Well I ran 87 in my vehicle until 105000 miles when it started to ping, i notice a pinging sound a second after i would floor it(after it would kick in). SO I looked it up on this website and figured out that 91 or above is required for the supercharged 3.8. So Now I put in 91 It doesnt ping AT ALL anymore. The weird thing is it took about 2or 3 full tanks of 91 gas to get rid of that pinging can anyone explain that?
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95 SE Supercharged, 2 12'* bazooka subs, bazooka 750W amp, 1 farad cap, not to much else done to the car =P

I was away for awhile and wanted to thank you for your help. Onw little question. WIll using an Octane booster additive provide the same results as using premikum fuel if used at each fill? Is there such a thing as too much octane as in Premium Fuel used in additon to an additive? Thanks

you probably wont benefit from anything higher than 91 or maybe 93 octane until you get some mods going into the car.. As for octane booster, i would just stick with 91 octane at the pump, and 100 (if you can get it) for the track. As for a substitute for high octane fuel, 0at roughly $5 extra per tank to use 91 octane, i really dont think its cost effective to use a booster, and im sure it doesnt yield the same result as high octane from the pump

Gas prices suck and its only gonna get worse but you have to use the gas that you car manufacturer reccomends. Yes your car will run on 87 but its still not the right fuel. If you plan on keeping your Bonneville for a long time give it the fuel it requires.

A dollar or two saved at the pump is not worth the potential long-term damage down the road.

Thanks, I asked about the additive, I guess I was being a little too cheesy as the additive is $4.49 and a full tank at 10 cents extra is a min of $7 extra per tank for the 91. I guess it'* the pain of buying the additive and putting it in that makes that not worth the effort, but with a lot of driving the extra $3 adds up and the $7 extra per tank for 91 definately spells hundreds more per year for me, maybe more. Thanks again

That'* the thing, you are right, but what type of fuel did the previous owner use? Is it still going to benefit the car using 91 if they ran it on 87 for the first 4-5 years of it'* life? I guess so but if they did use 87, I see a car still running great after 5 years of use. I have heard auto experts both say no matter and others like many here say you must use it. Was also told by a female car sales rep that the supercharger will go after prolonged 87 use. Thanks for the input.

I was also told the newer models are setup to run fine on 87in contrast to the older models that were absolutely finicky with less than Premium fuel. 2-3 tanks to notice any difference in mileage or performance would be normal. I have never seen an instant gain in either with just one tank. I did notice after 2 or 3 tanks of 91 (as you mentioned), pickup/reaction time when the pedal is hammered is noticeably improved.

Are there any mods or tips in general to gain better mileage (other than driving like Grandma of course)? Which mods give you the biggest bang for the buck with both performance and mileage (or at least mileage). I am most likely doing the K&N CAI and chip this summer, and I'm open to any other suggestions that will not cost me a years salary right off the bat. As I said before, in-toen mileage seem to suck VERY large in these. Much worse than I expected but my highway mileage is great (almost 800kms to a tank if all highway) as apposed to 380-450 in town

the absolute best way to increase fuel milage is with a good tune-up, make sure that your running at 100% with fresh plugs, wires, etc.. also, replacing your stock airfilter with a K&N drop-in filter and a gutted airbox will net you a bit of milage increase, aswell as performance

Most supercharged cars I know of require premium fuel. My previous GXP would run on regular but was much quicker with premium as far as N/A engine go. I am guessing some sort of fuel additive would help when using regular fuel but dont know what would happen as far as long term usage.

I guess its the price you pay for having dare I say this about the 3800.....a performance engine....