prevalent today. Older vehicles may require fuel line and gasket retrofits.
I've always used 89 since this is what was recommended in the manual. Having come from 2 prior cars that required premium, this extra few cents savings was nice although I wouldn't have flinched if the Charger required premium. Does anyone try to run only 100% gasoline in theirs? There are a couple of stations around me that have 100% gas and I've been using that exclusively for over a year. I haven't done an A/B comparison, but I feel I'm getting slightly better mileage since I started using it. The mileage doesn't concern me as much as I prefer having fewer additives in the fuel.
While straight gasoline compared to ethyl alcohol in the fuel is better if you can get it as it contains more btu value than 10% alcohol laced, you still have less than 30 ppm sulfur left in the fuel for lubricity which is like wet tissue paper for the sole of your shoe.
Many people use ACES IV for increased gasoline mileage, elimination of ethanol problems (where they can't get straight gasoline), get more power from it, but there are many thousands of people that are our customers who don't really care about the fuel mileage, do want the power, but really have the lubricity compounds that are so important for the upper cylinders that you don't get any other way.
You can really hear the difference in the engine when you introduce ACES IV. The valves quiet down, the injectors quiet down and the throttle response is enhanced. Many even hear the sound of the exhaust notes changing and get a deeper sound from it.....better sealing from rings and valves!!
You put it in a Harley and people swear that you have put a cam in the bike....no kidding!
Additives in the fuel are fine but they don't put much in these days. ACES IV makes up a lot for the lack!