2017 Escalade/Denali L86 "requires" 93 octane - your experience?

[Joseph Garcia]

Well, I believe that we've all expressed and discussed our thoughts and experiences with different octanes for the 6.2.

What's REALLY important here, we discussed and shared our differences in opinions in an open and RESPECTFUL manner. No harassing, no name calling, no personal insults, no Facebook/X BS nonsense.

That's just another reason why this Forum ROCKS!

As @swathdiver stated above, "Love my 6.2s, they put a smile on my face every time we get behind the wheel!". That is exactly the way that I feel about my 6.2.

 

[Geotrash]

So if i use 91 or 93 will i notice a significant increase in power over 87??

Yup. GM's own marketing confirms this. With the '07 Escalade the output of the L92 was 403hp and required premium fuel. The '07 Yukon Denali with the same L92 was rated at 380hp and premium fuel was 'recommended'. The difference? The dyno test was run on regular unleaded for the Denali's numbers to create differentiation between the Escalade and the Denali. So, you'll get minimally 23 more HP on premium fuel but to my butt dyno it feels like more. My two XL Denali's only get premium fuel, regardless of how we're using them.

 

[petethepug]

Two good reasons for low octane fuel in a 6.2L …

1) it’s a rental
2) you need a gallon so you don’t run out on the way to Costco or Walmart for hi octane.

Two bad reasons to run low octane fuel in a 6.2L …

1) you’re gonna keep your truck for a long time.
2) you don’t like the relative who’s inheriting the truck from you.

Seriously though, these things are born as rentals and put into civilian service fairing well all the time. It’s the frugal, save a penny pinchers that run 87 towing or heading up to the snow that kills em.

My cheapskate buddy had his wife run 87 on her Lexus SUV. After 8 years and 100k miles he took it to the dealer for a new alternator because it had a bad bearing. They offered him a smok’n deal for a trade on the current model.

His chest puffing stopped after bragging about his 100k on regular gas ride was diagnosed with a cracked piston and he just told the dealer to pound sand on trading it in.

 

[tooleyondeck]

I don't plan to operate the engine above 3,000 RPM

This sounds almost impossible. I would just ask myself if I wouldn't run 87 in an LT1, why would I in an L86?

 

[91RS]

This sounds almost impossible. I would just ask myself if I wouldn't run 87 in an LT1, why would I in an L86?

Spark knock will happen the most when cruising under slight load anyway.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Well, I believe that we've all expressed and discussed our thoughts and experiences with different octanes for the 6.2L V8s.
What's REALLY important here, we discussed and shared our differences in opinions in an open and RESPECTFUL manner.
No harassing, no name calling, no personal insults, no Facebook/X BS nonsense.
That's just another reason why this Forum ROCKS!

I RESPECTFULLY beg to differ. The above is unfinished.
If one person says it's raining, and another says it ain't, eventually, somebody PLEASE go and check outside!
The respectful discussion is a worthy end in and of itself - but the truth is another equally worthy end.

I don't think those old computers had the ability to do that. We've only recently seen Toyota and Ram if memory serves do that with some of their vehicles.
I'm aware of the tables, sort of, I thought there was one for gas and one for E85 on the GMT900s.
To my way of thinking, there would have to be some kind of sensor to detect the octane rating of the fuel and then run the appropriate table.

Maybe they could've written a program to permanently pull timing if there was so much knock retard under such and such conditions and not reset until a refueling event was detected?
I would think that all that work would slow down the responsiveness of the system and possibly the engine's reaction to such changing conditions.
Just speculating, I'm no automotive software engineer ...

Since GMT800 - and I very strongly suspect since the '97 LS1, but have not personally witnessed-
those old pcms already had separate Low Octane & High Octane Spark Timing tables.
And I know the pcm interpolates between the two; I noticed the differences between copying
the Low Octane Table into the High VS the High Octane Table into the Low
A separate TEMPORARY knock compensation function disables use of the High Octane table,
and applies only to the Low Octane table, but it does not get 'learned' like a fuel trim.
Then there is another SEPARATE ethanol variable compensation table (which I saw but did NOT touch),
which requires a Flex Fuel Concentration / Composition sensor to operate properly.

As @swathdiver stated above,
"Love my 6.2Ls, they put a smile on my face every time we get behind the wheel!".
That is exactly the way that I feel about my 6.2L.

I feel similarly about GM 6.2L V8s. Too bad so many of them have been damaged by GM's shortsighted 'goals' ...

 

[petethepug]

Another round for everybody, it’s on me!

 

[swathdiver]

So if i use 91 or 93 will i notice a significant increase in power over 87??

The engine will run cooler, smoother and won't knock and destroy itself. It'll get better gas mileage too.

As previously stated, the first Denalis were rated for 380 horses on regular fuel and the first Escalades were rated for 403 horsepower on premium fuel.

The bone stock 6.2 in my 2013 Sierra puts down an average of 370 rear wheel horsepower through the traps in the quarter mile at the drag strip on 93 octane fuel.

 

[Bagherra]

Yup. GM's own marketing confirms this. With the '07 Escalade the output of the L92 was 403hp and required premium fuel. The '07 Yukon Denali with the same L92 was rated at 380hp and premium fuel was 'recommended'. The difference? The dyno test was run on regular unleaded for the Denali's numbers to create differentiation between the Escalade and the Denali. So, you'll get minimally 23 more HP on premium fuel but to my butt dyno it feels like more. My two XL Denali's only get premium fuel, regardless of how we're using them.

Well hell!!

 

[MobileHomie]

So if i use 91 or 93 will i notice a significant increase in power over 87??

I need to qualify this with yes, if you have a high compression engine that needs it. My brother continually puts mid grade in his jeep wrangler thinking it "runs better". :/
High octane fuel won't do anything to improve performance of an engine that is not intended for it.
Most folks don't undersand that high octane gas is a lower flash point to inhibit pre-ignition, (knock)