Best gas for the Cali.

A quote from Car and Driver. "Mind you, premium fuel does not necessarily pack more energy content than does regular. Rather, it allows more aggressive engine designs and calibrations that can extract more power from each gallon of gasoline." Ferrari calibration is for 92/93 and so 101 does not give a proportional boost in power. Instead, I would be looking for a station that sells premium without the ethanol. May not be a huge boost, but your engine will be happier in the long run.

 

Get premium at a minimum of 91 AKI octane. Make sure you buy from a station that sells a lot of fuel. Gasoline quality has been declining for years especially in North America, so it is more important than ever that the gas is fresh. One of the issues with modern gas is that its octane goes down - fast. A station that sells a lot of gas is likely to have fresh gas that actually has the octane it claims to be. As for race gas and the like? Forget it. Your engine was mapped to run a minimum of 91 octane and running much higher is just money out the window. 92 or 93 is not a bad deal especially on warm days. That makes sure that the knock sensors are never activated and you always have max power. It will most likely also give you a bit better throttle response and slightly better mpg. Also, if your car sometimes sits for a few weeks, higher octane will take longer to get to a point where it is a problem. If sitting for more than 2 months, add stabilizer to avoid this and it gumming up in the lines, and to avoid the ethanol fuel from collecting water. Ethanol fuels are very hygroscopic.

As for ethanol fuels in general. The Cali was built to handle it, so in that regard it is not an issue. The two major drawbacks from ethanol fuels are that they are hygroscopic and they have less energy density. The latter is what determines how much power is in the fuel so to speak.

 

costco

 

DK308 - Very helpful, thanks. Any suggestions on stabilizers (brand/formulation) that work with ethanol but won't create other issues? Also, anyone have an opinion on gas brands?

 

Ferrari of Atlanta told me that Ferrari had run studies and they believe Shell to be the best. Whether or not that is accurate, or just a marketing partnership... who knows. But my Ferrari has only ever seen Shell Premium gas. I've never filled-up anywhere else.

 

You might want to try 100 octane unleaded e.g. Sunoco. There is no doubt that on warm days the ECU will retain an aggressive timing curve and make for a noticeable performance difference. It will cost you $8/gal if you can find it.

 

Daaaammmmnnnn

 

Don't put 101 Octane in your car. It's bad for it. It can cause detonation and pitting of the heads and can potentially burn the rings. Race fuel is specifically for higher compression, race tuned engines. If you are running it in a stock motor, you may ask yourself, "Why are my exhaust pipes chalky white inside?" It's because your burning up your motor!

 

Use Sta-Bil 360 Performance or Sta-Bil Storage. No issues what so ever. I've used Sta-Bil for years in boats and cars, and I'd never use anything else. Not saying other products don't work, but why mess with a sure thing

 

It shouldn't make a difference so long as it's top tier fuel (Shell, 76, Chevron, etc.), and the same octane rating, but yeah, I find that all my cars seem to have a bit more power with Shell, too, and not just the Ferrari.

As for octane rating, the higher octane fuels burn more slowly, so better resist premature ignition, also known as knock. If the engine senses knock, it will retard the timing so as to prevent knocking, thus giving you less power. If your engine does not sense any knock with 91 octane fuel, putting in higher octane fuel will not necessarily give any performance benefit if the engine doesn't add any ignition advance to take advantage of the higher octane. Most don't, so higher octane often is just wasted money. There should be no harm, though, in trying it.

 

Many thanks!

 

I've been using Shell for 30+ years. Cars always seem to do better. I will occasionally put in another "Top Tier" fuel just to take advantage of the different detergents used by other brands. Never had a problem related to fuel usage.

 

Lots of myths about fuel. Go with high volume name brand dealer with highest octane certainly over the minimum recommended value in the manual. Ethanol is the devil in my book but its almost impossible to find local stations without it. No higher than E10 and E0 would be like a fine wine for the motor these days. Some brand fuels are crap and your engine will not like it so listen to how your motor responds especially when pushed. Glad you didn't ask about additives or stabilizers!

 

Another consideration is the deposit control additive (DCA) that a particular brand of fuel uses in their fuels. EPA and some state air boards set the minimum specs for this stuff. DCAs are expensive and many independents use the cheapest required while top tier fuels (chevron, She'll, etc.). use better stuff. It is difficult and expensive to make a good DCA, one that cleans but doesn't harm the engine. Going for high octane fuel without considering the additive package can lead to problems. The DCA packages are what differentiates top tier fuels from the rest.

 

Ever since Ferrari switched to direct injection, the potential benefits of gas additives which clean the valves is no longer relevant. The gas is sprayed inside the cylinder and not on the valve.

Fortunately the valve build up in Ferrari engines doesn't seem to be a major problem the way it has been with other manufacturers.

Time will tell. As F owners pile on miles and get engine work, we will learn more about the severity of deposits.

 

Don't direct injection engines have injector clogging issues? If so, cleaning agents are still important, aren't they?

 

Printed last year in Consumer Reports

The result is more complete combustion and cooler cylinder temperatures that enable a higher compression ratio for greater efficiency and power. Engine technology supplier Bosch says that direct injection can return a 15 percent gain in fuel economy while boosting low-end torque as much as 50 percent.

Combining direct injection with other technologies—such as turbocharging—can deliver even greater gains in economy and performance. That in turn enables carmakers to use smaller displacement engines, resulting in an efficiency snowball effect. Many automakers are marketing DI as pro*viding fuel economy that’s almost as good as a hybrid’s, and with better performance—but without the $4,000 hybrid premium.

Although the breakthrough seems like a dream come true, an unwanted side effect has been emerging. Letter writers have complained to Consumer Reports and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that over time DI can lead to clogged fuel systems and engine carbon buildup. The result can be engine hesitation and a loss of power—and the need for expensive repairs.

Some carmakers, including BMW and Kia, have issued technical service bulletins (TSBs) to their dealers recommending that drivers use only name-brand detergent gasoline—without ethanol additives—and that they periodically add a fuel-system cleaner when they refuel. (A TSB is an alert that the automaker sends to dealers to warn about ongoing problems with individual models and how to fix them. It may allow dealers to make repairs at little or no cost to the customer as a goodwill gesture.)

 

Old school fuel injection provided a means to clean the valves. With DI, depending on design, Of the engine, crude and deposits on the valves can be a problem. And as noted above, the DI injector is now in a much more hostile environment.

 

I was talking about build up on the valves which can be potentially a significant problem in direct injection engines.

Most major brand of gas contains detergents. Shell, Chevron, Arco, etc.

I'm not sure if any particular brand is better for the Ferrari direct injection engines.

Of course Shell and Ferrrari work together. But I've thought Chevron which contains techron
Was very good.

Any one with clogged injectors yet?

When my Cali had logged around 50k miles my variators were replaced which is an engine out service. I asked how the valves looked and was told they were fine. I usually use Chevron gas

 

Here is an article which discusses the carbon build up with direct injection


http://www.enginebuildermag.com/2015/01/direct-injection-engines-carbon-deposits/

 

What is interesting to learn is that reducing carbon build up is achieved with adjustments to the software management.

Perhaps the software upgrades which have been criticized for reducing the Pops and Crackles actually are an effort to address the carbon build up due to overly rich and unburned mixtures.

If so, wishing for the old software or trying to restore the old software might not be in the best interest of the valves.

Just my musings.

 

I use Techron, too. I agree re software. There's usually a very good reason they revised it.