[bowtie-72]

They’re out there for the Envistas… had to look up to believe. Now let’s see, if equipped with 19” rims & wider tires, Watts link (corners/turns), turbo charger and so what else is needed? Buick Envista Performance Chip

More power naturally, gains possible of over 200 front wheel HP easily attained. High 13 second 1/4 mile ET easily every trip. Turbo boost to 15PSI or more no problem. Would have to have real, active hood scoop and not just faux louvre ventilation. Hood pins- if that hood ever breached at some of those speeds, yikes!

Don’t do it or believe any claims as such. First to disintegrate would be the engine head gaskets with turbo over boost, get the rpm up to maybe 6K RPM and probably throw 2 out of 3 engine rods (nothing wrong there, lol), tranny might hold up a few seconds more stripping bushings and gears.

Never mentioned NOS (nitrous oxide) with say a 50HP shot? Kidding too of coarse but yes- been there done that, for another time.

r r

Yes, I think I’ll pass. As in NO, not DRAG STRIP!

Everything is a trade off. Spend money, go fast, trade longevity, economical operation.

When I was younger, I got caught up in all that too. Then I started working in a diesel shop and started looking at the engineering aspects of the total package. I kinda like my longevity and economical operation.

I never understood the guys on the Cruze forum that used to hot rod and boost the output of their 1.4L engines. I get the challenge of it and the accomplishment, but geeze, it is engineered to be an economy car that gets great gas mileage. It wasn’t all that robust as it was, and they would shorten the life even more. All the time complaining about what went wrong now. If you want performance, buy a performance car!

 

[bowtie-72]

Have any of u guys tried running premium gas 91+ octane and see any improvement in performance or mileage?

I can definitely say that if you use high octane gas, especially non-ethanol, (if you can get it), will yield higher gas mileage. Weather the higher price is worth it or not, is another story. May be a wash at best.

 

[bowtie-72]

I already stated what is not true in what is stupid. But here it is again.

Not true?

The bit about a performance chip being available for the Envista. Google the sentence "evolv performance chip legit?'" And see what you get. If you don't know how to do that I'll let you know that it is just a resistor that does nothing for a vehicle, except maybe throw an error code. This is true of 99.99% of all the so-called "performance chips".

Stupid?

Thinking that extra octane will give you better mileage or performance that is remotely worth the extra cost. Virtually the only reason you need higher octane is if you have a higher compression motor. It does nothing for lower compression motors.

Well…I agree, a performance chip in one of our cars IS stupid, but there are other chips out there for other cars that can change parameters eg. shift points, fuel delivery etc…I think that mostly applies to earlier electronically controlled engines. These new cars can be changed by reflashing the ECM on a bench.

Don’t totally poo-poo premium fuel.
It does have a place, as you said in high compression engines and by extension, turbocharged engines can benefit from premium especially under load. Now is it worth it…depends on how you are going to use it. I know on mine I definitely do see an increase in MPGs. Is it worth it? Probably not. I cannot quite capture the added expense of the fuel in MPGs.

 

[bowtie-72]

If you see anything that claims to be a performance chip you should go in the opposite direction. Again, these are not "chips" but simply resistors that really do nothing. If you're talking about a tuner that's a different story.

For those who didn't bother to look it up here's what Google says about the evol performance chip...

"There is widespread consensus from expert and user reviews that the "Evolv performance chip" is a scam and does not work; it is often described as a simple, cheap resistor that does nothing or causes problems like check engine lights by falsely trimming sensor inputs, and provides none of the advertised increases in power or fuel economy. Authentic performance upgrades involve proper engine tuning, not "plug-and-play" devices that claim universal compatibility, according to various sources.".

So many people think higher octane is higher performance and it couldn't be further from the truth. Using higher octane than your car needs is like overfilling a glass of water to think that you would have more to drink. My Corvette requires higher octane because it is a higher compression engine, and would have detonation and engine knock without it. And yes there are other engines that require higher octane, the best rule of thumb is to use the octane level that the manufacturer requires which in the Envista's case is 87.

I would say it's partially the gas companies that are at fault for making their high octane fuel seem like something magicall to people who don't understand engines.

I can guarantee that you're not going to see any better real world performance from the Envista by using higher octane gas. And if we assume that regular is, let's say $3 a gallon, and premium is $3.75 a gallon, you would need a 20% mpg increase to break even. I would say if you got a 3% increase you'd be lucky.

True, but to be honest, in my experience on the Envista, I saw gains of about 10% in gas mileage using premium. Again, is it worth it? Big picture probably not. Another big mileage enhancer is non-ethanol (100% gas). Ethanol has approximately 1/2 of the BTUs of gasoline, so you have to burn twice as much of it to do the same job. Good thing only 10% of your gas is ethanol! It’s also hyper hydrologic meaning it absorbs water from the air like brake fluid. I’m not a big fan. Living in an energy producing state (Oklahoma) we still have the choice to buy 100% gas.

That’s a whole can of worms to open.
Pro-ethanol, anti-ethanol.
Remember, you can burn alcohol, but you can’t drink gasoline!

 

[bowtie-72]

Just a quick look, it appears premium in Oklahoma regular is around $2.77, and premium is $3.45. At $.68 more per gallon, you're losing a good deal of money with premium if you get 10% better mileage... you'd need to get over 2.5x that to make it worthwhile, right?

I have never had the Envista knock on 87, nor my wife's Encore GX, or any car that I've had that was operated at the factory recommended octane level. The ECU and knock sensor keep that from happening on ALL new cars. Someone feel free to post an audio of the Envista "knocking" on 87 to prove me wrong.

The last time I had knock was many years ago when for a while you could only get 91 octane premium in Illinois, and my motorcycle required 93. I had to add octane boost to every tankful back then.

I personally think ethanol is evil, and it shows up especially on anything with a carburetor. My current motorcycle is fuel injected and doesn't have any problem, but I had the same previous model that was carbureted, and with ethanol it would get gummed up if I didn't ride it for a few weeks. I'd have to run a sizeable dose of SeaFoam to clean it up. Same with lawnmowers, etc. Even F.I. vehicles can have a problem with ethanol if they're not driven much.

StarTron is a great regular additive to keep the "ethanol glue" from forming if you don't drive often.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001VMNHX8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

You are correct to point out the fact that it isn’t really worth it in the big picture to use premium gasoline. Even with a gain in MPGs, it’s difficult to recoup the added cost.
You are also correct that you will not hear any knocking in newer cars. The reason being is that newer cars have great knock sensors that will dial back the ignition timing to prevent the knock. As r.r. pointed out, this will rob you of power and MPGs. So in normal driving, it’s true, use the lower recommended octane for overall economic operation. However, IF you need/want a bit of added boost especially under a load like towing or racing, you can benefit from the use of premium fuel, just know that it will come at a price.