Please use only RON97 for all CTR Owners ...

netken

Frequently Asked Questions On RON95 Petrol - by Honda Malaysia

August 26, 2009

Honda Malaysia has released this list of frequently asked questions by owners of both Honda’s and other marques. The introduction of RON 95 is just a couple days away so this list should help you understand your car and the new fuel better. Except for the Civic Type R, all other models are compatible with RON 95.

1. What exactly is RON?

RON stands for Research Octane Number, which measures the quality of fuel. It represents the fuel’s ability to resist premature & uncontrolled combustion that occurs when fuel pre-ignites before the ignition spark plug.

2. What is engine knocking?

Engine knocking is caused by self-ignition of the fuel or air mixture, which is a result of using RON levels that is lower than the minimum requirement.

3. What is the minimum RON requirement of my Honda Car?

For all Honda cars produced in year 2001 onwards, the minimum RON requirement is 91. Honda cars are equipped with ‘Knock Sensors’ that detect the octane quality of the fuel used, enabling it to automatically adjust spark timing to prevent engine knocking.

We advice drivers that bought their cars from non-authorised dealers to check their owner’s manual for minimum RON requirement.

4. Type-R RON Issue

It is recommended to use RON97 for Civic Type R because of its high performance engine, as it was tested in Japan with RON100 for optimum engine performance. Please note that this engine version with knock control can also run on fuel with a minimum octane number of 91; but performance and fuel consumption are affected as a result.

5. What is a Knock Sensor? Are all Honda cars equipped with Knock Sensors?

A knock sensor is a detector, which identifies engine knocking during spark ignition. When engine knocking occurs, the knock sensor signals the engine operation to slow down the ignition timing that will eliminate the knock, which may result in some power loss.

All Honda cars are equipped with Knock Sensor.

6. What fuel should I use & what RON works best for my car?

As long as the fuel used is not below the minimum RON requirement (RON91), it will be appropriate for all Honda Cars.

7. What is the effect to the engine if petrol of a different RON is mixed together?

As long as the fuel meets or exceeds the minimum RON required by the engine, mixing is fine & should not damage your engine. (except Civic Type R, recommended RON97). However, do note that different fuel brands come with different levels & types of additives, so mixing different fuels may not provide the optimum performance & efficiency for your vehicle.

8. Do I have to always pick the highest octane rating petrol for my vehicle?

Anything above the minimum RON requirement, which is RON91 for all Honda cars will be appropriate. (except Civic Type R, recommended RON97).

9. Will there be a reduction of fuel efficiency & performance with the use of RON95 from RON97?

The efficiency & performance will not be affected if the car uses above its minimum requirement RON which is RON91 for all Honda Cars. (except Civic Type R, recommended RON97). Loss of power & fuel efficiency will only occur when the minimum RON requirement is not met as the knock sensor signals the engine operations to retard its spark timing to eliminate engine knock.

Refer :

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bros with CTR - dun mess around with RON95, Honda Malaysia recommends RON97 and above .. not too sure why it contradicts with your manual. In the meantime, be safe with RON97. cheers!

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netken · Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 12:12 am Post subject:

Petaling Jaya, 26 August 2009 – Honda Malaysia today announced that all models distributed by the company are compatible with petrol RON95 (Research Octane Number 95). The Company announced this following the government’s decision to increase the price of RON97, along with the introduction of a more affordable option, RON95, which will replace RON92. The new fuel is available at RM1.75 per litre effective 1st September 2009.

As RON97 is most commonly used, many are doubtful in switching to fuel with lower RON. Honda Malaysia assured all Honda drivers that RON95 should not affect any model distributed by its authorised dealers with the exception of Civic Type R.

“Since 2001, all Honda cars require a minimum RON91, hence, any number above the minimum RON is safe. The switch therefore will not affect the performance and fuel efficiency of the vehicle. Compromisation of performance and fuel efficiency will only occur when the RON is lower than the minimum requirement,” said Mr. Toru Takahashi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Malaysia.

“Except for Civic Type R, of which we recommend RON97 because of its high performance engine. A higher RON will thus produce more power for this performance sedan. Otherwise, the performance and fuel consumption may be affected,” he added.

