Scotty I often hear you give advice on cars and include the phrase "modern cars." Can you be more specific on what you are calling a "modern car"? I watched a video having to do with using higher octane fuels in cars and that most modern cars don't need them. But is my 90s Honda considered to be "modern" because it is fuel injected? What constitutes a modern car?
Thanks Billy
Pretty much anything that's OBDII compatible could be considered a "modern car", so anything from the 1996 model year to today. They only vary based on the amount of detailed information available to a high-level scan tool. Earlier models won't be as detailed as newer ones.
Like @justin-shepherd suggested, OBDII ports circa 1996 onward is a good definition of a modern car. Which also usually implies fuel injection, but just because it has fuel injection, doesn’t mean it has OBDII.
With that said, I do think we may be on the verge of a new definition or new standard of “modern”.
Electronically controlled things rather than mechanical or fluid controlled things. Stuff like electronic steering, electronic e-brakes, electronic water pumps, electronic throttle control, electronic spark control (to name a few) vs the analog counterparts. (There may be more technical names for what I am attempting to describe).
But OBDII is basically modern for the most part.
just because it has fuel injection, doesn’t mean it has OBDII.
Very true. The 1957 Chevrolet offered fuel injection, albeit mechanical. Chrysler offered Bendix electronic fuel injection in 1957 though that system was not successful. (AMC was going to offer the same electronic fuel injection in 1957 as well but pulled it from production at the last minute due to reliability concerns.)
in this situation, any car with knock sensors and electronic ignition timing control is "modern". But you can follow your owner's manual when it comes to octane rating of your fuel.
Welcome new member.
that phrase can refer to a lot of things, depending on the topic. For octane rating, he means that “modern cars” can adjust the air/fuel mix to minimize pre-ignition (knocking) with low octane gas.
That’s not a singular year that everything changed. It’s a relative and multifactorial assessment. But safe to say that for a 90’s car, you shouldn’t go below the manufacturer recommended octane rating.
