Where Do You Stand on Gas and Corvettes?

Is It Ever Okay to Use 87-Octane Gas? What Brand of Fuel Station Do You Visit? And When Do You Fill up?

In a recent Corvette Forum thread, member tommykoz1998 asked a number of questions regarding everyone’s fueling tendencies. Let’s examine if there any trends or points of note among owners of America’s sports car.

We’ll initially look at what is postulated in the thread, and then we’ll give our own recommendation for Corvette owners. As always, there are extenuating circumstances that can lead to differences of opinion: your mileage may vary, caveat emptor, and all that.

Tommy first asks, “What type of gas and octane do you put in your pride and joy?” There are a number of responses here, ranging from “whatever’s cheapest” to “top-tier 93-octane only!” Our answer falls somewhere in between.

CHECK OUT: What Forum Members Are Saying About Fuel and ‘Vettes

Obviously, if your car calls for premium, you should use premium. Especially on older Corvettes that aren’t as sophisticated as those available today. The knock is a constant enemy, so we find 91-octane works fine. While we prefer to fill up with top-tier, we haven’t really found that it makes much difference if you grab a tank of off-brand, every now and again. Some fuel brands have more detergents and additives than others, so if you’re really anal about it, you can do research till your heart’s content.

Tommy’s second question is possibly even more contentious than the first: “How low do you let your tank go down before you fill up?” Many members say they fill up when the car has only half a tank, and are adamant about that fact. We’ve never experienced any issues with filling up the tank when it creeps down towards empty. If your low-fuel indicator comes on, you usually have a spare gallon or two to get to the nearest station. On a road trip, or even daily driving, you’ll have no issues if you run it down to the “E” indicator. This is a general rule, obviously; if you’re storing your car or won’t be driving it for extended periods, it’s a good idea to keep the tank closer to “F” to avoid condensation buildup.

Where do you stand on gas? We’d love to hear!