In the event when fuel with lower RON is used, a condition called engine knocking will happen, which will result in reduced performance and fuel efficiency.

In order to prevent engine knocking, all models from Honda Malaysia are equipped with knock sensors. Knock sensors are detectors that signal engine operation to slow down the ignition timing (spark plug action) in case of engine knocking, which would consequently affect the vehicle’s performance and fuel efficiency. These knock sensors can also run on fuel with a minimum octane number of 91.

For models distributed before 2001 or distributed by non-authorised Honda dealers, owners are advised to cross check the vehicle’s minimum RON requirement by referring to their owner’s manual.

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tigertie · Amateur Lvl 2 Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 200

Thanks Bro...

I'm surprised this morning when I visited one of the shell station in Lbu, all RON95! Darn it, this station don't sell RON97. Finger crossed others are selling...

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CTR 008144

Shah 3D · Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:48 am Post subject:

i cant tell which is which.

RON95 and RON97, how to differentiate? layman term please.

eg:
SHELL - Green = RON95?
SHELL - RED (VPower) = RON97?
PETRONAS - GREEN = RON95?

is that so?

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FD2R-07919

yuri · Committee Joined: 05 May 2008 Posts: 954

dont worry so much about it.

so long you pump atleast ron97. it should be ok cause v power is 97 too.

some station labelled the ron 95 as green, some yellow.

whatever it is, keep a look out at the hose cause most of them arer displaying it now. IF you wish to hunt for V power, there are still about 120 stations around malaysia selling that. Check out the other thread and the info is posted by coolride.

Tried ron95.... one word... SIGH

amirul R7979 · Amateur Lvl 2 Joined: 04 Apr 2009 Posts: 150

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FD2R Max Speed 263km/h @8800rpm by Dynojet

senseless · Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 7:14 pm Post subject:

I wonder why VPower was withdrawn out Confused

legrunt · Veteran Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 313

senseless wrote:

I wonder why VPower was withdrawn out Confused

Cos nobody bought. By "nobody" I mean, "not a significant proportion of the population"...

Anyway, as an aside, I just tried ron95 in my *shock horror* CTR.
:O

But honestly, maybe... juuuuust maybe.... there is a small loss in power. Very slight, almost... imperceptible, I would say. But I dont hear any knocking from the engine. I think our engines can take it, its just that honda is doing a CYA. (cover your ass)

Or maybe its cos of the Automax I dumped in along with it? *shrug*

tigertie · Amateur Lvl 2 Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 200

reading SG forum, RON95 is quite common with the R there. i was assuming no problem with it, till HM come up with the statement. haiz.. they took the easy way out..

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hotel kilo · ACE Joined: 29 Sep 2006 Posts: 2105 Location: Klang Valley

Must understand the history of it. Too long to mention here but although may not be the main reason but basically its about why HC didn't want to export the Type R models in the first place.

legrunt · Veteran Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 313

I dont get it...
Their main reason was because we didnt have RON100 here. Then finally one day, magically, the K20A-R can take RON97. People test with RON95 oso no prob.

What gives?

hotel kilo · ACE Joined: 29 Sep 2006 Posts: 2105 Location: Klang Valley

best to ask HM product Development guys or WongKN as I was only involved in the survey / interview group. Basically we argued that with the grey market Rs being here since the late 90s (I think I'm the longest surviving:wink: ) we've had no problems. Most of us were using Ron97 though.

Not sure about Ron95 but long term and without dyno & related equipment who knows? I know the k-series has knock sensors but on other than K series Type R engines with Hondata S300 software we are picking up knocking using Ron97.

HC is anal about how this effects warranty etc caused by the fuel. From our meetings I gathered that HC couldn't be bothered about selling the R badge outside of Japan. HM did a good job listening and using us to tell them that Malaysia has the target group the car was made for. Bear in mind (IIRC) Malaysia is still the only country outside of Japan that the FD2R is sold. My take is that if HM doesn't take this stand, that may change.

