Hey all,

Sorry about this...i am planning on getting the G500 (box on wheel thingy). Since the engine in it is very similar to the E500's engine, i would like to ask one question:

Can i use REGULAR fuel instead of premium on the MB 5.0L V8???? Yes, i may lose a few HP...but can it be done safely?? (I am more of an off-roader than racer...so, i don't mind losing a few ponies.)

Again, sorry for hijacking this subforum....

Thanks in advance,
Thai.

 

i dont know if you should, the manual "requires" that you put 91 or whatever in there. i heard that MB will void your warranty if you dont use it, dont know if its true or not though, i would consult your dealer though. GL with the G500!

 

Damn...that's gonna hurt me...12 mpg in city and 14 mpg on highway!

 

Gee, if it hurts enough you might have to reconsider whether you really need the box-on-wheels-thingie after all.

I'm not an expert on the subject, but as I understand it, the problem with using fuel with too low an octane rating isn't loss of power - it's pre-detonation, also known (in its mild form) as "knocking." In its not-so-mild form, it can cause severe engine damage, supposedly even including holes in engine thingies that don't really need additional holes.

 

Yeah, i was hoping that knocking would not be an issue. Most premium fuel-requiring engines nowadays are able to take regular fuel without knocking...instead performance is reduced slightly. Their knock sensors adjust accordingly. Take Lexus LX470 engine, which recommends premium fuel, but can use regular fuel safely. The only bad thing is that you lose a bit of performance.

 

$73,000 for a Gclass/wagon and you worried about another .10 for gas??? I don't get it

 

Why is it that people always say this??!! Ok, let's see, gas prices are going up...reaching $2/gal in my area. The G drinks a gallon every 12 miles...and 14 miles on the highway. With anybody's checkbook, that is a significant amount of cash!

Mind you, if i was buying a high-performance car (such as my M3), then i would not mind using premium fuel. BTW, my M3 requires premium (compression ratio 11.5!!) and drinks quite a bit of that stuff (16 mpg in city; 24 mpg on highway, which is similar to most V8's).

Instead, i am buying the awesome G-wagon for off-roading and long trips. My M3 is too high-strung and has no spare tire. I was HOPING that MB 5.0L V8 can take regular fuel without knocking, which is the case for a lot of engines nowadays, especially considering that this engine is not so high-strung (as in M3).

If you check out my signature, i am not a poor homeless soul living under a bridge and has now decided to get the G-wagon. HOWEVER, i DO CARE ABOUT MY $$$$. Is that wrong??? Is that too hard to understand??? For anyone who does not care, i pity you.

Thanks.

BTW, i was asking a simple question. A snob i am not.

 

The key word there is recommends. MD requires

 

Actually, I remember reading in the manual that if you were stuck low on fuel and could not get high octane the book says "Fill up only a few gallons to get you to another gas station" It also said to drive it "easy" when dooing this.

To my understanding low octane equals bent pistons due to pre detonation...

Seems that repair would cost more than an extra 30 cents per gallon..

 

Not trying to be a wise-a$$, but I never could understand not using the recommended product to save a little money. I just consider it part of ownership. Example: high octane in my area is usually ten cents or so more than regular, so at $1.90 per gallon for 25 gallons you save $2.50 by using regular. I fill-up twice a month, so for a year I would save $60 buy using regular gas. To me its not worth ruining a 10K motor or not having it perform to its peak potential. I'd rather save money buy doing some of the maintenance myself. You could almost save save $60 buy changing your own oil or $200 - $300 buy changing your brakes. Its your call, maybe your leasing and it isn't a concern, but if you plan to keep it a while and rack-up the miles... Good Luck!

 

Thai, I can't help but jump in. I'm sure you have plenty of money like the rest of us. As you said, I doubt you are poor. It sure sounds like you are pathologically cheap though. Buy your G, take Prozac and it will all even out.

 

WTF is everyone jumping all over Thai for?
He simply asked a question regarding the requirement to use premium in the 500 engine.
Since he is just using it off road most of the time and is not interested in performance, he is wondering if premium is a absolute requirement.

What is with all the bashing? Why the "cheap" shots?
Maybe we have got some serious cases of "G" envy here.

I have been on this forum for a long time and can't remember when someone from another forum posted and was so rudely treated. I do note that most of the replies (except bmms8) are pretty new to this forum.

