Notes after reading the manual

8163 Views 21 Replies 11 Participants Last post by artfd, 15 d ago

Jarhead

Discussion Starter · May 9, 2021 (Edited)

4

Fun facts. I just read the entire manual cover to cover (yes I am that guy) and wanted to point out a few things most people probably wouldn't know had they not seen this.
The manual states that the carnival should only use gas rated 91 octane or higher. (And use an approved additive every 8k miles if you have a warranty that requires proof of service records)
Only use full synthetic 0w-20 oil and it's recommend every 8,000-10,000 miles.
Do not traditional tow ever, only 4 wheel flat or on dollies.
The book says you really shouldn't tow a trailer, but if you must tow don't do more than about 1,000lbs without trailer breaks, and don't go over 60mph.
The roof rack can only support 220lbs, while the total vehicle can only support 1,323lbs total including occupants and cargo.

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dugg914

· #2 · May 10, 2021

The 91 is the RON rating (Research Octane Rating). This is used in countries other than the USA. It equivalates to our 87, which you see on our pumps.

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Phantasm22

· #3 · May 11, 2021

dugg914 said:
The 91 is the RON rating (Research Octane Rating). This is used in countries other than the USA. It equivalates to our 87, which you see on our pumps.

The manual in the image above shows a RON rating of 95 and AKI of 91. This would be 91 octane in US terms.

Phantasm22

· #4 · May 11, 2021

That said. I just looked at my manual and it says on one of the first few pages to use Octane of 87 or higher. I’m not sure what locality the above manual picture is from but this is from the US manual.

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Jarhead

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 11, 2021

I took the photo from my manual. Just bought a few weeks ago here in Chicago

lockinrobin

· #6 · May 12, 2021

Just picked up our SX-P last week on 5/7. Says octane number of 87 as well.

Edit: located in Northern Virginia.

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Phantasm22

· #7 · May 12, 2021

Interesting. I just looked at the maintenance section and I also have the conflicting 91 octane recommendation.

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lockinrobin

· #8 · May 12, 2021

Phantasm22 said:
Interesting. I just looked at the maintenance section and I also have the conflicting 91 octane recommendation.

Yep, my manual is the same now that you mention it. I suppose it's better to just go with 91 octane?

Phantasm22

· #9 · May 13, 2021

lockinrobin said:
Yep, my manual is the same now that you mention it. I suppose it's better to just go with 91 octane?

I told my significant other that we should probably put super in it once and a while just to clean things out. Otherwise putting 87 with a fuel additive like Costco sells would be fine for most of the time. Most engines are tuned to work with a wide range in quality of fuel. Your engine may suffer in fuel economy and power or worse, it could clog the fuel injectors if you constantly put poor quality fuel in it but fuel from a reputable place with an additive in it should be fine for the majority of time. If it were turbo charged, I would be more concerned. I guess we’ll see if there is more clarity from Kia at some point in the future.

yulecarfor

· #10 · Oct 1, 2021

Does 91 octane have special additives to clean engine parts? They all have additives. Like you alluded to w/ the turbo, the 91 octane is mainly for high performance engines to prevent knock, and I don't think the Carnival engines need this at all, unless the 87 octane verbiage is an error.

Leshemdoc

· #11 · Oct 1, 2021

I read the manual before buying the car and noticed the conflicting info. I asked multiple people at the dealership what gas to use and they all said regular 87 and that's what they put in when you get the car from them.

UN-Limited

· #12 · Oct 1, 2021

High octane gas doesn't combust as easily under pressure as 87. It's used in high performance cars because they typically have higher compression ratios. Essentially, a high performance engine will want to highly compress the air/fuel mixture before igniting it. That makes the explosion more powerful and gives these engines those extra horses you paid for.

That is absolutely not the case with our V6. 87 is optimal and anything higher will simply be a waste of money and could actually hurt the engine's performance as the computer will have to compensate for using the wrong gas.

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dezo

· #13 · 2 mo ago

I have a 2023 SX , 8K Miles. I always bought 89 gas , top tier. In town mileage was between 17.5-18.5 Last time I bought 91 just to see what happens. Van became significantly more responsive and in town mileage increased to 20.5 -21. Same drive mode , same routes. I'll try 94 in the future.

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urbancamper

· #14 · 2 mo ago (Edited)

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urbancamper

· #15 · 2 mo ago

dezo said:
I have a 2023 SX , 8K Miles. I always bought 89 gas , top tier. In town mileage was between 17.5-18.5 Last time I bought 91 just to see what happens. Van became significantly more responsive and in town mileage increased to 20.5 -21. Same drive mode , same routes. I'll try 94 in the future.

Technically, there is no way this could happen if all of the variables were the same. That's just not how octane works. Temperature and winter vs summer blend is most likely the reason.

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dezo

· #16 · 2 mo ago

urbancamper said:
Technically, there is no way this could happen if all of the variables were the same. That's just not how octane works. Temperature and winter vs summer blend is most likely the reason.

I don't care what "experts" , manuals beileve in and what is possible "technically" . When I switched to 93 my van immediatelly performed better , felt stronger , burned less gas. Same day , same season/ weather etc... . If you don't believe it , try it !!!

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UN-Limited

· #17 · 2 mo ago

dezo said:
I don't care what "experts" , manuals beileve in and what is possible "technically" . When I switched to 93 my van immediatelly performed better , felt stronger , burned less gas. Same day , same season/ weather etc... . If you don't believe it , try it !!!

I'll take physics and chemistry over personal anecdotes every time. If higher octane truly offered better gas mileage and driving performance, then it would be in Kia's best interest to advertise this.

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Phantasm22

· #18 · 2 mo ago

Maybe we should start a fuel octane challenge?

UN-Limited

· #19 · 1 mo ago

Phantasm22 said:
Maybe we should start a fuel octane challenge?

Please don't - it would only help to perpetuate this myth about octane. I would much prefer the members of this community to put their money toward other areas. And since this is a family vehicle, that other area is probably diapers 😅

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urbancamper

· #20 · 1 mo ago

Phantasm22 said:
Maybe we should start a fuel octane challenge?

I put jet fuel in my van and it has quadrupled the horsepower and I now get 45 mpg. I can now do burnouts down an entire city block and women are now asking me out on dates. Jetfuel is the only answer.

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