Yes, I understand that I should use premium normally. I would like to know, *can it run on regular if I'm in a place where I can't get premium*.

The answer, from what I've read, seems to be "Yes you can, with the risk that prolonged usage could lead to carbon fouling". I haven't seen anybody who's said that "I ran 87 and my engine immediately done blowed up!"

Some high hp/L engines will blow up IMMEDIATELY if you run low octane.

 

Thanks for all the opinions on this topic I posted! I think I will just go ahead and run the premium stuff. For one thing, I'm 51 now and I can be comfortable in the fact that for most of my life's history behind the wheel I've used the low octane stuff. Kind of like if you have enjoyed moderatly priced Scotch blends; there comes a time in your life when you opt out for Single Malt Scotch! Great analogy, huh?

The other reason I will not gripe is that my wife works for a company that owes it's success to the high profits of the oil and gas industry, so as my wife says, "don't complain, my paycheck is because of the high price of fuels." And because of that I got to trade up from a 1989 Chevy Suburban to a 2003 Disco!

Enough said...

 

The Rovers that are N.A.S. V8'shave 9.35 to 1 set up
other Rovers that don't have to use premium have
8.5 to 1 but as far as I know none of these came to
North America.

Octane is different with the alt the higher you go the
less octane you need.
That is why some places have less octane than atsea level.

On octane boosters it takes ten points to make one
octane point say 92 to 93.

Knock sensors will tell the ECM tochange the timing on 96 and newer when predetonation (knock)
is happing to keep the motor safe.

 

Use what rover recommends, as with any other manufacturer. The simple explanation of octane is the ability of the air/fuel mixture to stay together until it is ignited by the spark plug. A lower octane rating fuel does not stay together as long and the compression tends to ignite it (pre-ignition). When that happens the Knock sensor hears this and retards the timing (less miles per gallon).

 

I have used regular octane in mine before when travelling home. Some of these mom and pop gas stations I passed didn't have anything but regular. I didn't notice any problems, but I don't intend on doing it continuously. If you're stuck in a bind, obviously 87 is better than nothing.

 

Check your mileage on a tank of regular. You will get worse mileage. Mileage difference opposed to cost is not worth it, not to mention carboning up you engine...

 

They get away with not using premium in deepest darkest Africa because they has diesels. We cant get diesels. A diesel will run on almost anything combustible, so even a low grade petroleum product will ignite. (mineral spirits) I dump my used motor oil into my fuel tank on my work truck using my funnel with a screen.
But to answer your question more directly, you can use 87 octane on rare occasion. But it will shorten the engines life.

 

Ok I'm going to jump in here. First of all Using Tolulene????? What the heck are you thinking??????? I agree with Mike if you really want to mess things up go ahead and use it. Do you know what 20% of the compound of undercoating is? Tolulene. We used this in the RV industry to undercoat motor homes, and the reason it is in the undercoat compound was to break down what ison the steel to make the undercoat stick to the steel frame. So if you want to break down the valve seats quickly on these engines that is your choice. Next, Mercedes Benz, which I have owned more of them than Land Rovers require Premium Gas, and guess what, I have driven 2 over the years over 500,000 miles and never once cracked open an engine. Also I'm in a state where emissions are a factor, and I had an emissions test done with regular vs premium and guess what, the vehicle with premium had less hydro carbon emissions. You are saving your environment by allowing your vehicle to burn cleaner. My daughters 71 VW Bus performs better with premium fuel and you know what VW recommends it also. I like you, thought I could save a little money by burning regular gas in my Rover, until my SES light came on, when talking to the dealer and they said that in the colder months they would strongly advise premium. I starting putting in premium cleared the codes, and guess what no SES light since. If you are going to buy an SUV, you best not worry about gas mileage and run what the Manufacturer recommends.

 

"You are saving your environment by allowing your vehicle to burn cleaner." I will not point out the irony of this statement being made on a Land Rover message board. My experience with every vehicle I've ever owned with the exception of a Toyota Corolla, is that higher octane fuel is well worth the extra coin. However I do not live in Canada.

 

Toluene *is* a natural ingredient in gasoline right from the pump.

If one were going to run a high concentration of Toluene, you are supposed to put a little ATF in to help with lubricity of the fuel.

I actually run premium fuel in my lawn mower. It actually detonates under heavy load when I use regular. Amazing.

As far as compression ratio is concerned, you can't just look at that number. 9.3:1 is nothing. Most engines are up closer to 10:1 and still run regular gas.

Again, LR just has a really crappy combustions chamber design.

Does the Disco have EGR? That could be a factor too. EGR helps stop detonation, and also increases fuel milage.