THAI: I can understand you point of not wanting to spend money that may not be necessary.
I am surprised at the big difference in mileage between the E500 and the G500. I get about 20 city and 24 highway with my E500.
Is the weight and gearing that much different or is the engine actually different?
I suggest that you pose the same question in the technical forum and see if a tech can give you an answer without a lot of crap.
Good luck.

 

OK, I'll try to make nicer in the future. I've got this thing against oversize SUVs that I can't always contain. My mantra henceforth shall be: "Hate the sin, not the sinner."

The big difference in mileage ratings between the G500 and the E500 is puzzling if you just look at engine and weight. According to the stats on Edmunds.com, the G500 weighs only (!) about 500 pounds more than an E500, and the engine even seems slightly detuned from the E500 engine. I haven't researched the minutia of gearing, but I suspect that the real culprit with the G500 is its drag coefficient. Not exactly an arrow in flight, is it? The difference between its city and highway numbers is only 2 mpg, whereas it's 7 mpg with the E500. Or, to put it another way, the G500 is "only" 4 mpg worse than the E500 in the city, but 9 mpg worse on the highway. That tells you something about the effect of air resistance on fuel consumption right there.

 

Why this particular subforum?? The G-forum is dead. I would have to register at Benzworld.org...which is time consuming. So, i picked this forum because it is relatively active and the E has the 5.0L V8 engine.

Now, i always use the type of fuel that the manufacturer requires...or recommend if it's for a good cause. For example, my BMW M3 requires premium fuel...so i put in the premium fuel despite it's relatively poor economy (16/23). It's not a big deal.

Now, if MB requires premium on the G-wagon BECAUSE it will make it off-road better, then i WILL use premium. If MB says premium will result in faster G-wagon, then i don't really care...i don't believe in fast SUVs (aka FX, X5, etc.).

Unfortunately for me, MB requires premium because of knocking. That i understand. So, i will have to use premium when i buy it. Again, it's no big deal since i do NOT have a choice.

Now, as for PREMIUM VS. REGULAR, check out this thread on my 4runner forum:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showth...=&threadid=683

As you can see, i am not a complete idiot when it comes to cars.

So, am i cheap?? Not really, considering the two cars i own are not particularly cheap. And the fact that i am looking to get a G-wagon...and that's not cheap. BTW, I OWN these cars...not lease. I use premium on my M3 and regular fuel on my 4runner.

BTW, it's not a good idea to off-road a leased vehicle!

Geez, ya know what they say when you ASSUME things!

Thanks Etenn & Silvergt02. For the rest of ya, thanks for showing me how ignorant some MB owners are. (And sad part is, i am not even insulting the E-class to deserve this treatment!! Maybe you guys should save some of that ignorant stupid statements for someone who is attacking your E.)

 

Now, why is the G-wagon economy so bad?? Here are the reasons:

1. Weight...1500-1600 lbs heavier than E-class
2. Gearing...the front and rear axles have 4.3 torque multiplication
3. Poor aerodynamics...thus, highway mileage sucks.
4. Full-time 4wd system sucks gas

Now, when i am off-roading, i would be in LOW range, which multiplies torque another fold. All this torque multiplication is great when you're climbing a hill...but it eats fuel like there's no tomorrow!! Trust me, even my 4runner sucks gas like air! With this, do you still think that fuel economy would still be 12 and 14 mpg??? Hell no! With off-roading, i would bet that fuel economy on the G-wagon would drop to at least 5-8 mpg!!! PREMIUM FUEL.

Give you a perspective, my 4runner fuel economy is about 16/19 on regular fuel. When i am off-roading, it goes down to about 12-14 mpg.

So, you guys still think i am nuts for thinking about this???!!

Now, to compare, the Lexus LX470 gets about 13 mpg city and 17 mpg highway...on regular or premium. The knock sensors on LX adapts...you lose a few ponies but no knocking. Why do i know this?? Well, i have many 4runner owners on my forum that use regular fuel on their 4.7L V8 4runners (which use the same engine as the LX). Toyota/Lexus agrees.

Bottom line...i do know what i am talking about when it comes to SUVs. Since i haven't had the chance to look at the G-wagon owner's manual, i thought that it would be helpful to ask you guys. Boy, was i wrong!

