What Octane gas do you use for your Buick Encore?

[farscape1]

Have an 2019 Encore and was told by everyone that i need to use 89 Octane since this car has a turbo. Is that correct or have ive been wasting money?

 

[MelsRegal]

Page 27 of your owners manual states 87 octane is fine.

 

[Again]

I use regular gas, that's what is specified in the manual for my elevation and driving habits. I tried higher octane and saw no improvement, in fact fuel economy went down I think. We have no ethanol in our gasoline.

 

[mshultz]

I use 93 octane in my 2019 Encore with the optional direct injection engine.

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[adamcar]

You are wasting your money. It was designed to run on 87.

 

[farscape1]

Was told using 87 would ruin the turbo?

 

[MelsRegal]

That

Was told using 87 would ruin the turbo?

That makes no sense whatsoever. Gasoline does not flow through the turbo only air on the intake side and exhaust in the output side and again your owners manual clearly states you can use 87. The engine is also equipped with a knock sensor which will adjust engine parameters based upon the octane used.

 

[mshultz]

You are wasting your money. It was designed to run on 87.

I'd like to waste more money, but everything is closed due to the COVID-19 Lockdown. I've owned my Encore 13 months and still have fewer than 5,000 miles on it.

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[mshultz]

On the other hand, my 21" push lawnmower (No, it's not self-propelled) which I bought new this season, has over 50 hours on it.

 

[poncho167]

Was told using 87 would ruin the turbo?

It can't hurt but I personally go by the owners manual. No auto manufacture wants warranty claims.

 

[G-25765]

Have an 2019 Encore and was told by everyone that i need to use 89 Octane since this car has a turbo. Is that correct or have ive been wasting money?

I just spent 1500.00 in repairs on my 2015 encore. Blew the Valve Cover and Intake Manifold due to carbon build up on the PCV valve. Our gas has 10% ethanol so I’m blaming bad gas. I have 160000 Km and mostly highway mileage.

 

[Again]

Which PCV? There's 2 on a turboed engine. 1 while in boost and 1 while in vacuum. Also a PCV regulator in the valve cover. By the way carbon build up cannot occur on the PCV valve in the intake, just not possible, on the backside of the valves maybe if you have a direct injected engine which you don't. I'm confused as to what really happened to your engine!!! I believe the real reason was the intake PCV popped out of it's hole and then pressure built up in the base. This has been known to happen. If you look down in the intake you can see the PCV.

Every time I change the oil in my vehicle I check to make sure the PCV is still in place. I took this picture with my endoscope.

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[Robert-D]

Have an 2019 Encore and was told by everyone that i need to use 89 Octane since this car has a turbo. Is that correct or have ive been wasting money?

I read the following short article on the subject of turbos and octane in Popular Mechanics:

Turbos and octane

I’ve read that turbochargers on petrol cars are designed for high-octane fuel but can use regular, and the engine adjusts to the octane level. What’s the deal?

www.popularmechanics.co.za

Edit to add: I use regular gas, 87 octane, and my little Encore runs great on it.

 

[oregon_rider]

This same motor in europe (sold in opel mokka) has recommendation for euro mid grade fuel that is 90 octane...

Based on what I know thus far - you are not wasting your money using mid-grade in winter or premium in hot summer months... The engine won't "pull timing" and reduce power output & mileage running the higher octane fuel - more common in higher temps.

We own two buick encores - my wife has a 2017 and I daughter has a 2018 - they are different colors so we don't mix them up!

Both use either costco top tier premium or chevron premium fuel. We are in Oregon.

jeff

 

[Again]

I have a 2016 Trax and a 2016 Encore. I tried using Supreme in both and saw absolutely no difference in MPG or performance. But I know that with the direct engines starting in 2017 it is better to keep higher octane to keep the back of the valves clean. I use the GM fuel treatment once every 6 months in the Trax and once a year in the Encore as specified by the owner's manual.

