Gasoline in DR- different Octanes- pls advise

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El Diego

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ok here's the question:
in DR i only see 2 options: regular & premium.... and been told that the premium
is the good one; that the regular one is not as clean and has not been processed as the "regular" in US.

so the question is.... does the premium in DR equates to the regular in US?
Even a mechanic (in DR) told me to use premium in a 4-cylinder car.

For folks living in DR, are you guys/gals using regular or premium in your car(s)?

thnx

Erick
 
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Ringo

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AH....

My Jeep with a 4.8 ltr. engine uses "regular" to US standards. So for the last 3 years I've used regular here in the D.R. and it has worked OK. At time a little ruff, but I am told that the gas gets "watered down" at times.

I never looked at the octain rating to see if that is the same as most other countries. Need to fill up so I guess I will look. (Not that I will believe it. lol)

Regards, Ringo
 
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Rocky

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Ringo said:
AH....

My Jeep with a 4.8 ltr. engine uses "regular" to US standards. So for the last 3 years I've used regular here in the D.R. and it has worked OK. At time a little ruff, but I am told that the gas gets "watered down" at times.

I never looked at the octain rating to see if that is the same as most other countries. Need to fill up so I guess I will look. (Not that I will believe it. lol)

Regards, Ringo
Click to expand...
That's the problem in a nut shell.
Even if it says that it's up to world standards, I doubt that it's true.
 
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MommC

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We've always used premium......

for gasoline or diesel......
Whenever we have been forced to use regular, (due to unavailability of premium) we HAVE noticed a difference in how the vehicle runs!:paranoid:
 
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Adrian Bye

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All the locals tell me to use premium on my SUV so I do so. They talk about the regular gasoline as being very dirty. I confirmed this from multiple independent sources, but I don't understand it myself very well.
 
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Hipocrito Mejia

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Even in the DR, you don't need to use premium unless your car has a turbo, supercharger , or high compression motor. Your average car or yipeta will be just fine with regular. ;)
 
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El Diego

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Hipocrito Mejia said:
Even in the DR, you don't need to use premium unless your car has a turbo, supercharger , or high compression motor. Your average car or yipeta will be just fine with regular. ;)
Click to expand...


even though "regular" in DR is watered down, dirty, or below US "regular" standards?

i've been told that if one uses regular in DR that some cars have problems
later on with ignition or other parts.

difference b/w reg & prem in DR is $10 pesos... so not sure if it's worth
saving about $150 pesos in a full tank by using regular.... even though
every peso counts when you're living in DR.

using gas is another option but that has its advant/disadvant.
 
Keith R

Keith R

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Not sure why this thread is in the Environment Forum, since (so far) it does not address an environment issue. I'm thinking of moving it to the Living or General Stuff forum, in part you're even more likely to get responses in either of those two....
 
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Hipocrito Mejia

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windeguy said:
If you have a problem with the octane level, the engine will "ping" under heavy acceleration. If regular does that, then you should move to Premium.
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Absolutely correct!

Again, you don't need to use premium unless your car has a turbo, supercharger , or high compression motor. Your average car or yipeta will be just fine with regular. If you're worried about dirty gas, change your fuel filter more often. You can even have an extra filter added in-line before it reaches the original filter. (sort of a pre-filter)

As an FYI, modern vehicles are equipped with computers that dinamically adjust various settings based on inputs received from multiple sensors located throughout the vehicle. This is done in order to compensate for variables such as the octane of the gas going into the motor.
 
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mountainfrog

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Go Diesel

Hipocrito Mejia said:
....As an FYI, modern vehicles are equipped with computers that dinamically adjust various settings based on inputs received from multiple sensors located throughout the vehicle. This is done in order to compensate for variables such as the octane of the gas going into the motor.
Click to expand...

Those 'dynamic computers' are normally the first things that a typical Dominican mechanic would bypass or throw out.

Sophisticated computerized management of combustion, ignition timing, fuel mixture, exhaust contents, etc. has its purpose in other countries but can give one lots of headaches in this country.

IMHO, it's best to opt for a diesel car.

m'frog
 
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Rocky

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Hipocrito Mejia said:
Absolutely correct!

