Type of fuel

[jarjar26]

Hi there,

I'm new to this forum and will probably acquire a PHEV very soon

What is the recommended type of fuel to use with 2018 model ?

Are there any metrics available somewhere ?

thanks in advance !

 

[maby]

You will find multiple threads here on the subject dating back almost to the start of the forum. There seems to be no evidence that the car benefits noticeably from anything more expensive than standard unleaded.

 

[Tipper]

On the basis that the engine runs in only two scenarios, driving the generator as a hybrid and driving the front wheels only when cruising at higher speeds, there seems little point in trying to improve the engine output.

Fuel with added detergents/additives may be beneficial due to the stop/start nature of the engine operation but I see no benefit in higher octane fuel and Mitsubishi say they have modified the engine to accommodate this.

 

[greendwarf]

Note the OP is in Canada - so UK/Europe replies may not be appropriate :?

 

[Steel188]

As long as you use a fuel with an octane number of 95 or above, and carry on with whatever you would normally do to account for your local climate, you should be fine.

Others have said that there are numerous threads on here about fuel, if I were you I would search out the ones from USA and Canada as they refer to things most of us Europeans would never even think of, like sending your fuel or engine oil off to be analysed?!?

In one of these threads, a contributor from a colder part of the USA, wrote a lengthy comment about oil and how when our bottles say fully synthetic, that’s what it is, but in North America it isn’t, it’s still mineral based but enhanced. We were discussing the oil change intervals and how they vary on both sides of the Pond. Fuel also played a part in that thread.

 

[jarjar26]

As long as you use a fuel with an octane number of 95 or aboved.

Oh oh, no luck, best i can find around is 91.

 

[richr]

That’s RON octane rating, what we use in Europe and most of the world. The USA and Canada use (RON+MON)/2.

So what most of the world calls 95 octane, the USA calls 91 octane. Basically standard unleaded petrol (gasoline).

 

[FrancoPHEV]

As others have said, the target is to use Unleaded fuel at RON 95 or better. I go through periods of experimenting with RON 98 E5 from time to time (when the price dips) - mostly because in my Subaru days, I found that the engine appreciated it. However, I have come to the conclusion that there is absolutely no advantage to using the higher rated fuel in the PHEV. I see no improvement in consumption and I am conscious of more of a smokey smell on start up.

 

[STS134]

This is what the manual says: "Your vehicle is designed to operate on unleaded gasoline having a minimum octane number of 87 [(MON+RON)/2] or 91 RON."

There is no point in using anything higher than this. The engine won't benefit from it because its compression ratio does not require it.

 

[jaapv]

Not the European manual - it is 95 there. I suppose the engine has been detuned somewhat for the USA market.

 

[ThudnBlundr]

It might be that the engine can be tuned to run on lower octane fuel by retarding the ignition and reducing power, but that it runs best on 95. Do they sell anything below 95 anywhere in Europe?

There's certainly no point in going for the possible extra power with 97/98 as the ICE seldom (?never) runs at peak power which is the only time that the extra octane might help. The only possible other benefit of "Super" Unleaded is that it may have extra additives in the fuel to stabilise it if it's left for a while...

 

[AndyInOz]

I use the higher rated fuel, in Australia, because it is cleaner and has a lower sulphur content.

I use so little fuel, cost is irrelevant.