please help! 87 oct

Hey guys, I just was at a local Shell station and told the attendant "$20 cash, 93, V-power" and then proceeded to talk to carry on my conversation with my mother. When I looked back at the pump, the attendant put in 87 oct (about 7 gallons) and I asked for a flush but the mechanic went home already (it's 9:30pm). He then filled the rest of my tank (about 3.4 gallons) with 93. I then very cautiously went to another gas station Mart to get octane booster and immediately put it in the tank. on the drive back home I noticed almost no torque as if I had no turbo but you could hear it spool up like normal. My question is WHAT TO DO?!

 

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Wait, are you driving a 2003 Subaru Legacy L (i.e. a non-turbo) as your profile suggests?

 

If that's the case then you should be running 87 in the first place and you're doing yourself a disservice by running 93.

 

If you're talking about a turbo Subaru I'd say either don't drive the car or stay mostly out of boost if possible. If it's not an inconvenience then take it back when the tech is in and have them drain the tank and put whatever you're tuned for back in.

 

EDIT: So yeah, I guess the big question is what are you driving?

Wait, are you driving a 2003 Subaru Legacy L (i.e. a non-turbo) as your profile suggests?

 

If that's the case then you should be running 87 in the first place and you're doing yourself a disservice by running 93.

 

If you're talking about a turbo Subaru I'd say either don't drive the car or stay mostly out of boost if possible. If it's not an inconvenience then take it back when the tech is in and have them drain the tank and put whatever you're tuned for back in.

 

EDIT: So yeah, I guess the big question is what are you driving?

Long story but no that car is gone, have to update..I'm driving a 2006 legacy gt 5eat. So I'll wake up early tomorrow and I guess limp down there and fix it

I had a full tank of 87 (I did not do it!) and ran the vehicle. No limp mode, but noticeable ignition retarding in low sub boost built rpm.

I had a full tank of 87 (I did not do it!) and ran the vehicle. No limp mode, but noticeable ignition retarding in low sub boost built rpm.

Did you finish the tank? How long ago?

 

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As long as you're not driving the car hard you should be okay. It's not ideal but the car will automatically retard your timing when it detects knock from the lower octane gas. Just take it easy and try to either flush out your tank or just refill your tank with 93 octane. I wouldn't bother your time and money with octane booster. It's really more of a marketing scam and doesn't really do anything in terms of increasing your current tank's octane rating.

As long as you're not driving the car hard you should be okay. It's not ideal but the car will automatically retard your timing when it detects knock from the lower octane gas. Just take it easy and try to either flush out your tank or just refill your tank with 93 octane. I wouldn't bother your time and money with octane booster. It's really more of a marketing scam and doesn't really do anything in terms of increasing your current tank's octane rating.

Money already wasted [emoji17]. I'll see if they can flush it tomorrow morning, if not I guess it'll be a very boring few days driving lol

 

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+1 for it probably wont hurt anything... they did that to me too in nj before i drove back home to pa.

 

16 gal tank - 7 of 87 = 9 gal of 93 which is like 16 gal of 89oct + mystery octane booster

 

if you have an access port you can run the economy map or just go on a long boring ride without beating on the car like you normally would to use up the gas. It would be easier and more cost effective to do that then have someone flush or drain the tank.... its not like they put diesel or water in or anything like that. Whenever you refill you can reset your computer by pulling the battery cable and you can have it relearn the happy 93 gas.

+1 for it probably wont hurt anything... they did that to me too in nj before i drove back home to pa.

 

16 gal tank - 7 of 87 = 9 gal of 93 which is like 16 gal of 89oct + mystery octane booster

 

if you have an access port you can run the economy map or just go on a long boring ride without beating on the car like you normally would to use up the gas. It would be easier and more cost effective to do that then have someone flush or drain the tank.... its not like they put diesel or water in or anything like that. Whenever you refill you can reset your computer by pulling the battery cable and you can have it relearn the happy 93 gas.

 

This.

 

Just take it easy and burn the fuel on light driving and it should be good. Octane booster may help a bit. But check that you get some that actually works.

 

Flushing the tank is a waste of effort.

Well the manager at the station refused to take responsibility, so I will have to drive on it. I don't have an accessPort yet, is there anything I can need to do when I finish the tank?

 

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As others mentioned car will regard the timing to prevent more knock. I drove mine from full to [1/8] and filled with 93. If youre having limp mode or CEL from it there is s bigger issue. It is not as big of a problem as you would think, at all.

Well the manager at the station refused to take responsibility, so I will have to drive on it. I don't have an accessPort yet, is there anything I can need to do when I finish the tank?

 

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Aren't you allowed to fill the tank? If you aren't allowed to fill it yourself then you should check which legislation that surrounds that and if the gas station is responsible if their personnel do the filling.

