Question Involving My Tune..

KMGZ400 · March 16, 2011

trucks my 2001 silverado 5.3. i have been running the 93 oct. tune from my superchips handheld tuner for about 7-8 months now. i have been seeing consistant fuel usage running 93. due to gas prices, i recently switched over the the 87 oct. tune last time my tank was empty, and fillled up with 87.

Almost every other weekend i make a trip to see my relatives and its exactly 153 miles away and i use a tad less then half a tank every single time. i made the the same 153 mile trip again this last weekend, but now with the 87 oct. tune, i used a little bit more then half a tank for the first time.

is it the octane of fuel thats hurting it? i didnt think that the octane would actually affect it that much, but maybe im wrong. i know the price of 93 probably evens out with the more gas im using with the 87, but this is just something ive been wondering about. thanks

music · March 16, 2011

Not sure, but did you notice any *real* difference in power? There's a lot of variables at play, and you would need to make that trip many times with each setting to get a decent comparison.

KMGZ400 · March 16, 2011

i have not felt a noticeable diffrence in anything since switching it. im gonna make the trip again this weekend and see how i do.

i asked someone at superchips this, and this is what they said,

Kevin, this is because in the Performance tuned we are putting out alot more HP and TQ there for the vehicle is able to move alot easier with the extra HP and TQ. With that said the motor dosent have to work as hard and gains better MPG.

Superperv23 · March 16, 2011

I have tested low octane and high octane fuels in a lot of cars over the years and other than a sunfire, I have found the high octane always gives higher mpg, even in larger american v8's. Now I am sure I will get tons of posts from people who have never tried it or realize that a computer in a modern car can adjust to different octane levels and realize some befits. No the car wont automatically change the timing and let you have as much hp as a tune specifically for 93 octane but it will make some difference. The higher octane always seems to make it run smoother as well, especially in small 4 cyl.

For me with my 2011 5.3 on 91 octane I get a bit more than 1mpg more than 87 and a smoother running engine.

Stevens03 · March 16, 2011

I agree, higher octane tunes have yielded me better mileage in the past 3 trucks I've had tuned

KMGZ400 · March 17, 2011

hmm great. well now i want to go back to 93. now what should i do? pay for 93 and gain a few MPG's or pay less for 87 and lose a few MPG's.

im not sure if its just me, just yesterday i thought the truck was running a little bit rougher... maybe its not just me then

brnr17 · March 18, 2011

Have you sat down and actually figured out which one saves you money? Paying more per gallon for a few extra mpg's or paying less per gallon for a few less mpg's.

ibag8rfan · March 21, 2011

you could run the 93 octane tune, but only put 87 octane fuel and get the best of both, better programming and cheaper gas.

i'm not being serious btw.

Stevens03 · March 21, 2011

Well actually you can run 87 with a 93 tune I've done it without issue. My 03 was tuned for 93 and was able to run 87 when I wasn't towing. But when I towed, It would require 93 or I'd get "ping" early detonation which is bad. If you can run a tank of it with your 93 tune, and not have any early detonation, you'll be fine.