 

[mshultz]

The gasoline used in the EPA emissions and mileage test is a fuel with a precise carbon count, alcohol free and about 89 octane. Because the fuel economy number is so important, and because higher compression engines are more efficient, my belief is that engines are actually designed to be most efficient with alcohol free 89 octane fuel or greater. Not necessarily true for E85 vehicles. I have yet to find evidence backing up this belief.

I had a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am with the quad 4 engine. The shop manual stated that the v6 should not knock on 87 octane, and the quad 4 should not knock on 91 octane fuel, even though both engines were supposedly designed for 87 octane fuel.

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[ThatsNotABuick!]

That

That makes no sense whatsoever. Gasoline does not flow through the turbo only air on the intake side and exhaust in the output side and again your owners manual clearly states you can use 87. The engine is also equipped with a knock sensor which will adjust engine parameters based upon the octane used.

Actually, there is some evidence that using lower octane, especially in warm climates like Texas and Florida is causing premature turbo failures through cracks or other damage. That is correct that the knock sensor will pick up knock with lower octane fuels and retard the ignition timing. What happens with retarded ignition timing is that it can drastically increase exhaust temperatures. These increased temperatures can cause accelerated or increased stresses on the turbo. The potential for damage is more likely for people who have a heavy foot or live in hilly areas. This is compounded in warm climates as the IAT is increased further under boost.

I live in GA and it gets really warm during the summer here. I have noticed a drastic loss of performance running 87 octane. I think in warm climates or "spirited" driving, that a minimum of 89 octane should be used. I work for a major car manufacturer (not GM) and noticed that on all the vehicles we test that running regular in a non-turbo with 87 recommended fuel, that there is some knock retard with regular driving.

 

[TheLawnRanger]

I use 93 octane in all my vehicles. They run smoother and have a little extra pep. I use either a 20 ounce or two 12 ounce bottles of techron around 1000 miles before an oil change.

 

[Again]

I live in GA and it gets really warm during the summer here. I have noticed a drastic loss of performance running 87 octane. I think in warm climates or "spirited" driving, that a minimum of 89 octane should be used. I work for a major car manufacturer (not GM) and noticed that on all the vehicles we test that running regular in a non-turbo with 87 recommended fuel, that there is some knock retard with regular driving.

It isn't the heat, the ECM will compensate for that, it's 99% humidity that's the problem, try as you may you cannot combust water. Octane just makes gasoline less volatile so it ignites when the spark arrives, It doesn't make it a better gasoline since it has less energy and for all the people that say they have better gas mileage with 93 I would like to see factual proof.

 

[oregon_rider]

It isn't the heat, the ECM will compensate for that, it's 99% humidity that's the problem, try as you may you cannot combust water. Octane just makes gasoline less volatile so it ignites when the spark arrives, It doesn't make it a better gasoline since it has less energy and for all the people that say they have better gas mileage with 93 I would like to see factual proof.

I can't seem to find it right now - but there was a review/road test of a buick encore a few years ago by a reputable publisher. e.g. car and driver, edmunds, etc.. I don't recall.

They drove the encore in high heat across a desert - it might have been death valley. They had very poor fuel mileage.

They contacted GM and they told them to try again with premium fuel as it was reverting to the low octane tables in the ECU. When they repeated this road test with 92 octane fuel - the mileage jumped up dramatically.

Also, look here to get a better understanding of why this vehicle can do much better on premium fuel - it keeps you in the high octane advance table in the ecu...

https://store.badnewsracing.net/Which-fuel-should-I-use-in-my-LUVLUJ-Does-it-matter_b_1.html

From the blog post above....

"There are a number of articles published by so-called "Experts" that state that there is no benefit to running premium fuel on any car that does not specifically require it. This information is FALSE. "

It's not that it just pulls timing for very short period of time - it will move you over to the less efficient timing map and leave you there until you refuel the vehicle. (which resets the selection of the table).

jeff