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Reprogram the computer?

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Old Sep 19, 2006 | 11:07 PM
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Reprogram the computer?

After reading through the gasoline thread below i have a question. Previously the highest Octaine i could use was 91. I just moved and found that 93 is the highest. Reading in this thread people are talking about having their computers changed to reflect the different octaine reading. Why is that necessary and what will happen if the computer isnt told that the engine is receiving 93 octaine. Premium is Premium no? as far as the computer is concerned?
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Old Sep 20, 2006 | 12:14 PM
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Originally Posted by IsaacRN
After reading through the gasoline thread below i have a question. Previously the highest Octaine i could use was 91. I just moved and found that 93 is the highest. Reading in this thread people are talking about having their computers changed to reflect the different octaine reading. Why is that necessary and what will happen if the computer isnt told that the engine is receiving 93 octaine. Premium is Premium no? as far as the computer is concerned?
I can't give you a "technical" answer, but perhaps a "common-sense" answer will help.

I believe the requirement is "at least 91 octain" so running your car on 93 octain shouldn't hurt anything. I've been running my C240 for four years on 93 octain, and everything works fine!
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Old Sep 20, 2006 | 01:22 PM
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The car was designed to run off premium. It will not be a problem between the 91 and 93. When I lived in Massachusetts, I ran 93 but here in FL, 91. I have not had any problems.
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Old Sep 20, 2006 | 03:39 PM
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i live in nyc and have been using 87 and i have not had any problems............YET
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Old Sep 20, 2006 | 03:48 PM
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Originally Posted by WaveyKat
i live in nyc and have been using 87 and i have not had any problems............YET
You probably might not see any problems except at the wallet. Everything I've read shows that using lower rated gas doesn't actually help save you money due to the loss of mpg.
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Old Sep 20, 2006 | 04:34 PM
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As far as I understand it, the reason you would update the ECU to 93 is so your car can take advantage of the additional octane. Otherwise, you would get no change in performance, since the car is set for 91 at the factory. The 2 additional octane will not make any difference in normal driving, however, under heavy acceleration or top speed (racing) it should help (maybe in the tenths of a second).
In the same manner, using 87 octane, under normal driving conditions you probably won't notice much of a difference, other than poorer gas mileage. However, you would notice slower acceleration compared to running 91.
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Old Sep 20, 2006 | 06:06 PM
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Originally Posted by skr
As far as I understand it, the reason you would update the ECU to 93 is so your car can take advantage of the additional octane. Otherwise, you would get no change in performance, since the car is set for 91 at the factory. The 2 additional octane will not make any difference in normal driving, however, under heavy acceleration or top speed (racing) it should help (maybe in the tenths of a second).
In the same manner, using 87 octane, under normal driving conditions you probably won't notice much of a difference, other than poorer gas mileage. However, you would notice slower acceleration compared to running 91.
Thats exactly what i was wondering. I dont think it will be worth the effort to have them change the computer for the 2 point in difference. Thanks for the answer. The question was directed more at the computer issue rather than the type of gas im using
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