 

But at least you did catch that it was incorrect fuel filled and that in turn allows you to take care to avoid the problems that could result from it.

 

Just read up and be prepared for the next time it may happen.

1: STAY OUT OF BOOST

2: Lucas octane booster is the only one you can buy locally that works. You'll need ~2 bottles of it to get a full tank to 93. Dont do this on a regular basis through unless you want your O2 sensors to turn orange.

3: You can connect the green connectors in the passenger side foot well to force the car into limp mode. This will prevent any engine damage until you get it refilled. You have to connect these after starting the car, else it will go into delivery inspection mode.

Aren't you allowed to fill the tank? If you aren't allowed to fill it yourself then you should check which legislation that surrounds that and if the gas station is responsible if their personnel do the filling.

 

But at least you did catch that it was incorrect fuel filled and that in turn allows you to take care to avoid the problems that could result from it.

 

Just read up and be prepared for the next time it may happen.

 

In New Jersey the attendant fills your car, and they post signs to advise you of that regulation. I believe the law goes back to when many cars (American cars) had the filler behind the rear license plate. Following a number of owners being crushed or run over by idiots coming in behind them, the state decided to allow the risk to fall on the attendants.

Ironically, even with our recent increase in gasoline taxes, the full service is still cheaper than adjacent states.

You will be fine, just stay out of boost. You essentially have about a half tank of 87 and half tank 93 or about 90 octane.

You could always drain the vast majority of it yourself with a siphon pump.

 

It will cost you the tank of gas and some of your time, but if you are that worried about it, why not?

1: STAY OUT OF BOOST

2: Lucas octane booster is the only one you can buy locally that works. You'll need ~2 bottles of it to get a full tank to 93. Dont do this on a regular basis through unless you want your O2 sensors to turn orange.

3: You can connect the green connectors in the passenger side foot well to force the car into limp mode. This will prevent any engine damage until you get it refilled. You have to connect these after starting the car, else it will go into delivery inspection mode.

I'm new to turbo subies, what is limp mode?

 

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It's a "safe" mode that is intended to protect the engine and transmission from damage but it's making the car very slow and tired. It's intended primarily to allow the driver to get the car safely out of the way if there's a fault on the motorway and other high traffic areas.

 

It's not intended to be used for longer driving, and it may be very conservative and hardcoded so it may not be good for your cat in the long run.

 

Just be easy on the throttle until you have consumed the current tank and filled up again.

It's a "safe" mode that is intended to protect the engine and transmission from damage but it's making the car very slow and tired. It's intended primarily to allow the driver to get the car safely out of the way if there's a fault on the motorway and other high traffic areas.

 

It's not intended to be used for longer driving, and it may be very conservative and hardcoded so it may not be good for your cat in the long run.

 

Just be easy on the throttle until you have consumed the current tank and filled up again.

Well I'm already a quarter down because as we know the legacy is thirsty lol. I was also thinking about just letting it idle in my driveway to waste gas, good idea or no?

 

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well if you want it out that bad, you can have someone drain it for you - they can keep the gas as a reward for their efforts That's like... 20 bucks worth of gasoline at least.

 

What part of NJ are you at?

well if you want it out that bad, you can have someone drain it for you - they can keep the gas as a reward for their efforts That's like... 20 bucks worth of gasoline at least.

 

What part of NJ are you at?

Lol my mom asked for the gas but honestly what you guys are telling me is that it's not worth the effort so I might try to siphon it for her or just drive on it

 

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like someone else said previously, just dump a couple of bottles of octane booster and try not to hoon the thing until you can get more 93 octane mixed in. Since you're already at 3/4, just fill it with 93 to full and it'll be closer to the right octane than before

You won't get put in limp mode unless you run like 80 octane (I have no idea honestly just assuming).. I romped on it on 87. You'll be fine.

I'm new to turbo subies, what is limp mode?

 

I used the wrong term, low IAM mode in this case. Limp mode (what ehsnils described) is another level below this.

 

What it does is pull back the timing and revert to the richer failsafe fueling map. Boost control is also disabled. It doesn't limit the top the throttle or cause issues for long term operation, and the car is still 100% operable as normal. It will more or less prevent you for damaging the engine.

I used the wrong term, low IAM mode in this case. Limp mode (what ehsnils described) is another level below this.

 

What it does is pull back the timing and revert to the richer failsafe fueling map. Boost control is also disabled. It doesn't limit the top the throttle or cause issues for long term operation, and the car is still 100% operable as normal. It will more or less prevent you for damaging the engine.

Nice to know the car is smart enough to detect that. I was originally worried because I thought only newer subies had knock detection and my mind straight to to worst case scenario (ringlands lol) thanks guys [emoji106]

 

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