Octane Level
Short answer: Use the lowest octane that doesn’t cause detonation (pinging) — not simply the lowest available. Run too low and you’ll eventually break something; run higher than needed and you only waste money and raise emissions (it won’t help performance). 92 octane or higher won’t hurt anything.
Many factors affect this — distributor advance, compression ratio, carbon buildup, carb adjustment — so every car is different. Modern cars use knock sensors to retard timing automatically; ours don’t, so use your ears. Experiment up or down until it runs clean on the lowest grade that won’t ping.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
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