Again, you don't need to use premium unless your car has a turbo, supercharger , or high compression motor. Your average car or yipeta will be just fine with regular. If you're worried about dirty gas, change your fuel filter more often. You can even have an extra filter added in-line before it reaches the original filter. (sort of a pre-filter)

As an FYI, modern vehicles are equipped with computers that dinamically adjust various settings based on inputs received from multiple sensors located throughout the vehicle. This is done in order to compensate for variables such as the octane of the gas going into the motor.
Click to expand...
Yup.
But I still believe that our regular gas here is lower octane than in the US.
My Lexus runs ok on it, but my Honda Accord (4 cyl.) used to ping like crazy going up mountains or under any strain.
Has to put super in to stop it from pinging.
The manufacturer's suggestions said regular would do, but it wasn't enough for that particular Accord.
 
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AZB

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Only the guys with new cars use premium the rest use the regular. I have been using regular gasoline on both of my cars and they run just fine. Now I have heard a rumor (more than once) that premium gasoline in DR is actually diluted with regular gas to some percentage by gas stations (not all). This is done to increase profits. The premium gasoline is not really as pure as you guys think it is.
AZB
 
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Hipocrito Mejia

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mountainfrog said:
Those 'dynamic computers' are normally the first things that a typical Dominican mechanic would bypass or throw out.

Sophisticated computerized management of combustion, ignition timing, m'frog
Click to expand...

So that's what all the people with newer (10 years) vehicles running on regular are doing? I don't think so!

mountainfrog said:
IMHO, it's best to opt for a diesefuel mixture, exhaust contents, etc. has its purpose in other countries but can give one lots of headaches in this country.l car.

m'frog
Click to expand...

I agree that a diesel is best in DR for various reasons.
 
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Hipocrito Mejia

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Rocky said:
... my Honda Accord (4 cyl.) used to ping like crazy going up mountains or under any strain.
Click to expand...

Rocky, that would happen in the US or anywhere else. Anytime you operate a motor under stress such as you describe (your lower hp motor would stress easier), it's going to ping. The car's computer will sense this and retard the timing, thus reducing hp output and performance.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that regular gas in DR is the same as regular in the US. However, it's just fine for most vehicles.
 
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Lambada

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Hipocrito Mejia said:
Again, you don't need to use premium unless your car has a turbo, supercharger , or high compression motor. Your average car or yipeta will be just fine with regular. If you're worried about dirty gas, change your fuel filter more often. You can even have an extra filter added in-line before it reaches the original filter. (sort of a pre-filter)
Click to expand...

My 1988 Dodge Ram Raider (aka Mitsubishi Montero) SUV used to run just fine on regular but over the last few months I've noticed it pinks (UK version of ping i.e. clang or grind) much more frequently - (so much so that a passenger who has never driven here in his life told me to go into lower gear!!). Vehicle is regularly checked by our mechanic & his immediate question last time he changed the filters was 'which gas station do you use?'. Some are apparently worse than others for watering down fuel & the problem has got worse recently countrywide, I understand, because of gas station tight profit margins. Your local mechanic will know which gas stations have the worse reputation. Mine did not advise premium, just decent regular.
 
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reese_in_va

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Only use regular here with our 4-cylinder suv, pings under stress. I thought it was the lifters or valves.....??
I also use garden power equipment and everytime I use up the 5-gallon plastic gas can there is a layer of rust at the bottom. This I assumed is from the storage tanks at the gas station. No matter where I purchase the fuel it is the same result. Also have seen water in the gas can. Every other month I put isopropyl alcohol in the suv, was told this will evaporate any water that may accumulate from the gas or from condensation within the tank. Not sure if it is effective, or if it will eventually hurt the motor/ carburetor over time.
 
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Rocky

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reese_in_va said:
Every other month I put isopropyl alcohol in the suv, was told this will evaporate any water that may accumulate from the gas or from condensation within the tank. Not sure if it is effective, or if it will eventually hurt the motor/ carburetor over time.
Click to expand...
It absolutely helps and may be essential if you have water in the tank.
 
Conchman

Conchman

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I have heard many times that many gas stations operators sell regular gasoline as 'premium' as they are ****ed off at their corporate companies for not allowing them to make bigger profits. However, this is just rumour.

We only sell premium diesel at our fuel station at Ocean World Marina because we had complaints of water in the regular diesel when we started. However, we will be making some tests as we would like to sell cheaper diesel.
 
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