 

I disagree, I didn't think anyone was taking "cheap" shots, it was more of a "you should really not do this, and here is why" types of responses. Not new on this board either. Everybody explained factual information why it would not be wise to use regular gas in that vehicle. Also, the G-wagon is over 1,000 lbs heavier than a E500 and has a Aero Drag of a refrigerator which accounts for 0-60 in about 10.5 seconds and poor gas mileage. But the G-wagon isn't about speed, its about off-roading which it is one of the best you can buy I've driven one on a MB off road course. Perhaps Thai should consider the diesel version if MPG is a major concern you get better mileage and more torque to boot.

PS I would gladly add a G to my stable of vehicles

 

"We can't guarantee the vehicle will perform as specified if other than premium fuel is used," says Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman Michelle Murad. All U.S. Mercedes engines specify premium.

I'm not saying that you should go out and use regular, not am I saying that you should always use Premium. It's your car, do as you please. No flaming please --> I've used special (89) once in a while back when I had a sulfur smell and the dealer said I should change up a tank of gas once in a while and it did work, no more sulfur smells. Coincidence? Maybe, but there was nothing wrong with my engine after that.

Some people say when they use a lower grade gas, they had problems with their car like the check engine light or stalling or rough idle, but that's in each seperate case only a few have experienced.

"All Porsche engines are designed for premium, too, but it's not available everywhere. "Our cars must be able to drive all over the world, and so we are able to run on regular," says Jakob Neusser, director of powertrain development at Porsche's research and development center in Weissach, Germany. "You don't have to feel that a mechanical problem or anything else will happen" using regular gas, even in the highest-performance, regular-production Porsches. ---> I agree with this point. What about when MB's go to different countries that do not offer premium, what would happen then? Would the engine break down after x amount of miles because regular 87 or special 89 was put into it? I know they produce different engines for different countries, but I think pretty much their internals are the same, just not as big in terms of liter's.

Just my opinion.

 

JP, what does Prozac have to do with anything?? I would love to hear your explanation. Oh, if you're just being a smart-a$$, then you should know what the hell you're talking about before talking! Dumb.

 

The G-wagon weighs in at about 5500 lbs. Actually, the G500 is quite fast...0-60 around 7.5-8.0 seconds.

You're right...if only MB sells their diesel engine over here.

 

You must be reading a different thread...

...." it was more of a you should really not do this and here is why"..


DAVEL:
$73,000 for a Gclass/wagon and you worried about another .10 for gas??? I don't get it

JPRESCOTT:
Thai, I can't help but jump in. I'm sure you have plenty of money like the rest of us. As you said, I doubt you are poor. It sure sounds like you are pathologically cheap though. Buy your G, take Prozac and it will all even out.


Not exactly "here is why".

 

I think we are kinda past that now...

 

Should never have been there.

 

Wow!!!!

I can understand Thai's question, and although I do not own an E500, I do own a Mercedes-Benz. MB recommend I use an oil conforming to certain specifications. If I ignore that recommendation, and the engine goes bang!!!! Then bang goes the warranty.

If Thai can safely safe money and have a good time, then brilliant, good luck to him but obviously if using a cheaper fuel will cause long term problems, I am sure he will stick with Premium. That, I believe is what any sensible person would do.

A number of years ago I had the use of a Range Rover for a short period and averaged 10 - 12mpg (on premium petrol at UK prices with imperial gallons, not US short measures ) That makes the G-Wagon an economical dream.

John

 

Well I guess I need to explain. Lets start with the underlying tone of my statement: humor. For that I apologize, especially if I hurt anyone's feelings. What I mean by the prozac is that it is a drug often used for the anxiety and obsessive behavior associated with being pathologically cheap. Again I'm sorry since I don't know you. Just a mean way to make a point. Where my comments and those few "abusive comments" are really aimed is to understand why one would not spend the extra few pennies per gallon. What I have learned by your response is that humor of that nature is not appreciated and more importantly you are obviously interested in the technical reason behind the gas issue. With that said, I hope you don't have a worse ride or hurt your new G. From other posts it sounds safe. Let us know.

 

Uhh, did not know that this was a stand-up comedian night forum??!! What did you think i was looking for in the first place when i asked the question??? Humor?? Grow up.

Mind boggling!