Is anyone using synthetic motor oil or premium gas, and if so are you noticing any difference.
Is anyone using synthetic motor oil or premium gas, and if so are you noticing any difference.
The day I bought my Micra I brought it home and changed the motor oil to Castrol synthetic. That's all I am using in this car and I don't believe for one second that upping the gasoline grade will do anything beneficial for this small engine. Now a word of caution about synthetic oil based on my own personal experience. Don't use Pennzoil synthetic made from natural gas. Without posting a lengthy reason here, this is where I posted my reason. http://micra-forum.com/showthread.ph...2500-rpm/page3 post #29. Enjoy that Micra.
The octane rating in your manual lists the grade of gasoline to use and designed for your engine. Using a higher octane than that listed is simply a waste of money. Octane acts as a catalyst for ignition, if not required then it serves no purpose.
What Does Octane Do In Gasoline? Octane Ratings
So, octane does not enhance the explosion in the cylinder like most people think. What does octane do? It just prevents the air-fuel mixture from igniting before the spark plug does it. Firing the air-fuel mixture at the proper time gives you the maximum power your engine was designed to get. Using higher-octane gasoline than your engine is designed to utilize is only wasting your money.
Last edited by Ajijic; 12-11-2016 at 09:58 AM.
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View my fuel log 2016 Micra Active manual: 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.9 mpg (Imp) ... 16.6 km/L ... 39.0 mpg (US) ...
I've ran 89 but msotly 91, I am thinking 91 is over kill but I could be getting slightly better millage with it. It cost me less then 40 bucks to fill up so its really doesn't bother me. This car is the best purchase I've ever made, car was cheap, gas is cheap and the car is a blast to drive.
Good point if it's costing less then 40 bucks with a premium gas I say why not it's not like it's any worse for the car, I just had my first test drive in the micra sr yesterday and was absolutely surprised, with the handling and "power".
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View my fuel log 2016 Micra Active manual: 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.9 mpg (Imp) ... 16.6 km/L ... 39.0 mpg (US) ...
Imho premium gas is wasted money even with my timing advanced and synthetic oil is a different story depending on where you live climate wise and if you change your own oil. If you live where it is warm then you could change your conventional motor oil more frequently and still spend less and if you live where it's cold like me then synthetic oil changed around 5500 km is what I have been doing. I have noticed the valve train noise is more quiet with synthetic oil and the claimed pour point of conventional motor oil is higher temperatures than the label indicates. Leave some out on a cold night and then try pouring both synthetic oil and conventional oil through a funnel in the morning....you will see what I mean.
I use synthetic oil in my Micra. Like Pete said in his post I notice a lot less valve train noise.
Gee-zuz. This is similar to motorcycle threads re. Motor oil. Is Penzoil a true grade 4 synthetic? No. On sale it is the same cost as dino oil, but I personally received 8% better fuel economy with it, and if you leave it out in -5ºC weather it flows much easier than dino. YMMV, just sayin... yes Mobil 1 is better, but value wise, maybe not. In regards to gasoline, if you're using premium, good for you if it makes you happy, but your car is no better off for it, nor is your wallet.
OT: Pete, are you running advanced timing?
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I run synth in all my vehicles, mostly because very cold weather protection / starting is improved. There may be a slight fuel economy gain in cold weather as well, depending on your driving patterns. (More noticeable if you do a lot of short trips with cold starts.)
Agree with the others: using anyting more than the grade of fuel recommended by the manufacturer isn't necessary. Of course it won't hurt... other than the wallet!
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View my fuel log 2015 Micra S manual: 5.0 L/100 km ... 56.5 mpg (Imp) ... 20.0 km/L ... 47.0 mpg (US) ...