Another +1. Paul, worldwide oil supply is pretty much the same, so are refining processes. Different countries use different calculation methods. The one used in the US is (R+M)/2.

 

Guess great thread and tons on new knowledge...thanks! Today I went to the dealership and it turns out I had leaves in the air intake...screwed the sensor. That's why my car kept stalling. Well it turns out some of you were right. It was the air intake sensor.

 

how did the leaves get passed the air filter? if it was just leaves against the outside of the airbox/filter, then your sensor should be alright, and it was just bogging down.

 

Good to hear it was just some leaves in your intake. Easy fix.

I agree with a couple of the posts above. Running 87 octane in your Z will *not* hurt the engine. The car's knock detection system will automatically retard the timing to allow for lower octane. You will lose some power when this happens, but it will not damage the engine. For maximum power you should run 91 octane, but if for some reason you must use 87 or 89, you'll be okay. I've had to do this before when I was in an area that simply did not have 91 octane and I had no problems in my 350Z nor in my previous Audi A4 1.8T, both of which recommend 91 octane. I noticed somewhat of a power loss in both cars, but no problems.

On the other hand, you should be careful if you've done an aftermarket upgrade to your car's computer. Those are often very aggressive configurations which will much more heavily rely on higher octanes by running more advanced engine timings. If the new programming is too aggressive, it may not be safe to run much less than the octane rating it requires. The stock programming, though, is typically very conservative and should handle 87 safely.

 

Yup, usmanasif is correct.

R = research octane rating
M = motor octane rating

The US rating used is as he stated up above, meaning we take an average of R and M. In other countries, they often just use one rating or another, rather than an average. Not sure how the UK does it, but it looks like they might just use the research octane rating. Here is a page with more info than you probably want:

http://www.csgnetwork.com/octaneratecalc.html

 

True...I'm lucky I have 93 pumps in my area and Im glad to know if push came to shove i could dump 87 temporarily. Undrgnd the leaves never pass the filter...just simply collected in front of it. The sensor behind it wasn't reading the right balance of air...or something like that. This of course is according to the dealer. Who were cool enough to show me...

 

just to add some info overseas they are paying like six seven and in one country i went to 11 dollars a gallon of course they go by liters but if you convert it 11 dollars a gallon baby.

 

Yeah the truth is...gas is still very cheap in the states compared to other countries. But still, did you guys see the the quarterly profits of the major oil companies...throught the roof. The highest quarterly gains ever recorded.

 

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=3604

 

you might want to try to use pineapple juice. i heard that was a good substitute for octane booster.

 

Yooda, get article....Now that my head stop spinning. 93 is where I'll stay.