No, the engine will handle it fine. 87 is the minimum octane required, but not the only rating. People seem to ignore/overlook that the manual says "87 or higher". Gas in Japan is about the equivalent of 96 octane here, and it's the same engine/exhaust, so I highly doubt you're going to run into any problems. If anything, since 87 usually doesn't offer the same detergents etc. as premium (depends on company, some do), you're probably doing more damage from deposits, buildup etc. over the long haul.

 

I been getting average 26-27 MPG and that sucks crap. I do about 60% highway and 40% city and stay around 70MPH. Its crap, I bought this car thinking I would get over 30MPG everytime and if I knew this crap was gonna happen, I would of looked at another car. I'm at around 4100 miles on the car now and it's been getting the same MPG since I bought it.

Gas light came on at only 234 miles and that really sucks.

 

RON 91-95 is approx 87 Octane here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

 

Well, there you go then, that's good to know and I stand corrected. Even so, the manual still says 87 or higher, and I doubt Honda would advise that if it would cause damage to the engine. I've been running premium in all my cars for years and have never had one bit of trouble ever.

 

I posted this on the Tell Honda forum, but here it goes again:

I'm testing a theory starting today. I filled up today and drove REALLY differently from my usual habit. Let's see if it's a car problem or a lead-foot-driver problem I used to get 35mpg easy with my 99'Civic DX manual, and that got me thinking that vtec could be the culprit here. The Civic made 106hp w/o vtec, but the Fit with a smaller engine makes 109hp w/ vtec. That would mean that if I drove the Fit like I used to drive my Civic, I'm not going to get the same milage as the Civic because I'd constantly be using vtec. So on the highway today I kept the top speed at 60mph, and on city driving I did not launch as fast as usual. It felt SOOOOO slow, I'm not used to driving at that pace But already am seeing a bit of a difference. I drove about 50 miles today and the needle has just barely moved to 1/8 of a tank! That's a lot better already compared to before when I'd see the needle at near the 1/4 tank or so when driving the same distance. I'll update my findings later in the week.

I'm currently getting 27mpg average, let's see how this change in driving habits will affect my milage.

 

my first 170 miles (95% city) was about 27mpg
the next 60 miles (100% city)was terrible 18mpg (still don't know how this happened)
next 270 miles (10% city) was 36 mpg
and finally the last 350 miles (15% city) was 39mpg

i think the real key is avoiding unneccesary acceleration and decceleration (if you see there is a red light ahead just coast, dont gas ... sounds simple but in practice it's not that easy) and to try and keep the rpms low (vtec changeover is at 3500rpm iirc, staying below this really keeps fuel consumption down, on the highway this is more apparent expecially with the manuals which are geared shorter and hit 4000rpm easily at 75+ speeds)

btw complete average would be 32.5 mpg

 

I guess I'll have to make some compromises if my findings tell me the Fit can only get the sticker milage if driven within speed limits (read: s-l-o-w ). I can't stand that slow pace, yet I want better milage... where's the electric motor assist bolt-on??

 

I think some of you need to adjust your driving habits.

This may be your first attempt at owning a car for MPG which is what a lot of hybrid owners ran into when they were first introduced and every single one of them had to re-learn how to drive not only for MPG but to maximize the power assist.

I had no problems getting over 30mpg on my second tank of gas and my car isn't even broken in... 100 city miles, 40 miles of slow freeway, and 160 miles of 75mph highway... with the AC on for all 300 miles. I filled back up with 9 gallons and said "sweeeet".

 

Using anything higher than 87 octane is a waste of money. Aside from the detergent additives, you gain NOTHING from running it in a car that does not need it.

ALL OCTANE (ratings) DOES is help prevent ping/detonation in higher compression engines.

That's it.

That's all.

End of story.

No happy ending.

 

are u using the manual or auto fit?

 

A/T Sport, and only use 87 gas (Mobil, Sunoco, Shell, BP)

 

this man speaks truth. your wasting your money putting high octane gas into an engine not tuned for it.