I once said that if the FD2R designer saw the number of FD2Rs during Sepang track days, sure he feel touched. Very Happy

yuri · Committee Joined: 05 May 2008 Posts: 954

hotel kilo wrote:

best to ask HM product Development guys or WongKN as I was only involved in the survey / interview group. Basically we argued that with the grey market Rs being here since the late 90s (I think I'm the longest surviving:wink: ) we've had no problems. Most of us were using Ron97 though.

Not sure about Ron95 but long term and without dyno & related equipment who knows? I know the k-series has knock sensors but on other than K series Type R engines with Hondata S300 software we are picking up knocking using Ron97.

HC is anal about how this effects warranty etc caused by the fuel. From our meetings I gathered that HC couldn't be bothered about selling the R badge outside of Japan. HM did a good job listening and using us to tell them that Malaysia has the target group the car was made for. Bear in mind (IIRC) Malaysia is still the only country outside of Japan that the FD2R is sold. My take is that if HM doesn't take this stand, that may change.

I once said that if the FD2R designer saw the number of FD2Rs during Sepang track days, sure he feel touched. Very Happy

exactly..

yuri · Committee Joined: 05 May 2008 Posts: 954

legrunt wrote:

senseless wrote:

I wonder why VPower was withdrawn out Confused

Cos nobody bought. By "nobody" I mean, "not a significant proportion of the population"...

Anyway, as an aside, I just tried ron95 in my *shock horror* CTR.
:O

But honestly, maybe... juuuuust maybe.... there is a small loss in power. Very slight, almost... imperceptible, I would say. But I dont hear any knocking from the engine. I think our engines can take it, its just that honda is doing a CYA. (cover your ass)

Or maybe its cos of the Automax I dumped in along with it? *shrug*

If you can hear the knocking, isnt it quite severe? Try to datalog it, you will eventually get the Idea

As for what bro hk highlighted, we do pick up very mild knocks even from using v power. Read quite abit from other automotive forums, alot of them do emphasize that if you are doing city driving and not revving it much, it doesnt feel much of a difference between ron97 and ron95.

J's racing tuned their s2000 in Japan for the 2008 MME using lower grade fuel in japan. Not sure if it was ron95 (could be something else), but i remember vaguely the ron was supposedly lower than ron97 here. They had to retune during their practise day. Sounds like our ron97 is still more inferior than the ron95 n japan.

this is one of the reasonS why PENTAGON invested a hefty sum and invited Js racing to tune the reflash in Malaysia this year using our ron97.

MmMmm.......std ctr in japan with ron100 should get close to what honda claim the fd2r's engine has. have a power run and see what power are we getting using the ron97 locally. or you could try ron95 now. do a comparo for the good of fd2r community! Laughing

"But honestly, maybe... juuuuust maybe.... there is a small loss in power. Very slight, almost... imperceptible, I would say. But I dont hear any knocking from the engine. I think our engines can take it, its just that honda is doing a CYA. (cover your ass)"

perhaps it doesnt feel much or almost imperceptible, try pushing it in sepang with ron95. i beg to differ that there is a small loss in power let alone knocking from the engine.

thinking from another angle, perhaps i am the ignorant and the n1 flash you have shines the best with ron97 or ron95 that it could adjust the timing and angle automatically according to the fuel you pump. i would be more than happy if you could add the n1 flash reviews into the comparo i did so everyonecan benefit from it.

Whether HM is CYA or not, it's irrelevant as i have heard end user wrote to HM and complain how the fd2r couldnt go past 186km/h seeing as it is a 200k car and it is total ballock to have the speed cut.

They have to be prepared as there are different people with different thinking out there and they could be their customer.

*note* not saying you or anyone in the forum that you shouldnt pump ron95 in the fd2r. It's your car and money afterall. I know i would not.

legrunt · Veteran Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 313

Just trying this one time, thats all. Before the price of fuel went crazy, I only pumped in v-power, then after that, had to settle with 97. Now with 95, I was curious, so try la. Anyway, with the knock sensor, I knew the engine wouldn't get damaged, just maybe slight loss in power.

Anyway, my butt dyno isnt very sensitive, i admit. Last time when I did unichip on my fd2, 9 something horses increase oso i could just barely feel it...