You can likely run your new jag on midgrade if it's available where you live, but I'm undecided onregular as it pertains to Jags. (When we purchased our 2006 Mustang last year, the dealer said it was fine to run it on regular fuel. So far there are no concerns and the car runs strong on regular.) I have recently aquired a 1993 XJ with the six, and after burning off my first tank of unknown grade am trying out premium.I am interested to see if it will run better. There must be a reason Jaguar particularily specifies pemium and for the few extra cents I am prepared to feed it premium if it makes an appreciable difference. Given the cost of care and feeding for an adult Jaguar, it's not really a significant factor. You either accept the costs of driving the greatest car in the world, or you don't ... otherwise we'd all be driving a GEO.

 

Hi Guys,
If your tank is 18 gals and you pay 2.68 regulara gal and you put in 10 gals, the cost is 26.80.
If you put in 10 gals of Prem. at 2.85, the cost is 28.50.
Your saving only 1.70 on 10 gals.
For a 1.70 savings I'll think I would spend the 1.70 more.
Regards

 

Most cars that require a higher octane rating, do so for a reason. There's a ton of engineering that goes into mapping the ECU to run at certain octane...advancing the timing to get peak perfomance requires a higher octane to prevent premature detonation in the cylinder due to ambient heat.

A good for instance. My S60R requires 93 octane minimum. In CA you cannot get higher than 91 octane at the pump. I ran 91 for about the 1st 5000 miles, until I bought a 5 gal can of 100 octane racing fuel. I blended in 3g of 100 to 15g of 91 and noticed an incredible improvement. As oilman stated..paying a little extra for higher grade fuel can go a long way. Might be worth every penny.

I've since signed up for membership at a fleet vehicle pump that sells 100 octane at one of the pumps. Most cities have something like this, you just need to look around. Every tank now gets 5g of 100 oct. and i fill up on 91. Octane rating should average out to about 94 or 95. Makes a big difference.

Just my 2 cents though...

 

Oilman, I love you! Screw the cost! Drive a Jag!!! The real difference in cost is minute. Run em on Premium I say!!!!!

 

Man For the difference you guys are talkin about in $$$, or cents even, I can't even imagine it being an issue[&:][&:][&:]
Tell you what though, bring your Jag over here and you'd be hard pushed to be able to afford to run it on regular???
£5.00 + a gallon of premium.....whats that US?
I'm guessin a damn sight more than you what you're paying, so fill it up in the knowledge that you're getting amazingly cheap fuel and appreciate the fact for gods sake!
I've tried both fuels and the difference is like night n day!!!

Jim

 

I just filled the Suburban up during lunch for $2.69 per gallon. Thank goodness it wasn't empty. It only took a little of $83.

 

5.00 AUD = 4.03443 USD

 

Simple answer...don't buy the car.

I don't want to come off sounding like an asshat, but if you're concerned about saving some $150-200 over a year spread, the car isn't for you. You have to be realistic. If you're pushing it budget-wise and are playing with the notion of using less than spec fluids, you'll probably end up paying more in the long run.

Trust me, I'm exactly in your position; my commute is 60 miles/day. It's the same reason, I don't drive a Jaguar. Instead, I've got a 32mpg Ford on 87 octane!!

 

I'm with Sanskrit...

If the few extra MPG or pennies is a factor, you probably don't want a Jag, Maintenence is more, parts are more, insurance is more. That's why Jaguars are exotic luxury cars.... They cost more to run... Period. Maybe you might want to consider a "Smart Car" I follow the manufacturers insructions and run Premium, don't care what it costs, they have a reason to specify Premium, so it's a no brainer, sure it will run on lower grades, but in the long haul you might experince far costlier problems than the minimal cost of premium vs regular.

 

Even if you don't notice a performance increase / decrease switching from one fuel to another doesn't mean it isn't doing anything. Higher octane fuel is less prone to detonation (engine knock - which you may or may not be able to hear/feel). Your knock sensors will compensate for shitty fuel to some extent (by pulling timing), but when it comes down to it, it's bad for the engine. You may lose some gas milage as well...

I get into this argument with my wife all the time. How much money are you really saving? Not much...

 

Good point well made lowell.
Talkin to the wife about which fuel for the car though?[&:]......lol

Jim

 

Only when she fills it up with the cheap stuff Jim... Of course I guess that's my fault too since she's even driving it in the first place. Kind of like when those curbs sneak up on her and scratch the wheels...

 

Your wife puts fuel in the car??? Wow...
Mine always leaves it for me or waits until A: The car stops running, or B: the cute little light tells her to. either way I've gone on and on with her about keeping the tank near full so the electric fuel pump does not get hot and subject to early failure (the fuel cools the pump andlow levels allow it to overheat) her excuse? It costs more to fill itas she has to make more visits to the gas station.???
Women[:@]

 

Unfortunatly here in San Diego CA in 2011 (the original post was in 2007), 100 octane is $8.99 a gallon. It is fun to drive on 100 octane though!

 

Currently 1AUD = 1.038USD

 

Does anyone have a preference on which gas brand they use?
Shell, Chevron, and Texaco all are recommened by Motortrend and others.

 

Whatever's convenient or cheapest. Makes no differnece.

 

I was referring to the additives that each manufacturer adds so... which one is better? I have found that here in the Midwest, My 04 VDP runs different depending which station I use. Sometimes the "Check Engine" light turns on after I fill up at certain stations. The local dealers all say the code refers to the quality of gas. We don’t have Texaco or Chevron stations here and we just had a Shell station open this weekend. I just want to know if someone else has issues with different gas as I do.

 

There is no detection device installed in a Jaguar that will measure the quantity or quality of additives.