 

It's the truth, but not entirely accurate. Per the Shell Canada gas FAQ(with some editing for space):

"In other words, if your Canadian vehicle owner's manual specifies an octane rating of 87, running on gasoline with an octane rating of 89 or 91 or more will normally not make a difference.

However, there are some exceptions to this . . . You will also benefit from a higher octane rating if:

- the engine is knocking on the gasoline you are using,
- or you have knock sensor ignition that can take advantage of higher octane values at times of peak demand,
- or high summer temperatures, mountain driving, pulling heavy loads (including loaded roof racks) has temporarily increased your engine’s anti-knock index requirements.


While fuel with a higher octane rating cannot of itself deliver more power, in the above circumstances it can give an engine a greater ability to resist knocking, thereby helping it to deliver the full measure of power it is designed and tuned to provide.

In these cases, where drivers require their vehicles to continue providing peak performance despite challenging driving conditions, for improved responsiveness we recommend using a mid-grade fuel like Shell Silver (octane rating 89) or a premium fuel like Shell V?Power™ (octane rating 91) gasoline."

Where I live we've got a lot of steep hills which are rough on low-HP cars like the Fit, xB, etc., and there is a noticeable difference in feel when using premium compared to 87, though it's only noticeable on the hills. That alone makes it worth it in my case.

 

this man also speaks truth halaluyah!!!lol i knew this but i just couldnt remember why. my old svt focus was premium only and putting 89 in it would cause the check engine light to come on. thank god for my 06 civic. 87 only, well chevron 87 octane.

 

It helps to use Top Tier Gas as well, since it has a recommended amount of detergents. This also means you probably won't have to use fuel injector cleaners, etc. The standard was developed by BMW, General Motors, Honda, and Toyota.

Thankfully, the station a few blocks away from us is rated Top Tier!

 

Id di the idle learn and it appears that i'm getting worst milage then before.. i'm at half after the test and refill and i'm at about 121 miles.. i us eot be at 150+ at half tank.. my needle is dropping very fast... what is going on.. maybe i should not have done it!

i have hills too and rev up to 4-5k for a few stretches.. should i use premium gas? doe sit make for a smoother ride?

 

HQLY - I would expect your mileage to go down after the idle learn. The idle learn resets the ECU right? So your engine and transmission have to learn how to best adapt to your driving style ALL OVER AGAIN. Thid could take a couple hundred miles.

 

my dealer did a gas miliage test today. so he says. he took the car out for a 50 mile run (mostly highway) 9 mile suburban Jersey city (40 mpg and some lights) totaly different driving that i normaly do.

anyway of course he got 38 mpg. how conveinent just like the sticker says. amazing. i said must be the acid rain sucking the gas out of my tank as i drive. i dont know what to do now. i dont have a leg to stand on.

i really should have insisted on being there when he did the test. he also said idle learn was done before i got the car and there is no need to do it again.

almost 4000 miles and still getting lousy gas miliage. maybe i am expecting too much. maybe they dont make cars like they used too.

 

and really all we have to go on is your word that you aren't wasting gas with acceleration and braking

here's the deal... your dealer says he is getting 38mpg, other people say they are getting 38mpg... so there are 3 options

1 - many people are lying to you
2 - you are lying to many people
3 - you're just not using good fuel conservation methods

I'm pretty confident it's #3.

It may just not be your style to slow it down and plan ahead for braking etc, but you can't blame the car for your habits.

 

I am finding that compared to my old '94 Civic which consistently got 28mpg City and 33mpg Highway, the Fit is a lot more sensitive to driving conditions and driving style. Put a little more lead on the gas pedal and you are definitely going to notice a drop in MPG. As well, if you sit in a lot of traffic lights in the city and change speed a lot, you are going to notice it...

However, this being said I enjoy driving the Fit a lot more then the Civic, so even if I don't get stellar MPG ever fill-up, I love the car.