General Questions..

[Toskala112]

What is everyone's thoughts on Oil change frequency? And has anyone run anything other than Premium Fuel in their MS3?

[shift8]

You don't want to run less than a 91 (at least 89...) in the MS3. In a naturally aspirated engine you only have atmospheric pressure pushing into the cylinders. With a turbo, you're now increasing the volume of air going into the cylinder. The reason boosted (whether through a turbo or supercharger) applications require the 91 or better, is to reduce the likelihood of detonation (aka knock). The ECU (engine control unit) is able to account for knock by retarding (or reducing) the timing of the engine. Large amounts of detonation are very bad for the pistons and other parts of the engine, eventually leading to engine failure. In high temperatures (like driving around in the summer) and driving the car hard, you're more likely to experience knock, especially if you reduce the octane rating of your fuel. The whole point of the higher octane rating is for knock reduction (and if you can reduce the likelihood of detonation, the more timing advance you can potentially run, thus leading to higher torque while tuning).

When you have a lower octane fuel, you're more likely to become "knock limited". Personally, the difference between 91 and 89 fuel isn't all that much. You don't want to run 87 octane.

Gotta pay to play

[Toskala112]

Lol..I get it was just curious..I have only put 91 or higher since I have purchased the vehicle..

[morganc]

As for oil change, it really comes down to the oil you use (recommend synthetic only) and your driving habits. There's people here who have oil eaters and others who don't. Monitor it, but I wouldn't go past 8,000kms