I am considering purchasing a C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan. I notice that 91 octane fuel is recommended (this could be quite costly). What will happen to the engine if fueled with 89 or 87 octane (besides it not going as fast). Will that ruin the supecharger? Any thoughts are appreciated!
The supercharger will not be effected by low octane gas, but the engine will give less performance. The ECU will retard the ignition timing to prevent detonation. If you can't afford to buy premium gas, you should consider another car.
most likely what would happen is knocking. a c230K is a high compression engine, there fore when the air and fuel compressed, the mixture will ignite due to high pressure before is supposed to, it is extremely harmful to your engine. the higher octane, the more resistance in the fuel to ignite under pressure. that's why race cars use high octane fuel, their compression is high for high power output.
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